Cassie was born in New London, Connecticut and moved to New York City and continued modeling; she attended classes at the Broadway Dance Center. Meanwhile, music producer Ryan Leslie spotted her at clubs and parties in late 2004. Shortly after a formal introduction to Ryan Leslie, Cassie became the focus of Next Selection. The two wrote a duet called “Kiss Me” and after recording the track, Next Selection made a management move to play the song for music executive Tommy Mottola. Leslie also co-wrote and produced Cassie’s first single, “Me & U”. Cassie was introduced to Sean “Diddy” Combs by a make-up artist from one of her modeling assignments, which also helped her to get a shot at a music career. Before signing with the Bad Boy label, Cassie’s first single “Me & U” had already hit the airwaves and was a major hit in clubs. On its official release, “Me & U” proved to be a hit song. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Billboard Pop 100. Her follow up single, “Long Way 2 Go” was far less successful, peaking at ninety-seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Cassie’s debut album, Cassie, was released on August 8, 2006 and sold 321,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Sound Scan. In contrast to her album sales, Cassie’s hit single, “Me & U”, sold over 1 million digital downloads. |
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