Toni Braxton

Toni Braxton

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Birth name: Toni Michelle Braxton
Date of birth: 7 October 1966
Place of birth: Severn, Maryland, USA
Nickname: Toni
Height: 5′ 2″ (1.57 m)
Spouse: Keri Lewis (21 April 2001 – present) 2 children

Famous Quote: “Grammys, American Music Awards, successful albums, I’d pick my kids any day over any of it. I’ll probably be 80 years old and still performing. Music is like fashion, it changes. But some things will always be the same. Performing live is the greatest high in the world. That’s why I do what I do.”

Contact Address and Autograph: Addresses and fan mail information

Toni Braxton
The Brokaw Company
9255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 804
Los Angeles, CA 90069, USA 

Biography: Toni Braxton (born Toni Michelle Braxton on October 7, 1967) is an American R&B/adult contemporary singer-songwriter, and actress. Known for her husky alto voice, beautiful body and breathtaking sensuality, Braxton has won six Grammy Awards and has sold over forty million records worldwide. Her number-one hit “Un-Break My Heart” is the second biggest single by a female artist ever.Brittani Austin is her #1 Fan. Toni Braxton was one of the most popular and commercially successful female R&B singers of the ’90s, thanks to her ability to straddle seemingly opposite worlds. 

Braxton was soulful enough for R&B audiences, but smooth enough for adult contemporary; sophisticated enough for adults, but sultry enough for younger listeners; strong enough in the face of heartbreak to appeal to women, but ravishing enough to nab the fellas. Wielding such broad appeal, Braxton managed to score not one, but two albums that sold over eight million copies; naturally, they were accompanied by a long string of hit singles on the pop and R&B charts, one of which — “Un-break My Heart” — ranks among the longest-running number one pop hits of the rock era.

With her 1993 self-titled debut album she topped the Billboard charts and continued that streak with her second studio album “Secrets” which spawned the number one hit “Un-Break My Heart”. After a messy bankruptcy she returned with her chart topping third album, “The Heat”. Her later two albums, “More Than A Woman” which was her last on Arista and “Libra” which was her first and only release on Blackground were underpromoted and resulted in a commercial disappointment for Braxton. She later left Blackground and is now currently unsigned to a record label. She is currently performing in her successful Las Vegas act, Toni Braxton: Revealed. Toni is in the studio working on her sixth studio album.

Encouraged by their mother, an operatically trained vocalist, Braxton and her four sisters began singing in church as girls; although gospel was the only music permitted in the household, the girls often watched Soul Train when their parents went shopping. Braxton’s parents later converted to a different faith, and eased their restrictions on secular music somewhat, allowing Braxton more leeway to develop her vocal style; because of her husky voice, she often used male singers like Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, and Michael McDonald as models, as well as Chaka Khan. Braxton had some success on the local talent-show circuit, continuing to sing with her sisters, and after high school studied to become a music teacher. However, Braxton soon dropped out of college after she was discovered singing to herself at a gas station by songwriter Bill Pettaway (who co-authored Milli Vanilli’s “Girl You Know It’s True”). With Pettaway’s help, Braxton and her sisters signed with Arista Records in 1990 as a group dubbed simply the Braxtons.

The Braxtons released a single in 1990 called “The Good Life,” and while it wasn’t a hit, it caught the attention of L.A. Reid and Babyface, the red-hot songwriting/production team who had just formed their own label, LaFace (which was associated with Arista). Braxton became the first female artist signed to LaFace in 1991, and the following year she was introduced to the listening public with a high-profile appearance on the soundtrack of Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang. Not only did her solo cut “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” become a substantial pop and R&B hit, but she also dueted with Babyface himself on “Give U My Heart.” Anticipation for Braxton’s first album ran high, and when her eponymous solo debut was released in 1993, it was an across-the-board smash, climbing to number one on both the pop and R&B charts. It spun off hit after hit, including three more Top Ten singles in “Another Sad Love Song,” “Breathe Again,” and “You Mean the World to Me,” plus the double-sided R&B hit “I Belong to You”/”How Many Ways.” With eventual sales of over eight million copies, Toni Braxton’s run of popularity lasted well into 1995. By that time, Braxton had scored Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal (“Another Sad Love Song”) in 1994, and tacked on another win in the latter category for “Breathe Again” in 1995.

