Description: This is an original 8x10 press photo of Whitney Houston and Brandy in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, which was aired on the Wonderful World of Disney. BACKGROUND Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, and philanthropist. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded entertainers and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 220 million records worldwide. Houston’s crossover appeal on the popular music charts and her performances influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers, as well as popular culture.[1][2] Known for her vocal delivery and distinctive timbre,[3] Rolling Stone ranked Houston second on their list of the greatest singers of all time. Her life and career have been the subject of multiple documentaries and television specials. Houston began singing at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. She is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on Billboard Hot 100 since 1988.[a] Her third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990), yielded two US number-one singles, the title track and "All the Man That I Need". Houston's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 received widespread media coverage. Houston entered the film industry with the romantic thriller film The Bodyguard (1992), which despite its mixed reviews became the tenth highest-grossing film to that date. Its soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and remains the bestselling soundtrack album of all time. The lead single "I Will Always Love You" won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became the best-selling female single in history. Houston went on to star and record soundtracks for the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). The former soundtrack scored her 11th Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", while the latter, produced by Houston herself, became the bestselling gospel album of all time. As a film producer, she produced the series The Princess Diaries and The Cheetah Girls, and movies Cinderella (1997) and Sparkle (2012). Following the success of My Love Is Your Love (1998), Houston's first studio album in eight years, she renewed her contract with Arista Records for $100 million in 2001, one of the biggest recording deals of all time.[4] However, her next album Just Whitney (2002) received mixed reviews, while her drug use and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown began to overshadow her music career. After divorcing Brown, Houston returned to the top of the Billboard 200 chart with her final album, I Look to You (2009). In February 2012, Houston accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards, which took place the day following her death, and was covered internationally along with her memorial service. Her assets amounted to $250 million, earned over a 25-year career.[5] Early life and familyNew Hope Baptist Church, where Houston sang in the choir as a child Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963, at Presbyterian Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, to Emily "Cissy" (née Drinkard) and John Russell Houston Jr.[6] Cissy is a Grammy-winning gospel and soul singer who was a member of The Drinkard Singers and the founder of The Sweet Inspirations before becoming a solo artist.[7][8] John was a former Army serviceman who later became an administrator under the Newark mayor. Houston was given the nickname "Nippy" by her father.[9] Houston's parents are both African-American. On her mother's side, Houston was alleged to have partial Dutch and Native American ancestry.[10] Through Cissy, Houston was a cousin of singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick as well as a distant cousin of opera singer Leontyne Price. Aretha Franklin became an "honorary aunt" while Darlene Love was Houston's godmother.[11][12][13] Through her father, her great-great-grandfather Jeremiah Burke Sanderson was an American abolitionist and advocate for the civil and educational rights of black Americans during the mid-19th century.[14][15] Houston had three older brothers, paternal half-brother John III,[16] maternal half-brother Gary, a former basketball player and singer,[17] and Michael.[18] The family later relocated to a suburban area of East Orange three years following the Newark race riots of 1967. Houston was raised in the Baptist faith by her parents and joined the church choir of the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark at age five where she also learned to play piano.[19][20] She later recalled being exposed to the Pentecostal church nearby as well. Houston made her solo performance debut at New Hope singing the hymn "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah" at age 12.[21] When Houston became a teenager, she told her mother that she wanted to pursue a career in music. Throughout her teenage years, she would be taught how to sing by Cissy.[22] Along with her mother, cousins and Franklin, Houston was influenced by singers such as Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack.[23] Houston attended Franklin Elementary School (now Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts) before transferring to Mount Saint Dominic Academy by sixth grade.[21] Career1978–1984: Career beginnings Houston's professional career began when she joined her mother's band as a background singer during Cissy's performances on the cabaret club circuit in New York. Houston received her first standing ovation at Manhattan's Town Hall after singing "Tomorrow" from the Broadway musical, Annie, in February 1978.[24] Houston was the featured vocalist in Michael Zager's "Life's a Party" and began a career as a session vocalist backing up artists like her mother and Zager before being assigned to back up artists such as Lou Rawls and Chaka Khan.[25][26] Houston became a fashion model in 1980 and a year later, became one of the first black models to appear on the cover of a fashion magazine landing a cover of Seventeen.[27] With her looks and girl-next-door charm, Houston became one of the most sought-after teen models in the country, later appearing in fashion spreads for Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Young Miss.[26] Houston continued her music career during this period, recording demos of gospel recordings with producer Steven Abdul Khan Brown.[28] Houston's vocal talent made her sought after for recording deals, but were turned down by her mother, who insisted Houston finished school.[25][29] In September 1981, she signed with Tara Productions, under the advice of her cousin Dionne, and hired Gene Harvey as her manager.[30] Daniel Gittelman and Seymour Flics would also be part of the team to work closely with Houston.[31][32] In 1982, Houston was featured as the lead vocalist on the song "Memories" by the band Material on their album, One Down. Houston's vocals were critically raved by the likes of Robert Christgau, who in his The Village Voice review of One Down called her contribution on the song, "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard."[33] In early 1983, Houston was the featured lead vocalist on the song, "Eternal Love", co-written by Paul Jabara, and featured on his album, Paul Jabara & Friends.[34] After auditions with CBS and Elektra Records, Houston would be discovered by Gerry Griffith, then the A&R representative for Arista Records, while Houston performed with her mother at the Seventh Avenue South nightclub in Manhattan. Griffith convinced Arista head Clive Davis to make time to see her perform at another nightclub called Sweetwaters the following week. Davis was impressed and immediately offered a worldwide record deal, which Houston eventually signed on April 10, 1983; since she was only nineteen, her parents also signed for her.[35] Houston was introduced to a national audience in June 1983, performing the song, "Home", from the Broadway musical, The Wiz, on The Merv Griffin Show.[36][35][37][38] Houston did not begin work on an album immediately.[39] The label wanted to make sure no other label signed her away and Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for her debut album. Some producers passed on the project because of prior commitments.[40] After seeing her perform in New York, Michael Masser offered to pair Houston with Teddy Pendergrass, on the duet, "Hold Me", which appeared on his album, Love Language.[41] Released in May 1984, the song gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a top ten hit on the R&B and adult contemporary charts.[42] Houston also received notice in 1984 after being paired up with Jermaine Jackson, with whom the duet, "Take Good Care of My Heart", was featured on Jackson's Dynamite album, while also appearing with Jackson performing the song and another duet, "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do", on an episode of As the World Turns. All three songs eventually appeared on her debut album while a fourth recorded around this time, "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful", later was included in Jackson's 1986 album, Precious Moments. During this period, Houston continued to model, appeared in a commercial for the Canada Dry soft drink, and also began singing commercial jingles, including one for the restaurant brand, Steak & Ale.[43] 1985–1986: Whitney Houston and rise to international prominence After over a year of sessions, Whitney Houston was released on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1985.[44] After debuting at number 166 on the Billboard 200 for the week of March 30, 1985, the album would hit the top ten of the chart in its 23rd week of release.[45] On its 50th week of release, it reached number one in March 1986, starting a fourteen-week run.[46][47] Worldwide, the album topped the charts in seven other countries and reached the top five in seven others. Critics praised Houston and the album, with Rolling Stone calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while The New York Times called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent".[48][49] The album's leading single, "You Give Good Love", produced by Kashif, became Houston's first top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 in July.[50] The song generated some controversy after advice columnist Ann Landers included it in her list of songs she deemed "trashy music".[51] Houston later defended the song during an interview with the Chicago Tribune.[52] Later, in October, Houston scored her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Saving All My Love for You". When "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All" hit number one on the same chart, Houston set a record by being the first female artist to produce three number one singles off a single album. Eventually, the album would be certified Diamond in the United States for sales of 14 million copies,[53] and sell over 25 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling debut album in music history at the time and listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling R&B studio album by a female artist in history.[54][55][56][57] The album also produced the international hit, "All at Once", which hit the top five in several European countries and went gold in Japan.[58] Houston would win her first Grammy Award at the 1986 ceremony for the ballad, "Saving All My Love for You", which won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, to which she had performed in the program to a stunning reception that later resulted in her winning an Emmy Award that September.[59] Houston's album was also nominated for Album of the Year, losing out to Phil Collins' No Jacket Required.[60][61] Houston failed to receive a nomination for Best New Artist, prompting Clive Davis to write an angry open letter to the Recording Academy, who defended the decision citing Houston's 1984 hit with Teddy Pendergrass.[62] Houston also won two American Music Awards, including Favorite Soul/R&B Song for "You Give Good Love",[63] as well as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist. Houston would eventually receive five more American Music Awards at the 1987 ceremony, including American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist.[64] Houston won fourteen Billboard Number One awards in 1985 and 1986, winning Top Pop Artist in the latter year, with the album earning Top Pop Album honors, the first album by a female artist to receive that distinction.[46] The initial success of the album was attributed to Houston's appearances in late-night talk shows as well as music videos, both formats usually weren't accessible for emerging black acts.