Toni Braxton

b. 7 October 1968, Severn, Maryland, USA. Braxton, with her four sisters, was signed to Arista Records in 1990 as the Braxtons. It was their ‘The Good Life’ single that brought them to the attention of producers L.A. And Babyface, who provided her with solo successes such as ‘Another Sad Love Song’ and ‘You Mean The World To Me’. Though she was widely touted as the ‘new Whitney Houston’ (a fate that befell many female vocalists in the 90s), her vocal talent also found an audience in dance music circles. Her debut album went on to sell more than two million copies, and she won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1993. Secrets repeated the success of her debut, particularly in her homeland where it spent 92 weeks on the chart. The album also spawned the transatlantic hit singles ‘You’re Makin’ Me High’ and ‘Un-break My Heart’. She won Female Rhythm & Blues Artist Of The Year at the 1997 Billboard Music Awards.

Surprisingly, in light of her previous commercial success, Braxton filed for bankruptcy in January 1998 following litigation with her record company. She returned in style two years later with The Heat which included the Rodney Jerkins -penned Top 5 hit ‘He Wasn’t Man Enough’, and a duet with Dr. Dre on ‘Just Be A Man About It’. 2002’s More Than A Woman featured production work from Jerkins and the Neptunes but proved to be her final non-compilation release for LaFace. Braxton made her debut for the Blackground label in late 2005 with the US Top 5 album Libra.