How Brandy Norwood Became a SUPERSTAR

Intro number of people when you went into the hospital a little while back wanted to know was it dehydration were you ill yeah was it a nervous breakdown nous breakdown ladies and Gentlemen please welcome Brandy Norwood Brandy she's only 19 but Brandy is just sitting on top of the world but no that pushy I'm a pushy stage mother my dream ever since I was four or five to be a successful recording artist and I wanted it so bad that it had to happen the first question I get is who's the real Brandy November 10th 1999 Los Angeles California 20-year-old Superstar Brandy Rihanna Norwood known simply as Brandy to her millions of fans around the world enters Cedar Sinai Medical Center at such a young age Brandy had already accomplished more than most people could imagine with multiple chart topping albums a leading role in a hit TV show and a burgeoning acting career she was undeniably at the Pinnacle of success just 2 days earlier she had allegedly walked off the set of her television show moisha leaving the cast and crew stunned reports quickly surfaced of an explosive Outburst with some insiders hinting at the immense stress Brandy had been under now as she entered the hospital speculation ran wild what happened what could have driven the usually poised Brandy to such a Breaking Point the medical diagnosis would be explained away as dehydration but Brandy would step away from the spotlight for the next 3 years only adding fuel to the speculation that the fame had become too much for her today we will explore bry's life career and the immense pressures of stardom this is her story Brandy was A star is born first born the very first thing that I told the doctor was you have just birthed a star from the moment she was born Brandy Norwood's mother knew she was a star in a 1997 issue of Essence Sonia Norwood told reporter Tara Roberts I told the doctor I have just given birth to a star I knew she was going to be somebody one day Brandy was their miracle baby after all Willie and Sonia had desperately wanted a child after losing their first and in 1979 when Brandy entered this world Sonia knew that this one was special this was before she could talk walk or she wasn't even off the bottle so we knew then that she had some kind of tone and that she was going to probably be a singer but we didn't know how good of a singer she was too young then music was in bry's DNA a legacy passed down from her parents' bloodline Meet the Norwoods Willie Norwood was the minister of Music at a local church in mome Mississippi where his daughter sang her first solo at just 2 years old Willie began his career playing the trumpet for the Jackson State University band where he honed his skills and received a scholarship in the early '70s his talent led him to join a soul music group named the composers as their lead vocalist the group found moderate success opening for acts like Shaka Khan and Lou RWS and Willie eventually moved himself and his new wife to Hollywood to try to make it big in the music business however the bright lights of Hollywood came with their own challenges Willie began to feel that the fast-paced often morally ambiguous environment of the music industry was pulling him away from from his religious Roots which had always been a guiding force in his life the city that promised so much was also leading him down a path that felt increasingly distant from the values he held dear so he and Sonia moved back home in the late '70s to regroup and start a family I knew God gave me a gift and my dad worked with me and he just um just just like developed me into this singer in the quiet town of mome Mississippi where Willie and Sonia lived stars were few and far between mcom was a place where life moved at a slower pace far removed from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood but the Norwoods believed that their daughter was destined for something greater so when Willie received a job offer to return to Los Angeles it felt like Destiny had intervened two years after bry's first Going Back to Cali church solo the Norwoods packed themselves in their two young children four-year-old Brandy and 2-year-old Willie Jr who would later go by Ray J and mooved to Carson California in 1983 and while Sonia was working at H&R Block for the next few years Willie would take the kids to and from school and have them work with the choir he was ministering I taught Brandy and Ray J how to appreciate singing he said in a 1997 Essence article picture this it's 1985 Sonia and Willie Norwood make the 20-minute drive Little Richard from Carson California to The Forum with their two children in tow they're at the Forum because Sonia's cousin Bo didley has a big show with the iconic Little Richard and the winner is still me towards the end of the night Little Richard invites people from the audience to come on stage and sing with him before anyone knew it six-year-old Brandy makes her way to the stage she takes the microphone stands in front of the packed house and before the crowd can prepare themselves this little girl starts belting with the power of performers twice her age she finishes the song for the architect of rock and roll and is met with boisterous Applause from the audience and in that moment son's intuition had been proven right a star had been born Whitney Houston is Brandy discovers Whitney hot you could say she's an overnight sensation 22-year-old Beauty burst onto the music scene just a year ago with a debut album that has sold nearly 3 million copies in 1986 Whitney Houston won her first ever Grammy for The Ballad Saving All My Love For You the year before the New Jersey native released herself titled debut album which initially reached a modest 166 on the charts in February 1985 but by March 1986 the album had shot up to number one on the pop charts where it remained for an impressive 14 weeks