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Biography
Refimprove|date=January 2009Infobox musical artist| name = Blu Cantrell| image = Academy Awards afterparty CUN Blu Cantrell2.jpg| caption = Blu Cantrell at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Children Uniting Nations/Billboard afterparty at The Music Box @ Fonda on February 25, 2007 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood , Los Angeles, California| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Tiffany Cobb| Born = Birth date and age|1976|3|16 Providence, Rhode Island , United States| death_date =| genre = Contemporary R& B|R& B , Soul music|soul | occupation = Singer, songwriter, musician (drums and guitar) and producer| years_active = 2001–present| label = Arista Records|Arista | associated_acts =| website = Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb on March 16, 1976) is an American contemporary R& B|R& B and soul music|soul singer-songwriter .
Biography
Tiffany Cobb was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1976. Her father was a Narragansett (tribe)|Narragansett Native American and Cape Verde an, and played in the National Basketball Association . Susi Franco, her mother, was a former Miss Rhode Island , actress, and vocal jazz|jazz vocalist . http://www.ovguide.com/blu-cantrell-9202a8c04000641f8000000003b6f933# Cantrell's parents split when she was a child, and she and her five siblings—Adam, Tino, Nick, Kelli, and Summer—were raised by her mother. http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003854/Blu-Cantrell.html At the age of 19 she posed 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 used to call her Blu; Cantrell is her grandmother's surname.
Music career
Debut album: So Blu (2001–2002)
After several Demo (music)|demos , 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 (musician)|Babyface , Usher (entertainer)|Usher , Dionne Warwick , will.i.am , Fat Joe , Lil Kim , Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis , and jazz legend Herbie Hancock . The producers promptly placed her with L.A. Reid|Antonio "L.A." Reid who offered the singer a contract with his label Arista 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."Citation needed|date=July 2011 Afterwards, Cantrell went straight into recording sessions with Dallas Austin and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis . In 2001, her debut album, So Blu , was released. The record saw major success when it peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200| Billboard 200 chart, eventually going gold in the United States. The album's hit single " Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!) ", which peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100| Billboard Hot 100 , became the number one most added record to radio in the country, breaking Elvis Presley 's record for most played on all genres of radio. The song earned Cantrell Grammy Award nominations for Grammy Award for Best Female R& B Vocal Performance|Best Female R& B Vocal Performance and for Grammy Award for Best R& B Song|Best R& B Song , 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 http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm? requesttimeout=300& mode=results& searchstr=390914475& search_in=i& search_type=exact& search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v& results_pp=30& start=1 writers, the song "It's Killing Me (In My Mind)" for the soundtrack of the 2002 film Bad Company (2002 film)|Bad Company . Cantrell also featured in a small cameo role in the 2002 film Drumline (film)|Drumline , where she could be seen singing the American National Anthem. The film starred Nick Cannon and Orlando Jones .
Bittersweet (2003–2004)
In 2003, Cantrell released her second album, Bittersweet (album)|Bittersweet , which peaked at #37 on the Billboard 200 . 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 Grammy Award for Best R& B Album|Best R& B Album and entered the Billboard Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number eight. The album produced two hit singles, these being " Breathe (Blu Cantrell song)|Breathe " and " Make Me Wanna Scream ", the former being a collaboration with Sean Paul . "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 Citation needed|date=February 2009. 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 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 and I didn't want anything to take away from the fact that I can sing". http://www.mirror.co.uk/archive/2003/09/01/blu-s-cool-about-her-porn-past-89520-13355585/ Blu'S Cool About Her Porn Past - Mirror.Co.UkDead link|date=March 2010
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 's Celebrity Circus (U.S. TV series)|Celebrity Circus . 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,cite web|url= http://soundcloud.com/igbw|title=‘Colin Main Biography|author=Colin Main|publisher=Colin Main was, as of the last days of July 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. http://www.youtube.com/user/TrickAssassins Among these were "My World" and "Secret in My Pocket." As of July 2011, it has not been confirmed if these tracks would appear on Cantrell's forthcoming album. http://www.formspring.me/RealBluCantrell
Discography
main|Blu Cantrell discography
So Blu (2001)
Bittersweet (album)|Bittersweet (2003)
Awards and nominations
American Music Awards
*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 )
References
reflist Persondata | NAME =Cantrell, Blu | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1976-03-16 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Cantrell, Blu Category:1976 births Category:African American female singers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Providence, Rhode Island Category:Musicians from Rhode Island
