(June 6, 2008 – New
York, NY)
With a loyal and ever-growing YouTube fanbase north of 27,000
subscribers, and more than 1.3 million channel views under her
belt – which makes her one of the ten most popular artists on
YouTube of all time – Dondria aka Phatfffat
is on her way to becoming the first-ever pure digitally born
artist, the first R&B superstar broken on the Internet.
Dondria is also the
latest signing to legendary producer
Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def/Island
Urban roster, which will issue her debut single, “Can’t
Stop,” on June 17th, followed by her debut
album on July 29th.
“I
have never witnessed an Internet-driven phenomenon that even
comes close to this in my entire career,” said Mr. Dupri, who
discovered Dondria online.
“We are on the threshold of exposing a naturally gifted singer
to the world as a result of YouTube’s penetration into every
corner of society – and that is a genuinely exciting prospect
for the future.”
Dondria’s ascent is
the result of more than six
months of intense communication with Dupri, who encouraged her
to document every step of the creative process.
She maintains daily uploaded clips and provides a
constant flow of new songs for her fanbase to see and hear.
Recent visitors to
www.youtube.com/phatfffat have been treated to
Dondria’s powerful covers of hits like
Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and
SWV’s “Weak.” Dondria’s brand new acappella version of Chrisette
Michelle’s “Love Is You” has already received more than 15,000
views.
“I’m a Capricorn who loves music like a fat kid loves cake!”
Dondria confesses on YouTube, in explanation of
the nickname given to her by fans, Phatfffat, a
reference to her love of eating (thought she keeps a trim
figure). A side visit to 21-year old Dondria Nicole’s MySpace
website at
www.myspace.com/dondiranicolemusic reveals that she
was born in Oklahoma, raised in
Texas, came up singing in the First Baptist Church, and majored in Music Education at
college. The MySpace site, which boasts more than 360,000
profile views and more than 209,000 total plays, features
full-length versions of three finished tracks: “Can I
Talk To You,” “Love Affair” featuring Cory,
and “I Love You.”
The implications of Dondria’s success – as it
exists outside current radio plans, A&R sources and traditional
distribution models – have prompted a number of Internet-centric
marketing and promotion campaigns at Island Def Jam Music
Group. In conjunction with YouTube, the aim is to engage and
expand her homegrown online audience while nurturing her roots.
YouTube, which has 70 million unique users in the U.S. alone
(according to Nielsen), and is the #1 video site on the
Internet, reports that every minute, ten hours of video is being
uploaded to YouTube.