Whitney was the epitome of top Perfection her voice powerful yet nuanced captivated audiences across the world she graced late night talk shows and starred in high budget music videos both of which were Rarities for new black artists at the time Whitney's rise wasn't just a breakthrough it was a cultural Milestone marking the beginning of a new era where a black woman could dominate the pop music scene on her own terms for 7-year-old Brandy Norwood watching Whitney was nothing short of magical she saw her on television commanding the stage with effortless Grace and unmatched talent and in that moment she knew what she wanted to to do with her life she told her parents she wanted to be the next Whitney Houston at 7 she came and she says I want to be as big as Whitney Houston one day and I said to myself that's a very tall order but we'll see what we could do Drew Childhood Barrymore Judy Garland Michael Jackson all artists who began their careers before they were teenagers just like brandy she had been training to be a star since that first Solo in mccom and she wanted it more than anything by the age of 11 brand began entering local talent shows and showcases most didn't lead to anything until one day she caught the eye of producer Chris [Music] Meeting Chris Stokes/Immature [Music] Stokes see Chris Stokes was managing the group Immature when he first saw Brandy immature was a trio led by Marcus Houston also known as Batman Romeo and half pint who would later be replaced by LBD the group performed in the same talent show but Stokes was impressed most by Brandy by 1990 when she was 11 years old she signed with teaspoon Productions headed by Chris Stokes and his business partner Earl Harris according to teaspoon they initially entered into an agreement that they would represent Brandy and try to get her a record deal in exchange for 50% of her future royalties and 20% of all her merchandising Brandy started by singing background for immature who got the bulk of the team's attention a girl coming [Music] out while playing around one day Brandy became responsible for one of the immature group members distinct looks Brandy and Romeo’s eye that yeah he uh she had uh uh her and half Pine had got into it she got up I got up and just kind of like just she had a book in her hand just tossed it back back not thinking anyone was I was that close and it uh cut my retina while playing around with half pint backstage of aou RWS ton Brandy threw a book which accidentally cut Romeo's retina detaching it from his eye this unfortunate incident caused Romeo to have permanent damage to his right eye and he opted to wear an eye patch or sunglasses for the majority of the time he was in the group Brandy was always insecure on how she looked she always Insecurities about her beauty wanted to look pretty and um and she never felt pretty Brandy was beautiful talented and head off the charts Charisma but even though she had all that the beauty standards of the day weighed heavy on her she was often teased at school for not having the straightest teeth fairest skin or the longest hair she tried to fit in at Hollywood High using her talent and acting abilities to stick out amongst the crowd but kids would mistake her confidence and drive for arrogance so she had a hard time making friends while a freshman at Hollywood High her guidance counselor didn't recognize her Talent or her beauty while other students were being sent to auditions by the teacher Brandy had trouble persuading her to sent her on calls like other girls Brandy said one day I asked why aren't you sending me out on calls and she said because you're not drop dead gorgeous you living in a glass house don't throw no stone to become the next Whitney Houston you have to do more than sing so Brandy and her parents wanted to try acting as well Chris Stokes was able to cast Brandy and immatures lead singer Marcus Houston in a sitcom titled We are family which didn't make it past the pilot at just 12 years old Brandy auditioned for Atlantic Atlantic Records Records Executives who told her she was too young young and to come back when she turned 14 after this initial disappointment Brandy told billboard I practiced every day I imagined Each corner of my room as a different part of an audience it was amazing to feel inspired and driven by 1993 one she was 14 Chris Stokes and tpoon Productions were working to secure Brandy a solo deal with East West records around the same time her parents arranged a second audition with Atlantic allegedly behind Chris's back this time A anr darl Williams and label head Sylvia Ron were present Brandy performed Mariah Care's Vision of Love and her Idol Whitney Houston's Greatest Love of All and the second time around the Atlantic team was ready to sign her on the spot after Brandy signed to Atlantic Sonia quit her job as an H&R Block district manager and devoted herself to managing her daughter Brandy begins acting on Thea full-time hi Mama during the early days of signing Brandy was selected to star in the ABC sitcom Thea the show was the first time a black female comedian headlined her own network television sitcom there's rumor that the tense relationship between Thea and Brandy played a role in the show's demise when you are acting in the front of someone who soon as they say cut curses you out and then you got to come right back and get right back in character that's drrive since this was bry's first real acting gig she naturally encountered some of the typical challenges faced by amateurs like forgetting her lines the admitted to becoming aggressive with Brandy who was around 14 years old when the show premiered FIA says that Sonia was the prot typical overbearing stage mom which escalated the tension on top of that the production crew thought it would be a good idea to start introducing musical numbers within the show to highlight bry's singing abilities this caused more anger from Thea who wanted to be the center of the show the constant bickering between Brandy and the show's Star as well as the ratings consistently dropping caused the show to not be renewed for a season two the show initially garnered high ratings but started rapidly declining during the season and was eventually canceled after 19 episodes brand had no love lost about the show's cancellation stating I felt bad for everybody else but me it was a good thing because I could do what I had to do because I wanted to sing but the drama didn't stop there Chris Stokes and Earl Harris would Brandy’s Parents are Sues go on to sue the Norwoods Atlantic and Warner Communications for $5 million claiming that the day teaspoon finalized the deal with East West records bry's parents made a deal with Atlantic thus terminating their contract to allegedly circumvent having to pay teaspoon any royalties or merchandising from the deal they made but the matter was settled Debut album [Music] privately Brandy the self-titled debut album in stores now Bry self-titled debut album was released in late September 1994 when she was just 15 years old all music writer Eddie Huffman declared Brandy a lower key Janet Jackson or a more stripped down Mary J blig Entertainment Weekly called the album a premature effort at best that seems based on the philosophy if Aaliyah can do it why can't I damn I forgot to mention Aaliyah hold up while there were many attempts of marketing teen artists before her in the mid90s the first young Aaliyah black girl to hit the scene in a major way was Aaliyah in Spring of 1994 she opened the doors for young girls like brandy to get taken seriously as an artist by the general public at 15 years old Aaliyah dropped her debut album age ain't nothing but an number just a few months before bry's self-titled album in 1994 and although they were the same age the way they presented themselves couldn't be further away Brandy said some things that were said now what did she did you hear what she actually um I I caught wind of some of it but I don't you know I don't pay much attention to that I think there's ra here for all of us so good luck Brandy although the direct quote is hard to find it was reported that Brandy critiqued Aaliyah's more mature look and style stating that her mother and manager Sonia would never let her dress like that which was true at the time bry's image was that of the prototypical teenager and because of that she often opted for a more modest look than many of her peers Aaliyah on the other hand was a style icon but y'all already know that the the lady of the hour um who's 15 with power oh my God I can't believe her age this is Brandy for those of you who have been living under a rock for the last three months basically that the radio the song has been all over the place what's going on nothing much just really chilling getting ready for welcome to video music I Wanna Be Down box it's your first time you bry's debut single I want to be down was released on September 5th 1994 just 3 weeks before her album's release the single peaked at number one on the R&B charts and upon its release Sylvia Ron had the idea to remix the track with a crew of female rappers the remix features MC light yo-yo and Queen Latifa the video was directed by Hype Williams and gave a slight Edge to the cookie cutter image Brandy had presented to the world Sonia handcrafted this image she picked the Wardrobe she picked the hair she picked almost everything so that Brandy reflected her vision she was going to do everything she could to protect her daughter's reputation and refused to allow her to wear anything too revealing or mature even if it went against what the label or higher-ups thought see yep we don't see no Naval neither we see turtleneck you know straight covered up yeah always covered up bry's debut album was a smash and produced three Billboard 100 top 10 singles baby was the second single from the album peing at number four on the chart s in the Public's view Brandy was on top of the world she even Meeting Whitney met her Idol Whitney Houston around this time after many unsuccessful attempts before come here with your little pretty self I'm so proud of you I'm so proud oh look at you how you handling all huh it's bry's album went on to go over six times platinum and she earned two 1995 Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and best female R&B vocal performance she also won four Soul Train Awards that year all by the age of 16 the third single brokenhearted Brokenhearted/Meeting Wanya featured a member of the biggest boy band of the time we always talk you know back and forth jok we should do a duet we should do a duet and I was always scared because you know she could sing so good and I didn't want to over sing me brokenhearted a duet with Wan Morris of Boys to Men became a number two hit on the charts in 1995 she was an opening act on boys to men's two world tour while on tour Brandy and W allegedly began dating he was around 22 years old at the time was young too she said she was 15 and she had to keep it a secret cuz she was no no see see we we we did the thing we did the thing when she was like 16 17 around that time you know so you were still a boy too you had yeah I was I wasn't too I wasn't old I wasn't like 38 years old nothing like that I was old enough to uh she was old enough to get it okay was it legal after Brandy finished up the two Monon stin on tour she earned a another top 10 Single that's a girl that I met at a young age and uh Sittin Up In My Room/Babyface she was like one of the best voices I'd ever heard at such a young young girl singing so good um it was a young girl that were both Whitney and I we sat down and talked about it and uh Whitney was like this girl can sing this girl going to be me one day she actually said that this girl going to be me um and I have to say that this little girl is one of the best singers I've ever worked with and I've ever seen and that girl would be brandy brandy is like I think she's underrated I don't think people appreciate her voice enough she's she's ridiculous in November of that year The Waiting to Exhale soundtrack was released and it was an absolute smash featuring an all female lineup including the icon Whitney Houston as well as newcomers like Mary J big and TL the executive producer of the album baby face invited Brandy to the mix sitting up in my room was the second single of the soundtrack following Whitney Houston's exhale and peaked at number two on the Billboard Moesha 100 recognizing bry's acting Potential from her role on Thea Ralph Fara believed she would be perfect for the lead in the sitcom he was developing the show focused on a middleclass black family with the storyline centered around their eldest daughter moisha despite Ralph's enthusiasm Brandy was initially hesitant due to her previous negative experience on a sitcom however the creators were determined to have her in the role and ultimately Brandy agreed to take it on it was originally ordered as a pilot for cbs's 1995 television season but was declined by the network it was eventually picked up by UPN and Brandy was now being broadcast into the homes of hundreds of thousands of viewers every week keeping her in the Public's mind but it seemed as if drama always followed in a 1998 cover story Brandy stated that her and the actress who played moisha's best friend on the show count as vau weren't actually as close on set Brandy went on to say a mouthful to the interviewer stating I think she's very funny very talented I just feel like she wants to be in the position I'm in people tell her you're the reason why the show's successful and she's told me that before and she's called me a bit to my face she said I'm the reason why the show was successful in front of a lot of people and I looked at her like wow I couldn't say anything about her because I wasn't about to she knows she wakes up and looks at herself in the mirror and gets disgusted I don't the beef started from Petty Teenage Drama fighting for who was the funniest or got the most attention on set it would eventually blow over especially after Countess secured her own spin-off The Parkers even in the midst of all the drama moisha was a hit and became upn's most popular show on the network this prom 3 hours after it started Kobe Brandy goes to prom Bryant and his date pop star Brandy Norwood finally arrived in a white limo their security people did their best to keep microphones out of their face we tried anyway even though she was privately dating Wan Brandy had a 17-year-old basketball phenom completely smitten Kobe's mother Pamela Bryant told the Philadelphia Daily in 1996 he came home from the 1996 Essence Awards and said I met such a nice beautiful intelligent sweet person eventually Kobe got in contact with Brandy and had a unique ask he wanted her to go with him to senior prom and after asking Sonia the two emerging stars made it a date about the night Brandy said I had never been treated like that by anybody before Kobe made me feel beautiful Kobe and Brandy continued to hang out for a while he even guest starred on an episode of her show and although they never dated seriously since she was still involved with waner Kobe and Brandy were a cute couple at the time the part is Cinderella and Whitney Houston is bry's very godmother indeed Cinderella as executive producer of the new TV movie Whitney handpicked Brandy for the role in 199 7 Brandy was handpicked by producer Whitney Houston to play the title character in Rogers and Hammerstein's version of Cinderella the television special garnered and estimated 60 million viewers and Brandy was the first ever black woman to play the role of Cinderella in a film it was a dream come true for Brandy to work with her musical icon who played the Fairy Godmother in the movie and a Monumental moment for the country to see a young black woman embodying a fairy tale princess millions of young girls were able to see themselves represented through Brandy in the film you know I mean I'm only 19 and Darkchild/The Boy is Mine when I first heard bry's first album four years ago I love Brandy I'm a fan of her so when I got called to work with I was like oh my gosh this is you know I'm putting I'm in an awkward position I'm a fan of her in 1997 producer Rodney darkchild Jerkins had just scored his first major placement with Mary J Big's number two hit I can love you but he says his big break didn't come until Atlantic Records called and wanted him to take control of bry's second album Jerkins would produce and write on most of the songs on the album including the number one hit the Boy Is Mine which was both written and produced by Brandy as well as himself in Dallas Austin Brandy wrote The Record after watching an episode of Jerry Springer about love triangles it was written as a solo track but darkchild thought that it would sound better as a duet Monica never liked Brandy and Brandy never you know she was like Monica's very ghetto when it came down to it she was like she's too proper and she's too this and I think Brandy might have looked at her a certain way a couple of times and looked at her like the little you know and so from that point it was just like they you know even to have them do the boys M Monica was like nope not doing no song with her enter Monica discovered at 11 years old by Dallas Austin while performing at Center Stage Auditorium in Atlanta she had been on the scene since she dropped her debut album Miss thing in the summer of 1995 Monica and Brandy were more alike than they were different they both could sing they both loved Whitney Houston and they were both young women navigating rapid success but while Brandy had a cleancut cookie cutter image craft raed with the