USA: POP/ RHYTHM AND BLUES SINGER TONI BRAXTON RETURNS WITH HER FIRST ALBUM "THE HEAT" IN FOUR YEARS

Record ID: 389118

  • Title: USA: POP/ RHYTHM AND BLUES SINGER TONI BRAXTON RETURNS WITH HER FIRST ALBUM "THE HEAT" IN FOUR YEARS
  • Date: 19th April 2000
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 19, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRAXTON SPEAKING ABOUT WHETHER THERE IS ANY PRESSURE ON HER AFTER SUCH A LONG ABSENCE FROM THE MUSIC SCENE, SAYING: "Not at all...nah, just a little bit, there's definitely a little bit of pressure. The last thing I had out was "Secrets" in 1996, so it's been a while and t
  • Embargoed: 4th May 2000 13:00
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  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA6UOBD0BMVDEJXXEHNDW4EUDZO
  • Story Text: When she first broke onto the music scene in 1993, pop/R&B singer Toni Braxton was a virtual unknown, but five Grammy wins later she had taken the music industry by storm, delivering a string of chart-topping pop/R&B singles and two multi-platinum albums.
    After battling bankruptcy and making an historic Broadway debut, Braxton is back with "The Heat", her first album in over four years.
    It has been four years since "Secrets" Toni Braxton's multi-platinum follow-up to her ten million selling debut disc "Toni Braxton", confirmed her status as one of the most successful female artists of the decade.
    The sultry, husky-voiced songstress became known for her classic love songs, most notably "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" (from the Eddie Murphy / Halle Berry film "Boomerang"), "Breathe Again", "Another Sad Love Song", "Seven Whole Days", and "You Mean The World To Me".
    After collecting three Grammys (Best New Artist - 1993 and Best R&B Vocal/Female - 1993 and 1994), the singer began working on "Secrets"in 1995, which yielded two more Grammys, two more hit singles, ("You're Makin' Me High" and "Un-Break My Heart") and over seven million sales worldwide.
    By all accounts she should have been on top of the world, but a nasty fight with her record label was followed by a much-publicized bankruptcy filing as Braxton spent nearly two years regaining control of her finances.
    A historic Broadway debut as the first African-American female to play "Belle" in Disney's "Beauty and The Beast"
    helped Braxton regain her self-esteem and get her life moving again, as she garnered positive press and critical reviews for her role and her vocal versatility.
    When the songstress began working on her new release, "The Heat", the most difficult thing to work through was not the negativity of dealing with the press or her finances, nor was it being rusty in the studio; Toni told Reuters it was finding her "pop" voice after doing Broadway-style singing.
    "When I first started recording, the hardest thing for me was getting, singing like Toni again instead of Broadway Toni," she said.
    By the time her run in the play had ended, Braxton began preparing for "The Heat", whittling down her song selection which included submissions from R&B hitmakers Kenny "Babyface"
    Edmonds, R.Kelly, and Rodney Jerkins.Writer-producers Diane Warren and David Foster teamed up for two of the album's ballads and Toni even considered songs written between she and her sister Tamar, a budding soul singer who recently released her own debut recording, "Tamar".
    "I recorded a whole bunch of songs as most artists do and the ones that made the album unfortunately weren't the ones that she wrote on...you get into a boardroom and people vote, and so we had to go with what we thought were the best songs for this project," she explained.
    Choosing the songs probably paled in contrast to stemming the flow of producers involved in what is being called Braxton's comeback recording.
    Though widely recognized for her inimitable vocal delivery as the "First Lady of LaFace", Toni's producing and writing skills went largely unnoticed.
    In all, Toni was involved as producer or co-producer on five songs from "The Heat", her direct, hands-on input lending a very personal stamp to the new album.
    "I've been doing it for a second, just little, teeny sprinkles of it on the first and second album, but with this album I think I had a lot to say, a lot to talk about and my skills have matured, my writing skills and producing, so I wanted to have the opportunity to do it, just to try it...and I feel really good with the outcome."
    Fan response to the first single" He Wasn't Man Enough" has been very positive, judging by national radio adds and recent promotional appearances, including a spot on the NBC nightly variety program "The Tonight Show".
    Director Bille Woodruff ("You're Makin' Me High") was tapped again, adding his special touches to the new video, which included a cameo appearance by actress Robin Givens.
    Braxton plans to tour internationally after the summer, releasing a few more singles from "The Heat" and shooting at least two more music videos.
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