|
Blu Cantrell
|
| Blu Cantrell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tiffany Cobb |
| Born | March 16, 1976 Providence, Rhode Island, United States |
| Genre(s) | R&B, soul, neo soul, hip hop soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Label(s) | Arista, Universal, Motown |
| Associated acts | Sean Paul |
Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb on March 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Blu Cantrell was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Her father was a Narragansett Indian and Cape Verdean and played in the National Basketball Associationcitation needed. Her mother, of French descent, was a former Miss America, actress, and jazz vocalistcitation needed.
Music career
After several demos, recordings, and singing backup for artists such as Puff Daddy, Cantrell was discovered by Red Zone Entertainment heads Tricky, Tab and Laney Stewart in early 2000. She also did collaborations with Baby Face, Usher, Dionne Warwick, Will I Am, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and jazz legend Herbie Hancock. The producers promptly placed her to Antonio "L.A." Reid who offered the singer a contract with his label Arista Records after hearing one song she wrote and sung in front of him and his staff. After a bidding war with five different labels Blu said she Arista bid the highest, Blu said "Since she was a little girl she always dreamed of being on Arista records." Afterwards Cantrell went straight into recording sessions with Dallas Austin and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. In 2001, her debut album, So Blu, was released. The record saw major success when it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, eventually selling over 1.4 Million copies and going platinum in the United States. The album featured the hit single "Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 also became the number one most added record to radio in the country breaking Elvis's record of most played on all genres of radio and earned Cantrell two Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Single of the Year as well as an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, both in 2002.
In 2003, Cantrell released her second album, Bittersweet. The record earned Cantrell a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album and managed to enter the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number eight and went number one everywhere worldwide and sold Diamond everywhere but in the United States. The album produced two hit singles, these being "Breathe" and "Make Me Wanna Scream", the former being a collaboration with Sean Paul. "Breathe" reached the top ten in the U.S., it peaked at number one for four weeks in the United Kingdom and broke Madonna's song 'Lucky Star' record most played on radio. It eventually became the number one single of the year worldwide.
That same year, Cantrell was to appear in Playboy magazine (and would have been only the fourth African American woman to appear on the cover), but decided against it at the last minute because "I felt it was going to make me more of a sex symbol and I didn't want anything to take away from the fact that I can sing".
In the summer of 2005, Blu Cantrell released a compilation overseas which sold over 200,000 cd's. Cantrell continues to enjoy acclaim by European audiences.
In 2007, Blu began recording material for a new album, to be released on her independent Baby Blu Music Label, while shopping the album to labels for distribution, blu was offered several deals for a recording contract but reportedly declined all due to differences within the contract agreements, as of 2008 the status of the album is unknown.
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Other releases
|
Awards and nominations
- American Music Awards
- Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist (Nominated)
- Grammy Awards
- Best R&B Album: Bittersweet (Nominated)
- Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "Hit Em Up Style (Oops)" (Nominated)
Song appearances
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "U Remind Me" (Remix) (with Usher and Method Man) | The Dome, Vol. 19 |
| 2002 | "Round Up" (Lady May) | Bittersweet |
| 2004 | "Take My Heart" (Kool & the Gang) | The Hits: Reloaded |
| 2008 | "Feelin Good" (RAW & Anonymous and Just Will) | Worth The Weight |
References
- Howell, Stephen. "Blu Cantrell bio". Accessed Jun. 16, 2005.