[46] During the album's early promotional run, Houston and her label struggled to submit the music video to "You Give Good Love" for MTV. At that time, the channel received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by artists of color while favoring predominantly white acts.[65] Years later, Houston explained in an interview with the channel how the video was rejected because it was a "very kind of R&B song".[66] However, the music video to "Saving All My Love for You" eventually got airplay due to the song "hit(ting) so hard and explod(ing) so heavy" that the channel "had no choice but to play it," according to Houston.[66] In December 1985, the video to "How Will I Know" was submitted and immediately accepted by MTV brass and sent the video to heavy rotation almost immediately after it debuted that month, then a rare occurrence for a black female artist.[67][68] Following opening spots on tours by Jeffrey Osborne and Luther Vandross, Houston opened at Carnegie Hall in October 1985.[69][70] In July 1986, she embarked on her first world tour, The Greatest Love World Tour, performing a total of 53 dates. Houston's debut album is listed as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list.[71][72] Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today.[73] 1987–1989: Whitney In June 1987, Houston's second album, Whitney, was released. Critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. Rolling Stone said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating".[74] The album nonetheless enjoyed commercial success. Houston became the first woman in music history to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.[75] Houston was also the first artist ever to enter number one in the US and UK simultaneously, while also reaching number one in every country it charted.[76][77] The album stayed at number one on the Billboard 200 for its first eleven weeks, a 20th century record for a female artist and only one of six albums to stay at number one for ten or more weeks in a row.[78] The album's first single, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", released a month earlier in May, was also a massive hit worldwide, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the singles chart in 17 countries, including Australia, West Germany and the UK.[79] Houston would release four more singles from the album - "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "Love Will Save the Day", all of which became top ten singles, with the former three singles following "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In achieving this milestone, Houston became the first artist in history to earn seven consecutive number one hits, beating the previous record of six, held by the Beatles and Bee Gees.[76] Houston remains the only artist to ever accomplish this feat as of 2024.[77] In addition, Houston also became the first female artist to generate four number one singles off one album. Whitney has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, with ten million copies sold in the United States alone, where it has been certified Diamond.[53][80] Houston earned several accolades from the album, including the Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)".[81][82] Additional accolades include four American Music Awards, six Billboard awards and a Soul Train Music Award.[83][84] She also won her first Soul Train Music Award when the album won for best female R&B album.[85] Houston launched her second world tour, the Moment of Truth World Tour, in July 1987. The North American leg of the tour grossed over $20 million, becoming the highest-grossing female tour of the year and one of the top ten North American tours of 1987.[86][87] Houston eventually toured 150 dates, including eight sold out dates at London's Wembley Arena. The singer's unprecedented successes helped her to earn notices on Forbes magazine. In 1987, she was ranked the eighth highest-ranking entertainer of the year on its Forbes 40 list, earning $43 million in that year alone.[88] The highest-earning musician and highest black female entertainer on the list, she was only the third highest after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.[88] In 1988, she ranked 17th.[89][90] During this period, Houston showed support to Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement, participating in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at London's Wembley Stadium on June 11, 1988, which was watched by over half a billion viewers and raised $1 million in charities while also bringing awareness to apartheid.[91] Houston had refused to work with agencies who did business with South Africa during her modeling years in the early-80s.[92][93] In August of the year, Houston headlined Madison Square Garden for a United Negro College Fund benefit concert to raise money to fund historically black colleges and universities, raising a quarter of a million dollars.[94] That same year, Houston recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a top five hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK, Germany and Europe and later won Houston a Grammy nomination and a Sports Emmy, alongside producer Narada Michael Walden.[95][96][97][98] In January 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a nonprofit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS and other issues of self-empowerment.[99][100] The organization now functions under the name, the Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation. 1990–1991: I'm Your Baby Tonight and "The Star-Spangled Banner"Houston in 1990 With the success of her first two albums, Houston became an international crossover superstar, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out".[101] They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts.[102] At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered.[103][104] Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it."[102] Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight, released in November 1990. The first album in which she served as executive producer and exerted creative control for the first time in her career, Houston chose mostly black producers such as the team of L.A. Reid and Babyface, as well as Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder, while maintaining Narada Michael Walden as one of the main producers. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and uptempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed to positive. Rolling Stone felt it was her "best and most integrated album",[105] while Entertainment Weekly, at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial".[106] The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, staying inside the top ten for 22 weeks, becoming the tenth best-selling album of 1991, while topping the Top R&B Albums chart, staying there for eight consecutive weeks, becoming the best-selling R&B album of 1991.[107] Houston set another chart record when the first two singles from the album, the title track and "All the Man That I Need", topping the Billboard Hot 100, making Houston the first solo female artist to produce multiple number one singles from three albums.[108][b] The album included another top ten pop hit, "Miracle", and the top 20 hit, "My Name Is Not Susan", which featured one of the first remixes of a pop song to feature a rapper, as female rapper Monie Love, participated.[109] The album became her third consecutive multi-platinum album, going four-times platinum in the US, while selling ten million copies worldwide.[53][110] Houston earned three Grammy Award nominations for three songs from the album as well as four American Music Award nominations, while winning eight Billboard awards, including four Billboard Music Awards, including Top R&B Artist and Top R&B Album. A bonus track from the album's Japanese edition, "Higher Love", was remixed by Norwegian DJ and record producer Kygo and released posthumously in 2019 to commercial success. It topped the US Dance Club Songs chart and peaked at number two in the UK, becoming Houston's highest-charting single in the country since 1999.[111] Houston performing "Saving All My Love for You" on the Welcome Home Heroes concert in 1991 During the Persian Gulf War, on January 27, 1991, Houston performed "The Star-Spangled Banner", the US national anthem, at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium.[112] Houston's vocals were pre-recorded, prompting criticism.[113][114][115][116] Dan Klores, a spokesman for Houston, said: "This is not a Milli Vanilli thing. She sang live, but the microphone was turned off. It was a technical decision, partially based on the noise factor. This is standard procedure at these events."[117] Nevertheless, a commercial single and video of the performance reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, giving Houston the biggest chart hit for a performance of the national anthem.[c][118][119] Houston donated her share of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund and was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors.[112][120][121] Her rendition was critically acclaimed and is considered the benchmark for singers;[116][122] VH1 listed the performance as one of the greatest moments that rocked TV.[123] Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the single was rereleased, with all profits going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. It peaked at No. 6 in the Hot 100 and was certified platinum.[124] The song's re-charting made Houston just the eighth artist in history and first woman ever to chart the same song inside the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.[125] Later in 1991, Houston put together her Welcome Home Heroes concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch.[126] The show gave HBO its highest ratings ever.[127] Houston then embarked on her third world tour, the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour, which Houston would give 96 shows, including a historic ten date sold-out residency at Wembley Arena in London. The concert tour produced mixed to positive reviews. While The Sun Sentinel argued that Houston should've opted for smaller venues and theaters that were "far more suitable to her sophistication and talent",[128] USA Today praised Houston for "shak[ing] the confinements of her recordings' calculated productions and gets downright gutsy and soulful"[129] 1992–1994: The Bodyguard With the success of her music, Houston received offers of film work, including work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones and Spike Lee, but she did not feel the time was right.[104] Her first film role was in The Bodyguard, released in 1992. Houston played a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard (played by Kevin Costner) to protect her. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed audiences to look past the interracial nature of her character's relationship with Costner's character.[130] However, controversy arose as some felt Houston's face had been intentionally left out of the advertising to hide the film's interracial relationship. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, Houston said that "people know who Whitney Houston is – I'm black. You can't hide that fact."[23] The film received mixed reviews. Writing for The Washington Post, Rita Kempley wrote that Houston was merely "playing herself", but came out "largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking".[131] Janet Maslin of The New York Times felt Houston lacked chemistry with Costner.[132] Houston was nominated for a Razzie Award but also received favorable acting nods, including a nomination for Outstanding Actress at the NAACP Image Awards, four acting nods at the 1993 MTV Movie Awards and a People's Choice Award nod for Favorite Actress in a Dramatic Motion Picture.[133][134] Upon its release, The Bodyguard grossed more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 highest-grossing films in history at its time of release.[135] It remains in the top fifty of most successful R-rated films in box office history.[136] The film's soundtrack also enjoyed success. Houston executive produced the soundtrack along with Davis and recorded six songs for the album.[137][138] Rolling Stone described it as "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane".[139] The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. Houston's version was highly acclaimed by critics, regarding it as her "signature song" or "iconic performance". Rolling Stone and USA Today called her rendition a tour-de-force.[140][141] The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B Singles charts for fourteen and eleven weeks respectively, record-setting numbers at the time, while also topping the Adult Contemporary chart for five weeks, resulting in her fourth record-setting "triple-crown" number one single.