Brandy Norwood

Brandy Norwood, born on February 11, 1979, in McComb, Mississippi, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress celebrated for her intricate vocal riffs and significant influence on contemporary R&B. Raised in Carson, California, she began her musical journey as a backing vocalist for youth music groups before signing with Atlantic Records, which catapulted her to fame in the mid-1990s.

Her self-titled debut album, released in 1994, featured hit singles such as 'I Wanna Be Down', 'Baby', and 'Brokenhearted', establishing her as a prominent figure in the music industry. Brandy also gained recognition on television with her lead role in the UPN sitcom 'Moesha', which aired from 1996 to 2001, and her portrayal of Cinderella in the acclaimed television film 'Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella' in 1997.

Brandy's sophomore album, 'Never Say Never', released in 1998, solidified her status as a superstar, yielding two number-one singles on the US charts: 'The Boy Is Mine', a duet with Monica, and 'Have You Ever?'. The former spent an impressive thirteen weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and earned both artists their first Grammy Award. She continued to evolve her sound with subsequent albums, including the electronic-infused 'Full Moon' in 2002 and the ambient-inspired 'Afrodisiac' in 2004.

In addition to her music career, Brandy served as a judge on the inaugural season of 'America's Got Talent' in 2006 and showcased her dancing skills as a contestant on 'Dancing with the Stars' in 2010. Her sixth album, 'Two Eleven', released in 2012, featured a hip-hop-oriented production, while her Broadway debut came in 2015 when she portrayed Roxie Hart in the musical 'Chicago'. Most recently, she released her seventh album, 'B7', in 2020, and her first Christmas album, 'Christmas with Brandy', in 2023. With over seventeen million albums and singles sold in the US, Brandy is a Grammy Award and American Music Award recipient.