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Brandy's Biography Her debut album Brandy February 11, 1979(McComb, Mississippi, USA)

Background:

"The hardest part has been maintaining a small head and remaining down to earth. So many people try to make you more than you are." Brandy

African-American pop/R&B singer and actress Brandy became famous for her work in her second studio album titled Never Say Never (1998). Her great collaborating single with Monica, "The Boy Is Mine," became No. 1 hit in 1998. In addition to dominating the charts' top position all over the worlds, the song garnered Brandy a Grammy award, two BMI Pop awards and a MTV Video Music award. Other hits like "Top Of The World," "Have You Ever," "Almost Doesn't Count" and "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)," helped the album receive a multi-platinum certification, and sold over 9 million copies worldwide to date. Formerly, Brandy began to make a name for herself with her self-titled debut album, Brandy, in 1994. With the hit single "Baby," the singer took home a Human Rhythm Hip-Hop Remix Award and a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award, while another hit "I Wanna Be Down" handed her a Billboard Music Video Award, three Soul Train awards and a MTV Video Music award. The album it self netted two Soul Train 'Lady of Soul' Awards. From 1995-1997, Brandy also won such awards as a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award, other three Soul Train Awards, two Billboard Awards, two NAACP Image award, two Blockbuster Entertainment awards, an American Music Award, as well as a Lady Of Soul Entertainer of the Year award. In 1996, Brandy also drew the attention of music listeners with her outstanding work for Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, "Sittin' Up in My Room," in which she nabbed two MTV movie awards and a Music Television award.

Brandy, whose favorite movie is The Bodyguard, has established her reputation as a popular actress after having title character in the UPN's well-liked sitcom "Moesha" (1996). Delivering a fine performance, Brandy picked up the 1996 NAACP Image Award. She is also known for portraying the best friend of Jennifer Love Hewitt's character, lively Karla Wilson, in the teen box-office smash I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), where she won the 1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Award.

Off screen, 5' 7" inch tall Brandy became one of UNICEF's international spokes persons for youth. "One Voice," Brandy's single selected from Never Say Never LP, was made the official song of the organization. As for her private life, Brandy was romantically linked to member of Boyz II Men, Wanya Morris (dated in 1995), L.A. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (dated in 1996) and rapper-turned-preacher-turned-rapper Mase before headlining the media with her controversial "marriage" with former lover, music producer/songwriter Robert Smith. After the couple divorced in 2002, Smith claimed that he and Brandy did not legally get married in the summer of 2001 as reported. In 2004, Brandy, who loves McDonald fries and cheeseburgers, reportedly to have been proposed with a US$1 million engagement ring by the member of the Los Angeles Clippers, Quentin Richardson, at a private reception in Los Angeles with family and friends. Brandy and her fiancé currently live in Scottsdale, Arizona.


B-Rocka

Childhood and Family:

In McComb, Mississippi, Brandy Rayana Norwood was born on February 11, 1979, to proud parents, Willie Ray Norwood Sr. and Sonja Norwood. The oldest of two siblings, Brandy has one younger brother named Willie Ray Norwood Jr., an actor and a singer born on January 18, 1981. She attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California in 1997.

Brandy, whose nickname is B-Rocka, was inspired to become a singer at a young age. Brandy began singing at age 2 when she performed her first solo in a church. Two years later, her family moved to Carson, the suburbs of LA, where her father got a job as a music director. By the time Brandy was seven, the big fan of Whitney Houston had told her dad that she wanted to pursue music professionally. She then started to hone her craft by performing in several award events as a part of youth singing group, and appeared in a talent show in the year of 1990. The same year, Brandy was named Darling of the Brotherhood Crusade, serenading Arsenio Hall.

In July 2001, Brandy secretly "married" record producer Robert Smith, but the union didn't become known until February of 2002. The couple welcomed their baby daughter named Sy'rai Iman Smith on June 16, 2002. However, soon after the birth of their daughter, Brandy divorced Smith. Later on, Smith revealed that he never married Brandy. He stated that their marriage it was all a hoax to help the singer protect her image after falling pregnant.


Never Say Never

Career:

After a performance in a talent show in 1990, eleven-year-old Brandy caught the eye of a record producer who took her to a wide array of record companies and landed her backup vocalist gigs for two groups namely Norment and the more successful teen R&B trio Immature. By the time Brandy was fourteen, she had signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. In 1993, Brandy also made her television series debut when she played the role of Danesha Turrell in ABC sitcom "Thea" (1993).
Unfortunately, the shows were axed after only eight months. Formerly, Brandy received her acting exposure with small role of Brandy Beechwood in Arachnophobia (1990).