[142][d] The single was later certified diamond by the RIAA for sales of ten million copies, becoming Houston's first diamond single. Houston is only one of just four female artists to earn both a diamond single and album along with Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey and Katy Perry and was only the third in history to do so.[143][144] In January 1993, the song became the first single by a solo artist in US history to sell four million copies, later being certified 4x platinum by the RIAA and becoming the bestselling single in US history, a feat later surpassed by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind '97". It remains the bestselling US physical single in history by a female recording artist.[145][146][147][148] The song was a global success, topping the charts in almost all countries. With 24 million copies sold, it became the best-selling single ever by a female solo artist.[149][150] Houston won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1994 for "I Will Always Love You".[151] In addition, it won the MTV Movie Award for Best Song from a Film, two American Music Awards in the favorite pop and soul song categories and two Soul Train Music Awards, including best single by a woman and song of the year. The soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 chart and remained there for 20 weeks. It remains the second longest cumulative number one album by a female artist on the chart after singer Adele's 21. The soundtrack also became one of the fastest-selling albums in history.[152] During Christmas week of 1992, it sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album in music history to achieve that feat under the Nielsen SoundScan system.[153][154] Houston released four more singles from the soundtrack. Two of which, "I'm Every Woman" and "I Have Nothing", both reaching the top five. On the week of March 13, 1993, Houston became the first solo artist in history to ever have three singles in the top 11 simultaneously and the first artist in general to do so since the beginning of SoundScan.[155][156][157][158] Both "I'm Every Woman" and "I Have Nothing" hit number one in other Billboard charts, with the former topping the Dance Club Songs chart, and the latter becoming Houston's tenth number one song on the adult contemporary chart. "Run to You" was released, peaking at number 31 on the Hot 100, while a remix of "Queen of the Night" made number one on the dance chart. On November 3, 1993, Houston made history again when The Bodyguard became the first album by a female artist to be certified ten times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, which also made it technically the first album by a female artist to be certified Diamond.[53] It has since gone on to sell more than 18 million copies alone in the United States, with total sales reaching 45 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female artist ever and also the best-selling soundtrack album in history,[159] earning Houston several Guinness World Records.[160] Houston won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year for the soundtrack, making her just the second black female artist to win in the category after Natalie Cole won it in 1992 for her album, Unforgettable... with Love.[161] Houston won a record eight American Music Awards, with the album winning in the pop, R&B and adult contemporary album categories, the only album in its history to do so. Houston also received its highest honor, the Award of Merit, becoming at thirty, the youngest female recipient.[162][e] In addition, the album also won Houston a record fifteen Billboard awards, including 11 at the actual ceremony, three Soul Train Music Awards, including the Sammy Davis Jr. Award as Entertainer of the Year,[163] five NAACP Image Awards including Entertainer of the Year,[164][165][166] a record five World Music Awards,[167] a Juno Award and a BRIT award.[168] Nine years after she first appeared on the charts, Houston was a cover story for Rolling Stone, appearing on the June 10, 1993, issue. Houston performing at a state dinner in the White House honoring then-South African president Nelson Mandela in 1994 Following the success of The Bodyguard, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour (The Bodyguard World Tour) in 1993–94. Her concerts, movie and recording grosses made her the third highest-earning female entertainer of 1993–94, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to Forbes.[169] Houston placed in the top five of Entertainment Weekly's annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking[170] and was labeled by Premiere magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.[171] In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela.[172][173] At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people; this made her the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election.[174] Portions of Whitney: The Concert for a New South Africa were broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela".[175] After two performances in Brunei and Singapore early in 1995, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work in June of that year.[176] 1995–1997: Waiting to Exhale, The Preacher's Wife and Cinderella In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon in her second film, Waiting to Exhale, a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston played the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers".[177] After opening at number one and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide,[178] it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as How Stella Got Her Groove Back and the Tyler Perry movies that became popular in the 2000s.[179][180][181] The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens rather than as stereotypes.[182] The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. The New York Times said: "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant."[183] Houston was nominated for a second acting NAACP Image Awards nod for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in the film, but lost to her co-star Bassett.[184] The film's accompanying soundtrack was written and produced by Babyface and was executive produced by Houston and Clive Davis. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction" and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's message about strong women.[177] Consequently, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J. Blige, Brandy, Toni Braxton, Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" became just the third single in music history to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" and Mariah Carey's "Fantasy".[185][f] It would be Houston's eleventh and final number one single in her lifetime. It also would spend a record eleven consecutive weeks at the No. 2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B charts, her second most successful single on that chart after "I Will Always Love You". "Count On Me", a song Houston co-wrote and composed with her brother Michael and Babyface and made into a duet with longtime friend CeCe Winans, hit the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and later won Houston two ASCAP Awards, a BMI Award and two Grammy Award nominations including Best Song Written for Visual Media. A third Houston single, and the last song from the soundtrack to be released, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", reached number 26 on the Hot 100. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 in January 1996 and would later be certified seven-times platinum in the United States, with total worldwide sales reaching 12 million.[185] The soundtrack received strong reviews; as Entertainment Weekly stated: "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks ... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense"[186] and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks.[187] Houston would win two American Music Awards at the 1997 ceremony for the soundtrack including Top Soundtrack and for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy The Preacher's Wife, with Denzel Washington. She plays the gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). It was largely an updated remake of the 1948 film The Bishop's Wife, which starred Loretta Young, David Niven and Cary Grant. Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood at the time and the highest-earning African-American actress in Hollywood.[188] The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning about $50 million at the U.S. box offices.[189] The movie gave Houston the strongest reviews of her acting career. The San Francisco Chronicle said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice".[190] Houston won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in the film.[191] For the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack, Houston co-produced nine of the album's fifteen tracks with Mervyn Warren. Six of the more traditional gospel material was recorded with the Georgia Mass Choir at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also recorded a duet with Shirley Caesar and the soundtrack also featured her mother Cissy Houston. Upon its release, it became the first gospel album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart.[192] The album sold six million copies worldwide, including three million alone in the United States, becoming the best-selling gospel album ever.[193] The album featured two hit singles, the Grammy-nominated "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step". In addition to its commercial success, it was also received positively by critics. The album itself was nominated for the Best R&B Album at the 1998 Grammys. However, Houston snubbed the ceremony due to the album not getting a gospel nomination.[194][g] That year, Houston received two Dove Awards for the album, including Best Traditional Gospel Recorded Song for "I Go to the Rock", while also receiving the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Gospel Artist alongside the Georgia Mass Choir. In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions from Houston Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television.[195] Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the film as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened.[196] The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and non-stereotypical message.[197] An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years.[198] The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special. Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, the first African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Houston wanted the story told with dignity and honor.[195] However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and got her version going first.[199] Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols, such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick, by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert Classic Whitney: Live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund.[200] In February 1998, Houston, 34, received the Quincy Jones Award for outstanding career achievements in the field of entertainment at the 12th Soul Train Music Awards.[201][202] 1998–2000: My Love Is Your Love and Whitney: The Greatest Hits By 1998, Houston hadn't recorded a full-length studio album in eight years. During discussion over a possible greatest hits album with Clive Davis, however, it was agreed that Houston should return to the studio for a brand new album instead. Recorded and mixed in a six-week period - fastest for any Houston recording - Houston released the album, My Love Is Your Love, on November 17, 1998. The album featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. Led by the Academy Award-winning duet, "When You Believe",[203] with singer Mariah Carey off the Prince of Egypt soundtrack in a week full of star-studded releases, the album debuted and peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard 200, while later topping the European Top 100 Albums chart for six weeks, starting in August 1999.[204][205] The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. Rolling Stone said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice"[206] and The Village Voice called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far".[207] Billboard magazine noted the album had a "funkier and edgier sound than past releases" and saw Houston "handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B, reggae, torch songs and ballads all with great dexterity."