Tamia Marilyn Hill (nee Washington) was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario with her mother Barbara, and three younger brothers Tiras, Tajhee, and Trajan. Aside from the music she heard and sang at church, Tamia was exposed to diverse music from an early age by her mother. Singing was always her passion. As early as age six, she was on stage singing at the local church, and by age 12, had already been involved in several musicals which helped hone her musical skills.

In 2005, Tamia split from Elektra Records, and created her own record label, Plus One Music Group. The first record to be released on the company was her fourth studio album Between Friends. First released on South African independent label Gallo Records in May 2006, it was later distributed by Image Entertainment in the United States. Entirely produced by Shep Crawford, with additional production from Rodney Jerkins, it reached number nine on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its first two singles, "Can't Get Enough" and "Me", both reached the top 30 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.  In November 2009, a great hits compilation was released in South Africa. The same year, Tamia announced that she was working with longtime contributor Shep Crawford to form a supergroup called TDK along with singers Kelly Price and Deborah Cox. Their joint album The Queen Project failed to materialize however due timing issues and label politics.  In August 2012, Tamia's fifth studio Beautiful Surprise was released on Plus One Music and EMI. The singer worked with a vast of different producers on the album, including Chuck Harmony, The Runners, and Carvin & Ivan. Upon its released, it debuted 23 on the Billboard 200 and number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with first week sales of 41,521 copies. Lead single "Beautiful Surprise", written by Claude Kelly, Salaam Remi and the herself peaked at number 24 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and was later nominated for Best R&B Song at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. In support of the album, Tamia went on tour with R. Kelly during his The Single Ladies tour from October until December 2012. Answer this question using a quote from the following article:

How did the album do on the charts?
it debuted 23 on the Billboard 200 and number six on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with first week sales of 41,521 copies.