Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1967 in Severn, Maryland) is a six-time Grammy Award-winning[1] American R&B singer and songwriter who was popular during the '90s. She also known as her deep soft contralto voice timbre.
Braxton is the oldest of six children. She attended elementary school at Quarterfield elementary,[citation needed] and middle school at Corkran Middle School in Glen Burnie, Maryland.[citation needed] Her father was a clergyman, and the Braxton children were raised in a strict religious household.[2] Braxton's first performing experience was singing with a church choir.[2] She attended Bowie State University to obtain a teaching degree but decided to pursue a musical career.
Braxton and her four sisters (Traci, Trina, Towanda, and Tamar) began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s and were signed to Arista Records in 1989. Their first single, "The Good Life", was released in 1990.[3] Though the song was not successful, it attracted the attention of Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.[3]
With Braxton's low register sounding similar to that of Anita Baker,[citation needed] Reid and Babyface recruited her to record a demo of "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", a song that they had written for Baker for the soundtrack of Eddie Murphy's film, Boomerang. Baker, who was pregnant at the time,[4] didn't record the song but suggested that Braxton record it. Her recording was later included on the soundtrack along with "Give U My Heart" - a duet by Braxton and Babyface. Braxton, meanwhile, was signed to Reid and Edmonds' Arista-distributed imprint, LaFace Records, and immediately began recording her solo debut album.
On July 13, 1993, LaFace Records released Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton.[5] The album, which was primarily produced by Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart.[6] The first single, "Another Sad Love Song", peaked at number seven and number two on Billboard's Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts respectively.[7] The album's second single, "Breathe Again" peaked in the top five of both the Hot 100 and R&B singles charts.[7] More singles from Toni Braxton were released in 1994, including "You Mean The World To Me", "Seven Whole Days", and "How Many Ways".[7]
Braxton's debut album won her several awards, including three Grammy Awards (for "Best New Artist" and two consecutive awards for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" in 1994 and 1995).[1] She also won two American Music Awards (for "Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist", "Favorite New Adult Contemporary Artist")[1] in 1994 and another one in 1995 (for "Favorite Soul/R&B Album").[1] Toni Braxton was certified 8x Platinum and has sales of over 10 million worldwide.[8][3]
-- wikipedia.org
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