many people who came in contact with this pre-teen singer found it hard to believe
that such a big voice could come out of someone so small she went on to win numerous awards and
topped the music charts all before she graduated high school then she completely disappeared
let's find out what happened to american 90s r b pop singer tracy spencer
born the youngest of four children in waterloo iowa tracy spencer came from a diverse racial
and ethnic background her mother is creole and indian and her father is french canadian
and panamanian she began singing at the tender age of three along with her siblings in their own
household talent shows even as a young child her maturity always seemed to shine through
in everything she did even the type of music she enjoyed her favorite jazz legend billie holiday
to make her professional dreams come true she would end up using the same platform to showcase
her talent used by many others before and after her a little reality competition television show
called star search she got on the show after they received a homemade demo tape of her
sent in by her father marvin spencer who was also a singer and musician with the des
moines based band the cavaliers he was also inducted into the iowa rock and roll music
association's hall of fame in 1987 a then 11 year old tracy won the junior vocalist competition
and a 10 000 prize to go with it a trip to los angeles for an audition with a major record label
was next on the list then several months after that she would sign her first record deal at the
age of 12 with that label capitol records tracy's self-titled debut album was released in january
1988. it produced several singles including hide and seek and a remake of john lennon's imagine
but it was the song symptoms of true love that put tracy on the map when the track made it into the
top 40 on the billboard hot 100 chart her second album make a difference was released two years
later the first single savior love became her first top 10 hit on the r b chart the very next
single called this house would end up becoming her biggest hit ever it rose all the way to the number
three position on the hot 100 and it also gave tracy her first taste of international success
yet another hit single off the album tender kisses captured the number one spot on the r b chart the
success of both of these songs helped her secure the ascap songwriter of the year award in 1992 and
made her the youngest songwriter to capture the prestigious honor then tracy would take
a major step back she along with guidance from her parents made the conscious choice to retreat
from the music industry so she could finish her schooling and enjoy a normal teenage life
apparently a third album appeared to be ready to go by 1994 however for unknown reasons it would
end up getting shelved only a few unmastered cassette tape promo copies were ever made
nevertheless tracy would get very busy around this time doing a variety of other projects she would
get to test out her acting chops in a memorable guest appearance in 1993 on the hit abc sitcom
family matters in the episode she performed her hit song tender kisses alongside character
eddie winslow played by actor darius mccrary she also did commercials and recorded tracks
for many movies such as i'll be there for you for good burger the rain for down in the delta
don't slip away for super mario brothers the movie and a remix of her song feeling you for
girlfight tracy's modeling career also took off she did work for numerous brands such as tommy
hilfiger and chanel which led her to being part of new york city and los angeles fashion weeks
during 1999 and 2000. she also signed with an agency and began appearing in various magazines
she finally resurfaced with new music on the cusp of the new millennium her third studio album and
first in nine years simply titled tracy dropped in june 1999 it featured the singles it's all about
you not about me and still in my heart the former made it into the top 20 on the hot 100 but the
latter failed to make much of an impression as it turns out a major reason for tracy's long absence
was due to the constant changes happening with her label capital shut down their urban music division
during her hiatus and it didn't get a revival until a new president stepped in by this time
many other female r b solo artists such as brandy and monica as well as groups like destiny's child
had launched their careers and were making their indelible mark so naturally tracy knew she had to
bring it and called on the help of producers soul shock and carlin and songwriter diane warren to
create an album that would rival the work of her competitors the album did well on the r b hip-hop
albums chart peaking at the number 19 position becoming her highest charting album on that chart
while promoting the project she looked beautiful happy and confident she even spoke about what
other artistic avenues she hoped to explore in the future i want to be an all-around entertainer
i want to try everything not limit myself i do love modeling i've had fun doing it in the past
and i look forward to doing more of it and acting i'd love to do some film with this album i'm at a
very very happy place in my life right now it's like i have no complaints no worries and i'm just
extremely happy so i'm i've been very fortunate very blessed at all the different things that
i've gone through since i've started my career alas even the best laid plans can often go awry
tracy disappeared shortly after the hype of the album died down and as of the making of this video
hasn't returned to the music charts over the years she's focused on more behind-the-scenes work
including writing and providing backing vocals for other artists she's worked with producer dr dre as
well as rappers eve 50 cent and kanye west she also took on some film and theater acting roles
back in 2004 tracy told the waterloo cedar falls courier newspaper that she was going to get back
into the studio to start working on a fourth album so far there hasn't been any further news on the
project in 2011 tracy was a keynote speaker in her hometown of waterloo for the annual martin luther
king jr banquet honoring the civil rights leader she touched on her entertainment career saying
that she never allowed the music industry society or tabloids to influence how she should dress
or record her songs she also added staying true to myself and not having regrets
is my number one goal today tracy enjoys a very private life with no social media focused on her
roles as a wife and mother thanks for watching please like share and comment also don't forget
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