Toni Braxton was born on October 7, 1967 in Severn, Maryland. The father of the future star was a priest. He created a rather strict atmosphere in the house, where, in addition to Tony, six more sisters lived.
Braxton's singing talent was developed by her mother, who was previously a professional singer. The Braxtons family group became famous even when Tony was in school.
The team began to participate in various competitions and regularly received first prizes. Dad didn’t really like it, but he saw that the girls had a talent that needed to be developed.
The first steps and success of Toni Braxton
The singer received her first real fame as part of a family group after signing a contract with Arista Records. He helped the girls to get the opportunity to record songs on the popular label Bill Pattouy.
The famous musician met the Braxton sisters at a gas station and immediately realized that the band had a chance to break into people.
Working on the compositions for the record, Toni Braxton trusted producers Kenneth Edmonds and Antonio Reed. And I was not mistaken.
The well-known specialists who helped Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder were able to make a new star out of Braxton. Tony's unique voice (velvet contralto) allowed the girl to become a real star.
Toni Braxton named her first album after herself. The album has sold 11 million copies. Five songs from the disc took the top of the charts. Thanks to her debut album, the singer received three Grammy awards.
Braxton recorded her biggest hit in 1996. The composition Un-Break My Heart broke into all the charts of popular music in the world and stayed at their top for a long time. The singer recorded her first solo discs on the La Face label.
Termination of the contract with the label La Face
Braxton felt that the record company was transferring very little money from sales to her account and decided to terminate the contract with the label. But the hired lawyers were able to reject all the accusations of the singers.
The money spent during numerous court hearings led to bankruptcy. However, the girl was able to achieve a renegotiation of the contract on more favorable terms for herself.
To cover $3,9 million in debt, Braxton had to sell real estate and other property. Including numerous awards for his work.
The third album of Toni Braxton became very successful. Producer Rodney Jerkins took part in its recording. Up to this point, specialists have successfully worked with Britney Spears and the Spice Girls group.
The video clip for one of the tracks on the record was very popular on MTV. And the song "Hawaiian Guitar" received several popular music awards.
The fourth longplay did not give the singer due success, and she once again quarreled with the producers, shifting the “failure” of the disc onto their shoulders.
Tired of her musical career, Braxton decided to devote herself to cinema and starred in the film Kevin Hill. The role did not become a "breakthrough", but critics noted that Toni was well-behaved in the camera.
A year after filming the film, Toni returned to her singing career and released the album Libra. It was more commercially successful than the previous record.
Nevertheless, one could already forget about the former popularity. Did not help return the love of the public and the seventh album "Pulse".
Rapper Trey Songz helped to remember Toni Braxton. In a duet with the singer, he sang the song Yesterday, the video clip for which turned out to be quite provocative and received a significant number of views on the relevant sites.
Personal life of Toni Braxton
In 2001, Braxton married musician Keri Lewis. The marriage produced two sons Denim-Kai and Diesel-Kai. Unfortunately, the youngest child of the singer was diagnosed with autism.
The girl believes that her son's illness is her retribution for the abortion, which she had at the height of her career.
Health
Toni Braxton is not in excellent health. Doctors found a tumor in her, which they were able to remove in time. The girl also suffers from increased capillary fragility and lupus erythematosus.
Because of this, Tony has to spend a lot of time in rehab. But problems don't scare Braxton.
She continues to do what she loves. Not so long ago, the girl announced that she wants to tie the knot with rapper Brian Williams.
They have been friends since 2003, but only started dating in 2016.
The singer declared herself bankrupt twice, but continues to do charity work. She founded the Autism Speaks and American Heart Association foundations. Today, the singer devotes more time to the family.
Interesting Facts
- The total circulation of records sold by the singer amounted to 60 million copies. She was awarded the Grammy Award seven times. In 2017, Toni Braxton again took the opportunity to play in the movie.
- The drama Faith Under Fire is about the events that took place in 2013 at a school in Georgia. The man took the students hostage and only the heroine played by Braxton was able to persuade the raider to surrender.
- In 2018, Braxton again decided to return to her singing career and released the provocative album Sex and Cigarettes. The title track of this album received huge popularity.
- The singer returned to her image, created in the 1990s of the last century.
- In numerous interviews that Braxton gave in support of the new album, she talked about how she got older and now can talk about her feelings without censorship.
