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Amerie

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Amerie

Amerie Mi Marie Rogers (born January 12, 1978 [1] [2] in Fitchburg, Massachusetts), known professionally as Amerie, is a two time Grammy nominated American singer, songwriter, producer and actress. She debuted in 2002 with the album All I Have, primarily co-written and produced by Rich Harrison.

"1 Thing", the lead single from her second album, Touch released in 2005, introduced elements of D.C.'s go-go, and became her biggest hit to date.

Her third album Because I Love It, had an international release in 2007.

Now signed to Island Def Jam, Amerie will be releasing her fourth studio album titled In Love & War, coming November 3rd, 2009 with the lead single "Why R U"[3] and second single "Heard 'Em All"[4].

Biography

Rogers was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to a Korean mother[5] and an African-American father.

Amerie's first language is Korean. However, after the family left Korea, Amerie's mother made a conscious effort to limit the use of Korean with her daughters out of fear that it would impede their development of English proficiency. In an interview with KoreAm Journal, Amerie stated that she is now only "conversational" in the Korean language and speaks it at home with her mother, Angela, and extended Korean family members[6].

Her father works for the U.S. Intelligence Division United States military, so Amerie traveled to and lived in many different places, including Alaska, Texas, Germany, and South Korea. She has a younger sister, Angela [7] [8], who is now her lawyer. She finally settled in Washington DC., which she considers her hometown. She started studying at Georgetown University in 1996, and graduated with a BA degree in English and Fine Arts minor in design in 2000 [9].

Amerie also bears a tattoo featuring her given name in Hangul on her lower back, which can be seen in the music video for "1 Thing". Amerie (에므리 pronounced Eh Muh Ree) is noted for signing her American name or Korean name when giving autographs.

Music career

2001-2004: All I Have

Main article: All I Have (album)
"Talkin' to Me" (2003)
The second single off Amerie's debut album.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Amerie, the daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American father who was a career military officer, grew up on bases from Alaska to Germany. As a youth, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts (from her mother) and of music (from her father), and she also studied dance from an early age and performed in talent contests. After her high-school graduation, her family settled down in Virginia while she began to attend Georgetown University, from which she graduated with a degree in English and Fine Arts & Design.[10]

While living in Washington, D.C., she met producer Rich Harrison, who worked with such performers as Mary J. Blige, and began developing demos with him. This led to a deal with Rise Entertainment and, in turn, Columbia Records.[11] In the spring of 2002, Rise/Columbia released Amerie's debut single, "Why Don't We Fall in Love." The single reached number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song created a nice buzz for her album All I Have, which was certified gold by the RIAA. The second and final single to be released was "Talkin' To Me," a moderate hit peaking at number eighteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

In 2003, Amerie covered the song "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross for the soundtrack to the film, Maid in Manhattan and was also featured on LL Cool J's "Paradise," which peaked at number fourteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Amerie also spent some time as the host and developer of a brand-new show on BET called The Center. Amerie landed her first acting role as Mia Thompson in the 2004 romantic comedy First Daughter alongside Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton, Lela Rochon, and Marc Blucas. Directed By Oscar winner Forrest Whitaker.

2005-2006: Touch

Main article: Touch (Amerie album)
"1 Thing" (2005)
Amerie's biggest hit to date.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

On April 26, 2005, Amerie released her second album, Touch. As with All I Have, the album was primarily produced by mentor Rich Harrison, who contributed seven (new) tracks to the record; additional productions came from Lil Jon, Bryce Wilson, Red Spyda, and Dre & Vidal. Unlike on her first album, Amerie co-wrote every track but one, "Come with Me", which Harrison wrote. Touch debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and it was certifed gold by the RIAA in August that year. It received two Grammy Award nominations in 2006: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for its lead single, "1 Thing", and Best Contemporary R&B Album.

Along with Touch, Amerie's biggest hit came with "1 Thing", which was also featured on the soundtrack to Hitch, a romantic comedy film starring Will Smith and Eva Mendes. Producer Rich Harrison sampled the distinctive main drum-and-guitar loops of the song from a 1970 version of Oh! Calcutta!'s theme song—retitled "Oh, Calcutta!"—by funk group The Meters. The song was later certified platinum for selling over 200,000 units in downloads and became Amerie's first top ten hit in the U.S., where it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. "1 Thing" also earned several awards and nominations: two nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards—Best Female Video and Best Choreography—and four nominations for the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards—Best R&B/Soul Single, Solo, R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year, Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut. At the 2005 VIBE Awards, Amerie took home Club Banger of the Year for her hit. "1 Thing" also spawned into a variety of remixes by rappers such as Eve, Fabolous, and Jay-Z.

In late 2005, Amerie released Touch's second single, "Touch", and was featured alongside Fat Joe on "I Don't Care", the lead single of Ricky Martin's album Life. Though the latter one entered the top twenty in several European countries and Australia, Touch's title track failed to reprise the success of "1 Thing"—it did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 (it peaked at number ninety-five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart), and reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart. "Talkin' About", the third single, was released only for promo.

2007-2008: Because I Love It

Main article: Because I Love It

Amerie's third album, Because I Love It, was her first album not to feature production from her long-time collaborator, friend, and producer Rich Harrison. Other producers—such as Bryan-Michael Cox, The Buchanans, Len Nicholson; were enlisted to work with Amerie. "Take Control", which was co-produced by Mike Caren, Amerie and Nicholson and co-written by Amerie and Cee-Lo Green, was the first single from the album and was released in the U.S. in late 2006. It failed to chart on the Hot 100, reaching the lower half of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. Though, the single gave Amerie her second Top 10 hit in the UK.