[208] The album launched five top 40 singles in the Billboard Hot 100, including three top five singles, "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right but It's Okay" and "My Love Is Your Love". "When You Believe" peaked at No. 15 on the Hot 100 while the album's final single, "I Learned from the Best", reached No. 27. The album would itself stay on the charts for more than two years and would later be certified four times platinum in the US for sales of four million copies, moving 11 million copies globally altogether.[53] Four of the five singles reached number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart thanks to remixes by the likes of Hex Hector, Junior Vasquez and Thunderpuss. In Europe, the title track became massively successful, topping the Eurochart Hot 100 and selling over three million copies worldwide.[209] In February 2000, Houston won her sixth and final competitive Grammy for "It's Not Right but It's Okay" in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category.[210] The European success of the album helped it to win the MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B.[211][212][213] Houston earned four additional Grammy nominations for the album and the music video for "Heartbreak Hotel" gave Houston her first MTV Video Music Award nomination in 13 years.[214] In 1999, Houston participated in VH-1's Divas Live '99, alongside Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70-date My Love Is Your Love World Tour. While the North American leg was plagued by cancellations with Houston's publicist citing "throat problems and a 'bronchitis situation'",[215] the European leg became hugely successful ending the year as the highest-grossing arena tour of the year in Europe.[216] In November 1999, the Recording Industry Association of America hosted its Century Awards and named Houston the top-selling R&B female artist of the century with certified US sales of 51 million records at the time while the soundtrack to The Bodyguard received awards for being the top-selling soundtrack album of the century and the best-selling album of the century by a female artist.[217] In March 2000, Houston earned a special honor at the 2000 Soul Train Music Awards as the female artist of the decade for her extraordinary artistic contributions during the 1990s.[218][219] In May 2000, Whitney: The Greatest Hits was released worldwide. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States, reaching number one in the United Kingdom.[220] In addition, the album reached the Top 10 in many other countries.[221] While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album features house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits. Included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael) and "Fine" and three hits that had never appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in Time", "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful", a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 Precious Moments album.[222] Along with the album, an accompanying VHS and DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits, as well as several hard-to-find live performances including her 1983 debut on The Merv Griffin Show and interviews.[223] The set was later certified five times platinum in the US for sales of five million copies, while worldwide sales reached 11 million.[53][224] 2000–2008: Just Whitney and personal strugglesHouston outside the Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., on October 16, 2000 Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, her behavior had changed by 2000. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, she canceled concerts and talk-show appearances and there were reports of erratic behavior.[225][226] Missed performances and weight loss led to rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband. On January 11, 2000, while traveling with Brown, airport security guards discovered half an ounce of marijuana in Houston's handbag at Keahole-Kona International Airport in Hawaii, but she departed before authorities could arrive.[227][228] Charges against her were later dropped,[229] but rumors of drug usage by Houston and Brown would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but was a no-show.[230] Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards, but was fired from the event by musical director and longtime friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards, author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery and her attitude was casual, almost defiant"; though she was supposed to perform "Over the Rainbow", she would sing a different song during rehearsals.[231] Houston later admitted she had been fired.[232] In May 2000, Houston's longtime executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.[230] In 2019, Crawford said she had left after Houston declined to seek help for her drug dependency.[233][234] The following month, Rolling Stone published a story stating that Cissy Houston and others had held a July 1999 intervention in which they unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Whitney to obtain drug treatment.[230] In August 2001, Houston signed one of the biggest record deals in music history, with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to release six new albums, for which she would also earn royalties.[235][236][237] She later made an appearance on Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special, where her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Her publicist stated, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters and when she is under stress she doesn't eat."[238] In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston acknowledged that drug use had been the reason for her weight loss.[239] She canceled a second performance scheduled for the following night.[240] Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was re-released after the September 11 attacks, with the proceeds donated to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police.[241] It reached No. 6 on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position.[242] In 2002, Houston became embroiled in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach of contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters.[243] Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court.[244] Houston's father later died in February 2003.[245] The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.[246] Also in 2002, Houston gave an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. During the primetime special, she spoke about her drug use and marriage, among other topics. Addressing the ongoing rumors that she was abusing crack cocaine, she said, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack."[232] The "crack is wack" line was drawn from a mural that Keith Haring painted in 1986 on the handball court at 128th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan.[247] Houston did, however, admit to using alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and pills; she also acknowledged that her mother had urged her to seek help regarding her drug use. She also denied having an eating disorder and that her very thin appearance was connected to drug use. She further stated that Bobby Brown had never hit her, but acknowledged that she had hit him.[232] In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, Just Whitney. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time that Houston did not produce with Clive Davis, as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, Just Whitney received mixed reviews.[248] The album debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released.[249] The four singles released from the album did not fare well on the Billboard Hot 100, but became dance chart hits. Just Whitney was certified platinum in the United States and sold about two million worldwide.[250][251] In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album One Wish: The Holiday Album, with a collection of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart and the album was certified gold in the US.[252] In December 2003, Brown was charged with battery following an altercation during which he threatened to beat Houston and then assaulted her. Police reported that Houston had visible injuries to her face.[253] Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards in a tribute to long-time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into the studio to work on her new album.[254] In early 2004, Brown starred in his own reality TV program, Being Bobby Brown, on Bravo. The show provided a view of the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in unflattering moments. Years later, The Guardian opined that through her participation in the show, Houston had lost "the last remnants of her dignity".[44] The Hollywood Reporter said that the show was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television".[255] Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television.[256] The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston said that she would no longer appear in it and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.[257] 2009–2012: Return and I Look to You Houston gave her first interview in seven years in September 2009 on Oprah Winfrey's show, where she admitted to drug use with Brown during their marriage, which escalated after the success of The Bodyguard. She described her struggles with addiction and her mother's intervention that led to her rehabilitation.[258] She told Winfrey that before The Bodyguard her drug use was light, that she used drugs more heavily after the film's success and the birth of her daughter and that by 1996 "[doing drugs] was an everyday thing ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."[259] Houston performing "I Look to You" on Good Morning America, September 1, 2009 Houston released her album I Look to You in August 2009, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 305,000 copies sold, marking a strong return.[260] The album’s success was followed by her performance on various European television shows and her appearance as a guest mentor on The X Factor in the UK. Despite a wardrobe malfunction during her performance of "Million Dollar Bill", the single still achieved commercial success.[261] Following the album’s release, Houston embarked on the Nothing but Love World Tour, her first world tour in over ten years. Despite some negative reviews and rescheduled concerts, Houston continued to perform.[262] In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards and won Best Music Video for "I Look to You".[263] On January 16, she received The BET Honors Award for Entertainer, acknowledging her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in rehabilitation again due to drug and alcohol problems, which she stated was part of her "longstanding recovery process."[264] Later that year, Houston was cast in the remake of the 1976 film Sparkle, where she served as both a star and executive producer. The film marked her final acting role before her untimely death.[265] The movie was released on August 17, 2012, and featured "Celebrate," the last song Houston recorded, which premiered in May 2012.[266] Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), better known by her mononym Brandy, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist for teen groups. After signing with Atlantic Records in 1993, she released her self-titled debut album the following year, which sold six million copies worldwide. Brandy gained fame by starring in the UPN sitcom Moesha, and further recognition for her role in the television film Cinderella (1997) and the slasher film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). Her 1998 duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica, "The Boy Is Mine", won a Grammy Award and became one of the best-selling female duets of all time. Her second album, Never Say Never (1998), sold 16 million copies worldwide. Brandy saw continued critical and commercial success with her third and fourth albums, Full Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004). She served as a judge on the first season of America's Got Talent. Soon after, Norwood released her fifth album, Human (2008) to modest but declined commercial success. Norwood returned to television as a contestant on on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars and starred in the reality series Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. In 2012, she became a series regular in the BET series The Game, and released her sixth album Two Eleven. In 2015, Norwood made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago, followed by her seventh and eighth studio albums, B7 (2020), and the holiday album Christmas With Brandy (2023). Norwood has sold over 40 million albums sold worldwide, with 16.5 total units sold in the United States alone, according to the RIAA. Her accolades include a Grammy Award and an American Music Award. She has become known for her distinctive sound, characterized by her peculiar timbre, voice-layering, and intricate riffs, which has earned her the nickname "the Vocal Bible" from industry peers and critics.