Toni Romiti

A swaggering, coolly confidant vocalist, Toni Romiti’s hypnotic, downtempo-influenced R&B belies her bold stage persona and outspoken attitude. Emerging initially as a star on social media during her early college days, Romiti walked away from a promising basketball career after her single “Nothing on Me” blew up online. The daughter of an Italian-American musician father and African-American mother, Romiti was born Antoinette Nicole Romiti-Coleman in 1995 and grew up in Chicago. From a young age she knew she wanted to sing, listening to a broad array of music from Michael Jackson and the Beatles to Britney Spears and Chris Brown. She also imbibed the pop and EDM albums favored by her older siblings. By her teens she was posting cover songs online, and eventually began writing and uploading her own material. At the same, however, she was a talented athlete and left high school with a basketball scholarship to the University of South Carolina Upstate. While there, she continued to pursue her music, and kept up a robust social media presence on Vine. In 2014, her song “Nothing on Me” went viral. The success prompted Romiti to make the choice to leave school, forgoing her basketball career, and return to Chicago to focus on her music. Two independent EPs followed, the latter of which launched the viral hit “Imma Dog Too.” The song even caught the attention of celebrities like Kylie Jenner, who promoted the track online and helped solidify Romiti as a hot property. Buoyed by her growing fan base, she signed with RCA, and in 2018 she delivered her debut major-label EP, Tomboy, featuring the singles “Never Thought” and “Options.” ~ Matt Collar