Brandy

When Brandy was 15, she was able to land a record deal with Atlantic Records, and in 1994 her first album, Brandy, was released, reaching gold status in less than two months, and quadruple platinum status soon after. Never Say Never was also a smash on the Billboard album chart, eventually reaching multi-platinum sales of over 5 million copies in the US. Full Moon sold over a million copies in the US, and received lukewarm reviews, but her most recent album, Afrodisiac, became her most critically-acclaimed album of her career.

Though still in her teens, singer Brandy was among the biggest and brightest new stars to emerge during the 1990s; a multimedia sensation, she was a success not only on the pop and R&B charts, but also on television. Born in McComb, MO, in 1979, Brandy Norwood was raised in California, first attracting attention singing with area youth groups. From there she moved on to a series of television award shows and specials, and later co-starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom Thea. Brandy's self-titled debut LP appeared in 1994, launching a series of hits, among them "I Wanna Be Down," "Baby," and "Brokenhearted"; by now a major star, she returned a year later with the blockbuster "Sittin' Up in My Room," a cut from the soundtrack to the film Waiting to Exhale. "Missing You," from the soundtrack to 1996's Set It Off, was also a hit, but instead of immediately releasing a follow-up LP, Brandy returned to acting, starring in the acclaimed UPN sitcom Moesha and also appearing in the title role of the 1997 Disney telefilm Cinderella, one of the biggest success stories of the television season. Her long-awaited sophomore album, Never Say Never, was finally issued in mid-1998. Despite following four years later, Full Moon maintained her profile, spawning another handful of chart hits. Her fourth album, Afrodisiac, was released in 2004. Its lead single -- "Talk About Our Love" -- was produced by Kanye West.

Brandy has gone on to sell more than 18 million albums and singles in the US alone and 35 million albums and singles worldwide. More recently, she has been cast as being one of three judges on the TV reality show America's Got Talent.