Christina Milian
Christina Milian | |
|---|---|
| File:200px-Soamazin cm.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Years active | 1998-present (actor) 2001-present (singer) |
Christina Milian (born Christine Flores on September 26, 1981) is a two time Grammy Award-nominated American singer and actress. She has had four solo top ten singles (and also a top ten featuring credit single) in the UK as well as hits in the rest of Europe and the U.S. She has starred in the 2003 film Love Don't Cost a Thing opposite Nick Cannon and Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty.
Biography
Early life
Milian was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Afro-Cuban immigrant parents, Carmen and Donovan, and has two younger sisters, Danielle and Elizabeth. Her family moved to Waldorf, Maryland soon after her birth and Milian set her heart on an entertainment career at the age of four. She did commercials (Wendy's, Honeycombs) and played the lead role in the musical Annie before moving to Los Angeles, California at 13 to pursue an acting career; Her father didn't move with the rest her family and divorced her mother soon after.[1] Her mother is now her manager.
Acting career
Milian's first significant role was as a reporter on the Disney Channel's Movie Surfers show in 1998 billed as Tina Flores. While in this role, she also appeared in minor roles in the movies A Bug's Life and American Pie and in guest appearances on the television series Charmed, Clueless, Get Real, and The Amanda Show.
In 2002, Milian was appointed to host of the television show Wannabes on MTV. She met director Joseph Kahn on an episode of Wannabes who suggested she audition for a lead role in the film Torque opposite Ice Cube. Her audition was successful leading in turn to a lead role in Love Don't Cost a Thing in 2003. In 2005, she had roles in the films Man of the House opposite Tommy Lee Jones and Be Cool with John Travolta and Uma Thurman.
Music career
In 2000, Milian performed vocals on Ja Rule's song Between Me and You from his album Rule 3:36. The song became a hit building her reputation as a singer. She also co-wrote and provided extensive backing vocals for the track "Play" for Jennifer Lopez's 2001 album J. Lo which became another big hit, and co-wrote "Same Ol' Same Ol", the first single from girl group PYT's album Down With Me.
In 2001, Milian released her first solo single, "AM To PM", off her self-titled debut album. It became a worldwide hit reaching the top 5 in the UK and Denmark, top 10 in the Netherlands, and top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and in Australia. The success of "AM To PM" sparked the international release of the Christina Milian album, although not in the U.S. The second single "When You Look At Me" was another international hit reaching the top 5 in the UK, Netherlands, and Ireland and making the top 40 in Denmark, Australia, and France. She was also featured on the track "It's All Gravy", a duet with Romeo of the garage group So Solid Crew. It was another UK top ten hit single in 2002. She also wrote and sang the theme song for the Disney series Kim Possible, "Call Me Beep Me" later that year.
In 2003, Milian recorded songs for her first U.S. album, It's About Time, which is a reference to how long it had taken for one of her albums to be released in the U.S. The first single, "Dip It Low", was written by Polli Paul, who has also written songs for the Black Eyed Peas. The first single reached #1 on a world composite dance chart (compiled on data from the U.S., UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Australia), #2 in the UK, #5 in the U.S., and the top 40 in Australia. The second single, "Whatever U Want", features Joe Budden and once again reached the top 10 in the UK as well as charting on the Billboard Hot 100. Controversy occurred when Milian changed her look when the album was released. Many people saw it as her trying to look more like Beyoncé Knowles who had a similar look. All of this has been looked at as a coincedence by Milian.
Her third album So Amazin' is scheduled for a spring release. The entire production was done by Cool & Dre, with additional help from Rich Harrison. The record's first single Say I will be released in March as a single and video; it features Young Jeezy. The single currently is on his latest mixtape, "Can't Ban the Snowman," [2][3] and is having success within the mixtape scene causing many DJ's to place it on their compilations too ("Southern Smoke" for example[4]). Two confirmed tracks, Dont Wanna Lose Ya Love featuring Twista, and Who's Gonna Ride featuring Three 6 Mafia will appear on her third album So Amazin'. According to MTV, Christina recored a track dissing her ex-boyfriend. It was due to the reason they broke up. Nick says even though the track was recorded, he still considers being her friend.