[1] Early life Brandy Rayana Norwood was born on February 11, 1979, in McComb, Mississippi, the daughter of Willie Norwood, a gospel singer and choir director, and Sonja Norwood (née Bates), a district manager for H&R Block.[2] Norwood is the older sister of entertainer Ray J. Through her mother, she is related to guitarist and singer Bo Diddley, her third cousin.[3] Rapper Snoop Dogg has claimed that he and Norwood are cousins, though Norwood has stated she is unsure if they are actually related.[4][5] She is also reported to be a cousin of wrestler Mercedes Moné and rapper Daz Dillinger.[6][7][8] Raised in a Christian household, Norwood started singing through her father's work as part of the choir at Southside Church of Christ, performing her first gospel solo at the age of two.[9] In 1983, her parents relocated to Carson, California, where she was schooled at Bancroft Junior High School and later attended the Hollywood High Performing Arts Center.[10] Norwood's interest in music and performing increased after becoming a fan of singer Whitney Houston at the age of seven,[11][12] but at school, she experienced trouble with persuading teachers to send her on auditions as she found no support among the staff.[10] Norwood began entering talent shows by the time she was eleven, and, as part of a youth singing group, performed at several public functions.[12] In 1990, she signed with Teaspoon Productions, headed by Chris Stokes and Earl Harris, who gave her work as a backing vocalist for their R&B boy band Immature and arranged the production of a demo tape.[12][13] In 1993, amid ongoing negotiations with East West Records, Norwood's parents organized a recording contract with the Atlantic Recording Corporation after auditioning for Darryl Williams, the company's director of A&R.[10] To manage her daughter, Norwood's mother resigned from her job,[13] while Norwood herself dropped out of Hollywood High School, and was tutored privately from tenth grade onward.[10] Career1993–1996: Brandy and television stardom During the early production stages of her debut album, Norwood was selected for a role in the short-lived ABC sitcom Thea, portraying the daughter of a single mother played by comedian Thea Vidale.[9] Initially broadcast to high ratings, the series' viewership dwindled and ended up running for only one season, but earned her a Young Artists Award nomination for Outstanding Youth Ensemble alongside her co-stars.[14] Norwood recalled that she appreciated the cancellation of the show as she was unenthusiastic about acting at the time, and the taping caused scheduling conflicts with the recording of her album. She stated, "I felt bad for everybody else but me. It was a good thing, because I could do what I had to do, because I wanted to sing."[15][16] Norwood's self-titled debut album was released in late September 1994 and peaked at number twenty on the U.S. Billboard 200.[17] Critical reaction to Brandy was generally positive, with AllMusic writer Eddie Huffman declaring Brandy "a lower-key Janet Jackson or a more stripped-down Mary J. Blige [...] with good songs and crisp production."[18] Anderson Jones of Entertainment Weekly asserted, "Teen actress Norwood acts her age. A premature effort at best, that seems based on the philosophy 'If Aaliyah can do it, why can't I?'."[19] Brandy went on to sell over six million copies worldwide,[20] and produced three top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "I Wanna Be Down" and "Baby", both of which reached the top of the Hot R&B Singles chart and were both certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[21] "Brokenhearted", a duet with Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men, became a number-two hit on the charts.[17] The album earned Norwood two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance the following year, and won her four Soul Train Music Awards, two Billboard Awards, and the New York Children's Choice Award.[14] In 1995, she finished a two-month stint as the opening act on Boyz II Men's national tour,[22] and contributed songs to the soundtracks of the films Batman Forever and Waiting to Exhale, with the single "Sittin' Up in My Room" becoming another top-two success.[17] In 1996, Norwood also collaborated with Tamia, Chaka Khan, and Gladys Knight on the single "Missing You", released from the soundtrack of the F. Gary Gray film Set It Off. The single won her a third Grammy nomination in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category.[14] In 1996, her short-lived engagement on Thea led Norwood to star in her own show, the UPN-produced sitcom Moesha. Appearing alongside William Allen Young and Sheryl Lee Ralph, she played the title role of Moesha Mitchell, a Los Angeles girl coping with a stepmother as well as the pressures and demands of becoming an adult.[23] Originally bought by CBS, the program debuted on UPN in January 1996, and soon became their most-watched show.[24] While the sitcom managed to increase its audience every new season and spawned a spin-off titled The Parkers, the network decided to cancel the show after six seasons on the air, leaving it ending with a cliffhanger for a scrapped seventh season.[25] Norwood was awarded an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress for her performance.[14] In 1997, Brandy, Ray J, and their parents started The Norwood Kids Foundation, which helps disadvantaged, at-risk youths in Los Angeles and Mississippi through the arts and self-help programs.[26] 1997–2001: Never Say Never and film careerNorwood at the Essence Awards in 1997 In 1997, Norwood was hand-picked by producer Whitney Houston to play the title character in Rodgers and Hammerstein's television version of Cinderella featuring a multiracial cast that also included Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Houston.[27] The two-hour Wonderful World of Disney special garnered an estimated 60 million viewers, giving the network its highest ratings in the time period in 16 years, and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program the following year.[28] Fledgling producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins was consulted to contribute to Norwood's second album Never Say Never. Norwood co-wrote and produced six songs for the record, including her first number-one song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, "The Boy Is Mine", a duet with singer Monica that has become the most successful song by a female duo in the music industry. Exploiting the media's presumption of a rivalry between the two young singers, the song was one of the most successful records in the United States of all time,[29] spending a record-breaking thirteen weeks atop the Billboard charts, and eventually garnering the pair a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Never Say Never was released in June 1998 and became Norwood's biggest-selling album, selling over 16 million copies worldwide and reaching number two on the Billboard 200.[30] Critics rated the album highly, with AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praising Norwood 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."[31] Altogether, the album spawned seven singles, including Norwood's second number-one song, the Diane Warren-penned "Have You Ever?"[17] To promote the album she went on the Never Say Never World Tour in 1999, consisting of shows in Europe, Asia, and the United States.[32][33] After backing out of a role in F. Gary Gray's 1996 film Set It Off,[34] Norwood made her big screen debut in the supporting role of Karla Wilson in the slasher film, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.[34] The movie outperformed the original with a total of $16.5 million at its opening weekend, but critical reaction to the film was largely disappointing, with the film review site Rotten Tomatoes calculating a poor rating of 7% based on 46 reviews.[35] Norwood, however, earned positive reviews for her "bouncy" performance,[36] which garnered her both a Blockbuster Entertainment Award and an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Female Performance.[14] In 1999, she co-starred with Diana Ross in the telefilm drama Double Platinum about an intense, strained relationship between a mother and daughter.[37] Shot in only twenty days in New York City, both Norwood and Ross served as executive producers of the movie which features original songs from their respective albums Never Say Never (1998) and Every Day Is a New Day (1999), as well as previously unreleased duets. The same year, Norwood headlined VH-1's Divas Live '99, alongside Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, and Cher.[37] After a lengthy hiatus following the end of Moesha, and a number of tabloid headlines discussing her long-term battle with dehydration, Norwood returned to music in 2001, when she and brother Ray-J were asked to record a cover version of Phil Collins' 1990 hit "Another Day in Paradise" for the tribute album Urban Renewal: A Tribute to Phil Collins.[38] Released as the album's first single in Europe and Oceania, the song became an instant international success overseas, scoring top-ten entries on the majority of all charts it appeared on.[39] Norwood also contributed the Mike City track “Open” to the soundtrack from Osmosis Jones. The track remained unavailable on digital download and streaming sites until its rerelease twenty years later on October 8, 2021.[40] 2002–2005: Full Moon and Afrodisiac Full Moon, Norwood's third studio album, was released in February 2002. It was composed of R&B and pop-oriented songs, many of them co-created with Jerkins, Warryn Campbell and Mike City. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[30] Its lead single "What About Us?" became a worldwide top-ten hit, and the album's title track was a Top 20 hit in the United States and the UK.[41][42] Media reception was generally lukewarm, with Rolling Stone describing the album as "frantic, faceless, fake-sexy R&B."[43] Within the coming year, Norwood and Robert "Big Bert" Smith began writing and producing for other artists such as Toni Braxton, Kelly Rowland, and Kiley Dean.[44] Norwood's foray into reality television began in 2002 with the MTV series Diary Presents Brandy: Special Delivery; the show documented the final months of Norwood's pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Sy'rai.Norwood performing in a concert in 2004 Returning from yet another hiatus, Norwood's fourth album Afrodisiac was released in June 2004, amid the well-publicized termination of her short-lived business relationship with entertainment manager Benny Medina.[45] 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", and failed negotiations of a purported co-headlining tour with R&B singer Usher.[45] Despite the negative publicity, Afrodisiac became Norwood's most critically acclaimed album,[46] with some highlighting the "more consistently mature and challenging" effect of Timbaland on Norwood's music,[47] and others calling it "listenable and emotionally resonant", comparing it to "Janet Jackson at her best."[48] A moderate seller, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and received certifications in the United States, Europe and Japan.[49] "Talk About Our Love" reached number six in the United Kingdom, but subsequent singles failed to score successfully on the popular music charts.[50] Later that year, she guest-starred as Gladys Knight in the third-season premiere of American Dreams, in which she performed "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".[51] After eleven years with the company, Norwood asked for and received an unconditional release from Atlantic Records at the end of 2004, citing her wish "to move on" as the main reason for her decision.[52] Completing her contract with the label, a compilation album titled The Best of Brandy was released in March 2005. Released without any promotional single, it reached the top 30 in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, where the collection was appreciated by contemporary critics who noted the creativity of Norwood's back catalogue.[53] Andy Kellman of AllMusic expressed, "This set, unlike so many other anthologies from her contemporaries, hardly confirms dwindling creativity or popularity."[54] Thereupon she reportedly began shopping a new record deal under the auspices of Knockout Entertainment, her brother's vanity label.