DIJON
Born December 19, 1992 in South Carolina, Dijon Prioleau started singing at the age of 3, mastering "Yes Jesus Loves Me" before he could recite his ABCs. This is a direct result of the musical family he was blessed to. Dijon was surrounded by natural church singers. He took his first church solo at age 8 in front of the congregation at the Bethlehem Baptist Church singing "You Said That You Are My Sheep." His grandmother, Charlotte Prioleau, instructed him not to sing through his nose but from his gut and through his heart. "You have to sing with passion," she would say, "and if you're going to sing gospel, you need to know the Bible."

Reflecting on his family, Dijon marvels, "My daddy, Darrell Prioleau, traveled to different churches and I loved to hear him sing. I wanted to grow up and be a singer just like him. My mom is a strong, independent single lady - a captain in the U.S. Army. She made me know that life isn't always good, but there's always something better around the corner. 'God put you on this earth for a reason,' she'd say. I thank her for that and am definitely proud of her. But above all, God inspires me."

Switching gears to music, Dijon continues, "I listen to R&B, country and rap - ain't nothing wrong with that. But my family mostly listened to gospel. When we're together, we always sing. When my granddaddy Jim Prioleau was alive, he and my grandmother, my Uncle Greg, my Aunt Robbie Lee, my father and me would all gather in the living room and sing 'Hush' in harmony. It would sound so pretty. Outside of my family, my favorite singers are Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams. I love Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. And I love Brandy so much that if I have a daughter, I'm going to name her Brandy! I also love guys like Usher, Omarion and Chris Brown, but mostly for their dancing...cuz I love to dance, too. I listen to all sorts of music and try to stay broadminded."

It was Dijon's father that entered him in the talent show of a scholarship fundraiser at the Township Auditorium in Columbia, South Carolina. 9 year-old Dijon took first place with a version of "His Eye is on The Sparrow" that earned him a roaring standing ovation. Among those standing was Kollosul Entertainment talent scout Will Boyles. "His presence was very natural," Boyles remembers. "He had such a mature voice for his age. I called Todd Muhammad (CEO of Kollosul Entertainment) and told him about Dijon. Once he met Dijon, Todd immediately wanted to sign him. His parents drove him up to New York to do his first demo a few months later. We've been working diligently with him ever since. Now we're here..."

"Here" would be signed to Verity Records with the strength of corporate powerhouse Sony/BMG/Jive behind him. "Here" would be a first video shoot at a sprawling home in Bel Air, California with actor Flex Alexander (Todd's brother) and the lovely Jamie Alexander (not related) playing his feuding parents in the clip for "A Kid's Point of View." "Here" is having your debut single reach the Top 5 on Bermuda's The Underground Network...from a test pressing! And, if this were a Six Flags rollercoaster, "Here" would be the point where Dijon has a minute to catch his breath before the first thrilling drop begins. What is he most looking forward to? Performing! “Singing live you never know what might happen,” he says with glee. “You just go with the flow!"

Citing one last number from his inspiring debut CD, A Kid's Point of View, we turn to "My Potential," an introspective and autobiographical piece that finds Dijon having a talk with God about The Calling he's not quite sure he's ready for - an understandable momentary lapse of confidence for one so simultaneously gifted and young. But talking to Dijon in the here and now, we see that every lesson he's learned from his family, his church, his Bible and his breadth of experience is pushing him forward with power, strength and a sense of purpose.

"I've learned that you don't sing because it's a job," Dijon concludes. "You sing because you want to. Singing is my dream. And everyone told me that if that's my dream, I have to go for it...not because anyone else wants me to but because I want to. And I do."