Kelis
Kelis | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1999- Present |
Kelis (born Kelis Rogers, August 21, 1980) is an American singer and songwriter.
Biography
Kelis was born in the Harlem section of Manhattan, New York City. Her father, Kenneth, was a jazz musician and a Pentecostal minister; her mother, Eveliss, was a fashion designer. "Kelis" is a combination of her African American father's and Chinese/Puerto Rican mother's names. Kelis' name is pronounced 'Kuh-Leese'.
As a child, she sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending a private school. Kelis left home at age thirteen, but continued her education and at age 16 Kelis went to the La Guardia school of the Arts [1] where she formed the R&B trio BLU (Black Ladies United). After graduation, she formed a band with the Neptunes and, with their support, landed herself a record deal.
Her debut album, Kaleidoscope, was, overall, not an American success selling 290,000 copies; though its debut single, "Caught Out There", was a urban radio success reason #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a MTV/BET video hit in America. The entire album really took off in Europe, where all three singles, "Caught Out There", "Good Stuff", and "Get Along With You" were sizable hits and Kelis' colorful style in both clothing and hair in the videoclips with bright constrasting colors combining an urban style while maintaining girl power received considerable attention. "Caught Out There" managed to get Kelis a #52 chart entry in the UK on imports [2] and it was therefore decided to release a single which peaked at #4. "Good Stuff" was also a modest hit securing a number #19 position in the UK charts.
The album, Wanderland, was released two years later exclusively in Europe and Asia, after its lead single, "Young Fresh 'N New", failed to catch on in America; the video for "Young Fresh 'N New" barely registered on American MTV or VH1, but got pretty heavy play on MTV2. According to Kelis her American record company Virgin at the time did not like the Wanderland album. The record executives at Virgin felt the album material didn't have a strong enough singles. [3]
Kelis, who had moved to Europe during her successful period there, returned to America where she met and fell in love with rapper Nas. The couple were married on January 8, 2005. She has since worked with a variety of musicians including Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, Lil Kim, OutKast, P. Diddy, Usher, Moby, Richard X, Timo Maas, Björk, No Doubt and Enrique Iglesias.
Her most notable duets were popular singles and music videos, even in America, during 1999 and the early 2000s decade. These include the following: "Got Your Money" with Ol' Dirty Bastard, "What It Is" with Busta Rhymes, and "Candy" with Foxy Brown.
Kelis finally found mainstream success in America in 2003, with her #1 urban, #3 Hot 100 song, "Milkshake"; this helped to propel her album Tasty to the top of the charts and reach gold status selling over 540,000 copies in the U.S in only 2 months.
The single and album immediately found success in Europe. The album's second single, "Trick Me", once again proved successful at radio and video channels in Europe and went to the top 10 in many European countries during mid-2004, however the song did not enjoy success in America, where its music video was not released. In addition, Kelis success grew in Australia. The album Tasty went gold in Australia selling over 35,000 copies. "Milkshake" went platinum in Australia selling over 70,000 copies. The second single "Trick Me" was important because the Neptunes were not involved in the production of this single. Trick Me also went platinum in Australia selling over 70,000 units. In New Zealand the album Tasty went Gold selling over 7000 copies. [4]
"Not In Love", a Kelis & Enrique Iglesias' duet from Iglesias' album 7, was also released as a single in 2004 but failed to catch on in America outside of the club charts. Kelis followed her success of "Millionaire" with the Rockwilder produced track, "In Public" featuring husband, Nas. The track was a UK only release, taking it to #17 with only airplay spins and no video for the track.
