Melanie Fiona was born to Guyanese immigrant parents, raised in Toronto, and traveled all the way to Los Angeles, California for a shot at music industry. Melanie Fiona Hallim, born July 4, 1983, appreciated the circumstances she was brought up. "Growing up in Toronto, it's a very multicultural city, and my parents are first-generation immigrants to Canada," she said in an interview. "I got a really broad perspective, being raised in two different cultures, being in the traditional West Indian household and growing up in North America. I really had my eyes open to a lot of different things in life, and I always had a love for music."