The girls were in Sydney in August 2001 and that morning they had a showcase lined up at Sony Music. It was a small, intimate room where they had to perform and they performed four songs. At the end of it, they walked out of the room and within five minutes Sony Music came back and told them they were signed. On 18 January 2002, the duo released their first and debut song called "Stop Calling Me". It is a song about stalking situations based on a real-life experience that they and their male and female friends have had. The song entered the charts at number forty-five on 25 February 2002. The song rose up the charts from then on and because of more airplay the song managed to peak into the top ten at number five.SHAKAYA - STOP CALLING ME (SINGLE) (287538). Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 3 June 2007. It became Shakaya's biggest hit of their career, being certified platinum by ARIA,ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2002. ARIA. Retrieved 3 June 2007. becoming the forty-third highest selling single for 2002,ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2002 Singles. ARIA. Retrieved 3 June 2007. and being nominated for the "Highest Selling Single" for the 2002 ARIA Awards."Artist: Shakaya ARIA Awards information" . ARIA Awards. Retrieved 5 June 2007. The second song released was "Sublime", released in Australia on 17 May 2002 and became the duo's second top twenty single peaking at number nineteen in June 2002."SHAKAYA - SUBLIME (SINGLE) (287539)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 3 June 2007. "Cinderella" was the third and last song released by the duo; it became their third top twenty single, peaking at number sixteen,"SHAKAYA - CINDERELLA (SINGLE) (287536)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 3 June 2007. and it was certified gold by ARIA. Their debut self-titled album Shakaya was finally released in Australia on 18 October 2002 and was received well, debuting in the charts at number five on 28 October 2002."Charts 28 October 2002". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 3 June 2007. The album fell to number forty-eight the next week and only spent seven weeks in the top one hundred. On 14 April 2003 the band released a cover version of the Michael Jackson hit "The Way You Make Me Feel"; the girls said it was amazing to cover of one of his songs because he is the King of Pop."Shakaya Release New Single" . Shakaya.com.au. Retrieved 5 June 2007. The song had a minor success on the charts peaking at number twenty-one and staying in the top fifty for seven weeks."SHAKAYA - THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL (SINGLE) (287537)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
