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Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11 1979 ), known professionally as '''Brandy''', is an American Actress and R&B and Pop Singer , Songwriter , and Record Producer . Discovered by Atlantic Records when she was a member of a youth singing group, she released her Self-titled Debut Album in 1994 at the age of fifteen. Following a major success with " The Boy Is Mine ," a duet with singer Monica for which she won a Grammy Award , and her second album '' Never Say Never '' in 1998 , a series of hit records established her position as one of the most successful of the new breed of urban R&B female vocalists to emerge in the mid-to late 1990s . While maintaining a recording career Norwood also gained fame for starring in several Film and Television productions, including popular UPN Sitcom '' Moesha '' ( 1996 - 2001 ), a 1997 version of Rodgers And Hammerstein 's '' Cinderella '' and a supporting role in the 1998 Horror Sequel '' I Still Know What You Did Last Summer '' among others. Norwood has sold over fourteen million albums worldwide.1 The RIAA ranks her as one of the best-selling female artist in American music history having sold 10.5 million albums.2 BIOGRAPHY Childhood Brandy is the elder of two siblings born to Movies''. Retrieved November 10 , 2006 . Through her father's work Brandy started singing at their minister, Curtis W. McCullom's , 2006 . 1994–1997: Early commercial success , Queen Latifah , and Yo-Yo in the remix video to " I Wanna Be Down " ( 1994 ).]] After months of recording, including sessions with producers Daryl Williams, and Keith Crouch, Brandy's Self-titled Debut Album was released on September 27 , 1994 . While the album debuted at a moderate number 20 on the U.S. '' Billboard 200 '' chart only, ''Brandy'' soon became a Quadruple Platinum success thanks to heavy rotation on music channels MTV and BET and the singles " I Wanna Be Down " and " Baby " which both entered the top 10 of the official Hot 100 and became number-one hits on ''Billboard'''s R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Although the album's success was limited elsewhere, it produced another two top 10 hits and made Brandy one of the most successful new artists of the year. Subsequently the album earned Norwood two Grammy Award nominations for " Best New Artist " and " Best Female R&B Vocal Performance " (for her single "Baby"), four Soul Train Music Awards , two Billboard Awards , and the New York Children's Choice Award. Brandy continued to soar in 1995 , teaming up with Lenny Kravitz for the '' Batman Forever '' soundtrack and scoring another hit with her number-two single, " Sittin' Up In My Room " from the '' Waiting To Exhale '' soundtrack. In 1996 , Brandy teamed up with Tamia , Chaka Khan , and Gladys Knight , for the single "Missing You," released from the '' Set It Off '' soundtrack. Even with the superstar lineup, it was Brandy's least successful single yet, but was still a moderate hit, and peaked at number 25 on the pop chart. The song won Norwood her third Grammy nomination in the " Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals " category. 1998–2001: Worldwide popularity in the video for " The Boy Is Mine " ( 1998 ), one of both acts' biggest singles.]] , 2006 . For the next three years, Brandy completed the remaining three seasons of her sitcom '' Moesha '' and starred in a number of widely successful and critically acclaimed television specials and movies. She also landed a multitude of endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics, which she represented for several years. Brandy was the subject of a major advertisement campaign for DKNY Jeans for three seasons, and modeled Candies shoes in an ad campaign photographed by David LaChapelle . After a lengthy hiatus that saw the end of her ''Moesha'' television series, and a flurry of tabloid headlines discussing her bout with "dehydration", Brandy returned with a '', the song became an instant international hit. 2002–2003: New image " (2002) presented a more mature facet of Brandy's personality and her much-worked-on voice.]] During the production of her third studio album, Norwood became romantically involved with producer Robert "Big Bert" Smith. The couple quietly "married" in the summer of , 2004 . Retrieved November 11 , 2006 . '', 2002 Still, the album was rather quietly and cautiously declared as a flop by the media. Brandy ignored the rumblings and instead settled further into motherhood. She began writing and producing for other artists, such as Kelly Rowland , Tarralyn Ramsey , and Toni Braxton within the coming year. 2004–2005: Critical highs and personal lows " (2004), produced by rapper Kanye West , failed to link ''Afrodisiac'' with previous successes.]] By the following year, Norwood had entered a relationship with New York Knicks guard Quentin Richardson . The couple soon got engaged in July 2004 but Brandy eventually ended her 15-month engagement with the NBA player in October 2005 .6 As reported, Norwood who had Richardson's face tattooed on her back had to get the tatto transformed into a cat.7 Returning from yet another musical hiatus, Brandy's fourth album '' Afrodisiac '' was released on June 29 2004 in North America, amidst both her weakest promotional blitz ever and the well-publicized termination of her short-lived business relationship with entertainment manager Benny Medina .8 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 ",9 and failed talks of a purported co-headlining tour with R&B singer Usher .10 Upon parting Norwood admitted her switch to Medina made her appreciate what she had with her mother, stating that "It was such a drastic change that it didn't work for me. Nobody out there can match her passion for me."11 Despite the negative blitz, , 2005 . "Talk Abour Our Love" reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart but the album's follow-up singles failed to obtain success on the pop charts. At the end of 2004, however, Norwood asked for and received a release from Atlantic Records, after eleven years with the company. As a direct consequence