find us on:
1 Thing
Background:
"It sounds like a cliché, but I always knew I was going to sing. I always knew
that music was what I was going to do." Amerie.
Grammy Award-nominated R&B singer Amerie first hit the music scene with single
“Why Don't We Fall In Love” from her debut album All I Have (2002). She later
scored another big hit with "1 Thing," her first top 10 single and biggest hit
to date which also became the soundtrack to the 2005 romantic comedy film Hitch.
The half Korean, half African-American singer is currently working on her next
album, Because I Love It, set to be released in early 2007.
Amerie also showed her acting talent in Forest Whitaker's romantic drama comedy
First Daughter (2004), playing the first daughter's (Katie Holmes) tough-talking
roommate Mia Thompson.
Mixed Beauty
Childhood and Family:
Daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American father who was a career
military member, Amerie Marie Mi Rogers, born on January 12, 1980 in Fitchburg,
Massachusetts, grew up many different places, including Alaska, Texas, Germany,
and South Korea. She has a younger sister named Angela Rogers who is now her
lawyer.
After her high school graduation, Amerie’s family eventually settled down in
Virginia. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2000 with a degree in
English and Fine Arts. Amerie finally settled in Washington, D.C., which she
considers her hometown.
"I love living in the United States, and for the longest time, I couldn't
imagine wanting to live anywhere else, even though I've lived in Germany and
Korea. I would definitely need my home base here, but I can now see also living
in the UK, or possibly France. But I love the Mediterranean, so maybe Italy or
Greece? Basically, I'm totally open!" Amerie.
All I Have
Career:
Having studied dance and begun to perform in talent shows since the third grade,
Amerie, who was living in Washington, D.C. at the time, met producer Rich
Harrison, a renowned producer who has worked with such performers as Mary J.
Blige. She began developing demos with him which led to a recording contract
with Rise Entertainment/Columbia Records.
While working on her debut album All I Have, Amerie collaborated with Columbia
rap star Nas and was featured on a track from his fifth studio album Stillmatic
entitled "Rule" (2001). In early summer of 2002 in the U.S., "Why Don't We Fall
in Love," the first single from All I Have, was released to radio and received
high airplay. Written and produced by Rich Harrison, the song peaked on #23 at
the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. As
the single became popular in clubs and on the radio, Amerie began touring around
the US alongside Usher's Evolution Tour in May, as well as doing interviews and
filming her first music video in Los Angeles.
Amerie’s debut album All I Have was eventually released on July 30, 2002 (August
5, 2002 UK) to critical success. It climbed to #9 on the U.S. Billboard 200,
stayed in the top 20 for four weeks and on the chart for 17 weeks. It also
handed Amerie a Soul Train Music Award for "Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist."
The album also spawned its second and final single, "Talkin' to Me" (2003),
which reached #51 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #18 on the Billboard Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Meanwhile, Amerie was also featured on the second single from
rapper LL Cool J's ninth studio album 10 called "Paradise" (2003), which appears
on the soundtrack to the 2003's Deliver Us from Eva. Additionally, she covered
Diana Ross's hit single "I'm Coming Out" for the soundtrack to Jennifer Lopez's
highly successful film, Maid in Manhattan.
On April 26, 2005 (May 16, 2005 UK), Amerie's follow-up album, Touch, was
released. It produced two singles: Amerie's first top ten single and her biggest
hit to date "1 Thing" (#1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and #8 on the
Billboard Hot 100), which also became the soundtrack to the 2005 romantic comedy
film Hitch, and the Lil Jon-produced "Touch," which receive positive video play
from MTV and VH1, and went on to be a minor club hit.
Album Touch debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with sales of
124,000 copies on its first week of release. It helped Amerie to win the VIBE
Award for Club Banger of the Year ("1 Thing") and earned her two Grammy Award
nominations in 2006: for Best Contemporary R&B Album and for Best Female R&B
Vocal Performance (for "1 Thing"). The album was eventually received Gold
certification after four months of release. Meanwhile, in 2005, Amerie and Fat
Joe were featured on the English version of "I Don’t Care," a track from Puerto
Rican singer Ricky Martin's 10th album Life.
"I love the entire Touch album! It was a lot of fun to make, and creatively, I
had a lot to get out of my system. Commercially, I was happy because it did
better than the first album, so of course, progress is always great. But I don't
create for that reason, I create because I have to. It's just like breathing to
me." Amerie.
Because I Love It (originally titled None of The Above), Amerie's third album,
is set to be released in early 2007. The first single off this album has been
confirmed to be "Take Control," featuring Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo, who sings,
writes and produces it. The single debuted at #72 on the Billboard Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop singles Chart. It was released to television in the United States on
Janurary 15, 2007 and was selected as MTV's Jam of the Week. The music video,
contains liberal references to classic 1960s cult film Blowup, was shot in the
end of October and premiered on the internet on December 3, 2006.
Amerie also announced that she plans to release two mixtapes (hosted by DJ Clue)
before releasing the final cut of her album, Because I Love It, in the spring of
2007. Vol. 1 was released and available for listen via her official MySpace page
in the autumn of 2006, and the second mixtape, Vol. 2, is set for release in the
spring of 2007.
Besides singing, Amerie also showed her talent in acting. In 2004, she
co-starred with Katie Holmes, playing the first daughter's (Holmes)
tough-talking roommate Mia Thompson in director Forest Whitaker's romantic drama
comedy First Daughter.
Awards:
