Blu Cantrell

Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb on 1976 October 1 in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American Grammy Award-nominated R&B and soul singer.

Biography

Early life

Cantrell was born into a family of jazz enthusiasts from Providence, Rhode Island. She and her five siblings were born to an Italian American mother who is a jazz singer and an African American father who was an NBA basketball player. She was raised by her mother, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Music career

After several demo recordings 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 label Arista Records after a successful audition. Afterwards Cantrell went straight into recording sessions with Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, while - for a start - singing backup for artists such as Puff Daddy, Truth Hurts and Faith Evans.

In 2001, the singer released her debut album, So Blu, which eventually was certified platinum. The longplayer saw major success when it peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, eventually selling over 800,000 copies in the United States. The album featured the hit single "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and earned Cantrell a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, as well as an American Music Awards nomination. The album also showcases her ability to go into the whistle register with the song "Waste My Time." 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 nomination for Best R&B Album and managed to enter the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at #8. The album spawned 2 hit singles, these being "Breathe" and "Make Me Wanna Scream", of which the first is a collaboration with Sean Paul. Though breathe"" failed to reach the top 50 in the U.S., it later peaked at number one for four weeks in the UK. It eventually became one of the most successful singles of the year in both Europe and Australia.

In the summer of 2005, a music video for the previously unreleased song, "The Cha Cha" was produced, but never released because Cantrell ended up dissatisfied with the final result. Also in 2005, Hit 'em Up Style: Chart and Club Hits 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 the former two albums and some remixes of tracks featured on the first albums.

However, Cantrell has since continued working on her yet-to-be-titled third album, scheduled for a 2007 release.

Magazine controversy

Cantrell was the subject of controversy when photos of her aged 19 came to light from a brief period of work as a nude model for Black Tail magazine in 1995. The singer has said to the press:

"I have posed nude in the past and I will in the future, I'm not making porn, porn is when you do a video of sex. Posing nude is not porn."

Discography

Albums

• So Blu July 31, 2001 Platinum (US)
• Bittersweet June 23, 2003 Gold (UK)

Hit 'em Up Style: Chart and Club Hits July 26, 2005 (US club only)

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions						Album
		US 100	US R&B	UK	SUI	AUT	FR
2001	"Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)"	2	6	12	77		47	So Blu
2002	"Round Up" (with Lady May)							Bittersweet
2003	"Breathe" (featuring Sean Paul)	70	83	1 (4)	5	11	13	Bittersweet
2004	"Make Me Wanna Scream" (featuring Ian Lewis)	—	—	24	60	68	—	Bittersweet

Song appearances

Year	Song	Album
2001	"U Remind Me" [Remix] (with Usher & Method Man)	The Dome, Vol. 19
2002	"Round Up" (Lady May)	Bittersweet
2004	"Take My Heart" (Kool & the Gang)	The Hits: Reloaded

References

• Howell, Stephen. "Blu Cantrell bio". Accessed Jun. 16, 2005.
• Top 40 world charts

External links

• Official website

This article is based on a GNU FDL LGBT Wikia article: Cantrell Blu Cantrell

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