Blu Cantrell
Encyclopedia
Blu Cantrell is an American R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

.

Biography

Tiffany Cobb was born in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

 in 1976. Her father was a Narragansett
Narragansett (tribe)
The Narragansett tribe are an Algonquian Native American tribe from Rhode Island. In 1983 they regained federal recognition as the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against their request that the Department of Interior take land into trust...

 Native American and Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...

an, and played in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

. Susi Franco, her mother, of Italian descent, was a former Miss Rhode Island
Miss Rhode Island
The Miss Rhode Island competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Rhode Island in the Miss America pageant.- Winners :- External links :*...

, actress, and jazz vocalist
Vocal jazz
Jazz singing can be defined by the instrumental approach to the voice, where the singer can match the instruments in their stylistic approach to the lyrics, improvised or otherwise, or through scat singing; that is, the use of nonsensical meaningless non-morphemic syllables to imitate the sound of...

. Cantrell's parents split when she was a child, and she and her five siblings—Adam, Tino, Nicky, Kelli, and Summer—were raised by her mother in Rhode Island. At the age of 19 she worked as a nude model for Black Tail. She has defended this by saying: "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 making porn."

Her mother use to call her Blu and Cantrell is her Grandmother's last name.

Debut album: So Blu (2001–2002)

After several demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

, recordings, and singing backup for artists such as Puff Daddy, Cantrell was discovered by Red Zone Entertainment heads Tricky, Tab and Laney Stewart in early 2001. She also did collaborations with Babyface, Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...

, Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....

, will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...

, Fat Joe
Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....

, Lil Kim, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...

, and jazz legend Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...

. The producers promptly placed her with Antonio "L.A." Reid who offered the singer a contract with his label Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

 after hearing one song she wrote and sung in front of him and his staff. After a bidding war with five different labels, Arista's bid was the highest. It was said of Cantrell, "Since she was a little girl she always dreamed of being on Arista Records." Afterwards, Cantrell went straight into recording sessions with Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of his most notable clients include Michael Jackson, TLC, Boyz II Men, Pink, Monica, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Stacie Orrico, Another Bad Creation, Fishbone, Sugababes, Anastacia, Namie Amuro, Kim...

 and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...

. In 2001, her debut album, So Blu
So Blu
So Blu is the debut album by American R&B-soul singer-songwriter Blu Cantrell, released in the United States on July 31, 2001 by Arista Records. The album was primarily produced by Chris "Tricky" Stewart, with additional production from Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jason Rome, Don...

,
was released. The record saw major success when it peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 chart, eventually going gold in the United States. The album's hit single "Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)
Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)
"Hit 'em Up Style " is the debut single by American R&B singer Blu Cantrell, written and produced by Dallas Austin and featured on Cantrell's debut album, So Blu . The lyrics propose that women should take revenge on cheating spouses by draining them of their available assets, both monetary assets...

", which peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, became the number one most added record to radio in the country, breaking Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

's record for most played on all genres of radio. The song earned Cantrell Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nominations for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for quality R&B songs...

 and for Best R&B Song
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song has been awarded since 1959. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, from 1962 to 1968 it was known as Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and from 1959-1961 as Best Rhythm & Blues Performance...

, as well as an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, both in 2002.

During this era, Cantrell helped write and compose, along with several other writers, the song "It's Killing Me (In My Mind)" for the soundtrack of the 2002 film Bad Company
Bad Company (2002 film)
Bad Company is a 2002 action-comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock.-Plot:...

.
Cantrell also featured in a small cameo role in the 2002 film Drumline
Drumline (film)
Drumline is a 2002 American film directed by Charles Stone III. The screenplay, which was inspired by The Southwest Dekalb High School Drumline , was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps...

,
where she could be seen singing the American National Anthem. The film starred Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...

 and Orlando Jones
Orlando Jones
Orlando Jones is an American comedian and film and television actor. He is notable for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv and for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999-2002.-Early life:...

.

Bittersweet (2003–2004)

In 2003, Cantrell released her second album, Bittersweet
Bittersweet (album)
Bittersweet is the second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Blu Cantrell, released in the United States on June 24, 2003 by Arista Records. It debuted at number thirty-seven on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart selling 29,000 units in its opening week and spawned the international hit...

