- Naturi Naughton
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Naturi Naughton 
Naughton in December 2010Background information Birth name Naturi Cora Maria Naughton Born May 20, 1984 Origin East Orange, New Jersey, U.S. Genres R&B, Hip hop Occupations Singer, Actress, Rapper Instruments Vocals Years active 1999–2002 (3LW)
2009–present (solo)Labels Epic Records (1999-2002) Universal Republic (2008-Present) Associated acts 3LW Naturi Cora Maria Naughton (born May 20, 1984)[1] is an American singer, rapper and actress best known for formerly being one-third of the R&B trio 3LW, and the starring role of Denise in the remake of Fame.
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Early life
Naughton was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey,[1] the daughter of Brenda, a part-time paralegal, and Ezra Naughton, a retired accountant.[2][3] Her musical talent first emerged at the age of five years old, when she joined her church choir at New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange, NJ. She attended St. Joseph's Catholic school and started highschool at "Immaculate Conception" in Montclair, NJ but was soon there after, Naturi was discovered. She has sung the national anthem at various events in New Jersey and attended Seton Hall University.[4]
3LW
Main article: 3LWIn 1999, at age 15, Naughton joined Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams to form the group 3LW. Their first single, "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)", was released in the fall of 2000. "No More" was a success and was followed by the second single, "Playas Gon' Play" in early 2001. The group's debut album, 3LW, was released on December 5, 2000. The album went platinum, selling 1.3 million copies in the US. In the summer of 2001, the group went on the MTV TRL tour along with Destiny's Child, Dream, Nelly, Eve, and Jessica Simpson.
3LW spent the first half of 2002 in the studio, recording an album tentatively titled Same Game, Different Rules. The album and its intended lead single "Uh Oh" were presented to the label, who felt it did not have enough urban radio appeal. The tracks from Same Game, Different Rules were leaked to the Internet in MP3 format, and Epic considered dropping the band. A fan support campaign for 3LW named 'Never Let Go of 3LW' followed, and the act was retained. Recording a new set of tracks, 3LW returned in late summer of 2002 with the P. Diddy-produced single "I Do (Wanna Get Close To You)", featuring Loon.
By August, the group was set to release its newest LP, A Girl Can Mack, when Naughton announced that she was no longer a member of the group. Naughton says that the other two girls and their management had forced her out of the group after attempting to for months and even degraded her.[5] The problems reached a breaking point in August 2002 when Naughton left after a heated argument with Williams, Bailon, and their manager. Naughton had tried to settle with the group and give into their demands for months leading up to the argument, deciding it was not worth leaving the group after a few fights and that it would have been a shame to end a group that had so much hard work put into it. However, during the heated argument, Williams allegedly threw a hot plate full of Bootylicous Wild Wings and Tanqueray at Naughton, proving to be the final straw.
After Naughton's departure, Bailon and Williams resumed as a group and released the single Neva Get Enuf, which did not feature Naughton's vocals. The single failed to make a dent on radio or the Billboard Hot 100. 3LW replaced Naughton with Jessica Benson, but have since disbanded. In 2005, Bailon and Williams continued on as members of Disney's The Cheetah Girls, until January 2009, when that group also disbanded.
Solo career
Naughton at H-E-B Holiday Parade 2009
Naughton was collaborating with producers Full Force on a solo debut album. Some of the tracks she recorded for the album are as follows: "Real Chicks" (featuring Lil' Kim),[6] "Stand Up", "What You Do" and "Your Girlfriend." However, in a recent interview with Naturi, she says that she is not currently working on an album right now, but instead focusing on her other passion, acting. With the right team and producers, she says she would definitely like to do her solo album some day.[citation needed]
In September 2009, Naturi scored her first solo chart entry as her version of "Fame" (from the 2009 movie Fame) entered the UK chart at #74 and rose to #43 in its second week. In its third week, the song jumped ten spots to #33, becoming Naughton's first solo top 40 UK hit. The single also peaked at no.48 on HOT dance play/songs,#3 in Finland,#4 in Portugal,#14 in Norway,#24 in Switzerland,#26 in Belgium and #37 in Ireland.[7]
During an Interview on "The Monique Show" in February 2010, Naturi stated that she will be releasing a solo debut album, but no more information was discussed. A soundtrack album, "The Fame Presents Naturi Naughton as Denise" was released on February 2, 2010.[8][9]
Acting
Naughton starred in the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Hairspray as Little Inez from 2005-2008.