[55] 2006–2014: Human, acting return and Two Eleven In February 2006, Norwood began appearing in a recurring role on UPN sitcom One on One, playing the sister to brother Ray J's character D-Mack.[56] In June, she was cast as one of three talent judges on the first season of America's Got Talent, an amateur talent contest on NBC executive-produced by Simon Cowell and hosted by Regis Philbin. The broadcast was one of the most-watched programs of the summer, and concluded on August 17, 2006, with the win of 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan. Norwood was originally slated to return for a second season in summer 2007, but eventually decided not to, feeling that she "couldn't give the new season the attention and commitment it deserved," following the fatal 2006 car accident in which she was involved.[57] She was replaced by reality TV star Sharon Osbourne.[57] Norwood's fifth studio album, Human, was released in December 2008, produced by Toby Gad, Brian Kennedy, and RedOne.[58][59] Distributed by Koch Records and Sony Music, the album marked Norwood's debut on the Epic Records label,[60] and her reunion with long-time contributor and mentor Rodney Jerkins, who wrote and executive produced most of the album.[58] Generally well received by critics, Human debuted at number fifteen on the U.S. Billboard 200 with opening week sales of 73,000 copies.[61] With a domestic sales total of 214,000 copies, it failed to match the success of its predecessors.[62] While lead-off single "Right Here (Departed)" scored Norwood her biggest chart success since 2002's "Full Moon", the album failed to impact elsewhere, resulting in lackluster sales in general and the end of her contract with the label, following the controversial appointment of Amanda Ghost as president of Epic Records, and Norwood's split with rapper Jay-Z's Roc Nation management.[63][64][65] In December 2009, she officially introduced her rapping alter-ego Bran'Nu with two credits on Timbaland's album Timbaland Presents Shock Value 2,[66] and was cast in the pilot episode for the ABC series This Little Piggy, also starring Rebecca Creskoff and Kevin Rahm, which was recast the following year.[67] Norwood on the set of A Family Business in 2011 In April 2010, Norwood and Ray J debuted in the VH1 reality series Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business along with their parents. The show chronicled the backstage lives of both siblings, while taking on larger roles in their family's management and production company, R&B Productions.[68] Executive produced by the Norwood family, the season concluded after eleven episodes, and was renewed for a second season, which began broadcasting in fall 2010.[69] A Family Business, a compilation album with previously unreleased content from the entire cast was released on Saguaro Road Records in June 2011.[70] Critics such as The Washington Post declared it an "awkward and adorable and really, really wholesome collection."[71] While the album failed to chart, it produced three promotional singles, including the joint track "Talk to Me".[72] In fall 2010, Norwood appeared as a contestant on season 11 of the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She ultimately placed fourth in the competition, which was a shock to the judges, viewers, studio audience, and other contestants that considered her one of the show's frontrunners throughout the entire competition.[73] In August 2011, it was confirmed that Norwood had signed a joint record deal with RCA Records and producer Breyon Prescott's Chameleon Records.[74][75][76] In September, a new talent show, Majors & Minors, created by musician Evan Bogart, premiered on The Hub. It followed a group of young performers age 10–16 and their chance to be mentored by some established artists such as Norwood, Ryan Tedder and Leona Lewis.[77] Later that same year, Norwood returned to acting roles with recurring appearances on The CW's teen drama series 90210, and in the fourth season of the Lifetime's comedy series Drop Dead Diva, in which she played the role of Elisa Shayne.[78] In 2011, Norwood joined the cast of the BET comedy series The Game, playing the recurring role of Chardonnay, a bartender.[79] She became a regular cast member by the next season.[80] In February 2012, Norwood reteamed with Monica on "It All Belongs to Me", which was released as a single from the latter's album New Life.[81] Norwood's own comeback single "Put It Down" featuring singer Chris Brown was released later that year. The song reached number three on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming her first top ten entry in ten years.[82] Her sixth album Two Eleven, which was released in October, saw a return to her R&B sound, but with what Norwood described a "progressive edge".[83] A moderate commercial success, it was viewed as a humble comeback from Norwood, reaching number three on the US Billboard 200, and the top of the Billboard US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[84] In March 2013, Norwood returned to film, joining an ensemble cast consisting of Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Lance Gross and Vanessa L. Williams in Tyler Perry's drama Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor.[85] Norwood plays supporting character Melinda, a woman with secrets. The film received generally negative reviews from critics but became a moderate US box office success.[86][87] In June 2013, Norwood signed with Creative Artists Agency, headquartered in Los Angeles,[88] and in early 2014, she arranged a management deal with MBK Entertainment with CEO Jeff Robinson.[89] In July, she was also inducted as an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[90] The same month, Norwood released a cover version of Coldplay's song "Magic" to her TwitMusic account; it peaked at number one on Billboard's Trending 140 chart.[91][92] Also in 2014, Norwood made guest appearances on VH1's Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood and the TV Land sitcom The Soul Man. At the 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards, she reunited with Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Yo-Yo to perform the hip hop remix of "I Wanna Be Down" in celebration of its 20th anniversary.[93] 2015–2020: Broadway and B7 After finishing the filming of the final season of The Game, Norwood made her Broadway debut in the musical Chicago, in which she played the lead role of Roxie Hart, beginning in April 2015.[94] Although initially a six-week run, her engagement was extended until August 2015,[95] prompting Norwood to reprise the role on several occasions in 2016 and 2017.[96][97][98] Also in 2015, Norwood appeared on British house duo 99 Souls's mashup single "The Girl Is Mine", for which she re-recorded her vocals from "The Boy Is Mine".[99] The song reached the top five in Belgium and the United Kingdom as well as the top 40 on other international charts, where it became her highest-charting single in years.[100] In January 2016, Norwood co-executive produced and starred as the lead in the BET sitcom Zoe Ever After,[101] a multi-camera romantic comedy about a newly single mom stepping out of the shadow of her famous boxer ex-husband.[102] While it debuted to respectable ratings,[103] Norwood decided not to return to the show, and it was soon after cancelled.[104] The same month, Norwood released the standalone single "Beggin & Pleadin" through her own label Slayana Records, after receiving a positive response to initially unveiling the track on SoundCloud.[105][106][107] That February, Norwood announced her Slayana World Tour, which highlighted stops in both Europe and Oceania.[108] Her first headlining tour in eight years, it was ended ahead of schedule on June 30 after Norwood was hospitalized due to exhaustion.[109] In March, Norwood sued Chameleon Entertainment Group and its president, Breyon Prescott, after the label reportedly refused to allow her to record and release new albums. After the lawsuit was thrown out of court due to one particular clause, Norwood filed another one several months later, demanding $270,000 in compensation and a "court declaration that she is contractually freed from Chameleon." Both parties reached a settlement in 2017.[110] In November 2016, Norwood became the second recipient of the Lady of Soul Award at the Soul Train Music Awards. Her stripped-down nine-minute song medley was met with praise.[111] Two months later, Norwood competed with her brother Ray J on the FOX reality cooking series My Kitchen Rules.[112] In July 2018, Norwood became a series regular on the Fox musical drama television series Star. She played the role of Cassie, starting as a recurring role in the second season, and remained a series regular until the series' ending in 2019.[113] The same year, she appeared on "Optimistic", a Sounds of Blackness cover that preceded the self-titled debut of supergroup August Greene, consisting of Common, Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins,[114] as well as on Dutch DJ's Lucas & Steve's "I Could Be Wrong", a dance-heavy rework of her 1994 single "I Wanna Be Down" that became a minor hit on the dance charts.[115] Norwood in 2019 In 2019, Norwood was honored with the BMI President's Award at the BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, organized by Broadcast Music, Inc.[116] In June, she appeared on Canadian singer Daniel Caesar's second album Case Study 01, lending vocals to their duet "Love Again". Released as a single, it earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance at the 62nd awards ceremony and reached the top of the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart, becoming Norwood's first song to do so.[117] In September 2019, she released the buzz single "Freedom Rings" which was released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of her self-titled debut album.[118] in August 2019, Norwood revealed she had been in the recording studio working on a song with Justin Timberlake, Ray J and Pharrell Williams.[119] As of 2024, however, the song has not been released. Norwood's seventh studio album B7, her first album in eight years, was released in July 2020. Her first project as an independent artist, it was released through her own label Brand Nu Inc., with distribution handled by eOne Music. A departure from her previous work, Norwood co-wrote and co-produced the majority of the album, which was chiefly produced by Darhyl Camper.[120] The release was preceded by lead single "Baby Mama" featuring Chance the Rapper.[121] B7 debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200, also reaching number 2 on UK R&B Albums.[122][123] The album received generally positive reviews from critics, with numerous publications including it on their lists of the best albums of 2020, and earned a nomination in the Album of the Year category at the 2020 Soul Train Awards.[124] In August 2020, Norwood and Monica battled in the webcast series Verzuz. Filmed at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia,[125][126] it was watched by a record-breaking 1.2 million viewers on the Instagram live stream alone.[127][128] BET listed the moment as number one on its "The 20 Most OMG Viral Moments of 2020" list.[129] Two months later, Norwood performed a medley at the Billboard Music Awards, which were held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.[130] 2021–present: Queens and Christmas with Brandy In March 2021, Norwood was chosen by John Legend as a mentor on the twentieth season of the singing competition series The Voice.[131][132][133] Also that month, Norwood collaborated with Disney on the single "Starting Now",[134][135][136][137][138][139] the theme song for the music special Disney Princess Remixed — An Ultimate Princess Celebration, released in August 2021.[140][141] Also that month, Norwood, alongside Naturi Naughton, Eve and Nadine Velazquez, joined the cast of ABC's music drama series Queens in which she played one-fourth of a veteran hip-hop group.[142][143][144][145] Norwood recorded several new songs for the series which debuted to reviews largely positive reviews in October 2021; with Variety praising the quartet's musical offering, calling their raps “sharp and distinct […] making clear their talent as both individuals and a swaggering collective,” but was not renewed the following year.[146] In March 2022, Norwood released "Nothing Without You", a duet alongside daughter Sy'Rai,[147] recorded for the soundtrack to the comedy film Cheaper by the Dozen (2022).[148] In April, singer Mariah Carey revealed "The Roof (When I Feel the Need)," a re-recorded and re-imagined version of her 1998 single "The Roof (Back in Time)" featuring new vocals from Norwood,[149] for the former's course on MasterClass.