, which peaked at #37 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

. The success of 'Bittersweet' was much greater worldwide than in the U.S. due to the number one single 'Breathe' climb to the top of the charts. The song became number one without the support of any major radio syndication and eventually was added to major rotation after it had already become independently worldwide. The record earned Cantrell a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album
Grammy Award for Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre...

 and entered the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

 chart at number eight. The album produced two hit singles, these being "Breathe
Breathe (Blu Cantrell song)
"Breathe" is a song by American recording artist Blu Cantrell from her second studio album, Bittersweet . A remixed version featuring Sean Paul was released as a single in 2003.-Song information:...

" and "Make Me Wanna Scream
Make Me Wanna Scream
"Make Me Wanna Scream" is the second and final single from American R&B singer Blu Cantrell's second studio album, Bittersweet . The song features reggae artist Ian Lewis from the group Inner Circle...

", the former being a collaboration with Sean Paul
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...

. "Breathe" peaked at number one for four weeks in the United Kingdom and broke Madonna's song "Lucky Star" single for most played on radio . It eventually became one of the most successful singles of the year in both Europe, Australia, South Africa, and several other countries worldwide. That same year, Cantrell was to appear in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...

magazine (and would have been only the fourth African American woman to appear on the cover), but decided against it at the last minute because "I felt it was going to make me more of a sex symbol
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...

 and I didn't want anything to take away from the fact that I can sing".

Most recent projects

In 2007, Cantrell starred alongside LisaRaye and Kenya Moore in the musical stage play Gossip, Lies and Secrets. Tour dates ran from September 27, 2007 until November 25, 2007.

In 2008, Cantrell appeared in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's Celebrity Circus
Celebrity Circus (U.S. TV series)
Celebrity Circus is an American version of the Celebrity Circus reality television show based on the Australian television series of the same name originally aired in 2005...

. The first episode aired with a ninety-minute kick-off special on June 11, but Cantrell was eliminated in the second week, June 18, 2008. This made her the first Celebrity to be eliminated from the show. However, she returned for the final episode to perform her single "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"

Colin Main, a music producer, composer, and recording engineer, was, as of the last days of July of 2011, the only producer to announce that he was working on new music with Cantrell. Several previously unheard clips could subsequently be found on Main's Official YouTube account. Among these were "My World" and "Secret in My Pocket." It had not, as of the last days of July of 2011, been confirmed if these tracks would appear on Cantrell's forthcoming album.

Albums

Year Album Peak chart
positions
ARIA Charts U.S.
U.S. R&B
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

U.K.
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

2001 So Blu
So Blu
So Blu is the debut album by American R&B-soul singer-songwriter Blu Cantrell, released in the United States on July 31, 2001 by Arista Records. The album was primarily produced by Chris "Tricky" Stewart, with additional production from Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jason Rome, Don...

  • Released: July 31, 2001
  • Label: Arista
  • Formats: CD, digital download, LP
87 8 5 -
2003 Bittersweet
Bittersweet (album)
Bittersweet is the second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Blu Cantrell, released in the United States on June 24, 2003 by Arista Records. It debuted at number thirty-seven on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart selling 29,000 units in its opening week and spawned the international hit...

  • Released: June 21, 2003
  • Label: Arista Records
    Arista Records
    Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

  • Formats: CD, digital download, LP
  • 23 37 8 20

    Compilation albums

    • 2005: Hit 'Em Up Style: Chart and Club Hits of Blu Cantrell
      Hit 'em Up Style: Chart and Club Hits of Blu Cantrell
      Hit 'em Up Style: Chart and Club Hits of Blu Cantrell is a compilation/remix album by Blu Cantrell released on July 26, 2005, with little to no promotion by the label. It was not officially released in all countries, just in the U.S...



    Mixtape

    • From L.A. to L.O. is a mixtape by Blu Cantrell, released in 2004 exclusively in the UK and Japan after the success of 2003's Bittersweet. Although its North American release was cancelled, the collection was heavily circulated on the internet and was mistaken as a full follow-up album to Bittersweet.