To tide fans over until her next album was released, Braxton contributed “Let It Flow” to the Whitney Houston-centered soundtrack of Waiting to Exhale in 1995. Again working heavily with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Braxton released her second album, Secrets, in the summer of 1996, and predictably, it was another enormous hit. The first single, “You’re Makin’ Me High,” was Braxton’s most overtly sexual yet, and it became her biggest pop hit to date; however, its success was soon eclipsed by the follow-up single, the Diane Warren-penned ballad “Un-break My Heart.” “Un-break My Heart” was an inescapable juggernaut, spending an amazing 11 weeks on top of the pop charts (and even longer on the adult contemporary charts). Further singles “I Don’t Want To” and “How Could an Angel Break My Heart” weren’t quite as successful (not that that’s an indictment), but that didn’t really matter; by then Secrets was well on its way to becoming Braxton’s second straight eight-million-seller. In 1997, she picked up Grammy awards for Best Female Pop Vocal and Best Female R&B Vocal (for “Un-break My Heart” and “You’re Makin’ Me High,” respectively).

Toward the end of 1997, Braxton filed a lawsuit against LaFace Records, attempting to gain release from a contract she felt was no longer fair or commensurate with her status. When LaFace countersued, Braxton filed for bankruptcy, a move that shocked many fans (who wondered how that could be possible, given her massive sales figures) but actually afforded her protection from further legal action. Braxton spent most of 1998 in legal limbo, and passed the time by signing on to portray Belle in the Broadway production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (a role originally held by erstwhile teen queen Deborah Gibson). Braxton and LaFace finally reached a settlement in early 1999, and the singer soon began work on her third album. Heat was released in the spring of 2000, and entered the charts at number two, matching the highest position held by Secrets. Lead single “He Wasn’t Man Enough” was a Top Ten hit (and an R&B chart-topper), although the follow-ups “Just Be a Man About It” (a duet with Dr. Dre) and “Spanish Guitar” didn’t sustain the album’s momentum as well as one might have expected. A brisk seller out of the box, The Heat eventually cooled off around the two-million mark; a disappointing showing compared to her previous efforts, despite yet another Grammy win for Best Female R&B Vocal (“He Wasn’t Man Enough”).

In 2001, Braxton made her feature film debut in the ensemble comedy Kingdom Come, and married Mint Condition keyboardist Keri Lewis; by the end of the year, they had a baby boy. Braxton also released her first holiday album, Snowflakes. In early 2002, Braxton appeared in the VH1 movie Play’d, and recorded More Than a Woman for release later that year. The singles “Please” and “That’s the Way Love Works (Trippin’)” announced Braxton’s 2005 return with the full-length Libra.

Born in Severn, Maryland, Braxton is the oldest of six children. She attended elementary school at Quarterfield Elementary School, and middle school at Corkran Middle School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. She also attended Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Her father was a clergyman, and the Braxton children were raised in a strict religious household. Braxton’s first performing experience was singing in her church choir. She attended Bowie State University to obtain a teaching degree but decided to pursue a musical career.

Braxton and her four sisters (Traci, Trina, Towanda, and Tamar) began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s and were signed to Arista Records in 1989. Their first single, “Good Life”, was released in 1990. Though the song was not successful, it attracted the attention of Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

With Braxton’s low register sounding similar to that of Anita Baker, Reid and Babyface recruited her to record a demo of “Love Shoulda Brought You Home”, a song that they had written for Anita Baker for the soundtrack of Eddie Murphy’s film, Boomerang. Baker, who was pregnant at the time, didn’t record the song but suggested that Braxton record it. Her recording was later included on the soundtrack along with “Give U My Heart” – a duet by Braxton and Babyface. Braxton, meanwhile, was signed to Reid and Edmonds’ Arista-distributed imprint, LaFace Records, and immediately began recording her solo debut album.

On June 29, 1993, LaFace Records released Braxton’s self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton. The album, which was primarily produced by Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. The first single, “Another Sad Love Song”, peaked at number seven and number two on Billboard’s Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts respectively. The album’s second single, “Breathe Again” peaked in the top five of both the Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. More singles from Toni Braxton were released in 1994, including “You Mean the World to Me”, “Seven Whole Days”, and “How Many Ways”.

Braxton’s debut album won her several awards, including three Grammy Awards (for “Best New Artist” and two consecutive awards for “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” in 1994 and 1995). She also won two American Music Awards (for “Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist”, “Favorite New Adult Contemporary Artist”) in 1994 and another one in 1995 (for “Favorite Soul/R&B Album”). Toni Braxton was certified 8x Platinum and has sales of over 15 million worldwide.

