# Kristinia DeBarge
**Kristinia DeBarge** (born 1990) is an American pop and R&B singer and actress from [Pasadena, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/pasadena-california), best known for her 2009 debut single "Goodbye," which reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and for her debut album *Exposed*. She is the daughter of [James DeBarge](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-debarge), a member of the 1980s Motown family group DeBarge, and she was developed and signed by the producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds on his Soda Pop label under Island Def Jam.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990 in Pasadena, California[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368) |
| Family | Daughter of James DeBarge, youngest member of the R&B group DeBarge[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368) |
| Breakthrough | "Goodbye" peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2009 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA in April 2011[2](https://news.chart2000.com/music/xj7nux.htm) |
| Debut album | *Exposed*, released July 28, 2009 on Soda Pop/Island; 11 tracks, 39:47[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1615231) |
| Mentor | Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, whom she met at fourteen and worked with for four years before signing[4](https://www.bandsintown.com/de/a/274886-kristinia-debarge) |
| Later work | Second album *Young & Restless* (2013), EP *Thinkin Out Loud* (2016), acting roles from 2012 onward[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/74232-kristinia-debarge/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm1929906/) |
## Early life and American Juniors
DeBarge grew up in a musical family. Her father, James DeBarge, sang in DeBarge, the [Grand Rapids, Michigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-rapids-michigan) group whose 1980s hits included "All This Love," "Time Will Reveal," and "Rhythm of the Night."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368) • [7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4054/charts-awards/billboard-singles) When she was twelve, she told her father she wanted to become a singer; he took her to a studio, where the two wrote and recorded a song that kept her working until early morning, a test of her determination that convinced him she was serious.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm1929906/)
Her first national exposure came on American Juniors, the short-lived children's spinoff of [American Idol](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-idol), whose first season was also its final one. She failed to reach the Top Ten round; AllMusic's Andy Kellman notes the early exit spared her from having to perform a song titled "Cheeseburgers for Me," and the show launched none of its finalists to [Kelly Clarkson](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelly-clarkson)-level fame.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1615231)
## Exposed and "Goodbye"
At fourteen she met Babyface and spent the next four years developing her voice and songwriting with him.[4](https://www.bandsintown.com/de/a/274886-kristinia-debarge) The result was a deal with Def Jam and its Island-funded Soda Pop imprint, the label's first release being her debut album *Exposed*, issued on July 28, 2009.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1615231) Babyface had a hand in five of the album's eleven songs, and other contributors included the production duo the Jam and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1615231)
The lead single "Goodbye" was a playful pop-R&B kiss-off built on a sample of Steam's 1969 hit "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2009/08/04/exposed/4103d008-0e00-427e-a5f4-dc78c0bd1be9/) It entered Billboard's Pop 100 Airplay chart at number 74 in April 2009, a first chart appearance for the [DeBarge family](https://www.edgepedia.org/debarge-family) name since 1982, and climbed to number 15 on the Hot 100 in May, spending 16 weeks on that chart.[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2009/BB-2009-04-18.pdf) • [2](https://news.chart2000.com/music/xj7nux.htm) The single also charted in Sweden (number 26) and the Netherlands (number 28) and was certified Platinum by the RIAA in April 2011; it finished at number 76 on Mediabase's 2009 [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) year-end chart.[2](https://news.chart2000.com/music/xj7nux.htm) • [10](https://pdf.mediabase.com/yearend09/yearend09.pdf)
Two further singles followed, "Sabotage" and "Future Love."[11](https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/30272917702) Reviews of *Exposed* were generally positive. AllMusic described it as an album directed at older tweens and teens that never presented DeBarge as more worldly than an average 19-year-old; the Washington Post's Allison Stewart wrote that it succeeded mostly because it lacked the overproduction of DeBarge's gimmick-driven peers, while singling out the piano-driven ballad "Doesn't Everybody Want to Fall in Love" and the dance-pop "Cried Me a River."[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1615231) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2009/08/04/exposed/4103d008-0e00-427e-a5f4-dc78c0bd1be9/) On the review-aggregation site Album of the Year, *Exposed* holds a critic score of 68 based on three reviews.[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/74232-kristinia-debarge/)
In 2009 she opened for [Britney Spears](https://www.edgepedia.org/britney-spears) on the North American run of "The Circus Starring: Britney Spears" world tour, performing songs including "Goodbye," "Sabotage," and "It's Gotta Be Love," and she received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Artist.[6](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm1929906/) • [12](https://phillyist.com/2009/09/03/phillyist_rewind_kristinia_debarge.html) That November the young-women's retailer Wet Seal announced a partnership with her.[6](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm1929906/)
## Later music and acting
DeBarge worked on a second studio album from 2012 onward, and *Young & Restless* appeared in 2013, followed by the EP *Thinkin Out Loud* in 2016.[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/74232-kristinia-debarge/) She also released the single "Cry Wolf" independently, with its video premiered on VEVO, and appeared on Redrama's single "Let Go," which reached number 3 on the Finnish chart.[6](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm1929906/) Her most recent single noted in the sources is "Bet," featuring the singer [Eric Bellinger](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-bellinger), released in early June 2021.[4](https://www.bandsintown.com/de/a/274886-kristinia-debarge)
Her acting career began with *Christmas in Compton* (2012), in which she played Lola alongside [Keith David](https://www.edgepedia.org/keith-david), Omar Gooding, Eric Roberts, and [Sheryl Lee Ralph](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheryl-lee-ralph). She played the female lead [Anastasia](https://www.edgepedia.org/anastasia) in Nick Cannon's *School Dance* (2014) and the lead Melody in *The Mint*, and in early 2016 she joined the WE tv reality series *Growing Up Hip Hop* with Boogie Dash, Egypt Criss, TJ Mizell, Angela Simmons, and Romeo Miller.[6](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm1929906/)
## References
1. [Kristinia DeBarge Biography, AllMusic (Andy Kellman)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kristinia-debarge-mn0001061368)
2. [Chart run for "Goodbye" (2009), chart2000 news database](https://news.chart2000.com/music/xj7nux.htm)
3. [Exposed review and album details, AllMusic (Andy Kellman)](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1615231)
4. [Kristinia DeBarge artist profile, Bandsintown](https://www.bandsintown.com/de/a/274886-kristinia-debarge)
5. [Kristinia Debarge discography, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/74232-kristinia-debarge/)
6. [Kristinia DeBarge biography and credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm1929906/)
7. [DeBarge Biography, AllMusic (Greg Prato)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4054/charts-awards/billboard-singles)
8. [EXPOSED review, The Washington Post (Allison Stewart, August 3, 2009)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2009/08/04/exposed/4103d008-0e00-427e-a5f4-dc78c0bd1be9/)
9. [Billboard Charts, April 18, 2009 issue, Chart Beat](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2009/BB-2009-04-18.pdf)
10. [Top 40 Year-End Chart 2009, Mediabase](https://pdf.mediabase.com/yearend09/yearend09.pdf)
11. [Kristinia DeBarge biography, Universal Music France](https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/30272917702)
12. [Phillyist Rewind: Kristinia DeBarge, September 3, 2009](https://phillyist.com/2009/09/03/phillyist_rewind_kristinia_debarge.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B singers, 1990s and 2000s › R&B singers of the 2000s › Surnames A to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license