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Discussion: The EPIC demand on "Her Name Is Nicole"
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Member Since: 7/28/2005
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Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), known professionally as Brandy, is an American R&B and pop singer-songwriter, record producer, fashion model, actress, and film producer. Born in McComb, Mississippi and discovered by Chris Stokes when she was a member of a youth singing group, Norwood released her self-titled debut album in 1994 at the age of fifteen.
Following a major success with Grammy Award-winning "The Boy Is Mine," a duet with singer Monica and her second album Never Say Never in 1998, a series of hit records established her position as one of the most successful of the new breed of urban R&B female vocalists to emerge in the mid-to late 1990s. The RIAA ranks Norwood as one of the best-selling female artists in American music history, having sold over 10.5 million copies of her four studio albums in the United States[1] and over 25 million albums worldwide, to date.[2][3] Additionally, she has won over 100 awards as a recording artist.[2]
While maintaining a recording career Norwood also gained fame for starring in several film and television productions, including popular UPN sitcom Moesha (1996-2001), a supporting role in the 1998 horror sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and starring roles in a 1997 version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and Double Platinum, two of television's highest rated special programs.[2]
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Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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Childhood
Brandy is the elder of two siblings born to Willie Norwood, a former R&B singer and choir director, and his wife Sonja Bates-Norwood, a former district manager for H&R Block, in McComb, Mississippi.[4] She is the sister of singer and actor William Raymond "Ray J" Norwood Jr, and a cousin of blues singer Bo Diddley and rapper Snoop Dogg.[5]
Through her father's work Brandy started singing at the Brookhaven church of Christ in Brookhaven, Mississippi at an early age of two. By the time she was four, Norwood's parents moved the family from McComb to Carson, California, in hopes of jump-starting careers for their children.[4] Inspired by a spontaneous onstange performance with Diddley and Little Richard in the Los Angeles Forum at the age of six,[4] Brandy began performing at many West Coast functions as part of a youth singing group and then, at 11, met manager Earl Harris and Chris Stokes who landed her gigs as a backing vocalist for the all-male groups such as Norment and the more successful teen R&B trio Immature. In 1993, while shopping around record companies, seeking a record deal, Norwood attended a party held by the Atlantic Recording Corporation. After performing in front of hundreds of people, an executive, Darryl Williams indicated interest in her persona and eventually offered Brandy a recording contract with Atlantic Records.
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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By the time Norwood was putting the final touches on her debut album with producers Keith Crouch and Darryl Williams, Atlantic Records decided to release "I Wanna Be Down" as the newcomer's first outing. Although the singer was barely satisfied with her label's debut single choice at the time of its release,[6] the song subsequently scored Brandy her first number-one hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, where it remained four weeks atop. Its success resulted in a remixed version of the song, containing new vocals by rappers Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo and MC Lyte, and boosted the sales of Norwood's second number-one hit "Baby," her first international top-10 entry. Her debut album Brandy, a collection of hip hop soul-oriented pop tunes, reached number 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number six on the Top R&B Albums chart. It eventually sold over four million copies domestically, and although the album's success was limited elsewhere, it produced another two top 10 hits with "Best Friend" and "Brokenhearted." Latter single, a re-done version with Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris, was recorded during Brandy's two-month stint as the opening act on the group's national tour.[7][8]
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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In 1997, Atlantic Records consulted upcoming producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins to contribute to Norwood's second album Never Say Never, which was released on June 9, 1998 stateside. Brandy co-wrote and produced six songs on the album which yielded her first number-one song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, "The Boy Is Mine," a duet with singer Monica. Exploiting the media's presumption of a rivalry between the two young singers, the song rose to one of the most successful records of the year,[9] spending record-breaking thirteen weeks on top of the Billboard charts, and eventually garnered the pair a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". The album's success was equally widespread, and following extensive airplay of the single overseas, the label released it globally during the summer. Never Say Never eventually became Brandy’s biggest album, selling over fourteen million copies worldwide; and critics rated the album highly, with Allmusic`s Stephen Thomas Erlewine praising Brandy and her team for wisely finding "a middle ground between Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige — it's adult contemporary with a slight streetwise edge."[10] Altogether the album spawned seven airplay and CD singles respectively, including Norwood's second number-one song, Diane Warren-penned "Have You Ever?."[11]
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Member Since: 11/2/2007
Posts: 491
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Quote:
Nicole will push her, she did that with Melody several times. Ok, Flopzinger will TRY to push RayVan.