In 1996, Braxton released her second and most successful album, Secrets. Braxton has said about the album: “The motivation for this album was to include a little bit of everything. Our aim was to come up with material that would have a familiar ‘feel’ to the people who bought the first album without being musically redundant.” Along with Babyface, Braxton also worked with R. Kelly, Tony Rich, and David Foster on the album. Braxton was the co-executive producer of the album and co-wrote two of its songs, including the 1997 single “How Could an Angel Break My Heart” which was also later included on Diana Princess of Wales Tribute, a Princess Diana memorial album.

With help from the album’s first single, “You’re Makin’ Me High” (which became Braxton’s first number one hit on the Hot 100 singles chart), the album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart. “You’re Makin’ Me High” also topped the R&B singles chart for two weeks and saw similar success in Europe and Asia. The album’s second single, “Un-Break My Heart” (written by Diane Warren) – which would later become the singer’s signature song – became the biggest hit of her career spending eleven weeks at number one on the Hot 100 and also topping the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart for eleven weeks and the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for four weeks. Other singles from the album included the double-side “I Don’t Want To”/”I Love Me Some Him” (which peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart) and “How Could an Angel Break My Heart” which featured Kenny G, whom Braxton later toured with. After 92 weeks charting on the charts, Secrets is certified 8x platinum, becoming the second Braxton’s straight 8 million seller. Internationally, Secrets sold more than 20 million copies, concreting Braxton’s superstar status.

Braxton topped the Billboard Year-End Charts as the “Top Hot 100 Singles Artist – Female”, “Top R&B Artist – Female (singles and albums)”, “Top Hot R&B Singles Artist – Female”, “Top Hot Dance Club Play Artist”, and “Top Hot Adult Contemporary Artist”, while “Un-Break My Heart” became the “Top Hot Dance Club Play Single” and “Top Hot Adult Contemporary Track” of the year. She won two Grammy Awards; one for “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” and “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” and two American Music Awards for “Favorite Female Soul/R&B Artist” and “Favorite Soul/R&B Album”.

In 1998, the five-time Grammy winner filed for Chapter 7 protection from a reported $3.9 million debt. All of her personal household possessions were tagged and marked for sale to pay off her creditors, including her prestigious awards. The humiliating and highly publicized bankruptcy taught her a lesson, she says. In the middle of the bankruptcy proceedings, Braxton was able to pursue her acting dreams when she was offered the role of “Belle” in Disney’s musical, Beauty and the Beast, a role she played on Broadway on September 1998. She replaced Kim Huber and remained with the show through February 1999 where she was then replaced by Andrea McArdle. Braxton was the first African American woman to play a Disney character leading role on broadway.

In early 1999, Braxton and LaFace resolved their legal conflict. Issued with a brand new contract worth a reported $25 million, a satisfied Braxton continued to record for the label. Though the legalities with her LaFace and Arista subsided, Braxton saw a steep sales decline with her forthcoming releases with the label.

In January 2000, LaFace Records released “He Wasn’t Man Enough”, the first single from Braxton’s third studio album, The Heat. By June, the song peaked at number two on the Hot 100 chart. Braxton’s music video for “He Wasn’t Man Enough”, which also featured actress Robin Givens, was nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards including “Best Female Video” and “Best R&B Video” and a Billboard Music Video Award for “Best R&B Clip of the Year”.

The Heat, meanwhile, was released on April 25, 2000. Debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart with first week sales of 205,000, it remained in the top 20 for fifteen consecutive weeks. Braxton again worked with producers Babyface and Foster; also included in the staple were Rodney Jerkins, and new beau musician Keri Lewis. Braxton herself also took a more hands-on approach, co-writing and co-producing a handful of the tracks. “Gimme Some”, a track on “The Heat”, featured a rap verse from TLC star Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes.

The albums second single, “Just Be a Man About It”, peaked at number thirty-two on the Hot 100 and number six on the R&B Charts. The third single, “Spanish Guitar”, peaked at number ninety-eight on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Dance & Club charts. The fourth single, Maybe, peaked at seventy-four on the R&B charts all together missing the Hot 100.

By the end of the year, The Heat was certified 2x platinum. Also in February 2000, Braxton performed alongside Enrique Iglesias and Christina Aguilera during the Super Bowl Halftime show.