[150] In October 2022, Norwood was nominated for Best Global Act at the All Africa Music Awards 2022 for "Somebody's Son," her collaboration with Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage.[151][152][153] Norwood at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2023 In April 2023, Norwood's daughter, Sy'Rai, confirmed that her mother would be the vocal and executive producer on her forthcoming debut EP.[154] In November 2023, Norwood released her eighth studio album, Christmas with Brandy, a collection of six original songs and six cover versions of Christmas standards.[155][156] The project marked her major label return after signing with Motown Records in June 2022 and reached the top thirty on the US Top Holiday Albums chart.[157] Its release coincided with the release of the Netflix Christmas comedy film Best. Christmas. Ever!, directed by Mary Lambert and starring Norwood alongside Heather Graham, Jason Biggs, and Matt Cedeño.[158] While the film became hit in its first week on the streaming service, it earned largely negative reviews from critics and audiences, with The Guardian calling it one of "worst" comedies of the season.[159] On November 23, 2023, Norwood performed "Someday at Christmas" at the 2023 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.[160][161][162][163] On February 4, 2024, Norwood performed at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards; Burna Boy's single, "Sittin' on Top of the World", which heavily sampled Norwood's own "Top of the World", had been nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance.[164][165][166] On June 7, Norwood made a cameo appearance as a news anchor in Ariana Grande's "The Boy Is Mine" music video, alongside Monica.[167] On June 21, 2024, Grande released "The Boy Is Mine (Remix)", which features both Norwood and Monica.[168][169] In July 2024, Descendants: The Rise of Red, a standalone sequel to the Descendants franchise, was released on Disney+, in which Norwood will reprised the role of Cinderella,[170] and appeared on the film's soundtrack, contributing vocals to "Love Ain't It" alongside Rita Ora, Malia Baker and Kylie Cantrall, and "So This Is Love" alongside Paolo Montalban.[171] A24's The Front Room, a psychological horror film from directors Max and Sam Eggers and based on the original short story by Susan Hill, is slated to be released in September 2024, starring Norwood as Belinda.[172][173][174] ArtistryVoice and style Norwood has been classified as some to have a contralto vocal range.[175][176][177] Her voice has often been described as soft, raspy, and husky by music critics and Norwood herself.[178] Music critic and Slant Magazine writer Andrew Chan describes Norwood's vocal tone as having "an unusual mix of warmth and cold, hard edges". He further describes her vocal quality, saying, "Like little else in pop-music singing, Brandy's subtle manipulation of timbre and texture rewards close listening. [...] Her main claim of technical virtuosity has always been her long, cascading riffs, a skill many R&B die-hards revere her for."[179] Norwood is also noted for her use of multitrack recording to create intricate vocal arrangements and layering. Terry Sawyer of PopMatters writes on this skill, remarking, "While it's been said that Brandy's voice isn't exactly a barn burner, it's not mentioned enough that she does more than enough with what she's got. She never leaves her voice hanging in spotlit scarcity, folding its variegated terracing, whispering out the lead track, shouting in the back-up, and piling each song with enough interlocking sounds to create the tightly packed illusion of vocal massiveness."[180] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Brandy at number 193 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[181] Norwood's initial sound on her eponymous debut album was "street-oriented" R&B,[182] that incorporated elements of hip hop[182][183] and pop-soul.[183] She sang about love while also highligting other topics such as, "tributes to her little brother ("Best Friend"), God ("Give Me You"), the perfect man ("Baby") and older crooners like Aretha and Whitney ("I Dedicate")".[183] On her second album Never Say Never, she went for a more adult contemporary oriented direction while maintaining "a slight streetwise edge".[31] Her third studio album Full Moon saw Norwood, and her then-creative partner Rodney Jerkins, experiment with blending her previous R&B sounds with futuristic, forward-thinking productions, including influences of 2-step garage and electro-funk.[184][185][186] Along with her style, her voice had gone through an evolution, with her light, girlish voice becoming much deeper, warmer, and smokier than it had been throughout the 1990s.[187] The lyrics also reflected the change, as the album explored more adult, sexual topics and focused on both physical and emotional aspects of an intimate relationship.[185] In 2004, her recent motherhood, life experiences, and growing affinity for British rock band Coldplay, caused her to shift toward a more experimental vision for her fourth studio album Afrodisiac. The album, a collaboration with producers Timbaland and Kanye West, utilized the distinctive illbient aesthetic, which fuses ambient pop, dub, and breakbeat soundscapes with progressive sampling methods.[188] A four-year hiatus and a few life-changing occurrences caused Norwood to return to the music industry in late 2008 with Human, her fifth studio album, which discussed topics of love, heartache and honesty.[189] Experiencing a career and personal rejuvenation in 2012, Norwood was eager to scale back her previous album's pop style and return to R&B on her sixth studio album Two Eleven. The album was a melding of both Norwood's 1990s R&B sound and the bass-heavy trends of post-2000s contemporary hip-hop.[190] Influences Since the start of her career, Brandy has named Whitney Houston as her most prominent music and entertainment influence. Early in her career, she would often describe Houston as her "idol", crediting her voice, music, and performances as critical to her, both personally and professionally. In a 2014 interview, Brandy stated that, "as a professional musician, I would say that Whitney Houston is the greatest voice of all time."[191] She elaborates, saying "She was always the idea for me. I wanted to be like her, sing like her, and do everything she was doing."[192] Beginning in the late 1990s, Houston would evolve as a personal friend and mentor to Brandy, with Houston nicknaming herself as Norwood's "godmother".[193] Brandy also names her father, vocal coach Willie Norwood, as instrumental to her discovery and development as a musician. She exclaims that her dad "taught me everything that I know [about singing]". About her dad, Brandy states: "I grew up singing in church with my dad, where he was the musical director and we sang gospel songs in a cappella almost exclusively. He bought me my first 4-track tape recorder. At first, I didn't like my own voice, but he encouraged me to embrace the unique qualities of my voice."[194] While developing her own style and vocal sound, Brandy would credit gospel-jazz singer Kim Burrell, new age artist Enya, and English singer-songwriter Sade as major influences. In speaking about them, she said, "... it was listening to those women, along with my own creative voice, that helped me to find my niche, my own sound."[195][194] Brandy has also noted several other musical inspirations, including Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, the Clark Sisters, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Coldplay, Janet Jackson, Timbaland, and her brother Ray J.[194][196][197][198] Over the course of her acting career, Brandy has noted Lucille Ball, Jenifer Lewis, Gabrielle Union, Niecy Nash, and Kim Fields as being integral to her development as an actress, and the discovery of her strength in comedic roles.[199][200] Legacy and impactSee also: List of awards and nominations received by Brandy Since her 1994 debut album, Brandy has sold more than 40 million records worldwide with over 11 million albums sold in the United States alone.[201][202] According to the RIAA, Brandy has 16.5 million certified units.[203] In 2008, Billboard ranked her song "The Boy Is Mine" third on a special The 40 Biggest Duets of All Time listing.[204] In 1999, Billboard ranked Norwood among the top 20 of the Top Pop Artists of the 1990s.[205] In 2010, Billboard included Norwood in their Top 50 R&B and Hip Hop Artists list of the past 25 years.[206] Norwood was one of the youngest artists nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.[207] Her second album Never Say Never appeared in the "Top 100 Certified Albums" list by the RIAA.[208] Norwood's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry, most notably with contemporary R&B, pop and gospel genres, where she is often subjectively referred to as the "Vocal Bible".[209] Her work has influenced numerous artists,[210] including Jessie J, JoJo, Bridget Kelly, Olivia, Ariana Grande,[211] Emeli Sandé, Jordin Sparks, Ryan Destiny, Tank, Teyana Taylor, Lil' Mo, Megan Rochell, Jhené Aiko,[212] Eric Bellinger,[213] Chris Brown,[214] Elle Varner, Rihanna,[215] Angel, Normani,[216] and Kehlani[217] while Norwood's vocals have been praised by several of her peers, including Natasha Bedingfield, Missy Elliott, Jennifer Hudson, Syleena Johnson, Gladys Knight, Brian McKnight, Jill Scott, Angie Stone, Tamia,[210] Ty Dolla Sign,[218] Jazmine Sullivan,[219] and Tamar Braxton[220] among others. Additionally, on many occasions, Norwood has been thought of as a talented artist that music producers and songwriters have used to enhance their own artistic and creative energies.[221][222] Songwriter Sean Garrett credits the vocal work on the album Full Moon for his approach to writing, saying "I take a lot from what [Brandy] and Rodney did on the Full Moon album. I was extremely impressed with it and I always try to outdo that album".[223] B.Slade spoke of the album, commenting Full Moon single-handedly changed the vocal game. "It has been the template for vocal choices and background vocal arrangements [for years]."[224] R&B singer Melanie Fiona, especially admired the singer's work on that album.[225] Neo soul singer India.Arie often cites the album, particularly the song "He Is" as being the template for a wide array of singers."[226] The oft-praised vocal work on the album sparked the idea of Norwood gaining the subjective nickname the "vocal bible".[227][228][229] Canadian R&B singer Keshia Chanté credited the album for inspiring her writing for her album Night & Day, while American singer Luke James referred to Full Moon as the "bible" of 2000s contemporary R&B, calling it the "blueprint of how to do vocals."[210] Afrodisiac has been credited as one of predecessors to the Alternative R&B subgenre. In a 2014 music and fashion conversation with NPR, singer and model Solange discussed the album, saying "Brandy is really the foundation of a lot of this very innovative, progressive, experimental R&B. Brandy really influenced a lot of that. Frank Ocean will say it. Miguel will say it."[230] In an interview with MalcolmMusic, Miguel revealed that he was a "huge fan growing up", stating that Brandy had "killed it from the first album".[231] American neo soul singer Erykah Badu noted that her 1997 debut album, Baduizm, was partly influenced by Norwood's debut album,[232] while Barbadian singer Rihanna said of her 2007 album Good Girl Gone Bad, "[Brandy] really helped inspire that album. I listened to [Afrodisiac] every day [while in the studio]."[233] Kelly Rowland cited Norwood, who also wrote and produced for Rowland's debut album, as one of the inspirations for her second studio album Ms. Kelly (2007).[234] John Frusciante, guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers, cited Norwood as the "main inspiration" behind the guitar work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' 2006 album, Stadium Arcadium.[235] When discussing the work on her debut project H.E.R., singer H.E.R., who worked with the producer DJ Camper, revealed that Brandy was a "huge inspiration" to her, and that her being inspired Brandy impacted her musical output.[236] Norwood has made her impact in the film and television industry as well. Norwood was the first African American to play the role of Cinderella.[237] Her role as Cinderella in the 1997 film inspired many African American actors. Speaking on the role, Keke Palmer said "I feel like the reason I'm able to do this [becoming the first African American Cinderella on Broadway] is definitely because Brandy did it on TV".[237] Norwood's TV-show Moesha on UPN was also one of the longest-running Black sitcoms of all time.