- Blu Cantrell
Infobox Musical artist
Name = Blu Cantrell
Img_capt = The cover art for her upcoming single 'Feel that Vibe'.
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Tiffany Cobb
Born = birth date and age|1976|3|16
Providence,Rhode Island ,United States
Died =
Genre = R&B, soul,neo soul ,hip hop soul
Occupation =Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 2001–present
Label = Arista, Universal, Motown
URL =Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb on
March 16 ,1976 ) is an American R&B and soulsinger-songwriter .Biography
Early life
Cantrell was born in Providence,
Rhode Island to aNarragansett Indian andCape Verdean father NBA player father and ajazz singer mother of Italian descent.Music career
After several demos, recordings, and singing backup for artists such as
Puff Daddy ,Truth Hurts andFaith Evans , Cantrell was discovered by Red Zone Entertainment heads Tab and Laney Stewart in early 2000. The producers promptly placed her to Antonio "L.A." Reid who offered the singer a contract with his labelArista Records after a successful audition. Afterwards Cantrell went straight into recording sessions withDallas Austin andJimmy Jam and Terry Lewis . In 2001, her debut album, "So Blu ", was released. The record saw major success when it peaked at number eight on the "Billboard" 200 chart, eventually selling over 800,000 copies and going platinum in the United States. The album featured the hit single "Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!) ", which peaked at number two on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 and earned Cantrell aGrammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance as well as anAmerican Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, both in 2002.In 2003, Cantrell released her second album, "Bittersweet". The record failed to reprise the success of her debut album but did earn 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. The album produced two hit singles, these being "Breathe" and "Make Me Wanna Scream ", the former being a collaboration withSean Paul . Though "Breathe" failed to reach the top fifty in the U.S., it peaked at number one for four weeks in theUnited Kingdom . It eventually became one of the most successful singles of the year in bothEurope andAustralia .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 (despite nude photos she posed for much earlier in her career having already been circulated) because "I felt it was going to make me more of asex symbol and I didn't want anything to take away from the fact that I can sing". [ [http://www.mirror.co.uk/archive/2003/09/01/blu-s-cool-about-her-porn-past-89520-13355585/ Blu'S Cool About Her Porn Past - Mirror.Co.Uk ] ]In the summer of 2005, a music video for the previously unreleased song, "The Cha Cha", was produced, but never released because the production agreement over the song was unfairly advantageous to the producer and left Cantrell virtually out of the loop, so the video and the song were shelved. Also, in 2005, "" was released without any promotion in the U.S. It was a compilation/remix album containing Cantrell's two biggest hits, some other tracks from her previous two albums and some remixes of tracks featured on the first albums. Cantrell continues to enjoy acclaim by European audiences.
Cantrell is referenced in the song "Make 'Em Mad" by B.G. and the
Chopper City Boyz , from 2007's "We Got This ". Gar says:Now that's a 745, my diamonds blue as Cantrell
I'm bumpin'. Everyday I'm hustlin' and they say (I can tell)Cantrell is set to star in a play called "Gossip, Lies & Secrets" on
September 29 . [ [http://blackvoices.aol.com/blogs/2007/08/16/lisaraye-mccoy-misick-offering-up-some-gossip-lies-and-secrets/http://blackvoices.aol.com/blogs/2007/08/16/lisaraye-mccoy-misick-offering-up-some-gossip-lies-and-secrets/] "blackvoices.aol.com"] The stage play will tour in fifteen cities.Cantrell appeared in
NBC 's "Celebrity Circus". The first episode aired with a ninety-minute kick-off special onJune 11 2008 . [ [http://www.worldscreen.com/newscurrent.php?filename=NBCCelebrity042408.htm World Screen - Home ] ] She was the first contestant voted off of the show on theJune 18 , 2008 episode.
2008 Come December 2008 Blu Cantrell is set to release an album entitled 'The Wrath of Cantrell' the album has been kept under wraps for 3 years, whilst it was written and recorded with the help from some of the best writers and producers of today including Timbaland, Nate "Danja" Hills and many more. Her first single from the album will be called 'Feel that Vibe' which will be released to radio stations on November 15th.Discography
Albums
tudio albums
*2001: "
So Blu "
*2003: "Bittersweet"
*2008: "The Wrath of Cantrell (TBA)"Other releases
*2004: "
From L.A. to L.O. " (mixtape)
*2005: "" (unofficial release)Awards/Nominations
*
American Music Award s
**Favorite R&B/Soul New Artist (Nominated)*
Grammy Award s
**Best R&B Album: Bittersweet (Nominated)
**Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "Hit Em Up Style (Oops)" (Nominated)ingles
ong appearances
References
*Howell, Stephen. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:ojl67ui010ja~T1 "Blu Cantrell bio"] . Accessed Jun. 16, 2005.
External links
*allmusicguide|11:gbfixqukldhe
*MySpace|therealblucantrell
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