Toni Michele Braxton is a six times Grammy winning American R&B singer, songwriter, pianist, musician, actress, television celebrity, record producer and humanitarian. She has released a total of six studio albums until now and has sold over 66 million records worldwide, which has made her an R&B idol.
Early Life
Toni Braxton was born in Severn, Maryland, on October 7, 1968. The daughter of a minister, she was raised mostly in the strict Apostolic faith, which prohibited not only all popular culture, but also pants in women’s wardrobes. 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. 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.
Music Career
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Braxton signed a contract with Arista Records and ‘The Braxtons’ released their first single ‘The Good Life’ in 1990. It was not a great hit but got her a deal with LaFace Records.
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The year 1992 marked the beginning of Braxton’s prolific career as she was asked to replace Anita Baker and sing for Eddie Murphy’s movie ‘Boomerang’. She gained her first hit single, ‘Love Shoulda Brought You Home’.
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This led to the release of her debut, ‘Toni Braxton’ in 1993. It had hits like ‘Breathe Again’, ‘You Mean the World to Me’ and ‘Another Love Song’; the record went on to sell more than 8 million copies.
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She released ‘Secrets’ in 1996, which included the single ‘Un-Break My Heart’ and the hit ‘You Make Me High’. She won two Grammys for the album: for best female R&B vocal performance and best female R&B pop vocal performance.
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After such a huge success, a third album was expected from Braxton but she got into a contractual feud with Arista Records as she did not get enough cut from her record sales. She filed for bankruptcy in 1998.
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Braxton turned to acting in that year and became the first black actress to play ‘Belle’ in a Broadway production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. It included a song written especially for her, which became a huge hit.
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After three years of legal battle, Braxton released her third album, ‘The Heat’ in 2000. This album did not have themes of heartbreak and instead featured her as bold. It included hit singles like, ‘Just Be a Man About it’, etc.
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Her fourth studio album, ‘More Than a Woman’ came out in 2002 and immediately after that she signed with Blackground Records and released her fifth album, ‘Libra (2005)’ with them.
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‘Pulse’, her sixth album, was released in 2010. After this she decided to stop cutting albums and instead worked on other entertainment projects, like her own show in Vegas ‘Toni Braxton: Revealed’ and brief appearance on ‘Dancing with the Stars’.
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Awards and Achievements
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Braxton has won many awards in her 20 years of musical career: six Grammy Awards, Seven American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, four Soul Train Music Awards, NAACP Image Award, BRIT Award and Echo Award.
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The most prominent work of Braxton’s career is undoubtedly her single, ‘Un-break My Heart’ from ‘Secrets (1996)’. The song reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for 11 weeks; it also won her a Grammy Award.
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