After her high school years, she chose to study
criminal justice. She was previously a cheerleader for the
Houston Rockets NBA team and backup dancer for various R&B and rap artists from
Houston, Texas. During her stint as a cheerleader, she was also working on her lyrical skills and even added rapping to her dance performances. Charles Chavez, founder of Latium Entertainment and producer of such artists as
Baby Bash,
Frankie J, and
Chamillionaire, believed that she would have potential as a successful musical artist and introduced her to producers Happy Perez and Play N Skillz. Under Latium, she was initially signed as a rapper but later focused on singing, which she had frequently done for hooks on songs. Natalie made her debut as a singer with her hit 2005 single "
Goin' Crazy"; the song reached #13 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Her self-titled debut album
Natalie was released in May 2005 and reached #16 on the U.S.
Billboard 200 albums chart. Her second single from the album, "Energy" (featuring Baby Bash), peaked at #66. The third & final single "Where Are You" (featuring Justin Roman) failed to chart. A fourth track, "Emptiness" managed to chart on
Billboard's R&B Singles chart, although it was not released as a single. She also was the opening act of the 2005 Wango Tango music festival in
Anaheim, California hosted by
Los Angeles, California radio station
KIIS and the sold-out 2005 Latium Tour of
Baby Bash and
Frankie J. Zalia Cosmetics also recruited her as a model. She has also collaborated with Baby Bash on the songs "Bubbalicious" and "Throwed Off" from his 2005 album
Super Saucy. She also has appeared on
Chamillionaire's
The Sound of Revenge in the song "Think I'm Crazy". She also has appeared on
Poetic Thug's
Da One & Only in the song "My Destiny" and
Latino Heat in the song "Down South Playaz". Natalie's second album,
Everything New, was released in 2006. ==Television==