Toni Braxton is an American singer and songwriter in the rhythm and blues, pop and soul styles. She gained worldwide fame thanks to such compositions as "Un-Break My Heart", "Spanish Guitar", "He Wasn't Man Enough". Winner of many prestigious music awards. One of the most successful performers of the 1990s.
Singer Toni Braxton, whose full name is Toni Michelle Braxton, was born in Severn, Maryland. Tony grew up in a large family. As the daughter of a priest, Tony, like her sisters, was brought up in austerity. From childhood, the girl was instilled with a love of traditions and customs.
From the earliest years, the future singer, the idol of millions, had a special feeling for music. As a toddler, she sang in the church choir. And having matured a little, she became a member of the group "The Braxtons", where her four sisters also sang. The group glorified the single "Good life", which in the 90s was heard by many. Already at that time, the talent of the young star was noticed by such sharks of American show business as Babyface and A. Reid. She was asked to record the soundtrack for the movie "Boomerang" starring Eddie Murphy, called "Love should brought you home", written by Anita Baker. So Braxton began working with La Face Records and was soon ready to release her first solo album, Toni Braxton, which will be released in 1993 and will occupy the leading positions in the US charts.
Career and creativity
The new singles released by the singer were enveloped in deep emotions and gave the impression of genuine feelings, which, of course, the listeners immediately liked (“Breathe again”, “How any days”, “You mean the world to me”). The stylish black-and-white video for the sensual composition “Another sad love song” immediately captivated the audience and for a long time was at the top of the music charts.
For her work on her first solo album, Toni Braxton received three Grammy awards. She also won awards at the American Music Awards for two years in a row. All this made it possible to speak of Toni Braxton as a new star who has risen to the musical Olympus.
The next album managed to do what seemed incredible. The album called "Secrets" became even more successful than the first one. It was recognized as a platinum disc eight times. He topped not only the American music charts, but also the rhythm and blues charts in Europe and Asia. In it, Tony sang the song "How could an angel break my heart", one of the co-authors of which she herself was. Later, this wonderful lyrical composition will be included in the album dedicated to the memory of Princess Diana.
But the real fame came with an incredibly sad and melodic single called "Un-break my heart", written by Diane Warren. This song has become not only the most recognizable in the singer's career, but also a kind of hallmark of her inimitable timbre. For almost three months, the single was at # 1 on all charts!
The overwhelming success and fame, unfortunately, could not save the singer from financial difficulties. In 1998, Toni Braxton, a global star, filed for bankruptcy. All of her property was put up for sale in order to pay off a huge debt of $ 3.9 million. But, despite the difficulties, the singer continued to pursue a musical career and even release clips.
In 1998, Toni Braxton became the first African American female singer to star in the Disney musical, Beauty and the Beast. The musical was a huge hit on Broadway.
In 1999, the singer signed a new contract with the La Face recording studio, which promised to pay off all of her remaining debts. According to preliminary forecasts, the new album was supposed to bring the singer $ 25 million, but not a single subsequent album of the singer could repeat the incredible success of the first two.
Their third album, The Heat, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. At the time of writing, Tony was working with Babeface and Foster, as well as a new musician and fan who would later become her husband. The album had modest commercial success. This alone did not stop him from going double platinum. For the year, Braxton topped several nominations on the Billboard charts, and also received the prestigious Aretha Franklin Award for Artist of the Year. And the song “He Wasn’t Man Enough brought her sixth Grammy.
The release of Toni Braxton's fourth album coincided with the period of her pregnancy, which was proceeding with complications. The disc was incomplete, and was released earlier than the singer planned. As a result, she decided to leave Arista. In the first days after the album's release, only 97,000 discs were sold.
The fifth album, titled "Libra", also had little success. However, it received gold album status in 2005 and has sold 431,000 copies worldwide. At the same time, Toni Braxton, together with Il Divo, sang the song that became the official anthem of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
In 2006, Tony opens his show in Las Vegas, which was included in the list of the top ten shows. Due to the singer's illness, the show had to be canceled. But already in August she was able to take part in the Dancing with the Stars project.
Bankruptcy
The singer's seventh album was released in 2009 and was named "Pulse", but at the end of the same year, the singer again filed for bankruptcy. This time, her debts were estimated at $ 50 million. To solve the problem of paying off debts, Braxton creates a shocking reality show about his family called "The Values of the Braxton Family." The show was a success and was extended for several seasons.
Personal life
Braxton has been married for a long time to Keri Lewis, from whom she has two sons, Diesel and Kai. In 2013, the couple broke up. The singer's youngest son was diagnosed with autism. Braxton is currently a spokesman for an autism organization and a heart disease charity.