Because I Love It was released in Europe in May 2007 and was scheduled to be released in the U.S. in 2007 (the release of the album made the Blender magazine list of "25 Reasons to Love '07", ranking nineteenth[12]), but its release date was pushed back numerous times due to the ever changing climate at Sony music with Rick Rubin coming in, Amerie and her management team held Sony from releasing her LP domestically; it is available only as an import and through a limited release of the album in U.S. Wal-Mart stores. Allmusic described the album as "enthuastic", "unwavering", and being able to "lasso each song, whether it requires salt, sugar, heartache, delight, or any combination thereof."[13]

In early 2007, it was reported that Korean pop sensation Se7en would collaborate with Amerie on the album.[14] She has stated several times in interviews that she has been very eager to work with Korean pop/R&B singers, being a fan of K-pop herself. It was later reported that the re-worked version of "Take Control" would be featured on the Asian editions of the album Because I Love It. A limited amount of promotional albums that were released in Japan and Korea in late April include the remix featuring Se7en. There was also talk of Amerie releasing a remix of "Crush" as the album's third single. But an official release never came through.

In late 2007, Amerie accepted an offer to appear in advertisement celebrating the 10th anniversary of the world's second largest cable provider, AXN as they had previously bought the rights to her single Gotta Work for an estimated £800,000 for usage in their ad campaign. She was paid an additional £200,000 for actually appearing in the commercial which was broadcast to just under a billion viewers across Asia (Brunei, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka,Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam).

2008-present: In Love & War

Main article: In Love & War

In late 2007, Entertainment Weekly reported that Amerie had left her label Columbia Records. In April 2008, Amerie's name was removed from the label's roster. She signed a label/production deal with her imprint Feenix Rising Entertainment, through the Island Def Jam Music Group, and is currently working on her next studio album with L.A. Reid. On her Twitter account, Amerie revealed that she has been secretly recording new music in Atlanta, Georgia, and that a late summer July/August release date is confirmed, with a possible first single in late May or early June. It has also been revealved that the album will be in fact a concept album. The final tracklisting, album art and release date will be confirmed after Def Jam launches the albums promotional campaign later after the first single is sent for radio adds.

It will be executively produced by LA Reid, Len Nicholson and Amerie herself. The set will also be expecting contributions from Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Jim Jonsin, Bryan Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal, Teddy Riley, Warryn Campbell, M Phazes, TrackNova, Sean Garrett & Eric Hudson among others. It has been confirmed by Amerie in multiple interviews, Rich Harrison will not be contributing to this album because he has been busy with his new acts but Amerie wishes to work with him on her fifth album. On her Twitter account, Amerie revealed the album title to be changed from Breakups To Makeups to In Love & War. Amerie also announced that her first single off the album was "Why R U", produced by Amerie & The Buchanans. The single premiered online in the week of May 4, and received rave reviews. The second single is titled "Heard Em All", and features Lil Wayne.[15]

Tours

Discography

Main article: Amerie discography

Filmography

Year Title Role
2003 The Center[16] Hostess (TV series)
2004 First Daughter Mia Thompson

Awards and nominations

2003

2005

  • Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: "Entertainer of the Year" (winner)
  • VIBE Awards: "Club Banger of the Year" ("1 Thing") (winner)
  • BET Awards: Video of the Year "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • BET Awards: Best Female R&B Artist (nominated)
  • Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B/Soul Single "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • MOBO Awards: Best Song "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • MTV Video Music Awards: Best Female Video "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • MTV Video Music Awards: Best Choreography "1 Thing" (nominated)

2006

  • ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards: "Top Soundtrack Song of the Year" ("1 Thing") (winner)
  • Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance "1 Thing" (nominated)
  • Grammy Awards: Best Contemporary R&B Album, Touch (nominated)

2007

References

  1. ^ http://blackoncampus.com/2007/02/21/black-alumni-on-the-m-i-c/#comment-1337
  2. ^ http://www.hoyainsider.com/2009/06/notable-georgetown-alumni.html Georgetown Alumni Amerie C/O 2000
  3. ^ http://www.islanddefjam.com/artist/discography_single.aspx?artistID=7356&productID=12094
  4. ^ http://www.islanddefjam.com/artist/discography_single.aspx?artistID=7356&productID=12158
  5. ^ "Sister 2 Sister Interview with Amerie". Sister 2 Sister. 2003. Retrieved 2007-11-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Tavis Smiley transcript". PBS. July 13, 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
  7. ^ http://www.ohamerie.com/gallery/images/sprite8.jpg Amerie/Angela Rogers At Sprite Street Couture Showcase,May 23rd, 2006
  8. ^ http://www.ohamerie.com/gallery/images/sprite16.jpg Amerie/Angela Rogers At Sprite Street Couture Showcase, May 23rd, 2006
  9. ^ http://www.hoyainsider.com/2009/06/notable-georgetown-alumni.html Georgetown Alumni Amerie C/O 2000
  10. ^ http://www.myspace.com/ameriemimarie
  11. ^ http://www.myspace.com/ameriemimarie
  12. ^ "25 Reasons to Love '07". Blender. January/February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ allmusic ((( Because I Love It > Overview )))
  14. ^ "Se7en to Duet with Half-Korean American Singer Amerie". KBS. December 15, 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
  15. ^ http://www.islanddefjam.com/artist/discography_single.aspx?artistID=7356&productID=12150
  16. ^ Amerie Hosts BET New Afterschoo Show 'The Center'
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