Now imagine that it’s a few years later whenyou see that same little girl up on a stage. Only she’s not so little anymore,she’s all grown up and she’s hot! Introducing singer, songwriter, artist, andall around entertainer, Jazs Lavonne, born and bred in the small city ofJackson, Michigan, she seems to have a lot to prove.

Jazs Lavonne, whose real name is Jasmine Harris, hasalways been a little bit rough around the edges. The name Jasmine means'delicate flower' but those who know her best knows that she's everything butdelicate. As a youngster, Jazs never worried about 'breaking a nail' or'getting her clothes dirty' when she played street hockey or tackle footballwith the boys "Yeah, I'll admit I'm a little bit of a tomboy." shelaughs. “It’s just one of many sides to me. It surprises most people when theymeet me. They always see this nerdy, quiet girl and then I’m tackling orgetting tackled. ”

So don't underestimate her, though Jazs, may come offas being shy and sweet at first glance but there’s something powerful hiddenbehind that sweet smile. Once she steps on stage she explodes and her calmpersona dissolves as new sensual energy takes over. A self-taught singer anddancer at the ripe age of twelve, Jazs Lavonne showed a spark of her musicalaptitude and the girl quickly became a natural entertainer. At first sheperformed only in the quiet of her own home but soon she desired somethingmore.

Although more than ready and anxious to perform invenues beyond her bathroom shower, she didn't begin entering talent shows untillater, when Jazs moved to Florida in the late winter of 2004. Here, she joineda dance team known as Black Pearl which earned a respectable reputation bydelivering stunning performances and winning competition after competition.While dancing in this group Jazs began sharpening and re-inventing her on styleof dance by studying the diverse styles of her friends. Now representing forthe Midwest and the south, Jazs Lavonne is becoming one of today’s mostpromising up and coming artist.

During her time with Black Pearl, Jazs also worked onexpanding artistic ability by designing websites other graphic work. Shepracticed building fan sites for the group as well as musical artists, DJs andvarious other people that they danced for along the way. “It was a great way tonetwork and meet some awesome artists. Most of us work together sometimes onmusic and dancing, so it’s really great!” Jazs also does a lot of her owngraphic and web work, all on top of working on her music. “It’s a lot lessexpensive for me to do it myself, get what I want and how I want it! It alsohelps me expand my creativity.”

Having three brothers and a mother to look out for,her drive is for more than her own selfish desires. Growing up, Jazs had toovercome many obstacles, including teetering dangerously on the linehomelessness and battling off a few antagonists. In her early years, Jazswasn't very popular in school "People used to tease me and treat me like asocial outcast all because I couldn't afford certain things. That's why Iturned to music; it was like my only escape from the world." Aftercountless encounters with bullies and failures to 'make things right', Jazseventually learned that the best thing to do is to keep your head up."Haters are like leeches, they'll stick to you until they suck everythingout of you. In order to survive they need something to feed on, and they feedoff of your despair. If you let them get to you, they'll suck you dry. They'lltake away your dreams and everything you ever hoped to accomplish. If you standup against them they'll eventually weaken and die out. The only thing you cando is keep your head up and try to stay strong." Drawing from personalexperiences, her music reflects on certain events of her life and possiblyrelatable to even yours.

While Jazs Lavonne is often classified as anR&B/pop artist, she likes to be open-minded and experiment with differentsounds. “I grew up around many different sounds and gained an appreciation forall types of music. I don’t want to limit myself to just one genre of music, Iwant to be the type of artist that branches out universally.” Never being oneto “stay in the norm”, Jazs Lavonne, herself, is as unconventional it gets.“There are many different sides to me and I want to show them off.” Shepromises that her eccentric personality and diverse musical tastes will shinetrue in her albums.

When asked how she feels about competition in theindustry she replies. "The truth is that the business is very competitiveand there’s a lot of great talent out there, so I want to be different, someonewho is willing to stand out and not be afraid of seeming ‘Weird’. If you wantsuccess in this business, you must stay focused on your goal, work hard andgive it everything you've got plus more. That’s exactly what I intend todo." This little lady is working hard to become one of the industrieshottest emerging artists. "I've spent all of my life dreaming; now it'stime for me to live my dreams." Through her music Jazs Lavonne is workinghard to prove that dreams do come true.