Kelis Jones
(Kelis Rogers
, born August 21, 1979), [1] better known as Kelis
(), [2] is an American recording artist, singer-songwriter, designer and socialite. She has also won one BRIT Award and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.
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KELIS TICKETS
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Early life
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 professor at
Wesleyan University.
[3] Eveliss is a
Chinese-
Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career.
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 (Black Ladies United). After graduation, she formed a band with
The Neptunes and, with their support, landed herself a record deal.
Personal life
Kelis married rapper
Nas in 2005. In April 2009 she filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". She was seven months pregnant at the time.
[4] On July 21, 2009, Kelis gave birth to a baby boy named Knight.
[5] The birth was announced by Nas via an online video.
[6] On July 23, a judge in New York City ordered Nas to pay Kelis $45,000 per month in child and spousal support.
[7]
Arrest
In March 2007, Kelis was detained by police in
Miami Beach,
Florida, and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly rushing toward and screaming profanities at undercover police officers posing as prostitutes. She was sent to
Miami-Dade County Jail, and was later released on a $1,500 bond.
[8]
On September 12, 2008 Kelis was acquitted on charges of resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct stemming back to the 2007 arrest. "I'm thrilled that justice prevailed in the end", Kelis said in a statement. A spokesperson for Kelis further commented that the artist will still be moving forward with a lawsuit against the Miami Beach Police, claiming unlawful arrest and the violation of her civil rights.
[9]
Music career
Kaleidoscope
(1999)
Kelis began recording her debut album,
Kaleidoscope
, in late 1998 and was finished within a year. The album was produced by The Neptunes members
Pharrell Williams and
Chad Hugo. It debuted at number one hundred and forty-four on the
Billboard
200 and reached the top fifty on the
Top Heatseekers, selling over 10,736 copies in its first week of release. The album has since sold 249,000 copies, according to
Nielsen SoundScan.
[10] Its lead and most notable single, "
Caught out There", peaked at number nine on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and became a minor
MTV/
BET video hit. The entire album took off in Europe, where all three singles—"
Caught out There", "
Good Stuff" (featuring Terrar of
Clipse), and "
Get Along with You"—were sizable hits. Kelis' colorful style in both clothing and hair received considerable attention.
"Caught out There" entered the
UK Singles Chart at number four. With its success, it was decided that another single should be released. A second single, "Good Stuff", was a modest hit, securing a number nineteen position on the UK Singles Chart, although the third release, "Get Along with You", only reached number fifty-one in the United Kingdom, despite Kelis promoting the track there. The
British Phonographic Industry certified
Kaleidoscope
gold,
[11] selling over 100,000 copies in the UK, where it reached number forty-three on the
UK Albums Chart. Furthermore, Kelis won the
BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act in 2001.
Wanderland
(2001)
Kelis' second album,
Wanderland
, was released two years later exclusively in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, after its lead single, "
Young, Fresh n' New", failed to catch on in the U.S. The video for the song barely registered on American MTV or
VH1, but received heavy
airplay on
MTV2 as well as on
Canada's
MuchMusic. According to Kelis, then-U.S. record company
Virgin did not understand
Wanderland
.
[12] The record executives at Virgin felt the album material did not have strong enough singles. Unlike those of her debut,
Wanderland
's sales were mediocre, with just 80,000 copies sold worldwide, and the only single released off the album, "Young, Fresh n' New", only managed to reach number thirty-two in the UK. The album was, however, critically acclaimed.
Tasty
(2003)
Kelis finally found mainstream success in the U.S. in 2003, with her
Hot Dance Club Play number-one,
Billboard
Hot 100 top five single, "
Milkshake"; this helped to propel her third album,
Tasty
, to sell over 400,000 copies in the U.S in only two months. It also earned her a
Grammy Award nomination in
2004 for
Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Although The Neptunes contributed a number of tracks to the album, Kelis began collaborating with other producers, such as
Dallas Austin,
André 3000,
Rockwilder, and
Raphael Saadiq, producing an altogether more eclectic, alternative sound. According to Nielsen SoundScan numbers, the album has sold 533,000 copies in the United States
[13] and has gained gold status in the U.S., where "Milkshake" also went gold,
[14] selling over 500,000 copies.
