Kelis
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Harlem-bred vocalist Kelis is an American R&B and hip-hop singer, songwriter and the wife of rapper, Nas. She joins the late Aaliyah and Mary J. Blige as one of the most influential female artists.
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[edit] About
Kelis Rogers-Jones was born on August 21, 1979 and raised in a middle-class household in Harlem neighborhood of New York City, New York to parents Kenneth (a Pentecostal minister and jazz musician) and mother Eveliss (a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer). During her childhood, she sang in church choirs, play the saxophone, violin and piano whiled attending a private school on Manahattan's Upper East Side. She left her parents' home at the age of 13 but continued on her education. After graduation, a friend introduced her to The Neptunes who helped her land a record deal that yielded her first album Kaleidoscope. Unfortunately, her father died 2 days before she signed her former deal with Virgin in 1998.
Kaleidoscope was released in December 1999 where the single Caught Out There became popular but the album failed to win over the American audience. It did well in Europe where three of her singles that was released off the album were big hits. Her unique style in both hair and clothing has received considerable attention.
Two years later, she once again teamed up with Pharrell and Chad Hugo, much known as The Neptunes. Her sophomore album Wanderland was released exclusively in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Due to the political reworkings within Virgin Records, she was compelled to leave the American record company. Wanderland was not as successful as her debut album, selling only 80,000 copies worldwide.
She began her European tour with U2 in their Elevation Tour and the U.S. with Moby, where she met and fell in love with rapper, Nas.
In 2003 her third album Tasty was released and yielded the Top Ten hit "Milkshake," another Neptunes production. Through this, she found mainstream success over the U.S. market. It sold over 400.000 copies in the U.S. alone in only 2 months and gained Gold status. It went silver in the UK with sales over 200,000. The second single Trick Me proved to be another success in Europe but not in America and for once, The Neptunes is not involved in its production.
Her fourth album, Kelis Was Here, was released through Jive in August 22, 2006. It debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200. But album sales in the U.S. is mediocre, selling 126,000 units as of November 2006. In this album, The Neptunes are not featured at all. Though the album is not that successful in the U.S., it found life in England where it was certified silver bu the BPI music and sold 60,000 copies within its first three weeks.
She is now recognized as a trendsetter, a style icon and the superstar entertainer aroung the world. She's busy with writing a cookbook and developing her own line of accessories and cosmetics.
[edit] Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Brit Awards | Best International New Comer |
| Q Statue | Best Video (Caught Out There) | |
| NME Prize | Best R&B Singer |
[edit] Certifications
| Year | Album | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Kaleidoscope | BPI: Gold |
| 2003 | Tasty | RIAA: Gold; BPI: Platinum; ARIA: Gold; RIANZ: Gold |
| 2006 | Kelis Was Here | BPI: Silver |
[edit] Nominations
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Grammy Award | Best Contemporary R&B Album for Kelis Was Here |
| 2005 | Brit Award | Best International Female Solo Artist |
| 2004 | Grammy Award | Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Milkshake |
[edit] Chart Toppers
| Year | Single | U.S. | U.S. R&B | UK | AUS | CAN | GER | FRA | SWI | SWE | NTH | JAP | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Caught Out There | 54 | 9 | 4 | 26 | 10 | 40 | 96 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 95 | Kaleidoscope |
| Good Stuff (featuring Terrar) | ~ | ~ | 19 | ~ | ~ | 72 | ~ | 74 | 44 | 78 | ~ | Kaleidoscope | |
| Get Along with You | ~ | 57 | 51 | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | 93 | ~ | Kaleidoscope | |
| 2001 | Young, Fresh N' New | ~ | ~ | 32 | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | 89 | ~ | Wanderland |
| 2003 | Milkshake | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 22 | 52 | 22 | 5 | ~ | 5 | Tasty |
| 2004 | Trick Me | ~ | ~ | 2 | 5 | ~ | 10 | 20 | 8 | 24 | ~ | ~ | Tasty |
| Millionaire (featuring André 3000) | ~ | ~ | 3 | 23 | ~ | 65 | ~ | 43 | 50 | ~ | ~ | Tasty | |
| 2005 | In Public (featuring Nas) | ~ | ~ | 17 | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | Tasty |
| 2006 | Bossy (featuring Too $hort) | 16 | 11 | 22 | 18 | ~ | 64 | ~ | 41 | ~ | ~ | ~ | Kelis Was Here |
[edit] News
[edit] Tours & Concerts
No tours to date
[edit] Announcements
Ring tones for the popular singer Kelis have been made available on a new site.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 Released: December 7, 1999 Label: Virgin Records US |
 Released: October 29, 2001 Label: EMI International |
 Released: December 9, 2003 Label: StarTrak |
 Released: August 22, 2006 Label: La Face |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Labels |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Caught Out There | Virgin Records US |
| Good Stuff (featuring Terrar ) | Virgin Records US | |
| Get Along With You | Virgin Records US | |
| 2001 | Young, Fresh N' New | EMI International |
| 2003 | Milkshake | StarTrak |
| 2004 | Trick Me | StarTrak |
| Millionaire (featuring André 3000 ) | StarTrak | |
| 2005 | In Public | StarTrak |
| 2006 | Bossy (featuring Too $hort ) | La Face |
| Blindfold Me (featuring Nas ) | La Face | |
| 2007 | Lil' Star (featuring Cee-Lo ) | La Face |
| 2007 | Trilogy | La Face |
[edit] Compilations & Live Releases
[edit] Other artists
[edit] Similar artists
[edit] Contemporaries
[edit] Trivia
- When she was 13, she shaved her head and, after it grew back, dyed it a succession of colors (blue-black, blood red, green, orange, platinum blond, and pink).
- At 16, she was accepted as a drama major at New York's renowned La Guardia School for the Arts
- Her name is a combination of her parents' names.
- Born to an African American father and a Chinese-Puerto Rican mother.
- Married rapper Nas on January 8, 2005
