|
Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran'Nu.
Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Carson, California, Norwood first appeared in a supporting role on the short-lived ABC sitcom Thea in 1993. Her engagement led to her own star vehicle, successful UPN sitcom Moesha in 1996, and resulted in roles in the 1998 horror sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and the TV films Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) and Double Platinum (1999), two of television's best rated special programs.
In 1993, she signed a recording contract with Atlantic, releasing her self-titled debut album a year after. Following a major success with Grammy Award-winning "The Boy Is Mine", a duet with singer Monica, and her second album Never Say Never in 1998, a series of successful records established her as one of the most successful of the new breed of urban R&B female vocalists to emerge during the mid-to late 1990s. Her latest studio album, Human (2008), was her first effort to be released on the Epic label after a label change in 2005.
The RIAA ranks Norwood as one of the best-selling female artists in American music history, having sold over 8.5 million copies of her five studio albums in the United States and over 30 million records worldwide, to date. Additionally, she has won over 100 awards as a recording artist. In 1999, Billboard ranked Norwood among the top 20 of the top pop artists of the 1990s. Additionally, in 2010, Billboard included Brandy in their top 50 R&B and Hip Hop Artists list of the past 25 years
Norwood was born in McComb, Mississippi, the daughter of Willie Norwood, a former gospel singer and choir director, and his wife Sonja Norwood (née Bates), a former district manager for H&R Block. She is the elder sister of entertainer Ray J, as well as a first cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg.
Raised in a Christian home, Norwood started singing through her father's work as part of the local church choir, performing her first gospel solo at the age of two. In 1983, her parents relocated to Los Angeles, California, where Brandy was schooled at the Hollywood High Performing Arts Center. Norwood's interest in music and performing increased after becoming a fan of singer Whitney Houston at the age of seven, but at school, she experienced trouble with persuading teachers to send her on auditions as she found no support among the staff. Undaunted, Norwood began entering talent shows by the time she was eleven, and as part of a youth singing group, performed at several public functions. In 1990, her talent led to a binding oral contract with Teaspoon Productions, headed by Chris Stokes and Earl Harris, who obtained her gigs as a backing vocalist for their R&B boy band Immature, and arranged the production of a demo tape. In 1993, amid ongoing negotiations with East West Records, Norwood's parents organized a recording contract with the Atlantic Recording Corporation after auditioning for the company's director of A&R, Darryl Williams. To manage her daughter, Norwood's mother soon resigned from her job, while Norwood herself dropped out of Hollywood High School later and was tutored privately from tenth grade on.
During the early production stages of her debut album, Norwood was selected for a role in the ABC sitcom Thea, portraying the 12-year-old daughter of a single mother played by Thea Vidale. Broadcasted to mediocre ratings, the series ended only 8 months after its premiere, but garnered her a Young Artist Award nomination for Outstanding Youth Ensemble alongside her co-stars. 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, stating: "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."
Norwood, stylistically, has evolved since her 1994 start in music, at the age of 15. With her mother as her manager and stylist, Brandy developed a “good girl” image and a “hip-yet-wholesome” appeal. At the start of her career, she often cited Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and Mariah Carey, as her biggest musical inspirations. Her current musical influences are Sade, Kim Burrell, Boyz II Men, The Clark Sisters, Enya, and her father Willie Norwood.
Norwood’s initial sound was contemporary R&B, heavily rooted in gospel and soul music. Her lyrics described various types of love, from casual and friendly love, to romantic and spiritual affairs. Influenced by Houston and Carey, she incorporated a ballad-heavy style and an adult contemporary feel into her urban-pop sound, for her second studio album, Never Say Never. Her third studio album, Full Moon, saw Norwood abandon her teenage appeal for a more adult and sensual edginess. Along with her image, her voice had gone through a major change, losing the "girly-rasp" that she once had, for a now deeper and warmer voice, that had acquired a scratchy, evocative edge. The music also reflected the change, as songs like "When You Touch Me" and "Like This" explored more adult, sexual topics, and a sound that blended her previous urban-pop sound with heavy influences of UK garage, funktronica, and progressively futuristic tones. In 2004, her recent motherhood, life experiences, and growing affinity toward English rock band Coldplay, caused her to shift toward a more matured outlook and raw nature with her fourth studio album Afrodisiac, a venture into the organic sounds of soul blues and the nostalgic street-wise sound of 90’s hip-hop. A four year hiatus, and a few life-changing occurrences caused Brandy to return to the music scene, in late 2008, with Human, her fifth studio album, which lyrically discussed topics of spiritual love, genuine heartache, and universal honesty, and musically explored combining her urban pop sound with elements of country and inspirational pop.
Norwood has a contralto vocal range that spans three octaves. Often referred to as “B-Rocka”, her distinctive voice has been commended for its smoky, slightly worn timbre and for the caliber of its colorful tone quality. Josh Love of Stylus Magazine calls her voice “gorgeous” and “un-histrionic”, while Nicolas Paul Godkin of Designer Magazine comments, saying “…her husky, dulcet tones impresses the most.” Andy Kallman of Allmusic mentions that her voice is a treat to her, and she wears a slightly worn scratchy-ness surprisingly well. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly calls her voice "down-pillow soft," and Keya Modessa of The Situation describes her voice as “deep, sultry, and different.” While her vocal melismas and ad-libs have been noted for their developed sense of harmony, Norwood is most known and praised for her consistent use of multitrack recording toward her own lead and backing vocals, creating various extended chords and elaborate textures of counterpoint and polyphony, a technique that has become her signature. Terry Sawyer of Pop Matters Online comments, saying “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 it 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.”
Norwood's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry, most notably with contemporary R&B and gospel genres. Many of Norwood’s peers laud her as a vocal inspiration and influence, including Kanye West, Chris Brown, Tank, Keyshia Cole, John Legend, Tyrese, Ciara, Jazmine Sullivan, and Kelly Rowland among others. Barbadian singer Rihanna revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that her 2007 multi-platinum album, Good Girl Gone Bad, was primarily influenced by Brandy. In the interview she stated, “ really helped inspire that album, I listened to everyday . Rock musician John Frusciante, former guitarist of legendary rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers praises Brandy, calling her voice “multi-dimensional” and “inspiring”. In describing her voice and signature sound he said, “You can't hear with your conscious: you have to hear her voice with your subconscious.” He also mentioned that Norwood was the “main inspiration” behind the guitar work on the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s 2006 Grammy winning album, Stadium Arcadium.
However, on many occasions, Norwood has been thought of as merely a talented muse, that music producers and songwriters have used to exercise their own artistic and creative energies. This theory has been most notably linked with Norwood’s most frequent collaborator, producer Rodney Jerkins, and his own Darkchild imprint, on which many of their collaborations do not include songwriting or production from Norwood herself. Her work with Timbaland and other producer/songwriters outside of her usual circle has also often seen Brandy responsible for only vocal arrangements and delivery, rather than actual writing or producing. However, throughout her musical career, Norwood has received numerous awards and accolades for her vocal abilities, and remains one of the most influential artists of her time.
|