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lmao rayvan
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Member Since: 8/9/2004
Posts: 21,889
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^
Stan Breakdown Alert!
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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After a lengthy hiatus that saw the end of the Moesha sitcom, and a flurry of tabloid headlines discussing her bout with dehydration, Norwood returned to music when she and brother Ray-J were asked to record a cover version of Phil Collins' 1980s hit "Another Day in Paradise" for the tribute album Urban Renewal: A Tribute to Phil Collins. Released as the album first single in Australia and Europe, the song became an instant international hit overseas, reaching the top 10 on the majority of all charts it appeared on.
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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During the following production of her third studio album, Norwood became romantically involved with producer Robert "Big Bert" Smith. The couple quietly "married" in the summer of 2001 but their union did not become known until February 2002—the same month Norwood revealed that she was expecting her first child. However, shortly after the birth of their daughter Sy'rai Iman Smith on June 16, 2002 — an event tracked by the four-part MTV reality series Special Delivery — Norwood "divorced" Smith. The "marriage" itself was later exposed as not of legal status but instead was used as a ruse to protect Brandy's image.[12] Norwood later stated that she regarded her relationship with Smith as a "spiritual union and true commitment to each other".[13] Full Moon, Norwood's third studio album, was released in March 2002. It once again comprised a row of R&B/Pop-oriented songs with adult contemporary, many of them co-created with Jerkins, Warryn Campbell and Mike City. While its lead single "What About Us?" became a worldwide top 10 hit, the album's title track failed to chart or sell noticeably outside the United States and the UK, where it managed to enter the Top 20 of the single chart. Media reception was generally lukewarm, with Rolling Stone saying that, "... this interminable (seventeen-track) product is frantic, faceless, fake-sexy R&B."[14] Still, the album was rather quietly and cautiously declared as a flop by the media. Brandy ignored the rumblings and instead settled further into motherhood. She began writing and producing for other artists, such as Kelly Rowland, Tarralyn Ramsey, and Toni Braxton within the coming year.
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Member Since: 12/12/2004
Posts: 17,160
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Someone's trying to get Blandy out of the supergroup. Its so ab NorMal.
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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Returning from yet another musical hiatus, Brandy's fourth album Afrodisiac was released on June 29, 2004 in North America, amidst both her weakest promotional blitz ever and the well-publicized termination of her short-lived business relationship with entertainment manager Benny Medina.[16] Norwood ended her contract with his Los Angeles-based Handprint Entertainment after less than a year of representation following controversies surrounding Medina's handling of the lead single "Talk About Our Love",[16] and failed talks of a purported co-headlining tour with R&B singer Usher.[16] Upon parting Norwood admitted her switch to Medina made her appreciate what she had with her mother, stating that "it was such a drastic change that it didn't work for me. Nobody out there can match her passion for me."[16] Despite the negative blitz, Timbaland-produced Afrodisiac became Brandy's most critically acclaimed album to date,[17] with some citing the "more consistently mature and challenging" effect of Timbaland on Brandy's music,[18] and others calling it "very listenable and emotionally resonant", comparing it to "Janet Jackson at her best".[19] Norwood described the CD as her most mature and versatile effort by then: "I just wanted to sing my heart out and connect with people. I wasn’t old enough or mature enough before to get into people’s hearts. Now I am."[20] Nevertheless Afrodisiac became the least successful album of Brandy's career: While it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 500,000 copies domestically, the album widely failed to chart or sell noticeably outside the United States.[21] "Talk About Our Love" reached number 6 in the UK but follow-up singles failed to obtain success on the pop charts.
