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India Arie (born India Arie Simpson on October 3, 1976 in Denver, Colorado) is an American neo soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She is of West Indian and African American descent. Her band is called India.Arie. India Arie learned the transforming power of music early in life, encouraged by both parents: her mother, Joyce, herself a former singer, and now India Arie's stylist; and her father, basketball star Ralph Simpson. She had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, Colorado, but her discovery of the guitar at college in Savannah, Georgia, led to a personal revelation about songwriting and performing. "When I started tapping into my own sensitivity, I started to understand people better. It was a direct result of writing songs," she said at the press release of her debut album, Acoustic Soul.

Co-founding an Atlanta-based independent music collective, her one-song turn on a locally released compilation led to a second-stage gig at the Lilith Fair, where a Universal/Motown music scout spotted her and made an introduction to Motown CEO Kedar Massenburg. Sidestepping all the devices of flavor-of-the-month record-making, Acoustic Soul acquainted listeners with a brave and eloquent new voice, drawing an uncommonly broad swath of listeners from hip-hop, neo-soul, blues, folk and classic troubadour-style singer/songwriting, all at once. The album, released in 2001, debuted at #10 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart and#3 on the R&B album chart. Within months, without the concentrated radio play that typically powers pop and rap albums, Acoustic Soul was certified double-platinum.

India Arie followed the success of her debut in 2002 with the release of Voyage to India. Debuting at #6 on the Billboard 200 and#1 on the R&B chart, the album eventually earned a Grammy for Best R&B Album. One of the singles from the record, "Little Things", also won a Grammy the same year for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Soon after its release, Voyage to India was certified gold.

India Arie's third studio album, "Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" will be released May 9th [1]. The project was originally planned to be double album, with the second disk covering love and politics, but it is unknown whether that album will now get a release or not.

On the September 2005 premiere of The Tyra Banks Show, Arie performed Just 4 2day. She wrote this song especially for Tyra's show. Arie also wrote What About The Child, a song that did not air but was made available as a $1 internet download to support child victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[2]

India Arie may also be heard on Stevie Wonder's album A Time To Love that came out on 18 Oct 2005. India Arie and Stevie Wonder duet on the title track A Time To Love; which is nominated in the 2006 48th Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration With Vocals.