Crystal Waters

When you hear the name Crystal Waters, you immediately think of a woman whose talent and brand has sustained her 20-year career, yet the breadth of her work continues to engage new fans and please her enormous base. She is best known for her string of domestic and international number one dance hits in the 1990′s, including her 1991 signature smash, “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)”, which garnered her three American Music Award nominations and made her an international sensation. “Gypsy Woman” became a global, number one smash because of its socially-conscious lyrics and its positively infectious hook. Crystal was firmly embraced by the dance community and in 1994, she again found mainstream success with “100% Pure Love”, which became one of the longest charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the charts for a whopping 45 weeks. That accomplishment earned Crystal several more award nominations, including an MTV Video Music Award nod and four Billboard Music Awards, which she won for the Top-Selling Hot Dance Music Club Play Single. Crystal continues to add to her musical accolades, as she once again had a number one hit in Europe in 2007, with Alex Gaudino called “Destination Calabria”. In 2012, “Le Bump” her collaboration with Yolanda Be Cool (We Speak No Americano) gained her another number 1 spot on the Beatport House Chart. To date, she has 16 number one and top 10 singles in over 15 countries. She also received another 2 ASCAP Songwriter Awards for Mary Mary’s “Walking” giving her a total of 6. However, before her career took off, Crystal was unsure of the path her life would take. It may not have been up to her, however, simply because performing is in her genes. Yet, before her career took off, Crystal was unsure of the path her life would take. It may not have been up to her, however, simply because performing is in her genes. She was born in Camden, New Jersey , right outside of Philadelphia. “My dad had a hit record in the early ’60′s and appeared on American Bandstand, performing under the name Junior Waters,” she recalls. Her entertainer lineage does not stop there. Crystal is the grand-niece of Ethel Waters, the legendary Academy Award nominee (Pinky, 1949) and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. As a teenager in South Jersey, she was accepted to the prestigious Howard University to study computer science. A chance meeting with a psychic first inspired her to consider singing. “She said there was something I wasn’t doing with my voice,” Crystal recalls. “She also told me that I would not be happy until I did it.” Crystal believed the woman and set about writing “Gypsy Woman”. The rest is history. Crystal’s current single “Oh Mama Hey” (Tommy Boy) with DJ Chris Cox and DJ Frankie is number 1 with a bullet on the Billboard Dance Chart! With a summer world tour in the works look for new releases with some of the best in the biz: Sisqo, Dave Aude, Stonebridge, Todd Terry, Nicola Fasano and Steve Forrest. In 2013, the #1 Billboard Dance Chart Hit “Mama Hey” was listed as one of Billboard’s “Top 50 Dance Songs of 2013″