Naturi played rapper Lil' Kim in Notorious, a big screen biopic about the late Notorious B.I.G. Notorious opened at #4 at the box office with over $21 million made opening weekend. Naughton garnered rave reviews for her performance as "Lil Kim" in Notorious.
Naturi has also done a commercial for Truth.com, titled "It Must've Been A Typo".
More recently, Naughton played a pianist named Denise in the remake of the 1980 movie and TV show musical Fame. Fame was released in theaters on September 25, 2009 and opened up at #3 at the box office.[10]
She was a main supporting actress in the 2010 movie Lottery Ticket, playing Stacie, a loyal friend of the lead character Kevin Carson (played by Bow Wow).
She also starred in a the September 26, 2010 episode of Mad Men, "Hands and Knees" as Lane's Playboy Bunny mistress Toni.
Naturi most recently scored one of the lead roles in NBC's 2011 series The Playboy Club. She plays a Playboy Bunny named "Brenda" who has dreams of being the first Black centerfold. The pilot aired on September 19, 2011. The series was cancelled after three episodes aired.[11]
On October 13, 2011, Naturi Naughton brought her talents to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia[12] to play '70's Jazz Club Singer Sha-Dynasty, the romantic interest of Frank (Danny DeVito) and his brother Geno (Jon Polito).
Filmography
Film Year Film Role Notes 2008 Cash Rules Unknown Role Minor 2009 Notorious Lil' Kim Lead Fame Denise Lead 2010 Lottery Ticket Stacie Lead Highland Park Char Supporting Four to the Floor Zoe Supporting Television Year Title Role Notes 2001 Taina Ria Guest with 3LW 2002 The Nick Cannon Show Herself Guest with 3LW All That Herself Music Guest with 3LW 2010 Mad Men Toni Charles Supporting 2011 The Playboy Club Brenda Lead It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Shadynasty Guest Broadway Year Title Role Notes 2005–2008 Hairspray Little Inez Replacement References
- ^ a b Williams, Kam (2008-12-26). "Naturi Naughton: The Notorious Interview". KamWilliams.com. http://www.kamwilliams.com/2008/12/naturi-naughton-notorious-interview.html. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ Irizarry, Lisa (2010-06-22). "Naturi Naughton goes from 'Notorious' to 'Lottery Ticket' but still keeps East Orange roots". NJ.com. http://www.nj.com/insidejersey/index.ssf/2010/06/naturi_naughton_goes_from_noto.html. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ Williams, Kam (2009-09-20). "Naturi Naughton "Fame" Interview with Kam Williams". newsblaze.com. http://newsblaze.com/story/20090920165504kamw.nb/topstory.html. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ http://www.hairspraythemusical.com/hairspray_home.php
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1458081/20021011/3lw.jhtml
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IivqwKQaTMs
- ^ http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/c/uk/single_charts.html
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WYH5MI
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003537Q2O
- ^ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/122227.html
- ^ Hibberd, James (October 4, 2011). "NBC cancels controversial "Playboy Club"". Inside TV (Entertainment Weekly). Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/62UCBJGJH. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ^ http://tv.ign.com/articles/120/1200225p1.html
External links
- Naturi Naughton on Myspace
- Naturi Naughton at the Internet Movie Database
- Naturi Naughton at the Internet Broadway Database
- Naturi Naughton: The Notorious Interview with Kam Williams
Studio albums Other albums DVDs Singles "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)" · "Playas Gon' Play" · "Parents Just Don't Understand" · "Feels Good (Don't Worry Bout a Thing)" · "I Do (Wanna Get Close to You)" · "Neva Get Enuf" · "Feelin' You" ·Related articles Categories:- 1984 births
- 3LW members
- Actors from New Jersey
- African American actors
- African American female singers
- African American musicians
- American film actors
- American pop singers
- American rhythm and blues singers
- American television actors
- English-language singers
- Living people
- Republic Records artists
- People from East Orange, New Jersey
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