Shakaya were a two-piece girl group from Australia, that consisted of Simone Stacey and Naomi Wenitong, two Cairns, North Queensland based songwriters and performers. The two met at the Atsic Music College in 1999 while studying an Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander music course and they had both been writing individually before they met each other. The girls were initially discovered in Cairns by Reno Nicastro and Michael Pearson-Adams. Nicastro produced most of the girls' songs and gave them free studio time for two years. Shakaya established the duo as Australia's premier female urban pop act and saw them tour with Destiny's Child, Usher, Kylie Minogue and Ja Rule.
Naomi is now a member of the hip-hop group The Last Kinection. In April, 2013, Simone auditioned for
Season 2 of
The Voice (Australia) and after successfully having three judges turn their chairs she chose Seal as her coach. Simone was however unable to defeat Michelle Martinez in their Battle Round and was eliminated.