(October 1, 2021) - "We come from three different parts of the country," said Tamara Chauniece, one of three members of the new R&B group called The Shindellas, a creation of multi-Grammy nominated songwriting/producing duo Clyde Kelly and Chuck Harmony (Whitney Houston/Rihanna). "Chuck and Clyde were looking for artists. I was in Dallas at the time. Kasi was in Vegas. Stacy was already part of the group in Los Angeles."

The Shindellas - Tamara Chauniece, Kasi Jones and Stacy Johnson - recently released their debut album "Hits That Stick Like Grits" (Weirdo Workshop/The Orchard) with lead single/music video "Money" already at radio.

When I pointed out that working with Clyde, a legendary songwriter/producer, was a major accomplishment Kasi said, "I knew a lot of his music, but I didn't know it was him. But I know now after doing research (because of the group formation)."

The "Hits That Stick Like Grits" offer 14 selections and its single "Money" garnered 2.3 million views of its music video, before the album was released. This interest is an indication of what the project has to offer. As far as performance, The Shindellas made history when they performed at the 2021 CMT Awards, becoming the first R&B group to perform at the event.

"He's (Clyde) really good," Kasi said.

When I asked about the demands and pressures of being in a "high-profile" group Kasi continued, "There's no pressure. Before we decided, the three of us talked about our individual dreams and the type of women we needed to see as little girls - like the supreme that showed empowerment, pose and strength."

About the debut "Hits That Stick..." Tamara said, "It's a love letter to 2020. It's a compilation of conversations we had in 2020. We utilized the time to be honest about how we want to present ourselves to the world."

When I commented on how polished the Nashville based group looks and sounds, and asked if that is due to Chuck and Clyde's influence Kasi replied, "It was what we brought to the table. I have my individual style, Tamara has hers, Stacey has hers...we bring this together to show strong, flashy, elegant, excellence and empowering women. But I have to give credit to Chuck and Clyde...who brought us to...a stylist who really worked with us to give us what we want to look like." www.WeirdoWorkshop.com/The-Shindellas