the label brought a collection of all of her singles, '' The Best Of Brandy '', on the market. "I think it's awesome to have an album that reflects the songs that people have enjoyed over the years," Brandy said in an interview the following year, "I'm happy to say that many of the tracks included are my favorites too."13 Thereupon she reportedly started shopping for a new record deal under Knockout Entertainment, her brother's label.14 2006–present: Career development In June 2006 , Norwood was cast as one of three talent judges on the first season of '' America's Got Talent '', an Amateur Talent Contest on NBC with executive producer Simon Cowell and host Regis Philbin . The broadcast was one of the most-watched programmes of the summer,15 and concluded on August 17 , 2006 with the win of 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan . Brandy was originally scheduled to return for a second season of the show in summer 2007 , but eventually decided to step down following her recent legal woes, feeling that "she couldn't give the new season the attention and commitment it deserved."16 She was replaced by U.S. reality TV star Sharon Osbourne . Instead, Norwood is currently putting the finishing touches on her Yet-to-be-titled Fifth Studio Album which is scheduled for a fall 2007 release and involves producers Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins ,17 The Neptunes ,18 Bryce Wilson , Tim & Bob ,19 Wyldcard, and executive producer Bryan Michael Cox .20 The album's lead single´is expected to be released to U.S. radios in late October 2007.21 Brandy is also said to be in the works of a soundtrack for a yet-untitled sci-fi/action video game for PlayStation Portable in which she will be providing the voice for the main character.22 2006 car accident On , 2007 . On January 29 , 2007 , the California Highway Patrol (CHP) recommended to the Los Angeles City Attorney 's Office that Brandy be charged with a Misdemeanor charge of vehicular Manslaughter , which carries maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. CHP found that Brandy was at fault in the December 30 accident for failing to prevent her Land Rover from hitting the car in front of her when traffic suddenly slowed. The City Attorney's Office is reviewing the case.http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/29/people_hot_water/main2409924.shtml On , 2007 , a wrongful death suit seeking unspecified damages was filed against Brandy on behalf of Aboudihaj's minor sons, Mrwan Mohamed, 14, and Kareem Mohamed, 10. The two boys were riding in the car with their mother and sustained unspecified injuries which, according to their attorney, Paul N. Philips, "will likely cause some permanent disability".http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/entertainment/4570419.html Filed on May 23, yet another lawsuit this time filed by someone else involved in the car accident. He is seeking an undisclosed amount for bills and damages. ACTING CAREER In 1993 while recording her debut album, Brandy landed the role of Danesha Turrell in the ABC sitcom '' Thea '', playing the 12-year-old daughter of protagonist Thea Turrell ( Thea Vidale ). The series was taken off the screens eight months after its release but earned her a Young Artist Award nomination for "Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series." Her shortlived engagement earned Brandy her first starring role in the the network canceled the show after six seasons on the air, leaving it ending with a Cliffhanger for a scrapped seventh season.25 In 1997 Norwood was hand-picked by executive producer Whitney Houston 26 to play the title character in Rodgers And Hammerstein ’s television version of '' Cinderella '' featuring a multi-cultural cast that also included Jason Alexander , Whoopi Goldberg , Bernadette Peters and Houston. 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,27 and won an Emmy Award . About filming Brandy later told ''Jet'': "It was the best experience I could ever have."28 A year after Brandy made her Big Screen debut after winning the supporting role of sassy Karla Wilson in the franchise-flick '' I Still Know What You Did Last Summer ''. The movie outperformed The Original with a total of 16.5 million at its opening weekend but critical reaction towards the film was largely disappointing, with film review site Rotten Tomatoes calculating a poor rating of 7% based on 46 reviews.29 Norwood, however, earned positive reviews for her "bouncy"30 performance which garnered her both Blockbuster Entertainment Award and MTV Movie Award nominations for "Best Actress" and "Best Breakthrough Female Performance" respectively. In 1999 , she co-starred with Diana Ross in the Telefilm Drama '' Double Platinum ''. Since the early 2000s Norwood's focus on acting has permanently decreased to occasional guest appearances on several television shows such as '' Reba '' (2002), '' Sabrina, The Teenage Witch '' (2002), '' American Dreams '' (2004), '' House '' (2005) and '' One On One '' (2006). As reported, she's however working on a yet-untitled Touchstone Television -produced sitcom for The CW since mid- 2004 . Brandy will play a die-hard New York er who moves to Los Angeles to take a job as an entertainment editor. "It's going to be me playing character based on my life, but it's not going to be me as Brandy," she explained in an interview with '' MTV News ''. "It's going to be a totally different person, but with the same challenges that I go through in my life ... being a single mom, raising my child, trying to have a life, trying to have friends and trying to do my own thing."31 The pilot for the series, which will be co-executive produced by Norwood, her mother Sonja, and producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, is said to be written by '' Girlfriends '' creator Mara Brock Akil .32 DISCOGRAPHY Studio albums
Number-1-singles FILMOGRAPHY Film
Television
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS See Also: Brandy awards and nominations SEE ALSO
NOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
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