[Music] foreign
ER songwriter actress and television personality Tony Michelle Braxton was born in Severn Maryland
or Merlin as the natives call it on October 7 1967. her family headed by a minister father
and an opera singer mother would eventually include six children Tony was first in line
followed by the couple's only son Michael Jr and then four girls Tracy Tawanda Trina and
Tamar to say the kids were raised in a strict religious household would be an understatement
and pretty inevitable considering their father's profession first raised in the apostolic faith
the girls weren't allowed to wear pants or makeup and definitely weren't allowed
to have any boyfriends all of them were also not allowed to listen to any mainstream music
that last rule was a really tough one for them to adhere to so not surprisingly when the cat
was away the mice did play later the family converted to the Methodist Faith the move gave
the children more leeway to enjoy secular artists and really help Tony in particular develop her
vocal style inevitably Tony's as well as her siblings earliest experiences singing publicly
would be in their church choir prior to that though her parents first realized that their
children could blow while hearing them sing in the bathroom Tamar just a toddler at the
time was trying to have a private moment while doing her business that is until she noticed
that there wasn't any toilet paper after yelling out her sisters one by one came into the room and
started singing the line in Perfect Harmony Tony did attend Bowie State University in pursuit of
a teaching degree but ultimately decided to give singing professionally a try after an
attendant at an Annapolis gas station where she was refueling recognized her from local
performances and offered to produce her in the late 80s Tony began performing with her Sisters
in an R B group called fittingly The Braxtons they signed their first record deal with Arista records
in 1989 the following year their first single called good life was released not only did it
not become a hit it didn't crack the Billboard Hot 100 at all more disappointment followed as
the Braxtons found themselves abruptly dropped from arista's roster Tony though would soon be
the chosen one to make the Braxton name famous in 1991 while Antonio LA Reid and Kenneth Babyface
Edmonds were in the process of getting their own label laface off the ground Tony caught
their attention and ended up being signed by them as their first female solo artist Tony's sisters
weren't able to secure a deal for themselves since laface wasn't looking for another girl
group after having just signed r b hip-hop Trio TLC Tony released her self-titled debut album in
1993 and her career blew up immediately the album reached number one on the billboard 200 chart and
the singles another sad love song Breathe Again and you mean the world to me became
International successes the project also won her three Grammy Awards including best new artists
Tony's follow-up album three years later titled Secrets set her career to even higher Heights
she achieved her first and second number one Hot 100 hits with you're making me high and
Unbreak My Heart toward the end of 1997 though her relationship with her labels soured Tony filed a
lawsuit against lafaye's records in an attempt to be released from a contract she felt was no
longer fair or equal with her status when lafaye's countersuit Tony ended up filing for bankruptcy
while many thought the move didn't make any sense since she was so successful those same people may
also not be aware that in the music industry the artist is responsible for reimbursing the record
label for all kinds of costs including close travel studio time and music videos advancements
are given with the understanding that they are to be paid back that became quite difficult to
do since even though Tony's hits had made over 100 million dollars in worldwide sales she says
her royalty check from her First recording contract was just under two thousand dollars
with each project comes another advancement and the debt that goes with it that's what she said
brought on to bankruptcy that and a serious home decor addiction plus a bank busting flatware habit
that Oprah famously brought up in an interview with the Platinum selling recording artist she
says to me I hear you have Gucci flatware I'm a win friend I don't have Gucci flatware first of
all I didn't know Gucci made silverware he ain't got Gucci flatware because you didn't want to buy
it it's not because you couldn't afford it what do you mean and immediately she made me feel
a settlement was eventually reached in early 1999 and that meant Tony was finally able to
get back to work she would just miss having another number one hit on 2000s the heat with
He Wasn't Man Enough coming in at number two over the next decade Tony released her first Christmas
album plus three more Studio albums this was all done in the midst of some major highs and
lows in her life she married Mint Condition keyboardist Carrie Lewis in 2001. they would
go on to have two children before separating in 2009 in 2010 Tony revealed that she has lupus a
potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease two years prior when she was knee-deep in her
Las Vegas Review show she got terribly ill she was chronically fatigued and couldn't keep her
blood pressure stable no one could figure out what was wrong with her and she had a show to do Tony
actually just renewed all her contracts with the vendors when she got sick after the diagnosis came
down doctors told her she would never be able to perform Beyond one show here and one show there
occasionally since she had invested her own money into the show filing for bankruptcy a second time
seemed like the best option for her to get her debts discharged after signing with WE tv to be
featured on a program chronicling the lives of Tony and her sisters plus their mother Evelyn
called Braxton Family Values in 2011. Tony and joy being the star of the reality show for the
next couple of years then out of the blue Tony announced that she was quitting not the reality
show her music career during a press stop in February 2013 for a new Lifetime movie she has
a lead role in she told Good Morning America that she wasn't feeling the love for singing that she
once did anymore it's not affecting me making me feel that thing I've always felt when I perform
it's leaving me I'm not sure what's going on in my life maybe a female midlife crisis my heart isn't
in it anymore I hate to say that she also spoke to the griot saying she no longer wants to record new
music and would focus her attention on acting for what I do I have to love it I have to feel that
excitement and it's gone I'm just not going to do any albums anymore maybe touring occasionally
here and there because I love performing but not as much as I did in the past but no new
projects within a year though she would reverse her decision largely due in part to some words
of wisdom from longtime friend and collaborator Babyface Tony told the LA Times I wasn't using my
boys I was using the voice others told me to use but can he was the person who snapped me out of it
he said Tony you're forgetting you're an artist stop being a business manager and tell people
your story another musical genius that reached out to Tony was Prince he told her that she just
couldn't retire because it was too early and she was too gifted love marriage and divorce Tony and
babyface's duet album dropped in February 2014. it went on to earn the duo a Grammy award for best r
b album so I guess it's safe to say that deciding against retirement was the right move for Tony
she then headed back into the studio on her own and came out with sex and cigarettes in 2018 and
spell my name in 2020. the latter 10 track album gives fans an undiluted Gem of real r b no out
of place cameos no awkward auto-tune and no pseudo wrap delivery just pure vintage Tony
thank you