Kelis' newest release, "Bossy" (featuring Too $hort), is frequently played on urban radio and is the lead single from the upcoming album The Puppeteer. For this album, she has enlisted producers such as Raphael Saadiq, Scott Storch, Damon Elliott, Max Martin, Swizz Beatz and more. Currently, In addition to working on the upcoming album, Kelis is writing a cookbook and designing her own line of fashion accessories. [5]
Discography
Albums
| Date | Title | Charts | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Kaleidoscope | #144 US | |
| 2001 | Wanderland | Released in Europe, Asia & Latin America only | |
| 2003 | Tasty | #27 US #11 UK (Gold) | |
| 2006 | The Puppeteer | n/a |
Singles/Music Videos
Solo Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 2000 [UK] |
"Caught Out There" | #52 UK [Import] #4 UK [Official] |
Kaleidoscope |
| 1999 2000 [UK] |
"Good Stuff" | #19 UK | Kaleidoscope |
| 1999 | "Get Along With You" | #51 UK | Kaleidoscope |
| 2001 | "Young, Fresh, 'N' New" | #32 UK | Wanderland |
| 2002 | "Popular Thug" (featuring Nas) [6] |
- | The Neptunes Presents... Clones |
| 2003 | "Milkshake" | #2 UK #3 US |
Tasty [7] |
| 2004 | "Trick Me" | #2 UK | Tasty |
| 2004 | "Millionaire" (featuring Andre 3000 of OutKast) |
#3 UK | Tasty |
| 2005 | "In Public" (featuring Nas) |
#17 UK | Tasty [6] |
| 2006 | "Bossy" (featuring Too $hort) [6] | - | TBC |
Featured Roles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 2000 [UK] |
"Got Your Money" (Ol' Dirty Bastard featuring Kelis) |
#11 UK | Nigga Please |
| 2000 | "Honey" [Remix] (Moby featuring Kelis) [8] |
#17 UK | "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" / "Honey" [Remix] [CD Single] (Double 'A' Side) |
| 2000 | "Supa Lova" (Guru's Jazzmatazz featuring Kelis) |
- | Streetsoul |
| 2000 | "How Many Licks" [Remix] (Lil' Kim featuring N.E.R.D. & Kelis) [6] |
- | "How Many Licks" [CD Single] |
| 2001 | "Cross The Border" (Philly's Most Wanted featuring Kelis) |
- | Get Down or Lay Down |
| 2001 | "What It Is" (Busta Rhymes featuring Kelis) |
- | Genesis |
| 2001 | "Candy" (Foxy Brown featuring Kelis) [6] |
- | Broken Silence |
| 2002 | "When The Last Time" (Clipse featuring Kelis) |
- | Lord Willin' |
| 2002 | "Help Me" (Timo Maas featuring Kelis) |
#65 UK | Loud |
| 2002 | "Take You Home" (Angie Martinez featuring Kelis) |
#85 US | Animal House |
| 2003 | "How You Want That" (Loon featuring Kelis) |
#88 US | Loon |
| 2003 | "Let's Get Ill" (P. Diddy featuring Kelis) [6] |
#25 UK | - |
| 2003 | "Make This Run" (Royce Da 5'9" featuring Pharrell Williams & Kelis) |
- | Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions Part 1 [6] |
| 2003 | "Finest Dreams" (Richard X featuring Kelis) |
#8 UK | Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1 |
| 2004 | "Not In Love" (Enrique Iglesias featuring Kelis) |
#5 UK | "Not In Love" [CD Single] |
| 2004 | "Oceania" [Remix] (Björk featuring Kelis) |
- | "Oceania" [CD Single] |
Notes:
- ^ No music video exists for song/version of song.
- ^ Kelis sings on all of the above singles and appears in all music videos for those that have them, other than "Oceania" and "Millionaire". She also makes cameo appearances in the following Neptunes-related music videos, despite not actually singing on the track:
- "The Funeral" (Clipse) (1999)
- "Lap Dance" (N.E.R.D. featuring Lee Harvey & Vita) (2001)
- ^ Two different videos were filmed for "Milkshake". The first was never released. Once the song started to catch on, a sexier video for the song was filmed instead; this is the one that was finally released, but the first one remains viewable on Kelis' website.
Other Songs/Collaborations
| Date | Title | From album |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Cocaine Business (Hysteria)" | "Melvin Flynt - Da Hustler" (Noreaga featuring Kelis) |
| 2001 | "Dandelion" | "Life Is Good" (LFO featuring Kelis) |
| 2001 | "Radikal" | "Get Down or Lay Down" (Philly's Most Wanted featuring Kelis) |
| 2001 | "I Don't Care Anymore" | "Urban Renewal" |
| 2001 | "This Must Be Love" | "Urban Renewal" (Dane Bowers feat. Kelis) |
| 2001 | "I'm Leavin'" | "Bricks" (Outsidaz feat. Rah Digga & Kelis) [9] |
| 2002 | "Truth or Dare" | "In Search of..." (N.E.R.D featuring Kelis) |
| 2002 | "So Be It" | "Red Hot + Riot" |
| 2002 | "Hey Nas" | "God's Son" (Nas featuring Kelis & Claudette Ortiz from City High) |
| 2003 | "Dracula's Wedding" | "The Speakerboxxx/Love Below" (OutKast feat. Kelis) |
| 2004 | "American Way" | "Street's Disciple" (Nas featuring Kelis) |
| 2005 | "Brass In Pocket" | "Just Like Heaven (soundtrack)" |
| 2006 | "Erotic City" | "Hollywood" (Bilal feat. Kelis) |
Notes:
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See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- The Neptunes
- Nas
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
References
- ^ IMDB Biography (Accessed Dec 31, 2005)
- ^ UK pop charts (Accessed Dec 31, 2005)
- ^ Eye Weekly February 19, 2004 (Accessed Jan 1, 2006)
- ^ Moderator at ukmix (Accessed Jan 1, 2006)
- ^ Kelis' official UK site (Accessed Dec 31, 2005)