The single and album immediately found success in Europe. According to the BPI,
Tasty
went platinum in the United Kingdom,
[15] selling over 300,000 copies, and the hit single "Milkshake" went silver,
[16] selling over 200,000 units—it was the UK's fourteenth best-selling single in 2004. The album's second single, the Dallas Austin-produced "
Trick Me", also proved successful on radio and music video channels in Europe, and went to the top ten in many European countries during mid-2004. However, the song did not garner success in the U.S.,
where its music video barely received airplay. "Trick Me" was important because The Neptunes were, for once, not involved in its production. Kelis' success grew in Australia, where
Tasty
went gold with over 35,000 copies sold, and where "Milkshake" and "Trick Me" went platinum (selling over 70,000 copies each).
"
Not in Love", Kelis' collaboration with
Enrique Iglesias from his 2003 seventh studio album,
7
, was released as a single the following year, reaching number five in the UK. Although the single failed to chart on the U.S.
Billboard
Hot 100, it topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Kelis followed the success of the third
Tasty
single, "
Millionaire" (featuring André 3000), with the Rockwilder-produced, sexually suggestive track "
In Public" (featuring Nas). The single reached number seventeen on the UK chart with no video shot. In Australia, the single was her third consecutive top forty hit.
During this time, she collaborated with
Björk on a
remix of the first single from
Medúlla
, "
Oceania", which appeared as a
B-side to the album's second single, "
Who Is It". With the success of
Tasty
, Kelis went on tour as the opening act for
Britney Spears'
The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004.
Kelis Was Here
(2006)
Kelis' fourth studio album,
Kelis Was Here
(originally due to be called
The Puppeteer
), was released in August 2006, and debuted and peaked at number ten on the
Billboard
200. Despite its top ten debut, the album has sold only 157,000 copies in the United States as of October 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Its lead single, "
Bossy" (featuring
Too Short), achieved frequent airplay on
urban radio and was a moderate hit in the U.S., peaking at number sixteen. The single "Bossy" also went multi platinum in December 2006 according to the RIAA.
The album includes production credits by
So Solid Crew,
Scott Storch,
Cee-Lo Green (from the
Gnarls Barkley fame),
Raphael Saadiq,
will.i.am,
Max Martin,
Dr. Luke,
Knobody,
Polow da Don,
Damon Elliott,
Cool and Dre,
Sean Garrett, and
Bangladesh. Unlike on Kelis' previous efforts, the production duo The Neptunes are not featured at all; Kelis was quoted to say that it was "very important to me", but said it was purely a creative decision and has no ill will towards Williams or Hugo.
Kelis Was Here
was nominated for
Best Contemporary R&B Album at the
2007 Grammy Awards, but lost out to
Beyoncé's
B'Day
.
The second single from the album, which was pushed by her American label (
Jive), was the collaboration with Nas, "
Blindfold Me". The song missed the
Billboard
Hot 100, and reached only number ninety-one on the R&B chart. Afterwards, her European label (Virgin) decided not to release this single and to go instead with the Cee-Lo-featured "
Lil Star", which was another hit for Kelis in the United Kingdom, peaking at number three. In the UK,
Kelis Was Here
has shipped 60,000 copies and earned a silver certification from the BPI.
[17] It charted at number forty-one only, but concurrent to the popularity of "Lil Star", it re-entered the albums chart in February 2007. According to the
ARIA,
Kelis Was Here
went gold, selling 35,000 despite the fact the album had a low debut of only ninety-six on the
Australian Albums Chart. The popularity of the album's track "
I Don't Think So" increased after its use in promotion for the
2008 season of the reality series
Big Brother Australia
.
[18] The song peaked at number twenty-seven on the ARIA chart and became a top ten urban hit. During the summer of 2007, Kelis toured in Europe, appearing in numerous festivals among the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
Kelis collaborated with Busta Rhymes and will.i.am on the track "
I Love My Bitch", the second single from Rhymes' 2006 seventh studio album,
The Big Bang
. This was the second time Kelis has teamed up with Rhymes, with the first time being on his 2001 song "What It Is". Kelis is also featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 film
Just Like Heaven
with a
cover version of
The Pretenders' 1979 classic "
Brass in Pocket", as well as on the
soundtrack to the 2006 dance film
Step Up
with a song called "80's Joint".
Ford chose Kelis to help advertise the 2007
Ford Edge, and she recorded a theme song for the commercial, entitled "Push It to the Edge", with help from producer Scott Storch.
[19] Kelis was set to be working with
Annie Lennox on a duet for the
Eurythmics' new album, due to release in late November. Artists such as
Pink,
Mary J. Blige, and
Madonna were also to appear on the album.
[20]
In October 2007, Kelis' manager told
Entertainment Weekly
that the singer was working with Cee-Lo Green on an
alternative dance album and would be shopping a
pop album produced by songwriter
Guy Chambers, who co-wrote hits such as
Robbie Williams' "
Angels".
Scottish
electronica producer
Calvin Harris was also said to be collaborating with her.
[21]
The Hits
and 5th studio album (2008-present)
After Kelis left the Zomba label, the label released a fourteen-track greatest hits album entitled
The Hits
(previously due to be titled
Good Stuff - The Best of Kelis
) in March 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album does not contain any previously unreleased songs, although
Ol' Dirty Bastard's "
Got Your Money",
N.E.R.D's "Truth or Dare", and
Richard X's "Finest Dreams" appear on the album, which is unusual for a hits collection album as she was a featured, not headlining artist on these tracks.
The Hits
includes every charted Kelis single to that date with the exception of "Blindfold Me" (featuring Nas). Kelis never had any intention of releasing The Hits herself. Kelis has confirmed through her twitter page that she is finishing a album to be release later this year or early next year. No more information has been released as of August 2009, it is currently untitled.
Other projects
Kelis is writing a
cookbook [22] and designing her own line of
fashion accessories, called Cake.
[23] She is also working with
Ashanti on a
high-heeled shoes line called KeShany Heels.
[24]
Kelis is in talks to host a
Project Runway
-esque show for
VH1, and is auditioning for various film and TV roles.
[25]
Discography
Albums
- 1999: Kaleidoscope
- 2001: Wanderland
- 2003: Tasty
- 2006: Kelis Was Here
- 2009: After Ten/So Good
References
- Nas and Gray Help Kelis Celebrate Birthday
- She can be heard singing her name in the song "Blindfold Me"
- Question time: Kelis
- 'Milkshake' Singer Kelis Files for Divorce
- Kelis Welcomes a Baby Boy!
- Nas Announces Birth Of Son With Kelis In Online Video
- Judge Sides With Kelis, Orders Nas To Pay $55K In Monthly Support
- Cops: Singer Kelis Arrested for Screaming Profanities at Florida Police
- Kelis Acquitted On Charges Of Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest
- Ask Billboard
- KELIS , KALEIDOSCOPE , Gold
- Exclusive Interview with Kelis
- Report: Kelis Splits With Jive
- Gold and Platinum - Searchable Database
- KELIS , TASTY , Platinum
- KELIS , MILKSHAKE , Silver
- KELIS , KELIS WAS HERE , Silver
- Kelis out of the charts? I don't think so!
- Ford Chooses Kelis To Push Edge
- Annie Lennox To Collaborate With Madonna On New Album
- Kelis To Work With Calvin Harris?
- Kelis Talks Cookbook, New Album and Nas' Ex Carmen
- Kelis Wants To Help You Dress, Cook — But She Won't Do Your Taxes
- Exclusive Kelis interview
- Jive Records drops Kelis