FEATURE:
The Great American Songbook
Brandy
__________
FOR the next couple…
of parts for this series, I am focusing on artists who are contemporary and putting out great work. Billie Eilish is coming up. However, here, I am shining a light on Brandy. There are a few reasons why. She is one of my favourite artists and someone whose music I recall fondly when I was growing up. She is still superb. Having just celebrated a birthday, Brandy also completed the acclaimed and hugely popular The Boy Is Mine Tour with Monica at the end of last year. I do hope that Brandy has some more tour dates for this year and that she and Monica join forces again one day. I will get to a twenty-song Brandy mix. When she turned forty-five in 2024, I did compile a playlist then. However, I want to update and refresh it. First, and for anyone in the U.S., you catch her discussing her upcoming memoir, Phases, which comes out on 31st March:
“Live Nation Urban and Grammy-winning icon Brandy Norwood have announced “A Conversation With Brandy: Phases Book Tour,” a series of intimate events celebrating the release of her debut memoir.
The tour features two exclusive dates where the singer, actress, and producer will discuss her legendary career and the personal journey detailed in her book, Phases, which arrives March 31 via Hanover Square Press.
The tour will stop at two premier venues this spring:
March 29: Los Angeles, CA – The Montalbán
April 1: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
Tickets officially go on sale Friday, February 6, at 10 a.m. local time, following a pre-sale period that began on February 5. In a move to prioritize fans of her literature, every ticket purchase includes a physical copy of Phases.
Known to fans as “The Vocal Bible,” Brandy’s memoir and corresponding tour will cover her evolution from a Mississippi church singer to a global superstar. The events are expected to touch on era-defining moments, including her starring role in Moesha, the historic success of “The Boy Is Mine,” and her groundbreaking turn as Disney’s first Black Cinderella.
According to the announcement, the tour offers a rare look at the “private struggles” and “resilience” behind her artistry, told in her own words for the first time”.
There are a couple of other things to cover off. However, here is some more detail about Brandy’s upcoming memoir. One that I am keen to read, as I have been a fan of her for decades now. I do wonder whether Brandy will also release a follow-up to 2020’s b7 (she also put out Christmas with Brandy in 2023):
“The iconic, multiplatinum, Grammy Award®–winning performer Brandy brings us a raw, intimate portrait of her life, charting her growth to stardom from Mississippi churches to Hollywood spotlights
From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At fourteen she landed her first record deal. At fifteen her album went platinum. At sixteen she was starring in the hit sitcom Moesha and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother, Whitney Houston.
Yet as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors “The Vocal Bible” as she was known, was struggling.
Now, for the first time, Brandy reveals the real story behind her life in the spotlight, the stratospheric highs and the unimaginable lows, the groundbreaking moments and the relatable journey she had to take to discover her authentic self—as a woman, a mother, an artist—as Brandy.
Brandy's debut memoir is a fearless and remarkable story of hope, resilience and the strength it takes to make peace with the past”.
Brandy also received a Black Music Icon Award at the GRAMMYs earlier this month. It was richly deserved for an artist who is definitely an icon. Someone whose music has made a huge impact on the world. When Brandy went up to collect the award, she was modest and grounded with her words, describing herself as “humbly just a vessel”. To celebrate this enormously loved and influential artist, I am including Mississippi-born Brandy in this The Great American Songbook. A twenty-track salute and recognition of…
ONE of music’s true greats.