    Singles

    Year Title Chart positions Album
    U.S.
    Billboard Hot 100
    The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

    U.S. R&B
    Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
    Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

    UK
    UK Singles Chart
    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

    IRE
    Irish Singles Chart
    The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

    AUS
    ARIA Charts
    The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

    SWI AUT FRA NOR
    2001 "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)
    Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)
    "Hit 'em Up Style " is the debut single by American R&B singer Blu Cantrell, written and produced by Dallas Austin and featured on Cantrell's debut album, So Blu . The lyrics propose that women should take revenge on cheating spouses by draining them of their available assets, both monetary assets...

    "
    2 6 12 37 3 77 47 12 So Blu
    "I'll Find a Way" 104
    2002 "Till I'm Gone" 115
    2003 "Breathe
    Breathe (Blu Cantrell song)
    "Breathe" is a song by American recording artist Blu Cantrell from her second studio album, Bittersweet . A remixed version featuring Sean Paul was released as a single in 2003.-Song information:...

    " (featuring Sean Paul
    Sean Paul
    Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...

    )
    70 83 1 1 8 5 11 13 6 Bittersweet
    2004 "Make Me Wanna Scream
    Make Me Wanna Scream
    "Make Me Wanna Scream" is the second and final single from American R&B singer Blu Cantrell's second studio album, Bittersweet . The song features reggae artist Ian Lewis from the group Inner Circle...

    "
    (featuring Ian Lewis
    Ian Lewis
    Ian Lewis is the Director of the University of Cambridge Computing Service 2005-.Educated at Queen Mary College, London and awarded a PhD at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, he went on to become Global CIO for Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch before returning to the University of...

    )
    24 33 62 60 68

    Soundtracks

    Year Song Film
    2002 "It's Killing Me (In My Mind)" Bad Company
    Bad Company (soundtrack)
    Bad Company is the soundtrack to the 2002 action comedy film, Bad Company. It was released on June 4, 2002 through Hollywood Records and consisted maninly of hip hop and R&B music...


    Song appearances

    Year Song Album
    2001 "U Remind Me
    U Remind Me
    "U Remind Me" is a 2001 single from Usher's 2001 album 8701. It was the first US single from the album...

    " (Remix) (with Usher
    Usher (entertainer)
    Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...

     and Method Man
    Method Man
    Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...

    )
    U Got It Bad
    U Got It Bad
    "U Got It Bad" is a 2001 single from Usher's 2001 album 8701. It was the second US single from the album and the third international single, reaching number 1 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, and reaching the top 5 in the United Kingdom and Australia.The song was produced by...

    2001 "Come My Way" (with Chauncey Black) non-album song
    2002 "Round Up
    Round Up
    ----"Round Up" is a song by American rapper Lady May, featuring American R&B singer Blu Cantrell. Released as a single in June 2002, the song was supposed to be the lead single from May's debut album, May Day, but the album has never been released. The single performed moderately in the U.S...

    " (Lady May
    Lady May
    Lady May is an American rapper from New York City's suburbs.May was born in the 1980s and grew up listening to Elton John, Duran Duran and Michael Jackson...

    )
    Bittersweet
    2004 "Take My Heart" (Kool & the Gang
    Kool & the Gang
    Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...

    )
    The Hits: Reloaded
    The Hits: Reloaded
    The Hits: Reloaded is a remix/covers album by Kool and the Gang. It features their Greatest Hits as performed by various artists.-Tracklisting:# Ladies Night - featuring Atomic Kitten# Get Down on It - featuring Blue and Lil' Kim...

    2008 "They Must Not Know" (RAW & Anonymous) Worth the Weight
    2008 "Feeling Good" (RAW & Anonymous) Worth the Weight

    Awards and nominations

    • American Music Awards
      American Music Awards
      -Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...

      • Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist (Nominated)

    • Grammy Awards
      • Best R&B Song: "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (Nominated)
      • Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (Nominated)
      • Best R&B Album: Bittersweet (Nominated)
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