help of her mother Monica was a little more edgy while Brandy was media trained Monica was not and while Monica was more Street Savvy Brandy could use a little help in that department the idea for the record was based on the media concocted beef between the two R&B Stars even though before the record was cut they had only ever really seen each other in passing Dallas Austin claimed Monica never liked Brandy and vice versa even though they never had a real reason this song was was was dumb because I I know that like Monica since don't take it personal and I don't know how much she's been a fan of mine but I can just say for myself I really wanted to work with her and you know I don't like the rumors I don't like people trying to put us against each other cuz it's not like that cuz I you know that's my girl she I told you the single was a success immediately and eventually spent 13 weeks at the top of the charts and was the second longest running number one in history but that perceived tension between the two collaborators turned into real public beef once the song was released the tension almost came to a head on the set of the video shoot for the single Brandy apparently put her hand in Monica's face while trying to act out the lyrics Monica told Vibe magazine Brandy was ad libing about the situation and at one point she put her hand to my face playing and it upset me that's the kind of stuff that becomes personal with me not because it was Brandy that goes for anybody the two ladies wouldn't see each other again Altercation at VMAs until the 1998 Video Music Awards where Monica allegedly punched Brandy in the face during rehearsal the first time they actually saw each other to do it was I think it was American Music Awards or something and before they could even get to the stage Monica decked her in the face popped in the face backstage and I'm like oh my God this is even before the performance so everybody Monica allegedly punched Brandy as a result of Brandy badmouthing one of her backup dancers but they still performed that night mostly from opposite ends of the stage and you could cut the tension in the performance with a knife [Music] the two ended up losing both of their VMA nominations that night but they won the Grammy award for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal got up and ran on the stage like I couldn't believe it I mean that is the way to accept the Grammy cuz the Grammy is the most important award to me it's the only Grammy the pair have ever received oh she became kind of like my little Protege actually the one that um introduced her to be the Spears and and Wanya Breakup/Adina Howard Love Triangle? Ralph faqua and her mom and I we both made it so Brandy was ever was able to go on tour I mean on on uh the prom with Kobe Bryant we actually fell in love she grew out of me and I grew out of her might have grewing out of her a little bit faster but Randy acknowledges Wan as her first love but he ended the relationship in 1998 a month shy of bry's 19th birthday he had fallen in love with someone else if you're looking for an outspoken woman please look no further we got the one and only Medina how that person allegedly was Adena Howard the 25-year-old singer was bry's label mate and despite being told by Sylvia ran to focus on her career and not to get involved with bry's boyfriend Adena went on Wendy williams' radio show and aired out both Brandy and ran to which Sylvia put her second album on an indefinite pause this inevitably shut down adena's career and she never fully regained the success she had previously had and while Adina might have won the guy Brandy won more clout with the record label my career right now is at a Never Say Never Era level where I want it to be it's like I have more say so into what I'm doing and you know I know what direction I want to take myself I want to go into a more mature level by 1998 Brandy was one of the most profitable artists of the time while there were other teen stars like Monica none had matched bry's marketability or Commercial Success since her 1994 debut she was on a hit television show she had commercials endorsement deals and platinum records bry's blueprint proved to the major labels that there was much more value in investing in young acts than they previously expected then came the wave the record labels began churning out pop stars like they were on an assembly line in September 1998 Britney Spears released her debut single and while they had been bubbling under for a few years Backstreet Boys released their first successful us project in mid 1997 the teen pop explosion was in full swing thanks to Trailblazers like brandy and Aliyah labels now understood that the public was hungry for fresh youthful energy but with new energy comes new competition Brandy was now not only in competition with the peers she came up with but now there was a bevy of new artists making their presence known on the charts so Brandy felt like she had to go hard for her next project she's only 19 but Brandy is just sitting on top of the world got her own TV sitcom moisha last year she became the first African-American actress to play Cinderella on TV and she just completed her second album which features America's number one song Never Say Never bry's second album was released in June 1998 and became her biggest selling record ever the album was incredibly successful selling over 16 million copies worldwide and reaching number two on the billboard 200 the album was spearheaded by darkchild and writer lesea Daniels and introduced us to a new sound from Brandy it was Modern and experimental a far cry from her debut [Music] album Top of the World the second single from the album and follow up to the boy as mine peaked at number four on the R&B charts and featured the bad boy rapper Mace the two artists were rumored to have dated briefly in the late '90s bry's second number one hit have you ever was written by pop music staple Diane Warren and stayed on the top of the charts for two weeks and on top of that Brandy was still acting around 1996 Brandy had been offered a role in F Gary Gray's crime drama set it off in the role of TT who was eventually played by Kimberly Elise due to her image she turned it down because of the content in the film Brandy also claimed that she looked too young to fit into the lineup with the rest of the cast moisha still had strong ratings for the UPN Network and she had started her transition into movie stardom in 1998 she starred in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer the followup to the Blockbuster smash the sequel was also a box office hit raking in $16.5 million on its opening weekend to promote the album she embarked on the Never Say Never World Tour in the summer of 1999 the tour spanned through Europe Asia and the United States but she would have to cut the tour short due to UPN ordering her to get back early to film moisha so cool now bry's a doll the Brandy Barbie was released in 1999 cementing herself as a staple in the culture Brandy was a pop princess she was everywhere on magazines on television on the charts and to the Public's eye she was at the top of her game also in Spring 1999 she starred in the television movie Double Platinum with mega icon Diana Ross the movie was about the fledgling relationship between a famous mother and daughter something Brandy knew from personal experience she had to sit down Momager and say Brandy you got to do this there's people out there waiting on you you have to have to come and focus and do what you have to do balancing the roles of both mother and manager is no easy task you have to be both a confidant offering comfort and guidance and a strategist making difficult decisions and providing strong leadership and although Sonia Norwood tried her best to balance both sometimes that was difficult Brandy had been working for almost a decade by 1999 and although there was a slow bubbling for a while once she began to rise it was meteoric by 1999 moisha was in its fifth Breakdown season they were filming one day in November when Brandy decided she had enough according to reports Brandy allegedly had an outburst on set where she collapsed to the floor and screamed I can't do it anymore said recently on the CBS Morning Show that indeed it was a breakdown some of your articles have said it wasn't so tell me what was it it was it was a mixture of things I would say that it was um mentally it was it was a breakdown for me because of all the work that I was I was doing everything that I was around it was it was a breakdown for me but physically it was dehydration Brandy has never confirmed the exact happenings of the days prior to her hospitalization but it seemed as if everything in her life came to a head on the set of moisha Brandy claimed she didn't have an outburst and instead drove home without saying anything but even still she claimed that period of her life was the result of a nervous breakdown and Sonia acknowledged that a lot of bry's problems revolved around her being more of a manager than a mother times I just wanted her to listen to my problems stop being my manager please and just be my mother for a second was just like oh here we go again another day with the manager as her manager and her mother Sonia blames herself for letting her child take on to munch I take responsibility for it as the adult regardless of whether she wanted to do it or not you have to take responsibility she was also in a relationship in which she couldn't fully Express herself either around 1999 she entered into a relationship with someone she claimed was verbally and mentally abusive but the exact person has never been confirmed by a reliable source she claimed that the relationship was very very very bad Brandy recalled one traumatic incident with the guy to Oprah in which she said he called me a 13 times in one day I counted the one thing she could control was her body Brandy had it in her mind that she needed to be thin to be considered beautiful to the general public and although she always had a slender figure she had plummeted down to 105 lbs from her normal 125 the pressure to not only be beautiful but also a professional head all boiled over and she just couldn't take it anymore by the next season moisha was canceled the show left on a cliffhanger which showed the possibility of the character being pregnant which I'm still waiting to figure out to this day but after the show went away so did Brandy she took a three-year Hiatus after the show went off air only appearing on a couple tracks here and there during the break one of those Backing the King of Pop tracks was Unbreakable by the King of Pop darkchild was heavily involved in Michael's 2001 Invincible album and Brandy was called up to help with the track she's officially credited for only one track on that album but many fans speculate she's on the midtempo tune Heaven Can Wait as well by 2002 Brandy was back her third album full moon was released in February of that year like with Never Say Never Rodney Jerkins had Full Moon/The Vocal Bible a hand in production bry's sound was still still modern and this time a bit more experimental the lead single what about us peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and the follow-up single the title track full moon peaked at number 18 the reception for the album was mixed and got a rating of 60 on Metacritic full moon is often credited as the moment when she became known as the vocal Bible fans and critics alike praised her vocal performance particularly her Innovative use of intricate harmonies and vocal Arrangements this album highlighted her technical skill and unique tone leading to her being dubbed with that title she was so good even Michael Jackson returned the favor and contributed background vocals to her album as [Music] well I'm here in New York because I missed my sweetheart and I needed to Marriage and Pregnancy come and see him um I think around this time I'm kind of like in need of attention and it's fun it's fun being with him because he's my best friend and we do everything together so the same month that full moon dropped Brandy revealed that she was pregnant she had been involved with Robert Big Bert Smith who was dark child's cousin and their relationship had been on the hush until Brandy announced her pregnancy on the Oprah Winfrey Show Brandy revealed that the two eloped without telling anyone not even her parents also in June of that year Brandy and Robert starred in Brandy's special delivery a four episode documentary series which followed the married couple in their final months of pregnancy Brandy gave birth to her daughter on Father's Day in June of 2002 approximately a year after her birth Brandy and Robert split and is it true that you had a Breakup/Afrodisiac finished previous album that was produced mostly by your husband or something and it never came out and you went in and did all new records for this one well first of all I don't have a husband okay your ex oh sorry ex-husband let me say that right ex before that okay okay okay but um no no we started we started some music but Timlin was always the direction I was going okay well thank you for clearing the bry's fourth album aphrodesiac was released in 2004 and notably darkchild was not involved with the production for the album she would go on to say dark child created a sound with me and gave it to everybody I didn't like that I needed to change my sound and I wanted to explore my versatility my creativity and my art it's true by 2004 darkchild was lighting up the charts with various artists many of them sounded like different variations of Brandy records and although it might not be exactly fair for Brandy to want to lay claim to a specific production style there was some truth to her statements in the midst of all of this Brandy decided to do a complete overhaul of her team even removing her mother as a manager and signing Benny Medina the famed brains behind Jennifer Lopez Tyra Banks and for a while Mariah Carey but their business relationship was short-lived lasting less than a year and ending in July 2004 this was allegedly due to many business contracts falling through Medina's hands including a co-headlining world tour with Usher that never got off the ground aphrodesiac was promoted as an autobiographical album about Brandy and Robert's breakup with lyrics hinting at a marriage's dissolution and infidelity it was supposed to tell the story of what Brandy had been going through romantically the past few years aphrodesiac was critically acclaimed critics compared the album to Janet Jackson at her best which was the ultimate compliment for Brandy it was sexy it was bold it was autobiographical and most of all it was authentic so we thought in the midst of her album rollout Robert featured on Wendy Williams WBLS radio show while trying to Fake Marriage? promote his unknown artist who went by the name Amanda he claimed that they were never married and that it was all a lie that bry's mother conjured up in hopes to preserve bry's good girl image Smith claimed on the radio that he was actually involved with another woman when he found out Brandy was pregnant and that Brandy was just a quote unquote jump off Brandy would release a statement in response stating that they had a spiritual union and a true commitment to each other she stated he is trying to destroy my reputation while using me and our daughter to get publicity in radio AirPlay for his artists I am stunned that he is being so dirty about it this caused fans to question bry's authenticity why would she lie about being married in order to protect her image what was real about her the public had questions and Brandy became the butt of many jokes in tabloid scuttlebutt as her album was being released the album peaked at number three on Billboard and sold 131,000 copies in its first week but it was a commercial disappointment for Brandy especially when you compare it to the mega hit Never Say Never at the time she was dating New York knck star Quinton Richardson by June of that year the two were engaged she even got his face tattooed on her back that's a wrap from my two stars right here I got to set up yeah she's been having too much fun man what you doing to her man look d That's Dave trying to start something yeah like brandy got a boyfriend I got a girlfriend girl you I mean we working together he's acting see good actor one of bry's best tracks in my opinion was produced by the old Kanye and was the lead single for the album talk about our love peaked at number 36 and was the highest charting single from aphrodesiac after being at the company since 1993 Brandy asked for an unconditional release from Atlantic Records at the end of 2004 she stated that she was ready to move on and make changes in her life to complete her contract she released a the best of Brandy album as a sort of farewell gift to the company she had been at since she was a teenager the best bry's only 26 and she already has plenty of hit songs for a compilation CD well the best of Brandy features a collection of her songs from the past 10 years she was letting go of lot of things during this period because in September 2005 her and her boyfriend Quinton Richardson called off their engagement she'd eventually cover up his face tattoo with butterflies the California Highway Patrol is recommending that actress singer Brandy be charged with Crash misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a freeway crash that killed a motorists last December in Los Angeles the recommendation comes after a CHP probe of the incident police say 27-year-old performer Brandy Norwood was driving her SUV on an