: Keyshia Cole Keyshia Cole promo shoot for her 2005 debut album The Way It Is Background informationBornOctober 15, 1981OriginOakland, California, United StatesGenre(s)R&BOccupation(s)Singer-songwriterYears active2004–presentLabel(s)Interscope/A&M
Keyshia Cole (born October 15, 1981) is an American R&B singer-songwriter. She released her platinum selling debut album The Way It Is in 2005, and is preparing the release of her sophomore album Tears From a Soldier's Heart, to be released in 2007.
Biography
Early years
Cole grew up in Oakland, California where she lived a life of crime and was a foster child adopted by Yvonne Cole at the young age of 5. She has said that her brother, Sean Cole, and Tupac Shakur were close friends and that he was like an older brother to her. Cole's first recordings were with MC Hammer at the age of twelve. In the early 2000s, she appeared on tracks by San Francisco Bay Area artists including Tony! Toni! Toné!'s D'Wayne Wiggins and San Francisco rapper Messy Marv.
Cole was inspired by her grandmother to further pursue her career, so she left the Bay Area only at age 16, with a rented car and a thousand dollars and moved to Los Angeles, California. Keyshia had written an early version on "Love" and performed it in front of record executives Ron Fair and Jimmy Iovine in June/July 2002. She was than signed by the president of A&M Records, Ron Fair in December 2002. Cole than started to record her debut album. In 2004, Cole made her first solo appearance on the track "Never", taken from the Barbershop 2: Back in Business soundtrack with rapper Eve. Keyshia Cole has a niece named Leah Chatmon that she loves spending time with as so as her other family members. Keyshia made a television show named the way it is. It was basically explaining her background w/ friends, family, etc
The Way It Is (2005)
 Cole on the cover of her debut album. Cole released her debut album, The Way It Is, on June 21, 2005 under Interscope/A&M Records. The album received a positive reception from music critics and debuted at number-six on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums charts, eventually receiving a platinum cerification.
At the outset of her album's release (with lead single "I Changed My Mind"), Cole found little success, except at radio in New York City and her native Bay Area. With the failure of her debut single, the label decided to push back the album and release a second single (I Just Want It) To Be Over, produced by Krucial Keys. The track also failed to affect major radio stations. Cole's label continued to see promising album sales after it was released, so they pushed forward a third single I Should Have Cheated. At this time, Keyshia experienced the most success. The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and became one of the biggest female R&B hits of the year. The single pushed the album to Gold. The fourth single, "Love", was a bigger success, reaching #3 on the R&B chart and #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. This single pushed the album to Platinum. The video featured singer and actor Tyrese Gibson. A video for the fifth and final single, "You've Changed", was shot, but was not released due to Cole working on her sophomore album. The Way It Is has sold 1.3 million in the U.S.
Tears From A Soldier's Heart (2006)
 Cole on the cover of her sophmore album. Discography
Albums
Singles
Album appearances
Soundtracks
Career activities
- Cole served as the inspiration for her mother and cousin, Cali Castillo, to establish Cole Talent Agency in November 2005. It is based in the Central Valley of California and represents those with musical and literary gifts.
- In February 2006, Cole signed a deal with acquaintance and frequent collaborator Kanye West to be included on the roster for his GOOD Music imprint.
- As of May 2006, Keyshia Cole was named the new face of Akademiks Ladies for the Fall 2006 Advertising Campaign, with the collection to be available in stores in August.
- In the near future, Keyshia Cole will have her own record label, and plans to sign her acquaintance, the Oakland rapper Amina and the R&B quartet Metro City, who appeared on The Way It Is.
- Keyshia Cole will be feature on Tupac Shakur latest album Pac's Life on the song call "Playa Cardz Right (Female)"
Awards and nominations
- 2005: Next Award at the 2005 Vibe Awards (Win tied with Young Jeezy).Also nominated for R&B Voice of the Year and Vibe Vixen
- 2005: Best New Artist at the 2006 NAACP Image Awards (Nominated)
- 2006: Best Female R&B Artist & Viewer's Choice (for "Love") at the 2006 BET Awards (Nominated)
- 2006: Best Female R&B/Soul Single (for "I Should Have Cheated") & Best Female R&B/Soul Album (for "The Way It Is") at the 2005 Soul Train Awards (Nominated)
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia |
