Skylar Simone

Born on April 24, 2002, in Tampa, Florida, Stecker is the daughter of ex-NFL player Aaron Stecker and his wife Kara. She has a younger brother, Dorsett. She was born in Tampa and raised in both New Orleans and Wisconsin before moving to Los Angeles at 9 years old.^[6]

In 2012, she began her career by singing the national anthem at Wisconsin Badgers,^[7] New Orleans Saints,^[8] UCLA, and Green Bay Packers games, as well as a NASCAR race. She performed the national anthem more than one hundred times, including at an Anaheim Angels' game in May 2014.^[9]

In August 2013, she began actively recording and releasing cover videos on her YouTube channel.^[10] In the fall of 2013, Stecker had a guest-starring role in the ABC comedy Super Fun Night.^[11]

Her first studio album, This Is Me, was released on September 25, 2015.^[12]

"Rooftop" debuted on the Dance Club Songs chart at No. 45 on June 13, 2015.^[13] It peaked at No. 11 on July 25, 2015.^[14] She released another version of her album This Is Me in June 2016, titled This Is Me: Signature Version.^[15] In September 2016, her cover of Sweet Dreams with JX Riders reached number 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart.^[16]

On March 10, 2017, Simone released the single "Only Want You". It was written by Crystal Carr and Shantee "Kissie Lee" Tyler and produced by Tricky Stewart. Following the release of "Only Want You", she was named Radio Disney's Next Big Thing in May 2017.^[17] "Only Want You" became Simone's second number one on Billboard's Dance Club Songs Chart in its September 2, 2017 issue.^[18]

Simone's song, "Crazy Beautiful", was used in The Sims 4 soundtrack, where she recorded the song entirely in the Simlish language used in the game. It is available to play through music devices during gameplay.

In 2015, Simone portrayed Ridley in two episodes of Austin & Ally, "Karaoke & Kalamity" and "Mini-Me's & Muffin Baskets".

Simone's song, "How Did We", was on the soundtrack for the 2017 film Everything, Everything.^[19] Prior to the release of the soundtrack and film, she released a music video for the song with scenes from the movie.^[20] Simone released a single titled "Blame" on October 27, 2017, which became her third number one on Billboard's Dance Club Songs Chart in its March 24, 2018 issue.^[21]

In May 2018, Simone, formerly with Interscope and Cherrytree, became an independent artist. She also performed the national anthem at the Los Angeles Chargers' season opener home game in September 2018 and the Los Angeles Lakers' game in October 2018.^[22]

On March 15, 2019, Simone released her second studio album, Redemption, her first independent release. Shortly after its release, Simone performed the national anthem at an Anaheim Ducks game.^[23] Her LA release show for the album, held at The Roxy, sold out, and was followed by a show in Madison, Wisconsin.^[24]

On January 15, 2021, Simone released a single called "Superman" as the first official single for her EP "Earth Signs", which also included the singles "Questions" and "FWY".^[25][26][27]

On May 3, 2024, Simone made her debut under Def Jam Recordings with her single and music video “Shiver." She later went on to release her EP "Shiver" on August 15, 2024 before parting ways with Def Jam in February 2025.^[28]

Her main influences are Prince, Bruno Mars, Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan, Alicia Keys, and Sheila E.^[29]