A year after signing a record deal, Brandy released her self-titled debut album, Brandy, in 1994. The album consisted of such hit singles as "Baby," "Best Friend," "I Wanna Be Down" and "Brokenhearted," which stayed on the music charts for weeks. Within two months of its release, Brandy reached a gold status, and sold over 7 million copies to date.

Brandy's great work began blossoming in 1995 when she took home several awards, including a Nickelodeon Kids Choice for favorite singer, two Soul Train for Best New Artist and Best R&B/Soul Artist, as well as three Billboard for Best R&B Female, Best New Artist and Best New Clip for single" I Wanna Be Down. " In the following year, Brandy continued her enormous success by picking up such awards as her second Nickelodeon Kids Choice for Favorite Song, "Baby," five Soul Train 'Lady of Soul' in the categories of Best New Artist of the Year, Best R&B/Soul Album of The Year, Best R&B/Soul New Artist, Best R&B/Soul Song of The Year and Best R&B/Single for "I Wanna Be Down," a MTV Video Music for "I Wanna Be Down," and was named Lady Of Soul Entertainer of the Year. Moreover, Brandy won an American Music for Favorite New Artist Soul/R&B, a NAACP Image for Best New Artist, and two Blockbuster Entertainment for Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite Female for New Artist. The track "Baby" received a nomination for Best R&B Single at the 1996 Grammy Awards.

In addition to her work in Brandy, sixteen-year-old Brandy also recorded her collaboration with Lenny Kravitz for the Batman Forever soundtrack, but the sensual torch song was never launched due to its mature theme and content. She next worked with the superstar lineup like Chaka Khan, Tamia and Gladys Knight for the single "Missing You," in the Set It Off soundtrack. The song however was a moderate hit, and only reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart though it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. In 1996, Brandy scored a huge hit with the "Sittin' Up in My Room," a single from the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. The track not only topped the Pop rating charts, but it also netted two MTV movie for Best Song and Best Musical Performance, as well as a Music Television for Best Movie Song.

In 1997, Brandy was honored a NAACP Image for Outstanding New Artist and a Soul Train 'Lady of Soul' for The Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year.

Brandy also made her return to the small screen in 1996 when she was cast in the lead role of young teen Moesha "Mo" Mitchell in the UPN sitcom "Moesha" (1996). The series became a hit and helped Brandy launch her career as a television star. Brandy's fine performance handed her a NAACP Image for Outstanding Youth Actress in a Television Series in 1996. She followed the triumph with another starring role opposite mentor Whitney Houston, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters in the ABC remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997). The television movie was also popular and broke rating records of being watched by over a million people, as well as received nine Emmy nominations. In 1998, Brandy made her wide screen debut in the franchise-flick I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), portraying sassy Karla Wilson, the best friend of the lead actress Jennifer Love Hewitt's character. Delivering a good acting, Brandy won the 1998 Blockbuster Entertainment for Favorite Actress.

In the mid 1998, Brandy's next big breakthrough arrived when she launched her second studio album titled Never Say Never. Her duet with fellow artist Monica in the lead single, "The Boy Is Mine," was quickly became a hit. The single remained topped the Billboard charts for a consecutive seven weeks, spent thirteen weeks a top the Hot 100 and dominated many other Billboard charts around the world. "The Boy Is Mine" subsequently launched Brandy to stardom status when it won a Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, two BMI Pop and MTV Video Music. Combined with other hit singles spawned from the album, including "Top Of The World," "Have You Ever," "Almost Doesn't Count" and "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)," the album itself received platinum certification five times, as well as earned nominations for Best Album Of The Year at Grammy and Rhythm and Blues Awards. Moreover, Never Say Never has sold over 9 million pieces internationally to date.

1999 marked as Brandy's busy year. Brandy made her way back to the small screen when she played the role of 18-year-old girl named Kayla Harris, whose mother dumped her at birth in search of stardom, in director Robert Allan Ackerman television movie Double Platinum (1999), starring opposite Diana Rose. She also appeared on VH1's Divas Live with such big names as Faith Hill, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige, started her worldwide tour and began filming new episodes for her popular sitcom, Moesha. Brandy also tried her hand in modeling when she landed a large number of endorsement deals with Cover Girl cosmetics, modeled for DKNY Jeans advertisement campaign and appeared in ad campaigned for Candies shoes.

