11 Artists You Should Know In 2011

Wynter Gordon – What a lot of these R&B singers think will save their career… she actually does. And she writes for some of the best

For the past two years, Wynter has tirelessly traveled the globe, collaborating with some of the biggest names in electronic music and picking up a few tricks along the way. She’s stepped into the studio with David Guetta and Rhythm Masters, performed in front of thousands at the Winter Music Conference. All of these incredible experiences have gone into the making of her debut. As Wynter explains, “I’m not the same girl anymore. I’m more confident. I’m more me.” Her songs reflect this new self-confidence—she and her collaborators have given themselves license to play, reveling in a new sound that is a blend of European house, bold beats, and purely emotive songwriting. “I feel so comfortable with myself now. I’m really in that place where I’ve just let go.

Life these days is a living fantasy. As she’s bounced from Ibiza to Amsterdam, London to Paris, Wynter explains that she fell in love with “the energy in Europe. I picked up a little of the culture from everywhere I’ve been.” For a girl from South Jamaica, Queens, who was raised in a two-room house with “my mother and six brothers and sisters,” she’s aware of how far she has come. Her childhood was difficult, shaped by poverty and a largely absent father. “My only escape was art,” she remembers. As a teenager, she was accepted to the famous LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts (known as the Fame school). There, her natural talent was nurtured. “You could really be yourself and focus on your talent,” remembers Wynter

Her first single, “Dirty Talk”