Braxton topped the Billboard Year-End Charts as the “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist – Female”, “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album Artist – Female”, and “Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Artist – Female”. She also received the 2000 “Aretha Franklin Award” for “Entertainer of the Year” at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. Braxton also picked up her sixth grammy for “He Wasn’t Man Enough” which won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and the album was nominated for Best R&B Album. It won Best R&B/Soul Album at the 2001 American Awards, her third win in a row.

While gearing up for the release of her fourth studio album, Braxton discovered she was pregnant with her second child. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to promote the album properly, she unsuccessfully lobbied to get the label to postpone its release until after she was to give birth. Subsequently, the album was released as planned and received very little promotion from the label or Braxton herself, due to a complicated pregnancy that confined her to bed rest. Braxton accused the company of being unwilling to compromise and punishing her from not putting her career over family. On the show VH1 Inside Out – Family Comes First, she documented the hardships of being pregnant with her second child at the same time as promoting an album.

In November 2002, Braxton’s fourth studio album More Than a Woman was released. Opening to an instant commercial disappointment, the album peaked at number thirteen, with first week sales of 97,000. The first single, the The Neptunes-produced, “Hit the Freeway”, failed at radio and peaked at number eighty-six on the Hot 100. The two singles that followed (“A Better Man”, “Lies, Lies, Lies”) also failed to make a dent and missed the Hot 100 completely. Meanwhile, a promotional vinyl was sent out to DJs for “Give It Back/Let Me Show You The Way (Out)”.

Prior to the release of the album, a dispute erupted between Braxton and Irv Gotti when he played a rough cut of “No More Love”, a song that he produced for the album that was to be the first single. Disapproving of Gotti broadcasting the unfinished track, Braxton withheld it from being released. The same year, Braxton was further annoyed when rapper Jay-Z used the same sample of 2Pac’s “Me And My Girlfriend” that she had already used on her track “Me & My Boyfriend” for his and Beyonce’s “’03 Bonnie & Clyde”. Furious, Braxton lashed out in a radio interview, accusing Jay-Z and producer Kanye West of taking money out of her children’s college fund.

Many fans, and allegedly Braxton herself (only because of her bittersweet relationship with Arista at the time) considered this to be her worst album. Unlike her previous releases, with More Than a Woman, Braxton delved into hip hop with a bevy of guest rappers including Baby and Loon. The album has sold 435,000 copies in the US, falling short of expectations.

In April 2003, Braxton abruptly left Arista Records, having been there for fourteen years, and immediately signed with Blackground Records — headed by Barry Hankerson, her manager at the time. The change of scenery, however, did not ultimately help her recording career. As had been the case during her final years at Arista — Braxton’s fifth album, and first release on Blackground, Libra was released with scant promotion and accumulated poor sales.

In April 2005, Braxton’s new label, Blackground/Universal, released “Please” — the first single from her forthcoming fifth album, Libra. The album was originally planned for a June release, but it was pushed back several times and was finally issued on September 27. Unfortunately for Braxton, her troubles with weak album promotion and lack of label commitment weren’t over. “Please” peaked at number thirty-six on Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks Chart, while altogether missing the Hot 100. The album lacked promotion by Blackground, causing it to go under the radar of many.

Despite this, Libra still managed to debut at number four on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart selling 114,593 copies in the first week. Libra also peaked at number two on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Although that is strong for an album with little to no promotion, it became yet another commercial disappointment for Braxton.

The albums second single, “Trippin’ (That’s the Way Love Works)” received less airplay and peaked at number sixty-seven on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks Chart. The failure was ascribed to the non-video presence of the single and lack of label support. The album was certified gold in late 2005 and has since sold 431,000 copies.

Almost immediately after Libra’s release, Blackground halted promotion of the album and later scrapped plans for a re-release. An upset portion of Braxton’s fanbase created an online petition to encourage J Records to sign her. Braxton’s fans later hoped that “I Wanna Be (Your Baby)” would be a next single off from Libra due to her performing at numerous events, including “Good Morning America” in December 2005, but it was not to be.