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Member Since: 9/27/2005
Posts: 2,010
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Quote:
Originally posted by Patrick
Someone seriously needs to start a petition to get this made!
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Sign away!
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Banned
Member Since: 7/7/2008
Posts: 1,006
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Quote:
Originally posted by Delicious
Its VaneXXXa, Overcome.
but wait ... how will we even see Nicole, Brandy & Vanessa if RAVEN takes up the whole screen
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My Bad.
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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Quote:
Originally posted by Delicious
Someone's trying to get Blandy out of the supergroup. Its so ab NorMal
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No sis, I want Brandy IN. Brandy IS the supergroup.
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Member Since: 6/22/2005
Posts: 6,931
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Member Since: 6/21/2008
Posts: 2,497
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wtf is all this brandy talk
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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In June 2006, Norwood was cast as one of three talent judges on the first season of America's Got Talent, an amateur talent contest on NBC with executive producer Simon Cowell and host Regis Philbin. The broadcast was one of the most-watched programs of the summer,[24] and concluded on August 17, 2006 with the win of 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan.
In late 2006, TMZ broke the story that Brandy was involved in a wreck on a Los Angeles freeway on December 30. The accident claimed the life of 38-year-old Awatef Aboudihaj. An eyewitness tells TMZ Brandy was traveling at around 65 miles per hour but did not stop when traffic in front of her slowed. Brandy's vehicle struck the vehicle in front of her and triggered a four car crash. There is no evidence of drugs or alcohol and she was not arrested. Brandy was originally scheduled to return for a second season of the America's Got Talent in summer 2007, but eventually decided to step down, feeling that "she couldn't give the new season the attention and commitment it deserved".[25] She was replaced by reality TV star Sharon Osbourne.
Norwood is currently putting the finishing touches on her untitled fifth studio album, her first release on Epic Records.[26][27] The project involves producers and songwriters such as Rodney Jerkins,[28] The Neptunes,[29] Kerry "Krucial" Brothers,[30] Soundz,[31] Greg Curtis,[32] Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson,[33] Claude Kelly,[34] Kara DioGuardi,[35] Rockwilder,[36] Tim & Bob,[37] WyldCard, Bryan-Michael Cox, Midi Mafia,[26] and executive producer Brian Kennedy,[38] as well as other musicians such as Natasha Bedingfield[39] and violonist Josh Vietti.[40] Brandy is also said to be in the works of a soundtrack for a yet-untitled sci-fi/action video game for PlayStation Portable in which she will be providing the voice for the main character.[26]
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Member Since: 6/21/2008
Posts: 2,497
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tibbits
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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U.S.-American R&B/Soul singer Brandy is currently putting finishing touches on her forthcoming studio album. Originally expected to be released between 2006 and 2007 [6] under Ray J's record label Knockout Entertainment the album now has an indefinite release date for the end of 2008 under Epic Records [7][8].
Record producer Rodney "DarkChild" Jerkins has already confirmed the fact that he is working with her on the new project.[9][10] Besides Jerkins the project also involves producers and songwriters such as Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams,[11] Rockwilder,[12] Kerry "Krucial" Brothers,[13][14] Soundz,[15] Greg Curtis,[16] Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson,[17] Claude Kelly,[18] Kara DioGuardi,[19] Rockwilder,[20] Tim & Bob,[21] WyldCard, Bryan-Michael Cox, Midi Mafia,[22] and executive producer Brian Kennedy.[23] It also features other musicians such as Natasha Bedingfield[24][25][26] and violonist Josh Vietti.[27]
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Banned
Member Since: 7/28/2005
Posts: 9,146
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Quote:
Originally posted by yuminari.
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Ok i'm done.
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Member Since: 8/9/2004
Posts: 21,889
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Ban this Blandy freak plz.
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