William Raymond Norwood, Jr.
(born January 17, 1981), [1] better known by his stage name Ray J
, is an American singer, record producer and actor. He is the son of gospel singer Willie Norwood and Sonja Bates-Norwood, and the younger brother of R&B singer Brandy.
|
RAY J TICKETS
|
Career
Ray J was born William Raymond Norwood, Jr. in
McComb, Mississippi and grew up in
Carson, California. At age eight, he began auditioning for and appearing in television commercials; he played the foster son in
The Sinbad Show
.
1995–1999
Norwood was signed to
Elektra Records in 1995 and recorded his debut album
Everything You Want
the next year. "
Let It Go" appeared on the
Set It Off
soundtrack (
Brandy also appeared on the soundtrack; and her song "
Missing You" with
Tamia,
Chaka Khan and
Gladys Knight peaked also at number 25). It peaked number 25 in the U.S. and number 11 in New Zealand. The second single peaked at number 54 on the
U.S. R&B chart. In 1997, he performed in a television special with his sister Brandy but was dropped from the label. According to Bradley Torreano of
allmusic, "his easygoing image and boyish looks appealed to the producers of Brandy's television show,
Moesha
", giving him a role on the
UPN series starting in 1999 as Brandy's little cousin, D-Money. He produced, putting together the music for several a commercials and a few of the demos for his second record.
2000–2004
Ray J recorded "
Another Day In Paradise" with
Brandy, which was a Top Ten success in Austria, UK, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and number 11 in Australia and France. The song was the lead single of the R&B/Hip Hop tribute
Urban Renewal
, in which he co-produced and performed songs. Norwood also worked with
The Neptunes,
Rodney Jerkins and
Lil' Kim, and several other producers and singers for his second studio album
This Ain't A Game
. The album was released in 2001. The lead single "
Wait A Minute" peaked at #30 on the U.S.
Hot 100 chart and #8 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Formal Invite" followed at #54 on the R&B chart.
[2]
In 2002, Norwood appeared in the video for his sister's "
What About Us", which was produced by Jerkins, and was released as her third album,
Full Moon
's lead single during the first quarter of 2002 (see
2002 in music). While "What About Us?" entered the
Top 20 on the majority of the charts it appeared on, it reached the Top 10 in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway,
the Philippines, the UK, and the United States.
2005–present
After a two year break, Norwood returned to recording studios, adding the finishing touches on his third studio album
Raydiation
with help from producers such as
Rodney Jerkins,
Timbaland, and
R. Kelly. A joint venture by
Sanctuary Records and Ray-J's own label, independent
Knockout Entertainment, the album was finally released on September 27, 2005 in North America after several delays, debuting at number forty-eight on the
Billboard
200 chart, selling 18,321 copies in the first week. Boosted by the album's lead single "
One Wish," a top 20 success in Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, the U.S..
Raydiation
eventually sold over 400,000 copies domestically.
[3]
In 2005, Norwood joined the cast of
UPN's
One On One
,
[4] where he played the character of D-Mack for the final season.
Recently,
Knockout Entertainment announced a multi-million dollar album deal with
Koch Records and
Shaquille O'Neal's "Deja 34" entertainment company.
The first album for this deal is Ray J's fourth album
All I Feel
, which features
The Game and
Yung Berg among others. It was released on April 1, 2008.
[5] The album's first single is "
Sexy Can I" featuring rapper
Yung Berg peaked at number three on the Top Singles (Hot 100) for six weeks. A video for the track, directed by R. Malcolm Jones, was shot in December 2007.
Personal life
In 2007, a sex tape was released of Norwood and then-girlfriend
Kim Kardashian.
[6]
Norwood recently starred in his own
VH1 reality dating show,
For the Love of Ray J.
The show premiered on February 2, 2009. For his show on March 24, 2009 he released the soundtrack/studio album called
For The Love Of Ray J
.
Discography
- Everything You Want
(1997)
- This Ain't a Game
(2001)
- Raydiation
(2005)
- All I Feel
(2008)
- For the Love of Ray J
(2009)
Filmography
Film
- Mars Attacks!
(1996)
- Steel
(1997)
- Christmas at Water's Edge
(2003)
Television
- The Sinbad Show
- Moesha
- One on One
- Black Sash
- BET Countdown
- All That
, guest singer
- Wild N Out
- For the Love of Ray J
See also
- Michael Copon
- Moesha
- ''One on One
- The Sinbad Show
- The Tyra Banks Show
References
- Ray J - Biography
- Ray J > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles
- "R&B Singer Ray J Readies 2008 Release of ''All I Feel''"
- UPN Adds Five Fresh New Faces To Ensemble Comedy "One On One" This Fall
- ''HHWorlds.com'' - Ray J Signs W/Koch Taps Snoop, Game, & Lil Wayne Fore New LP (December 12, 2007)
- http://new.music.yahoo.com/ray-j/news/ray-j-sex-tape-ready-for-release--39754087