Kelis is he stage name of Kelis Rogers. She was born on August 21, 1979 in Manhattan, New York City. As a child, she 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. After graduation, she formed a band with The Neptunes and, with their support, landed herself a record deal. In December of 1998, Kelis released her debut album Kaleidoscope. The album debuted at number number one hundred and forty-nine on the Billboard 200 and number twenty-three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 12,423 copies in its opening week. Then in 2001, Kelis released her second studio album, Wanderland. The album spawned only one single, "Young, Fresh n’ New", which became Kelis’ third solo top forty hit in the United Kingdom. She has since released two more albums. Kelis over the course of her career has had nine top forty singles as a solo artist and, as a featured artist, has had six top forty singles to date. She has also won one BRIT Award and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.
|