[238] On stage, Norwood made Broadway history along with co-star Lana Gordan by becoming the first black co-leads in Chicago the Musical in 2017.[239] Other venturesSee also: Brandy Norwood products Norwood has had many endorsements in her career. In 1999, she became a CoverGirl,[240] appearing in a number of commercials. She also represented the brands Candie's in 1998 and DKNY in the Spring of 2000.[241][242][243] In the late 1990s Norwood was represented by Wilhelmina Agency, one of the leading modeling agencies in the industry.[243] In 1999, Mattel released the Brandy Doll. The doll featured Norwood in a reddish orange blouse and orange long skirt. Next to this, the Holiday Brandy Doll was released in 2000 along with another "Brandy Doll". Millions of the dolls were sold and they were one of the biggest selling toys for Mattel.[244] In 2005, Brandy became the spokesperson for Ultima, a company for hair weaves and wigs. As of 2014, she no longer represents them.[245][246] Philanthropy In 1996, Norwood, along with her brother Ray J, created the Norwood Kids Foundation. Its goal of is to "use performing arts as a catalyst to shape the youth of today into self-confident, disciplined, responsible, and caring individuals capable of making a positive impact in their communities."[247] In 1999, Brandy was the first international spokesman person for youth by UNICEF.[248] She is an avid supporter of the Make A Wish Foundation and RAINN.[249] In 2000, Brandy donated $100,000 to 2000 WATTS, an entertainment community center founded by singer and actor Tyrese Gibson in the underprivileged community of Watts, Los Angeles, California.[249] Brandy teamed up with shoe company Skechers' “Nothing Compares to Family” campaign in 2008.[250] In 2010, Norwood became involved with Get Schooled, a national non-profit mobile phone calls by celebrities to wake up students for school.[251][252] In 2014, Norwood teamed up with "text4baby", which spreads health and wellness to expecting moms via text message,[253] and became an honorary co-chairman of the 2014 Unstoppable Foundation.[254] In 2018, she also appeared in a PSA for the American Heart Association and Hands-Only CPR with fellow Chicago the Musical cast members.[255] Personal lifeRelationships Norwood attended Hollywood High School but studied with a private tutor beginning in tenth grade.[10] In 1996, she had a brief relationship with future Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant, whom she accompanied to his prom at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.[256] She also dated Boyz II Men lead singer Wanya Morris, whom she cited as her "first love".[257] Morris, who is over five years older, reportedly ended their relationship a month before her nineteenth birthday.[258] Also during their work on the Never Say Never album, she briefly dated rapper Mase.[259] During the production of her album Full Moon in mid-2001, Norwood became romantically involved with producer Robert "Big Bert" Smith. The couple kept their relationship secret until February 2002, when Norwood announced that she was expecting her first child. However, a year after the birth of their daughter, Sy'rai Iman Smith, Norwood and Smith separated.[260] In 2004, Smith revealed that the pair had never been legally wed, but that they had pretended to marry to preserve Norwood's public image.[261] Norwood responded that she regarded her relationship with Smith as a "spiritual union and true commitment to each other,"[261] though she later confirmed Smith's statement and justified her actions with the pressure of having to be a role model.[262] By the following year, Norwood had begun a relationship with NBA guard Quentin Richardson, who was then playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. The couple became engaged in July 2004, but Norwood ended their 14-month engagement in September 2005.[263] It was reported that Norwood had to get a tattoo of Richardson's face on her back transformed into a cat.[264] In 2010, she briefly dated rapper Flo Rida.[265] At the end of 2012, Norwood became engaged to music executive Ryan Press.[266] In April 2014, Norwood called off her engagement with Press following their breakup earlier that year.[267] Following the release of her seventh studio album B7, fans speculated on the meaning behind the album's closing track, "Bye BiPolar". While Norwood does not have bipolar disorder, according to notes that the singer wrote to accompany the album, "Bye BiPolar" is a metaphor for her love life and discussing the way that her mental health struggles have been exacerbated by toxic relationships.[268] Norwood told the New York Post: "I have not been diagnosed as bipolar [...] but I've had moments where trauma has caused me to not be myself, and I felt at a point that I could've experienced moments of that."[269] In an interview with The Grio, Norwood said, "I've dealt with depression in the most severe ... like severe depression. I've dealt with trauma. I've dealt with PTSD. I've gone through a lot and I had to overcome a lot, but I had to overcome everything that I've overcame by doing the work," turning to therapy, prayer, journaling and meditation.[270] Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (also known as simply Cinderella)[1] is a 1997 American musical fantasy television film produced by Walt Disney Television, directed by Robert Iscove, and written by Robert L. Freedman. Based on the French fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault, the film is the second remake and third version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, which originally aired on television in 1957. Adapted from Oscar Hammerstein II's book, Freedman modernized the script to appeal to more contemporary audiences by updating its themes, particularly re-writing its main character into a stronger heroine. Co-produced by Whitney Houston, who also appears as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the film stars Brandy in the title role and features a racially diverse ensemble cast consisting of Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, Veanne Cox, Natalie Desselle, Victor Garber, and Paolo Montalban. Following the success of the 1993 television adaptation of the stage musical Gypsy (1959), Houston approached Gypsy's producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron about starring in a remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella for CBS. However, development was delayed for several years, during which time the network grew disinterested in the project. By the time the film was greenlit by Disney for ABC, Houston felt that she had outgrown the title role, which she offered to Brandy instead. The decision to use a color-blind casting approach originated among the producers to reflect how society had evolved by the 1990s, with Brandy becoming the first black actress to portray Cinderella on screen. Among the most significant changes made to the musical, several songs from other Rodgers and Hammerstein productions were interpolated into the film to augment its score. With a production budget of $12 million, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella ranks among the most expensive television films ever made. Heavily promoted to re-launch the anthology series The Wonderful World of Disney, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella premiered on ABC on November 2, 1997, to mixed reviews from critics. While most reviewers praised the film's costumes, sets and supporting cast, particularly Peters, Alexander and Goldberg, television critics were divided over Brandy and Houston's performances, as well as Disney's more feminist approach to Brandy's character. Despite this, Cinderella proved a major ratings success, originally airing to 60 million viewers and establishing itself as the most-watched television musical in decades, earning ABC its highest Sunday-night ratings in 10 years. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was nominated for several industry awards, including seven Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program. The program's success inspired Disney and ABC to produce several similar musical projects. Critical reception towards the film has improved over time, with several media publications ranking it among the best film adaptations of the fairy tale. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella is regarded by contemporary critics as a groundbreaking film due to the unprecedented diversity of its cast and Brandy's role. Plot Cinderella grows distracted while waiting upon her stepmother and her two stepsisters in the marketplace, where she meets a charming young man. Despite being apprehensive about introducing herself to him, the pair bond upon realizing that both are dissatisfied with their sheltered home lives. After being scolded for speaking to a stranger, Cinderella returns to her stepfamily's aid before she was able to realize the young man is Prince Christopher. The Prince returns to the palace, where he is apprehended by his valet Lionel for once again visiting the kingdom disguised as a commoner, and learns that his parents, Queen Constantina and King Maximillian, plan to host a ball in order to find their son a suitable bride, an idea he strongly protests because he would rather marry for love. At Lionel's suggestion, Constantina and Maximillian compromise that should Christopher not be successful in choosing a bride at the ball, he be allowed to find one on his own terms. Back at their own home, Cinderella wishes to attend the ball herself, but her stepmother ridicules the idea, advising her that a prince would never be interested in her and to remain grateful for her current life. Solely determined to bolster their own wealth and social status by marrying the prince, Cinderella's stepfamily leaves for the ball, leaving Cinderella home alone. Cinderella is soon visited by her Fairy Godmother for the first time, who encourages her to go to the ball; she magically transforms a pumpkin into a carriage, rats into footmen and a coachman, mice into horses, and her rags into a beautiful ballgown, complete with a pair of glass slippers. With her Fairy Godmother's warning that the spell will only last until midnight, Cinderella leaves for the ball. Yet to be impressed with any of the young women he meets, including Cinderella's Two Stepsisters, Christopher is growing weary until Cinderella arrives, and the pair instantly start dancing much to the annoyance of Cinderella's stepfamily, who can't help but feel that the unidentified princess is familiar. Cinderella grows dismayed and wishes to leave when the King and Queen ask her about her background, but her Fairy Godmother encourages her to stay. The clock strikes midnight as Cinderella and the Prince share their first kiss, but Cinderella flees on foot while the spell is reverted, leaving behind a single glass slipper. With his parents' blessing, Christopher declares that he will marry whoever fits the slipper, even if it means trying it on every maiden in the kingdom. When Cinderella's stepfamily return home, they begin sharing embellished recounts of their evening. Cinderella explains that she can only imagine what it must have been like, and they briefly bond over the memory, only for the Stepmother to soon recognize Cinderella as the mysterious princess with whom the Prince danced and insisting that she will never be more than a common girl. With final encouragement from her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella finally decides she will run away from home. When the Prince and Lionel arrive at Cinderella's home, the Stepmother locks Cinderella in the kitchen hoping to keep her hidden. Cinderella's stepfamily – including the Stepmother and the Two Stepsisters– tries on the slipper with little success. Lionel demands that the kitchen be unlocked and searched, and the Prince discovers Cinderella in the courtyard about to run away. When Christopher recognizes Cinderella from the marketplace, he tries the slipper on her foot, and it fits perfectly. In the end, Cinderella and the Prince marry in a grand ceremony, while the palace gates close on her stepfamily, forcing them to watch from outside. CastBrandy Norwood as CinderellaWhitney Houston as Fairy Godmother[2][3]Paolo Montalban as Prince ChristopherJason Alexander as LionelVictor Garber as King Maximillian[4]Whoopi Goldberg as Queen Constantina[4]Bernadette Peters as Wicked stepmotherVeanne Cox as CalliopeNatalie Desselle as Minerva
Price: 10 USD
Location: Newbury Park, California
End Time: 2024-11-10T20:32:24.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
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All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Photograph
Featured Person/Artist: Whitney Houston
