PHOTO COURTESY CITY WINERY PITTSBURGH

Shanice Wilson was just 3 years old when she first stepped onto a Pittsburgh stage, confidently taking the microphone and singing Donna Summer’s hit “Last Dance.” This month, she will do the same thing — but, unlike her toddler days, she’ll have her own hits to perform.

The R&B star, professionally known simply as Shanice, is the golden-voiced singer behind hits such as “I Love Your Smile,” an infectious R&B song that hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. She’ll return to her hometown on July 30 to perform at the intimate City Winery in the Strip District.

Wilson was born in McKees Rocks and began singing before she could talk. “When I was 7 months old, I used to sing the melodies to songs — we have [recordings of me singing] on cassette!” The infant Shanice would la-la through the choruses of “Benny and the Jets,” “Tell Me Something Good” and “Jungle Boogie,” a feat that attracted the attention of neighbors. “They would knock on the door and say, ‘we want to see the baby that can sing!’”

Wilson, whose parents are both musicians, lived in East Liberty as a child before moving with her mother and aunt to Los Angeles at age 8. Success came quickly; she appeared in a national television commercial (alongside Ella Fitzgerald) that same year and won the competition show “Star Search” at age 11, attracting the attention of hitmakers and record-label executives. Her first album, “Discovery,” was released when she was just 14 — and made a fan out of one of Wilson’s idols.

“I kept speaking it [on the way to Los Angeles]: I want to meet Michael Jackson,” Wilson says. Jackson later invited Wilson to the set of the “Moonwalker” video. “He loved my first album. I had a song called ‘No 1/2 Steppin’’” … [Jackson said] he would dance to that song every night.”

Wilson went on to collaborate with Jackson on several songs, including “Keep the Faith” and “Will You Be There?” In addition to her own hits, she became an in-demand background vocalist; a favorite of superstar producer Babyface, she’d be called in to add vocals to tracks by fellow performers including Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

“I still get excited when I hear myself on the radio. I was getting my nails done and they had ‘Unbreak My Heart,’” a No. 1 hit for Braxton on which Wilson sings backup, “playing in the nail shop — I wanted to scream, ‘Hey everybody, that’s me!’ It never gets old. I’m just honored and thankful.”

She parlayed her R&B success into a successful theater career, including a turn on Broadway; she was the first African American to play the role of Éponine in the hit “Les Miserables.” More recently, she has performed in cities across the county as Michelle Obama in “44: The Obama Musical,” a comedic take on the ascendance of Barack Obama to the national spotlight. “It shows the more romantic side of Michelle and Barack,” Wilson says.

A return to Pittsburgh will likely involve at least a quick stop in McKees Rocks, where Wilson’s face appears on a mural — emblazoned with the title of her biggest hit, “I Love Your Smile.” The mural sits just feet away from the site of Wilson’s first home. “It brought tears to my eyes” to see the mural for the first time, she says. “To go back home and to see that mural was beautiful. My family, they drive past it all the time … it’s a big deal. It was exciting.”

PHOTO BY SEAN COLLIER

The show at City Winery Pittsburgh, which has an early start time of 6 p.m., will feature music from throughout Wilson’s career — as well as nods to some of the artists that influenced her. “I’m going to do a couple of tributes — one is to Teena Marie, because Teena Marie was the first producer I ever worked with,” Wilson says. She’ll also offer a tribute to Minnie Riperton, the vocal virtuoso known for her five-octave range; Wilson has been compared to Riperton, and covered her hit “Lovin’ You” on “Inner Child,” the 1991 album that featured “I Love Your Smile.”

While Wilson has been making a number of solo concert appearances recently — and is en route to Japan for shows with the influential songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis — she is particularly excited for a homecoming.

“Going back home is special.”