LA freeway on December 30 last year when she reared a car driven by aat Abu dahaj on December 30th 2006 while driving on the 45 freeway in Los Angeles Brandy struck a vehicle driven by a 38-year-old victim who later died from her injuries Brandy was reportedly driving her SUV at 65 mph but didn't realize the car in front of her had slowed California Highway Patrol stated that the victim accidentally struck the car in front of her and then slammed on her brakes before brandy made contact the sudden stop caused Norwood to hit the victim's car and the car slid sideways eventually hitting the center divider before being struck by another car Brandy was never charged for the accident although police recommended she face vehicular manslaughter charges but the victim's parents filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Norwood the lawsuit would be settled out of court the two other drivers involved as well as the victim's husband also settled out of court with Brandy for undisclosed amounts I don't think that's something I could ever get over or ever truly understand but that was one of the worst times in in my life in 2008 Brandy reunited with dark child and released the human album which was Brandy's lowest charting album since her debut the album peaked at number 15 on the billboard 200 sold 73,000 copies its first week on her 2010 reality show with her brother rayj Brandy said she thinks darkchild purposefully did not put his best work in the album and was not giving her what he had previously given for Never Say Never in full moon to you I don't want Rodney to do the same thing that he did to to me to Ray which was go in purposefully and not do his best speaking of Ray J by 2010 he had become a household name both for his music and other things Sonia even ended up suing his ex-girlfriend in 2008 for stealing up to $120,000 from her American Express card but anyways Ray J had become a reality show staple getting his own show on VH1 called For the Love of Ray J and eventually the family got in on the deal too Brandy Ray Jay and their parents did one season of their show a family business which chronicled the personal and professional doings of the Norwood family the family released a family business compilation album in conjunction with the show and although it was nice it failed to chart true story cuz I heard it was actually real 2/11 issues between y'all after that Rec was recorded we didn't even know each other we of course not a dude but um we didn't we didn't know each other and what happened was they do the same thing that they do now with the rappers or females like they kind of created first and we were young enough to just fall into the TR so we didn't like each other we didn't communicate we didn't perform the record um outside of the one time on the MTV Awards we never even wanted to be in each other's presence for many years in 2012 15 years after the boy's mine Brandy reunited with Monica to do another song titled it all belongs to me they were full steam ahead doing press and were set to perform for Clive Davis's preg Grammy Gala but on bry's birthday on February 11 2012 Whitney Houston passed away in the Beverly Hills Hotel in the same hotel that the Galla was being held this obviously crushed Brandy Whitney was everything to her in October of that year Brandy named her sixth album 211 due to it being both her own birthday and the day of her icon's passing two days before her tragic passing Whitney handed Brandy a note Brandy has never revealed what the note said but the encounter was caught on camera so that's what made me wanted to do who was your Mentor um Whitney Houston yeah mhm and you knew from her that you wanted to do it yes that's really great Brandy had mainly focused on acting since the 2010s joining the cast of the BET seasons of the game in 2011 she also starred in movies such as Tyler Perry's Temptation Confessions of a marriage counselor in 2013 and the perfect match in 2016 she also had a foray into Broadway starring in Chicago as Roxy Hart in 2019 Norwood was honored with the president's award at the BMI andb Hip Hop Awards in Legacy recognition of her impact on the entertainment industry specifically her contribution to R&B music in July 2020 bry's seventh album in first in8 years B7 was released it was her first album released through her own label brand new Incorporated and was her first independent project as an artist the album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 100 and in my opinion is some of her best work Brandy also participated in the versus cultural phenomenon in 2020 battling Monica it was watched by a record-breaking 1.2 million viewers and was a respectable battle by the two R&B Queens in 2023 she released Christmas with Brandy her eth Studio album and one that her fans had been begging for for years want to do more movies I want to produce I want to write I want to start my own company I want to be a businesswoman brandy has been a cultural icon since her teenage years navigating the highs and lows of Fame with resilience and determination she has weathered it all emerging stronger each time Brandy was the blueprint on how to become the quintessential 9s teen Superstar her influence has inspired countless artists shaping the landscape of music and entertainment from her vocal arrangements to her history-making acting career Brandy paved the way for many artists today taking the licks so they didn't have to something about you had said two of your Idols Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson right is it fair to say that you may be a blend of a little of both of them yes um actually I want to be Whitney Houston the singer and Janet Jackson the performer from the moment she was born bry's mother knew she was going to be a star she was right thanks for watching everybody please make sure to like comment and subsscribe [Music] [Music]