Blu Cantrell

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Blu Cantrell
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
Background information
Birth name	Tiffany Cobb
Born	March 16, 1976 (1976-03-16) (age 33) Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, pop
Occupations	Singer–songwriter
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Arista

Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb, March 16, 1976, Providence, Rhode Island) is an American R&B and soul singer–songwriter.

Biography

Early life

Cantrell's father is African American with Narragansett Indian descent.^{[citation needed]} Her mother is of Cherokee and German descent.^{[citation needed]} In 1996, she posed nude for Black Tail magazine.

Music career

Debut album: So Blu (2001–2003)

After several 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, 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 to 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 bid the highest, Blu said "Since she was a little girl she always dreamed of being on Arista records." 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 chart, eventually going gold in the United States. The album featured the hit single "Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 also became the number one most added record to radio in the country breaking Elvis's record of most played on all genres of radio and earned Cantrell two Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Single of the Year as well as an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, both in 2002.

Bittersweet (2003–2005)

In 2003, Cantrell released her second album, Bittersweet, which peaked at number thirty-seven on the Billboard 200. The success of 'Bittersweet' was much greater outside the U.S. due to the fact single "Breathe" topped of the charts in the UK and Ireland. 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 and entered the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number eight. The album produced two hit singles, these being "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]}. It eventually became one of the most successful singles of the year in both Europe, Australia, and several other countries worldwide. That same year, Cantrell was to appear in Playboy magazine, 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".^[1]

Additional writing and performance

Cantrell also wrote and sang the song "It's Killing Me" for the love scene in the 2002 film Bad Company. The same year she also appeared in the film Drumline, singing the American national anthem live on camera. In 2004 she wrote and sang the theme music for the UK show Sisters.^{[citation needed]}

Present day

In 2008 Cantrell appeared in NBC's Celebrity Circus. The first episode aired with a ninety-minute kick-off special on June 11.

In 2009, Cantrell began recording material for a new album, to be released on her independent Baby Blu Music label.

In 2009, Cantrell also made cameo appearances on her brother's record: "Worth the Weight" by Raw & Anonymous (Adam), which is available on iTunes and Rhapsody.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

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

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

Song appearances

References