UB Celebrates The Debut of Brandy | 30th Anniversary

B to the R to the A to the N D Y! Today is the 30th Anniversary of the debut album from Brandy.

Brandy‘s self-titled album was released on September 27th, 1994. Following the release of the lead single “I Wanna Be Down.”

Brandy Norwood was born in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy was singing harmonies before she learned how to talk.

The daughter of Sonja and Willie Norwood Sr,. a former lead vocalist and trumpeter from the R&B group The Composers.

In 1981, Brandy sang first solo in the choir in Southaven, Mississippi. When her parents proudly discovered their daughters talent, they decided to move to California.

UB spoke to Sonja B. Norwood in 2009 and she shared why she decided to leave her career to manage Brandy. “Leaving H&R Block to enter the entertainment business was a major adjustment. I had no idea what the entertainment business was about. I figured business principles and practices were basically the same, boy was I wrong. I knew that there were certain rules that I would not change and I knew that my daughter needed protection so I stepped to the plate and made the best of it. Looking back, if I had known what I know today, I probably would have been terrified and stayed away.”

Brandy was always singing in a church as a young child but when she heard Whitney Houston‘s legendary voice, she decided that she wanted to be just like her someday.

She enrolled in a performing arts high school in her early teens, and started going out on auditions, and having meetings with records companies.

On September 8th, 1993, Brandy began portraying Danesha on the ABC short-lived sitcom “Thea.” The twelve-year-old daughter of a single working mother.

Brandy signed her record deal before landing the role. The series ended after eight months. Brandy garnered a Young Artist Award nomination for Outstanding Youth Ensemble alongside her co-stars.

Brandy was unenthusiastic about acting at the time and the taping had created conflicts with the recording of her first album; “I felt bad for everybody else but me. It was a good thing, because I could do what I had to do, because I wanted to sing,” Brandy stated at the time.

Producers Keith Crouch and Somethin’ for the People (also a group) were assigned to work on Brandy‘s debut. After a little over eight months, a collection of poppy, street-oriented R&B with a hip-hop edge, and lyrical content that embraced her youth.

“I didn’t really know a lot — all I wanted to do was basically sing. You can just tell that it’s a person singing from a genuine place, and also a place of basically no experience. I was singing about being attracted to the opposite sex, but I had no experience behind it,” stated Brandy.

Before the release, Atlantic Records hosted a listening party at the Derby in Los Angeles that easily convinced the attendees of the incredible talent, possessed by the 15-year old at the time.

Brandy was born for this, during a brief performance, Brandy worked the audience members, pulling them in with with, guile, and charm. At one point, she quipped, “Are there any program directors out there? Are you playing my single?.”

Brandy‘s confidence, helped her live up to the label’s big buildup.

Atlantic‘s marketing staff really focused on the release. Brandy had the support, strong songs, good production, quality vocals, and the elusive “X” factor…Brandy was destined to have a successful career, well into adulthood.

When “Brandy” was released, it debuted at #21 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified gold in just two months after release.

“Brandy” went on to sell over four million, and produced three top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “I Wanna Be Down” and “Baby,” Both singles reached #1 on the Hot R&B Singles chart and went platinum.

In 1995 Brandy tapped MC Lyte, Yo-Yo & Queen Latifah for the “I Wanna Be Down (Remix).” Which is a classic record till this day. One of the first to blend R&B and hip hop effortlessly.

“Brokenhearted,” a later duet with Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men, on the album it was recorded solo. “Brokenhearted,” hit #2 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The album earned Brandy two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance the following year and, two Billboard Awards, and the New York Children’s Choice Award.

Brandy was the big winner at the first ever Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, sweeping all four categories in which she was nominated, including Best Solo Single and Song of The Year for “I Wanna Be Down,” Best Album for “Brandy” and Best New Artist.

Brandy beat out an array of new and established acts, including tenured veteran artists Anita Baker and Janet Jackson.

“I feel like a winner,” Brandy stated in the Soul Train Press Room, “I feel like I’ve really worked…and I’m honored to be here.” The singer/actress announced that she had been offered a chance to star in her own TV series, which would later be “Moesha”.

In 1995, she finished a two-month stint as the opening act on Boyz II Men’s national tour, and contributed songs to the soundtracks of the films “Batman Forever” with the fan-favorite “Where Are You Now?” her next big smash from the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack, “Sittin’ Up in My Room.” The hit single reached #2 on Billboard and went platinum.

Brandy won the MTV Award for the Best Movie Song for, “Sittin’ Up In My Room” in 1996.

That same year, Brandy collaborated with Tamia, and legends Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight on the single “Missing You” from the “Set It Off” soundtrack. The single won her a third Grammy nomination in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category.

During that era, Brandy also performed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and host of others, while appearing on numerous magazine covers from Seventeen, JET to Ebony.

As well as starting the “Norwood Kids Foundation,” a non-profit organization dedicated to serving young people.

Sears and Seventeen also put out a Exclusive Brandy CD, for free at retail (UB has one). The CD includes the “I Wanna be Down” remix with MC Lyte, Yo-Yo & Queen Latifah, a remix of “Baby” and a beautiful piano remix of “I’m Yours.”

So to recap, before Brandy released her sophomore album, she had a four-million-selling debut, won an American Music Award, various Soul Train & Lady of Soul Awards, including “Entertainer of the Year,” plus several NAACP Image Awards, several new artist awards, and had multiple Grammy nominations.

Not to mention working with the likes of Whitney Houston, Babyface, Lenny Kravitz, and David Foster. While releasing six consecutive Top 10 singles, including two platinum, “Baby” and “Sittin’ Up In My Room,” and two gold, “I Wanna Be Down” and “Brokenhearted.”

So what followed…starring in her own television series “Moesha” and starring in one of the highest-rated TV specials ever, along-side her mentor and friend, the late great Whitney Houston, in “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.”

“I don’t think the producers really believed in me on Cinderella,” Brandy stated to Billboard about her early days on the set. “I thought maybe they cast me because of my name or because Whitney Houston wanted me in the part. I felt like I had to prove myself. There were dance rehearsals and music rehearsals, but on top of all that, I rehearsed by myself every day, an hour on every song. And you know what? By the time we got to the studio to record the score, they were shocked. I wasn’t just the girl Whitney hand-picked. I was a real singer.”

But that kind of fortitude is what drived Brandy. “I didn’t think my record company believed in me at first. I didn’t think the people on Moesha believed in me. I feel like my whole career has been a proving ground. But that’s what I like. It makes things interesting, makes me work harder on my projects.”

Brandy is one of our absolute favorites! We’ve interviewed her numerous times in her career.

For the anniversary of Brandy‘s debut album, ReVisit Brandy playing a hilarious edition of the UB Lyric Game, which features a song from the debut album!

Take A Trip Back Down Memory Lane with The Debut Era of Brandy!

UB Anniversary ReVisit: Brandy Talks Discography, Whitney + Haters