Toni Braxton ( full name Toni Michelle Braxton ) was born on October 7, 1967 in Severn, Maryland and she is a six-time Grammy Award winning African American R&B singer. Toni Braxton is most notable for her dark, deep, thick contralto vocals, which are low even by contralto standards.
Biography and Career :
Toni Braxton is the oldest of six children. Toni Braxton attended elementary school at Quarterfield elementary, and middle school at Corkran Middle School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Toni Braxton's father was a clergyman, and the Braxton children were raised in a strict religious household. Toni Braxton's first performing experience was singing with a church choir. Toni Braxton attended Bowie State University to obtain a teaching degree but decided to pursue a musical career.
She met musician Keri Lewis in 1997, when his group Mint Condition opened up for her while she was on tour. The two began dating following Toni's breakup with Curtis Martin of the New York Jets in 1998. In April 2001, the two married. On December 2, 2001, she gave birth to their first child, a son named Denim Cole Braxton-Lewis. The couples second son, Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis was born in April 2003.
Toni and her four sisters (Traci, Trina, Towanda and Tamar) began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s, and were signed to Arista Records in 1989. Their first single, "The Good Life," was released in 1990. Though the song didn't make waves, it attracted the attention of producing team Antonio "LA" Reid & Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
With Toni Braxton's low register sounding similar to that of Anita Baker, LA & Babyface summonsed her to record a demo of "Love Shoulda Brought You Home," a song that they had written specifically for Baker to appear on the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film, Boomerang. Baker passed on the song, but suggested that Toni herself record the final version. The endorsement worked in Toni's favor, as her recording wound up being included on the album. As did "Give U My Heart," a duet with Toni and Babyface. Both songs garnered radio attention in the closing months of 1992 and effectively introduced Braxton to the record buying public. Toni, meanwhile, was signed to Reid and Edmonds' Arista-distributed imprint, LaFace Records, and immediately began recording her solo debut album.
On July 13, 1993, LaFace Records released Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton. With a bulk of the production serviced by L.A. Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons, the album became a critical and commercial success — peaking at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, where it remained for two weeks. The first single, "Another Sad Love Song" peaked at #7 and #2 on Billboards Hot 100 Singles Chart and R&B Singles Chart respectively, and was certified Gold. The albums second single, "Breathe Again," fared better — going top five on both the Pop and R&B singles charts, and was also gold-certified. Into 1994, Toni Braxton continued to spin off more hit singles, including the top ten "You Mean The World To Me," as well as "Seven Whole Days," and "How Many Ways."
Braxton won several awards, including three Grammy Awards, one for Best New Artist, and two consecutive ones for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and three American Music Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, Favorite New Adult Contemporary Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album for her self-titled album. Toni Braxton was certified 8x platinum and sold over 10 million worldwide.
Secrets :
Toni Braxton entered the studio in 1995 to start recording her sophomore album, Secrets. The album, released in 1996, is her most successful work to date. Braxton, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Antonio "L.A." Reid stuck to the same formula with this album but added more soul to the music. Toni Braxton has said about the album, "The motivation for this album was to include a little bit of everything. Our aim was to come up with material that would have a familiar 'feel' to the people who bought the first album without being musically redundant." Along with Babyface, Toni Braxton also worked with R. Kelly, Tony Rich, and David Foster on the album.
Toni Braxton was the co-executive producer of the album and co-wrote two of its songs, including the 1997 single "How Could An Angel Break My Heart" which was also later included on a Princess Diana memorial album.
With help from the first single from the album, "You're Makin' Me High" (which became Toni Braxton's first #1hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart) the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. "You're Makin' Me High" also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart for two weeks and it also saw similar success in Europe and Asia, expanding the prominence of Toni Braxton on an increasing international clientel. The album's second single, "Un-Break My Heart" (written by Diane Warren), which would later become the singer's signature song, outperformed the first single's triumph, spending eleven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 and also topping the Hot Dance Singles chart for eleven weeks and the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for four weeks.
Toni Braxton won two Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and two American Music Awards for Favorite Female Soul/R&B Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album.
On November 19, 2002, Toni Braxton's fourth studio album More Than A Woman was released. Opening to an instant commercial disappointment, the albums peaked at #13, with first week sales were 95,000. The first single, the The Neptunes-produced, "Hit The Freeway" failed at radio — and would peak at #86 on the Hot 100. The three singles that followed ("Lies, Lies, Lies," "Give It Back," and "A Better Man") also failed to make a dent and missed the Hot 100 completely.
Prior to the release of the album a dispute broke out between Toni Braxton and Irv Gotti when he played a rough cut of "No More Love," a song that he'd produced for the album that was to be the first single. Disapproving of Gotti broadcasting the unfinished track, Toni Braxton withheld it from being released. The same year, Braxton was further annoyed when rapper Jay-Z used the same sample of 2Pac's "Me And My Girlfriend" that she had already used on her track "Me And My Boyfriend" for his and Beyonce's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde." Furious, Toni Braxton lashed out in a radio interview, accusing Jay-Z and producer Kanye West of taking money out of her children's college fund.
In April 2005, Toni Braxton's new label, Blackground/Universal, released "Please" — the first single from her forthcoming fifth album, Libra. The album was originally planned for a June release, but it was pushed back several times and was finally issued on September 27. Unfortunately for Toni, her troubles with weak album promotion and lack of label commitment weren't over. "Please" peaked at #36 on Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks Chart, while altogether missing the Hot 100. The albums lack of promotion by Blackground, caused it to go under the radar of many.
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Toni Braxton ( full name Toni Michelle Braxton ) was born on October 7, 1967 in Severn, Maryland and she is a six-time Grammy Award winning African American R&B singer. Toni Braxton is most notable for her dark, deep, thick contralto vocals, which are low even by contralto standards.
