Kelis
Kelis Jones (née Rogers; born August 21, 1979), ( /kəˈliːs/), is an American R&B singer-songwriter. She is a BRIT Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She became known worldwide for her third studio album Tasty, released in 2003 and has so far become Kelis's most successful album to date, selling over 2 million albums worldwide, and earning critical acclaim upon release. The album also featured her biggest hit, "Milkshake," which became well-known in Western popular culture. Kelis has sold an estimated 8 million records worldwide. Kelis was born and raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, New York. Her first name is a portmanteau of her father's name, Kenneth, and her mother's name, Eveliss. Kenneth is an African American jazz musician, Pentecostal minister, and was a professor at Wesleyan University. Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career. She has three sisters, Kelis being the third born of the four girls. Her younger sister, Faryka Rogers, is a postgraduate vetinary student at Tuskegee University. As a child, Kelis sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending Manhattan Country School, a private school. Kelis left home at age sixteen, but continued her education at age sixteen when she went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she formed the R&B trio BLU (Black Ladies United). After graduation, she formed a band with The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, and, with their support, landed herself a record deal. DiscographyKaleidoscope (1999) |
