Brandy

BRANDY

Born: Brandy Rayana Norwood; McComb, Mississippi, 11 February 1979

Genre: R&B, Pop

Best-selling album since 1990: Full Moon (2002)

Hit songs since 1990: "I Wanna Be Down," "Have You Ever?," "The Boy Is Mine"

Arhythm and blues performer with a wholesome, girl-next-door image, Brandy gained stardom in the mid-1990s with a series of well-crafted hits that emphasized her youthful, win-some voice. More than a singer, Brandy became an all-around media celebrity, starring on television in the hit series Moesha, which she also helped produce. Leaving the business at the peak of her fame in 2000, she returned to music two years later with a more mature, adventurous sound.

Born in the small Mississippi town of McComb, Brandy began singing in her family's church at the age of two. Two years later she moved with her parents to Carson, California, where her father worked as a church music director. Influenced by the dramatic vocal style of pop star Whitney Houston, Brandy began entering local talent contests during the late 1980s. In 1993 she was cast in the short-lived television series Thea, but her real breakthrough came the next year, when an audition led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records.

Her self-titled debut album appeared in 1994 and featured four rhythm and blues hits, including "I Wanna Be Down" and "Baby." While lacking the vocal power of her idol Houston, Brandy has a sweet voice with an attractive, smoky lower register. On the album's best tracks, such as "I Wanna Be Down," her singing combines a girlish quality with the assertiveness of an adult. Riding the song's steady hip-hop beat Brandy is completely at home, skirting her way around the rhythms with ease. On the album's ballads, however, she often sounds tentative, unable to summon the vocal or emotional variety to make the material interesting. Unlike Houston, who possesses the vocal reserves to meld herself into any type of material or style, Brandy requires a carefully built and controlled production, one that highlights her voice's strengths.

In 1995 Brandy was cast in Moesha, a sitcom that became television network UPN's most-watched program. She spent the next several years out of the recording spotlight, focusing her energies on the show and other television projects, such as a 1997 version of the classic television musical Cinderella, in which she performed opposite Houston. Brandy's second album, Never Say Never, appeared in 1998 and features the smooth, driving hit "The Boy Is Mine," a duet with fellow vocalist Monica. With its tough beat and catchy melody, the song is Brandy's most successful recording to date, selling over 3 million copies and becoming the best-selling female duet in pop history. Elsewhere on Never Say Never Brandy shows signs of artistic growth, sounding more assured and confident than on her debut. The album marks her first collaboration with hot R&B producer Rodney Jerkins, who brings to Brandy's music a new street-wise toughness, although her respectable, sweet-tempered image remains unchanged. By 2000, however, there were signs of cracks beneath the upbeat façade: Weighing only 105 pounds, she was hospitalized for dehydration and exhaustion after walking off the set of Moesha. In addition, rumors swirled of an ongoing feud with co-star Countess Vaughn. As a result, aside from a few modeling and television appearances, Brandy largely fell out of sight during the next two years.

By the time she returned to the scene in 2002 Brandy was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions in music and life. Discussing her self-imposed sabbatical on the television program 20/20, she admitted that during the grueling filming of Moesha she had suffered from an eating disorder as well as an abusive romantic relationship. In a bold move she severed her professional relationship with her mother, who had managed her career from its beginning. Tellingly, Brandy's first album after her newfound independence, Full Moon (2002), emerged as her strongest, most compelling work to date. Although her voice continues to have shortcomings, including a tendency to become thin in its upper register, it is well served by the production genius of Rodney Jerkins. On the excellent single "What About Us?" he buoys the singer with an array of unusual sonic devices, including a stomping beat that resembles the hammering sound of a pickaxe. Surprisingly the single's glossy ornamentation, featuring an array of electronic blips and scratches, never gets in the way of its underlying groove; it manages to sound elaborate and minimalist at the same time. With their slightly off-kilter sensibility, "What About Us?" and similarly styled tracks such as "I Thought" incorporate the kind of synthesized, electronic sound associated with 1980s new wave music. Infusing this sound with a modern sense of groove, Brandy and Jerkins create a bold style of R&B that looks to the future. In keeping with her upbeat state of mind, Brandy during this period studied metaphysics, became a vegetarian, and married record producer Robert Smith, with whom she gave birth to a daughter, Sy'rai, in 2002.

Beginning her music career at the age of fifteen, Brandy quickly forged her own identity as a well-rounded entertainer, achieving remarkable success as a singer and actress. As she matured from shy teenager into confident woman, her music took on a new sophistication and depth, reflecting her ability to select producers who understood and amplified her vocal strengths.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Brandy (Atlantic, 1994); Never Say Never (Atlantic, 1998); Full Moon (Atlantic, 2002).

WEBSITE:

www.foreverbrandy.com.

david freeland