Information AboutKelis |
Kelis (born '''Kelis Rogers''' in the Harlem Neighborhood of Manhattan , New York on August 21 , 1980 ) is an American Singer and Songwriter who has seen moderate success in the United States and major success overseas. She is currently married to hip-hop star Nas . BIOGRAPHY Her father, Kenneth, was a Jazz musician and a Pentecostal Minister ; her mother, Eveliss, was a Fashion Designer . "Kelis" is a combination of her African American father's and Chinese Puerto Rican mother's names. Kelis' name is pronounced 'Kuh-Leese'. As a child, she sang in Church Choir s and played Violin , Piano , and Saxophone while attending a Private School . Kelis left home at age thirteen, but continued her education and at age 16 Kelis went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Of Music & Art And Performing Arts where she formed the R&B trio BLU (Black Ladies United). After graduation, she formed a band with The Neptunes and, with their support, landed herself a record deal. She has since worked with a variety of musicians including , "What It Is" with Busta Rhymes , and "Candy" with Foxy Brown . MUSIC CAREER ''Kaleidoscope'' (1999) Her Debut Album , '' Kaleidoscope '', was, overall, not an American success selling 290,000 copies; though its debut single, "Caught Out There", was an Urban radio success peaking at #9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and becoming a MTV / BET video hit in America. The entire album really took off in Europe , where all three singles, "Caught Out There", "Good Stuff", and "Get Along With You" were sizable hits. Kelis' colorful style in both clothing and hair received considerable attention. "Caught Out There" managed to get Kelis a #52 chart entry in the UK on imports and it was therefore decided to release a single which peaked at #4. "Good Stuff" was also a modest hit securing a number #19 position in the UK Charts . In addition, according to BPI , a British music charts organization, ''Kaleidoscope'' went gold selling over 100,000 copies in the UK and Kelis won the Brit Award for Best International Newcomer. ''Kaleidoscope'''s success was largely outside the United States, because Kelis' style of music was not limited to the traditional urban market. American radio was reluctant to accept Kelis since her music didn't fit neatly into any particular genre. Kelis' biggest market became Europe, where a combination of rap, R&B intermixed with Rock And Roll and other genres was more readily accepted. Also, Australia and Asia turned out to be easier markets for Kelis. ''Wanderland'' (2001) Her second album, '' Wanderland '', was released two years later exclusively in Europe and Asia, after its lead single, "Young, Fresh N' New", failed to catch on in America; the video for "Young, Fresh N' New" barely registered on American MTV or VH1 , but got pretty heavy play on MTV2 . According to Kelis, her and then American record company Virgin did not like the ''Wanderland'' album. The record executives at Virgin felt the album material didn't have a strong enough singles. Unlike her debut, ''Wanderland'' sales were mediocre selling just under 80,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Kelis, who had moved to Europe during her successful period there, starting the touring with tour. In America she met and fell in love with rapper Nas and the couple were married on January 8 , 2005 . ''Tasty'' (2003) Kelis finally found mainstream success in America in 2003 , with her #1 urban, #3 Hot 100 song, " Milkshake "; this helped to propel her third album '' Tasty '' to the top of the charts and reach gold status selling over 540,000 copies in the U.S in only 2 months. The single and album immediately found success in Europe. According to the BPI, ''Tasty'' went platinum in the United Kingdom in October 2004 selling over 300,000 copies. The hit single "Milkshake" went silver in the UK selling over 200,000 units. "Milkshake" was one of the top 10 best-selling singles in UK in the year 2004 . The album's second single, "Trick Me", once again proved successful at radio and video channels in Europe and went to the top 10 in many European countries during mid-2004, however the song did not enjoy success in America, where its music video was not released. In addition, Kelis success grew in Australia. The album ''Tasty'' went gold in Australia selling over 35,000 copies. "Milkshake" went platinum in Australia selling over 70,000 copies. The second single "Trick Me" was important because The Neptunes were, for once, not involved in its production. Instead, Dallas Austin co-wrote and produced this track. Indeed, although The Neptunes contributed a number of tracks to the album, Kelis began collaborating with other producers such as Austin, André 3000 , Rockwilder and Raphael Saadiq producing an altogether more eclectic sound. "Trick Me" also went platinum in Australia selling over 70,000 units. In New Zealand the album ''Tasty'' went gold selling over 7000 copies. "Not In Love", a collaboration with Enrique Iglesias' from Iglesias' album '' 7 '', was also released as a single in 2004 but failed to catch on in America outside of the Club Charts . Kelis followed her success of "Millionaire" with the Rockwilder produced track, "In Public" featuring her husband, Nas. The track was a UK only release, taking it to #17 with no video for the track. With the success of ''Tasty'', Kelis went on tour as the opening act for Britney Spears ' The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004. ''Kelis Was Here'' (2006) Kelis will be releasing her first single, "Bossy" (featuring Too ) from her 2006 comeback album in May 2006 . It is achieving frequent Airplay on urban radio and is the lead single from her upcoming album '' Kelis Was Here '' (originally due to be called ''The Puppeteer''), which is due to be released on June 13 , 2006 and includes production credits by Scott Storch , Raphael Saadiq, Will.i.am , Dallas Austin, Swizz Beatz , Bangladesh, and Timbaland . Kelis will also be part of Busta Rhymes' track "I Love My Bitch", the second single from his latest album '' The Big Bang ''. This will be the second time Kelis has teamed up with Busta, with the first time being on his song "What It Is". Currently, In addition to working on the upcoming album, Kelis is writing a Cookbook and designing her own line of fashion accessories. DISCOGRAPHY For more information about her singles, albums, and music video, see '' Kelis Discography ''. Albums
Singles Guest appearances VIDEOGRAPHY
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