Braxton, meanwhile, recorded a song with Il Divo titled “The Time of Our Lives”. The song was used as the official 2006 FIFA World Cup anthem and was performed at the championship’s opening day in Berlin, Germany on June 9 The song was also performed at the closing ceremonies making Toni Braxton and II Divo the first artists to be asked perform for the opening and closing ceremonies. The song peaked at #17 in Germany. As a result Edel Records decided to re-release Libra in Germany, including a new album cover, artwork and the new anthem. Braxton made an appearance on the season finale of American Idol 5 where she performed Elvis Presley’s “In the Ghetto” with soon-to-be winner Taylor Hicks.

On May 19, 2006, the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas announced that Braxton will replace Wayne Newton as the casino’s new headlining act starting August 3, 2006. The show, “Toni Braxton: Revealed”, will be performed six nights a week and run through March 2007. Later she confirmed that she was extending her show through August 2007. The show has become the first headlining show from an African American performer in Vegas to enter the top 10 Vegas show’s charting. Due to the success of the show, it has been reported that Toni will extend her show through August 2008. 

Braxton has been released from her contract with Blackground after a number of disputes with former manager Barry Hankerson. On January 12, 2007, Toni Braxton filed a lawsuit in the U.S District Court in Manhattan against Hankerson for $10 million, alleging “fraud, deception and double dealing,” in addition to mismanaging her relationship with Arista Records.According to Braxton, Hankerson placed his own personal financial interests ahead of hers by using “double-talk” to compromise the relationship between Braxton and her former recording label, Arista Records, with Hankerson allegedly telling Arista that “Braxton no longer wanted to record for Arista” and telling Braxton that “Arista was not interested in working with her anymore.” Braxton also accused Hankerson of failing to send her on request copies of accounting statements, lying about deals that he made on her behalf and engaging in a vendetta against her by refusing to provide information to other managers that she sought to employ to manage her career. The suit was settled with Braxton returning a $375,000 advance to Hankerson—who would also receive a percentage of the sales of her next album—and Hankerson releasing Braxton from her contract with him.

Recently on The Montel Williams Show she revealed that she plans on releasing a new album around June 2008. In an interview with Groovevolt.com Braxton said “I’ve been recording on my own. I went down to the studio recently, and just laid down the idea. I just don’t want to forget it.” Still, she won’t re-record anything from Libra, and will never re-sing anything from Blackground. “I may sing a few songs on tour,” she said. “There is a song, ‘I Wanna Be (Your Baby),’ that was dedicated to Diezel. I will always sing that song.”. “On the next album, I will not be doing any hip-hop. Maybe as a guest on other albums. I would love to work with Michael Buble. I would love to work with Rodney Jerkins, Rich Harrison again, and maybe Ne-Yo. I really like his style.” She added that she did not know if her husband would be working with her on the next album. “I may try something totally different this time around.” Still, she left the door open, adding, “Of course, if he has a hot track, it will be on the album.” She is currently still unsigned to a record label and revealed that she has been meeting with label heads.

While Toni was on The View, Feb. 1st, 2008, she reported that her new album will be out sometime in June/July ’08. Braxton said she’s going back to her old style like her self-titled Toni Braxton and Secrets and that there would be no dance songs.

Braxton met musician Keri Lewis in 1997, when the group Mint Condition (which he was a member of at that time) opened up for her while she was on tour. On April 21, 2001, they married. On December 2, 2001, she gave birth to their first child, a son named Denham Cole Braxton-Lewis. The couple’s second son, Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis, was born on March 31, 2003. The couple currently lives in the Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas.

In an October 2006 concert at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, it was reported that Braxton broke down in tears discussing her son, Diezel, who was recently diagnosed with autism. Braxton has been outspoken regarding her doctor’s failure to diagnose Diezel’s condition earlier, contending that if he had been diagnosed earlier, he could have been helped. As of August 2007 rumors surfaced that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Toni stated to Access Hollywood that the breast cancer rumors were false and that her health is in great condition.

On April 8, 2008, Flamingo Hotel-Casino spokeswoman Deanna Pettit says the 40-year-old singer had been hospitalized in Las Vegas with an undisclosed ailment that isn’t life-threatening. Braxton was taken to a hospital Monday night.Pettit says she expects Braxton to be released Tuesday afternoon. Pettit says she doesn’t know the nature of Braxton’s ailment or where she was when she became ill. Braxton is currently performing at the Flamingo hotel. According to several news reports, Braxton’s gigs for April 2008 have been cancelled. As well as becoming a spokeswoman for Autism Speaks she is also a spokeswoman for The American Heart Association.

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