Brandy was back to recording studio in 2001 when she teamed up with her brother, Ray J, to remake Phil Collins' 1980s hit, "Another Day in Paradise," for Urban Renewal: A Tribute to Phil Collins. The single was internationally released and became popular. It peaked at No. 1 in the charts in several countries like UK, Germany and Australia. Brandy's third album, Full Moon, hit the music shelves in the following year. In the album, she worked with Rodney Jerkins in "What About Us" and with Mike City for "Full Moon." Though Full Moon sold over a million copies in the U.S. and around 2.5 million copies outside the state, the media declared it as a flop. The same year, Brandy also provided voice for Leah in Warner Brothers animated film Osmosis Jones (2001).

After her a few years absent, Brandy released her next album, Afrodisiac, in 2004. The album premiered at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 Album charts and reached No. 4 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts. The single "Talk About Our Love," however, failed to top the charts, landing at No. 36 on the Billboard Top 100 charts and No. 16 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Single & Tracks, while the second track "Who Is She 2 U" never made it out of the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100. The title single "Afrodisiac" launched worldwide as a single, and became the Top 20 hit in Britain. In spite of the low-charting singles, the album was considered as Brandy's most critically-acclaim album to date. Rolling Stone and People magazines even rated Afrodisiac four stars, with Rolling Stone comparing it to "Janet Jackson at her best…" In the late 2004, Brandy ended up her contract with Atlantic Records and began looking for a new record deal.

Recently, Brandy was signed to her brother's newly formed record label, Knockout Entertainment. She is in search of labels to distribute her upcoming projects. Brandy also proclaimed that she would work in the studio in the summer of 2005, rejoining Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and working with producers Rich Harrison, Tim "Timbaland" Moseley and Warryn Campbell. On August, Brandy reunited with rapper/ producer Kanye West for West's sophomore album "Late Registration" by singing the chorus of "Bring Me Down."


Awards:

• Stellar Gospel Music: Most Notable Achievement, The Norwood Kids Foundation, 2001
• BMI Pop: Almost Doesn't Count, 2000
• BMI Pop: The Boy Is Mine, 2000
• Grammy: Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, "The Boy Is Mine," 1999
• Blockbuster Entertainment: Favorite Actress, Horror, 1999
• BMI Pop: The Boy Is Mine, 1999
• MTV Video Music: The Boy Is Mine, 1998
• MTV Movie: Best Song, Sitting Up In My Room, 1997
• Soul Train 'Lady of Soul': The Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year, 1997
• NAACP Image: Outstanding New Artist, 1997
• NAACP Image: Outstanding Youth Actress in a Television Series, 1996
• Blockbuster Entertainment: Favorite Female Artist, R&B, 1996
• Blockbuster Entertainment: Favorite Female-New Artist, 1996
• Music Television: Best Movie Song, Sittin' Up In My Room, 1996
• NAACP Image: Best New Artist, 1996
• American Music: Favorite New Artist Soul/R&B, 1996
• MTV Movie: Best Musical Performance, Waiting to Exhale, 1996
• Lady Of Soul Entertainer of the Year: 1996
• MTV Video Music: I Wanna Be Down, 1996
• Soul Train 'Lady of Soul': Best R&B/Single, Solo, I Wanna Be Down, 1996
• Soul Train 'Lady of Soul': Best R&B/Soul Song of The Year, I Wanna Be Down, 1996
• Soul Train 'Lady of Soul': Best R&B/Soul New Artist, Brandy, 1996
• Soul Train 'Lady of Soul': Best R&B/Soul Album of The Year, Solo, Brandy, 1996
• Soul Train 'Lady of Soul': Best New Artist of the Year, 1996
• Nickelodeon Kids Choice: Favorite Song, Baby, 1996
• Billboard: Best New Artist, R&B, 1995
• Billboard: Best R&B Female, 1995
• Soul Train: Best New Artist, 1995
• Soul Train: Best R&B/Soul Artist, Female, I Wanna Be Down, 1995
• Billboard Music Video: Best New Clip, Rap, I Wanna Be Down, 1995
• Human Rhythm Hip-Hop Remix: Best New Clip R&B/Urban, Baby, 1995
• Nickelodeon Kids Choice: Favorite Singer, 1995