International recording artist Cecile Charlton, p/k/a Ce’Cile, born in Jamaica, is the original self-imposed Bad Gyal. She is still on her mission – to seduce the world with her musical-style – one song at a time, one album at a time, and one show at a time.
This innovative, intelligent and creative diva has proven she has the skill-set required to produce and record international hits. It’s her penchant for controversy, which first introduced her to the music business. Her flair has kept the international media and all of her fans tuned in, whether she sings over traditional reggae beats or raps on pulsating dancehall riddims.
Ce’Cile has always been an innovator. She broke into the dancehall scene with the self-produced, shockingly refreshing, and thought provoking hit, “Changez.” The song was designed primarily as a marketing ploy, and it poked fun at her male counterparts. Rhythmically inventive, it quickly spread across dancehall’s macho braggadocio, lampooning music’s biggest male names with unflattering speculations about their bedroom performances. Not surprisingly, it won her a host of female fans. She writes lyrics, which other females shy away from for fear of being ostracized in Jamaica’s male dominated music scene. As the most outspoken female, especially on issues concerning women, Ce’Cile has never felt trapped from expressing her personal views. She is bold, calculating and brutally honest in her lyrics and subject matter. On the emotional side, Ce’Cile writes love songs, which speak about the heart and being in love or being emotionally hurt. She sings about what goes on in, about, around, and through the “love” connection.
Ce’Cile is that one-of-a-kind artist who has been afforded that rare opportunity and who has the unique ability to do both dancehall and reggae music, equally well. Not only has she been able to tour the “normal reggae / dancehall scene,” but she has done a lot of work in “non typical” Jamaican or reggae settings, specifically in Europe, Asia and the USA.
From her extensive catalog the song “Can You Do Di Wuk” later became a duet with Sean Paul, which eventually landed her on his Grammy winning, multi–platinum selling album “Dutty Rock.” That song is a testament to her “Bad Gyal” demeanor. This track became a natural selection for DJs worldwide and made it possible for her to join Sean in Europe during his Dutty Rock tour for several shows, including the European MTV Awards Pre-Party and at Wembley Stadium in the UK. Ce’Cile’s 2008 album “Bad Gyal” was the best-selling Reggae album in Germany, which landed her a live performance and other appearances at the BMX World Championship party in Cologne. From that same album the singles “Hot Like We” and “Talk Talk” were so popular in Germany that they landed her a feature in Playboy’s German Magazine.
Ce’Cile has been regularly acknowledged internationally, receiving several award nominations throughout her career, which include the following accolades: the Irie Jam Radio Awards; Jamaican Federation of Musicians; IRAWMA awards; South Florida Reggae Awards; Stone Love Awards; Star Awards; Richie B’s Awards; Tamika Awards; and many more. To date, Ce’Cile is still one of the few Dancehall artists to be featured in Source Magazine, Vibe Magazine, XLR8R Magazine and the German edition of Playboy Magazine.
Each year, Ce’Cile tours the Caribbean, the USA, Africa, Asia and Europe bringing her unique and ever-expanding style to multi-cultural and multi-national audiences. She has proven she is as comfortable on stage in front of an audience of over 40,000 as she is in front of a club audience of 400. Her rigorous work ethic has left her footprints all over the Caribbean, America, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa – where she is one of the most in-demand Reggae acts. Each year, Ce’Cile performs at the following renowned festivals in Europe: Geel, Summer Jam, Rototom, Dour, Splash, Chiemsee Reggae, Juicy Beats, Szigete and many others. In Germany, Ce’Cile has captured the number one position on the Black German Music Charts, beating out mainstream acts like Black Eye Peas, Ray J, Eminem, Kid Cudi and Gwinwuine. This groundwork in the German music market has led to crossover hits like: “Rude Bwoy Thug Life” and “Hot Like We” – which were repackaged in a Bravo Black Hits compilation, with video viewership surpassing over 1.5 million views. Ce’Cile reached the #20 position in the UK POP Charts in 2010 with the collaboration “Gold Dust,” produced by London’s DJ Fresh. The song was re-serviced in 2013, where it received more chart topping success. It has sold over 400,000 copies to-date. Other genre-crossing collaborations include singles with British break-beat producers, Stanton Warriors and the electronica wizard, Amon Tobin. Ce’Cile was the opening act for the sold-out Peter Fox tour (the lead singer of Seeed), which made music history by becoming the largest and most successful music tour in all of CY 2009, in and throughout Germany.
In 2012 Ce’Cile gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter. However, motherhood did not slow her down. Shortly thereafter, Ce’Cile was back on the road rocking audiences in St. Martin and Guadeloupe, plus giving a sold out premiere performance in Dubai. Later, she hit the road for a four-week stint, which saw her doing performances in Nuoma, New Caledonia, as well as four shows in Australia. After this blitz of performances, she kicked off the first leg of her extended 2013 European Summer tour, making stops in Luxembourg, France, Estonia, Denmark, Reunion Island, Finland, and multiple stops in Germany. The final leg of her extended summer tour kicked off in August in Hoogstraten, Belgium at the Antilliaanse Feesten. Then it was on to the Furuvik Festival in Gayle, Sweden, the Rototom Festival in Spain on August 21st, ‘Fest in the Park’ in Oudenaarde, Belgium on August 23rd, and then she climaxed her tour with a bang at the annual Chiemsee Reggae festival in Ubersee, Germany. Ce’Cile also performed for her fans in the Caribbean in the islands of St Thomas, Guyana, Martinique and Belize, before taking a studio-album, recording-break.
During the studio break, Ce’Cile will be recording her eagerly anticipated upcoming album, aptly titled “On The Road.” The album is tentatively scheduled for release in late summer, 2014 on SoBe Entertainment International, her present label, which is based in Miami, Florida. Ce’Cile has just released a reggae single collaborating with the American artist Ja’Rae, titled “Bad Man: Corrupt.” Her personal dancehall single, “Me Have It (Tight Punanni)” is being released in late May, 2014. The title track on her album, “On The Road,” a pop ballad, will be released in September, 2014 with a reggae version of that record simultaneously distributed in the Caribbean and Europe.
Ce’Cile has collaborated throughout her career with elite, platinum and multi-platinum artists, including; Trina, Shaggy, Timbaland, Flo Rida, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Sean Paul, Gavin Rossdale (the Rocker and former husband of Gwen Stefani), Spanish songstress Debbie Nova, DJ Fresh, Lady Saw and Olivia. There are many other new collaborations on the upcoming album.
Ce’Cile has advanced this far in her career by doing things her own way … in her inimitable style, she will always be true to herself, to her convictions, and to her music. That is why she is Reggae’s most beloved “Bad Gyal.” This uncompromising attitude has transformed Ce’Cile into the most honest, true, raw, explicit, innovative, original and captivating female reggae artist in the world today.
Ce’Cile’s official social networks:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/iamthececile
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/badgyalcecile
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/badgyalcecile
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cecile
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/therealbadgyalcecile
Website: http://www.sobeentertainment.com