Personal life
In the summer of 2005, Milian broke up with actor Nick Cannon after being together for nearly two & a half years. In an interview with Angie Martinez, she spoke about how she found out about Cannon cheating on her. Apparently while she was away filming a movie in Romania, she attempted to log in to his T-Mobile.com account by entering in random passwords. After lucking out with one of the passwords, she was able to read all of the messages he sent out and received to and from other women. When she returned back to the states, she decided to play it cool before hitting him with the news that she knew he was cheating.
Weeks after their break up, Milian was spotted with actor Eric West during New York's Olympus Fashion Week leading to many claims that the two are dating. West, says the two are just friends. [5] [6] The New York Daily News claims she is also dating hip-hop producer Dre. [7]
Charity work
On August 6, 2005 Christina co-hosted The Reign at the Gerald W. Lynch Theatre in New York City with actor/singer Eric West, the event was designed by a group of inner-city children in 2003 to raise funding and awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention education for men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS, as well as working with the Fresh Air Fund to continue to help other inner-city children and family's. Both Milian and West were awarded Outstanding Achievement Awards for their humanitarian efforts.
Discography
Albums
- Christina Milian (2001) #23 UK
- It's About Time (2004) #14 US, #21 UK
- So Amazin' (2006)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B/Hip-Hop | UK Singles | AUS Singles | |||
| 2000 | "Between Me & You" (with Ja Rule) |
#11 | #5 | #26 | - | Rule 3:36 |
| 2001 | "AM To PM" | #27 | #58 | #3 | #24 | Christina Milian |
| 2002 | "When You Look At Me" | - | - | #3 | #7 | Christina Milian |
| 2002 | "Get Away" (featuring Ja Rule) |
- | - | - | - | Christina Milian |
| 2002 | "It's All Gravy" (with Romeo) |
- | - | #9 | - | Solid Love |
| 2004 | "Dip It Low" (featuring Samy Deluxe) |
#5 | #16 | #2 | #31 | It's About Time |
| 2004 | "Whatever U Want" (featuring Joe Budden) |
#100 | #91 | #9 | - | It's About Time |
| 2006 | "Say I" (featuring Young Jeezy) |
- | #38 | - | - | So Amazin' |
Album appearances
- 2000: "Between Me & You" (with Ja Rule; from Rule 3:36)
- 2001: "Call Me, Beep Me (The Kim Possible Song)" (with Christy Carlson Romano; from Kim Possible Soundtrack)
- 2001: "Play" (background vocals with Jennifer Lopez from J. Lo)
- 2002: "I Heard Santa On The Radio" (with Hilary Duff; from Santa Claus Lane)
- 2002: "It's All Gravy" (with Romeo; from Solid Love)
- 2002: "Look Around" (with Bratz and Verbal)
Soundtrack appearances
- Be Cool ("Ain't No Reason", "Believer"; 2005)
- In The Mix ("Be What It's Gonna Be"; 2005)
- Rush Hour ("You Make Me Laugh"; 2001)
Filmography
- A Bug's Life (1998) (voice)
- Durango Kids (1999)
- American Pie (1999)
- The Wood (1999)
- Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003)
- Torque (2004)
- Man of the House (2005)
- Be Cool (2005)
- Pulse (2006)
Awards & nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Breakout Movie Star - Female |
| 2004 | Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Nick Cannon) |
| 2004 | Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie Liplock (shared with Nick Cannon) |
| 2005 | Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Crossover Artist |
| 2005 | BET Comedy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Theatrical Film (for Be Cool) |
| 2005 | Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album (for It's About Time) |
| 2005 | Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Dip It Low" (shared with Fabolous) |
| 2005 | The Reign Award Elton John Award for Outstanding Achievement (shared with Mariah Carey and Eric West) [8] |
| 2005 | Groovevolt Music and Fashion Award nomination for Best Song Performance - Female for "Dip It Low" |
| 2005 | International Dance Music Award nomination for Best R&B/Urban Dance Track for "Dip It Low" |
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart