Toni Braxton

Also in 2018, Braxton and Uncle Bud's Hemp products created a joint marketing campaign for the latter's products, which Braxton noted as helpful in her battle against lupus. In April 2018, Braxton and her sisters Trina and Towanda appeared on their sister Traci's single "Broken Things." In November, Braxton and Towanda appeared in the holiday film Every Day is Christmas, which premiered on Lifetime. The same month, she announced her As Long As I Live Tour, a joint concert tour with SWV, which took her to South Africa and the United Kingdom. In June 2019, Braxton headlined the 2019 Pittsburgh Pride festival. In April 2020, it was announced that Braxton had signed with Island Records. She released the single, "Do It", her first song under the new deal on April 6, 2020. In May, Braxton released a remix EP for her second single "Dance".

Braxton has also been seen as a gay icon, with some of her songs becoming gay anthems, such as "Un-Break My Heart", "He Wasn't Man Enough" and "Make My Heart". The singer stated that after the release of "Un-Break My Heart", she "recognized all the support. And it was really wonderful." When asked about her gay fans, Braxton said "I love my boys because my boys help me be a better girl. My choreographer and my video director are gay, and they’ve been my best friends since I started in the industry. They’re my favorite part of the whole industry".

In January 2018, Braxton starred in the Lifetime film Faith Under Fire. In March, her eighth studio album Sex & Cigarettes, her first solo album in eight years, was released on Def Jam Recordings. An adult contemporary R&B album with production from Fred Ball, Babyface, Dapo Torimiro, and Tricky Stewart, it debuted at number 22 on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Sex & Cigarettes received mainly positive reviews from music critics, and was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. Second single "Long as I Live" topped the US Adult R&B Songs, becoming Braxton's eighth chart topper, while breaking a tie with singers Maxwell and R. Kelly to give her sole possession of the second-most number-one's in the chart's 24-year history. It also received Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song.

In January 2016, Lifetime premiered the biographical film Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart, based on Braxton's memoir. Actress Lex Scott Davis was cast to portray Braxton in the film. The biopic's premiere generated 3.6 million viewers. In July 2016, Braxton announced that she would embark on a concert tour, titled The Hits Tour, in late 2016. On October 3, five days before the first date of the tour, Braxton was hospitalized due to complications with lupus resulting in canceling the first two dates of the tour. On October 15, 2016, Braxton was admitted once again to hospital with complications with lupus, resulting into the cancellation of another tour date, which was later rescheduled. In December, Braxton announced that the January 2017 concert dates were canceled.

Braxton was dating rapper Birdman in May 2016, and the couple announced their engagement in February 2018. In January 2019, the couple have called off the engagement. However, in April 2019, both Braxton and Birdman confirmed that they were still together.

On July 8, 2015, Braxton's attorney, Antavius Weems, announced that Braxton had settled her contentious child support case with her former husband, Keri Lewis. On June 2, 2016, the city and county officials of Atlanta, Georgia, named June 2 as Toni Braxton Day.

On her appearance May 24, 2014 broadcast of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, she stated that she was not singing to herself at the gas station. Pettaway, working as an attendant at the Annapolis service station where she was refueling, recognized her from local performances and introduced himself, saying he wanted to produce her. Although skeptical, Braxton decided to, in her words, "take a chance" and accepted.

In March 2014, Braxton, alongside Babyface, made her return to Broadway in the musical After Midnight. The third in rotation in the role of "Special Guest Star" following Fantasia Barrino and KD Lang, they performed from March 18 to March 31, 2014 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. In May 2014, Braxton published a memoir, Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir, through Harper Collins Publishers. In it, Braxton discusses her career success and struggles and the self-healing she took charge of after her own diagnosis with the auto-immune disease lupus and her son's diagnosis with autism. In October 2015, Toni along with The Braxtons released the holiday album Braxton Family Christmas on Def Jam Recordings. Compromsing cover versions of Christmas standards and carols as well as several original songs, it debuted and peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Other singles from the album included the double A-side "I Don't Want To"/"I Love Me Some Him" (which peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart) and "How Could an Angel Break My Heart;" this last featured Kenny G, with whom Braxton later toured. After 92 weeks in the charts, Secrets was certified 8x platinum, becoming Braxton's second straight 8 million-seller. Internationally, Secrets sold more than 15 million copies, thus cementing Braxton's superstar status. Braxton topped the Billboard Year-End Charts as the Top Hot 100 Singles Artist – Female, Top R&B Artist – Female (singles and albums), Top Hot R&B Singles Artist – Female, Top Hot Dance Club Play Artist, and Top Hot Adult Contemporary Artist, while "Un-Break My Heart" became the Top Hot Dance Club Play Single and the Top Hot Adult Contemporary Track of the year. She won two Grammy Awards; one for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Un-Break My Heart" and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "You're Makin' Me High" as well as two American Music Awards for Favorite Female Soul/R&B Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album.

In 2013, Braxton and longtime collaborator Babyface began work on their collaborative studio album Love, Marriage & Divorce which was released in February 2014 under Motown Records. It received favorable reviews from music critics, who labeled it as "high-quality R&B," and debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and the top of the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with first-week sales of 67,000 copies. Love, Marriage & Divorce was nominated for World's Best Album at the 2014 World Music Awards and won for Best R&B Album at the 57th Grammy Awards. Lead single "Hurt You" reached number one on the US Adult R&B Songs, becoming Braxton's first song to do so since her 2000 release "Just Be a Man About It." The song also hit number 16 on Billboard Hot R&B/ Hip Hop Airplay chart.

Toni Braxton became an immediate R&B superstar after the release of her first album. LA Reid stated during an interview with VH1: "We called her the first lady of LaFace. She was our Diva. Clive had Whitney, Tommy had Mariah and we had Toni." BBC called the album "spiritedly, mature soul at its best – and just urban enough to make it the bedroom album for the hip hop generation." Braxton had the sound of R&B greats like Anita Baker and the sex appeal to compete with fellow superstars Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Over the span of her career Braxton has sold over 66 million records, including 40 million albums, worldwide. Braxton's musical catalog contains many classics that have won her many accolades. Her greatest is "Un-Break My Heart", the Diane Warren-penned ballad that spent 11-weeks at number 1. Bob McCann, author of Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television (2010), considered it "simply one of the most haunting R&B records ever made." Reviewer Mark Edward Nero named it one of the best R&B break-up songs and considered it Braxton's "finest moment". He further commented, "damn, this song is so sad it can make people cry for hours at a time." It's Braxton's ability to capture her audience that plays a factor in her continuous success. Braxton is a recipient of seven Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and nine Billboard Music Awards. She has been cited as an influence by various artists, such as Beyoncé, Tamar Braxton, Billie Godfrey, Leela James and Anja Nissen.

Braxton's uncle died of complications from lupus. While taping her reality series Braxton Family Values, she went in for surgery. Braxton was hospitalized in Los Angeles in December 2012 because of "minor health issues" related to lupus.

Braxton is also a television executive producer and personality. She competed in the seventh season of the reality competition series Dancing with the Stars. She has executive produced and starred in Braxton Family Values, a reality television series that has aired on We TV since 2011. Braxton is also an executive producer of Tamar & Vince, a spinoff reality TV series starring her younger sister, Tamar.

In 2011, Braxton signed with WE tv for a reality series, Braxton Family Values. Chronicling the lives of Braxton and her sisters Tamar, Traci, Towanda, and Trina, plus their mother Evelyn, the series debuted on April 12, 2011. It received favorable reviews from critics who recognized it as a "guilty pleasure" and spawned several seasons and spin-offs. In September 2011, Braxton parted ways with her long-time manager Vincent Herbert, husband of sister Tamar, and signed a new management deal with Los Angeles-based entertainment/production company The Collective. In March 2012, she released the standalone single "I Heart You," a dance-pop, EDM and house song that peaked at number one on the US Dance Club Songs. Also that year, Braxton voiced the character of Rosalie Rosebud, a singer with an over-the-top personality, in the children's musical adventure comedy film The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure alongside Jaime Pressly and Cloris Leachman, and began filming a lead role in the Lifetime Movie Network film Twist of Faith which premiered the following year.

Throughout Braxton's career, she made several impacts on fashion mostly for her legendary high splits in her dresses. Her now-famous Richard Tyler White satin gown has gone down in history as one of the most revealing and sexiest dresses. In 2011, Braxton topped the list for the Grammy Award's best dressed of the decade. "I've always gone a little risque with all my other award show outfits." In 2012, Braxton made the list for VH1's 50 Greatest Women in Music. Braxton's 2000 performance at Super Bowl XXXIV is ranked as one of the most memorable Super Bowl performances. Braxton is featured alongside other R&B and pop divas as a primary character on the popular web parody Got 2B Real: The Diva Variety Show. Braxton cemented her diva status in the music industry in 2006, with her Las Vegas residency Toni Braxton: Revealed, by becoming the first African American performer in Las Vegas to have her act enter the top ten Vegas shows charting. Braxton also made headlines for her signature and legendary Giantto Million Dollar Microphone that she performed every show with. Braxton said: "I think it's a great element to the show. You have to have a little sprinkle of Liberace and this is my little sprinkle of that." Braxton's famous prop was made up of white gold and encrusted with 650 karats of diamonds. The microphone reportedly cost $1 million.

On November 18, 2010, Braxton admitted to CBS News that she had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease.

In 2009, Braxton signed to Atlantic Records and began work on her next studio album. In February 2010, Braxton she was part of the supergroup Artists for Haiti who recorded "We Are the World 25 for Haiti," a remake of the 1985 hit "We Are the World," to help benefit the people of Haiti hollowing the magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake. Three months later, Pulse, her seventh studio album, was released. A colletion of up-tempo songs and R&B ballads with production varying from smooth to dance-based styles, it debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200, selling 54,000 copies in its first week, and topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, becoming Braxton's fifth US top-ten album. A moderate chart success elsewhere, it reached the top ten in Switzerland, and the top 20 in Germany and Greece. While critical reception of Pulse was generally positive, its singles "Yesterday", "Hands Tied" and "Make My Heart" achieved moderate chart success.

Following the abrupt cancellation of her Toni Braxton: Revealed show, Braxton experienced financial difficulties when insurance agency Lloyd's of London refused to honor her policy that she purchased for upwards of $70,000 that included financial compensations for financial losses. Lloyd's responded with a counter-suit seeking damages against her because of an unrelated heart condition that the company was not made aware of at the time the application was filed. While Braxton acknowleged that she did disclose her full medical history at the time, she got on the hook for all damages because of the cancelled shows, being sued by multiple companies, and had to once again file for bankruptcy. In September 2008, Braxton appeared on the seventh season of American dance competition series Dancing with the Stars; her partner was Alec Mazo. They were voted off in the fifth week of the competition.

As of August 2007, rumors surfaced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Braxton stated to Access Hollywood, that the breast cancer rumors were false and that her health is in great condition. However, in 2008, she had a benign lump removed from her breast. On April 8, 2008, near the end of her two-year run at the Flamingo Hotel, Braxton was briefly hospitalized and the remaining dates on the show, which was scheduled to end on August 23, 2008, were cancelled. Later, while appearing on Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars, she stated, that she has been diagnosed with microvascular angina (small vessel disease).

On January 12, 2007, Braxton filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against her former manager Barry Hankerson for $10 million, alleging "fraud, deception and double dealing", in addition to mismanaging her relationship with Arista Records. According to Braxton's lawsuit, Hankerson placed his personal financial interests ahead of hers by using 'double-talk' to compromise the relationship between Braxton and her former recording label, Arista Records, with Hankerson allegedly telling Arista that "Braxton no longer wanted to record for Arista", and telling Braxton that "Arista was not interested in working with her anymore".

She was to star in a half-hour sitcom pilot where she would play a version of herself for The WB Television Network's fall 2006–07 lineup, though plans to put the show into full-production fell through once The WB announced it would cease to exist in fall 2006. She has also starred in the TV sitcom, Kevin Hill.

Braxton recorded a song in 2006 with Il Divo, titled "The Time of Our Lives". The song was used as the official 2006 FIFA World Cup anthem and was performed at the opening ceremony in Berlin, Germany, on June 9. The song was also performed at the closing ceremonies making Braxton and Il Divo the first artists to be asked to perform for the opening and closing ceremonies.

On May 19, 2006, the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas announced that Braxton would replace Wayne Newton as the casino's new headlining act from August 3, 2006. The show, entitled Toni Braxton: Revealed, was to be performed six nights a week and was scheduled to run through to March 2007. Braxton later confirmed that she was extending her show through to August 2007. Due to its success, it was reported that Braxton would extend her show through to August 2008. The show was later cancelled in order for Braxton to focus on her health.

In an October 2006 concert at the Flamingo Las Vegas, Braxton broke down in tears while announcing to the audience that just before the concert began she had been told that her son, Diezel, had been diagnosed with autism. Braxton has been outspoken regarding her doctor's failure to diagnose Diezel's condition earlier, contending that if he had been diagnosed earlier he could have received treatment earlier. As well as becoming a spokeswoman for Autism Speaks, she is also a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.

In April 2005, Braxton's new label, Blackground/Universal, released "Please", the first single from her fifth album, Libra. The album was originally planned for a June release, but it was pushed back several times and was finally issued on September 27. Unfortunately for Braxton, her troubles with weak album promotion and lack of label commitment were not over. "Please" peaked at number 36 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while altogether missing the Hot 100.

Libra still managed to debut at number four on the Billboard 200 selling 114,593 copies in the first week. Libra also peaked at number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Although that is strong for an album with little to no promotion, it became yet another commercial disappointment for Braxton. The album's second single, "Trippin' (That's the Way Love Works)", received less airplay and peaked at number 67 on the R&B chart. The failure was ascribed to the non-video presence of the single and lack of label support. The album was certified gold in late 2005 and has since sold 679,000 copies worldwide.

In April 2003, Braxton abruptly left Arista Records, having been there for 14 years, and immediately signed with Blackground Records, headed by Barry Hankerson, her manager at the time. She then starred in Aida as Aida beginning June 30, 2003 when she replaced Simone and left the cast on November 16, 2003 where she was replaced by Michelle Williams.

Braxton took a more hands-on approach, co-writing and co-producing a handful of the tracks. One selection on The Heat, titled "Gimme Some", featured a rap verse from TLC star Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. The album's second single, "Just Be a Man About It", peaked at number 32 on the Hot 100 and number six on the R&B Charts. The third single, "Spanish Guitar", peaked at number 98 on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Dance & Club charts. The fourth single, "Maybe", peaked at 74 on the R&B charts. The Heat was certified double platinum in the U.S. and, by 2002, had sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

In 2002, while gearing up for the release of her fourth studio album, Braxton discovered she was pregnant with her second child. Knowing that she would be unable to promote the album properly, she unsuccessfully lobbied Arista Records to get the label to postpone its release until after she was to give birth. Arista Records refused, and the album was released as planned. It received very little promotion from either Arista or Braxton herself, due in Braxton's case to the complicated pregnancy that had confined her to bed rest. Braxton accused the company of being unwilling to compromise and punishing her for not putting her career over family.

In November 2002, Braxton's fourth studio album More Than a Woman was released. Opening to an instant commercial disappointment, the album peaked at number 13. The first single, The Neptunes -produced "Hit the Freeway", failed at radio and peaked at number 86 on the Hot 100. The two singles, that followed ("A Better Man", "Lies, Lies, Lies") were scrapped, failed to make a dent and missed the Hot 100 completely. More Than a Woman was certified gold by RIAA and sold more than 800,000 copies worldwide. Prior to the release of the album, a dispute erupted between Braxton and Irv Gotti, when he played a rough cut of "No More Love", a song that he produced for the album, that was to be the first single. Disapproving of Gotti broadcasting the unfinished track, Braxton withheld it from being released. The same year, Braxton was further annoyed, when Jay-Z used the same sample of 2Pac's "Me and My Girlfriend", that she had already used on her track "Me & My Boyfriend" for his and Beyoncé's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde".

In 2001, she made her movie acting debut in the feature film Kingdom Come.

Braxton met musician Keri Lewis when his group, Mint Condition, opened for her on tour; they married on April 21, 2001. In 2001, she gave birth to their first child, a son named Denim Cole Braxton-Lewis. In 2002, while gearing up for the release of her fourth studio album, Braxton discovered she was pregnant with her second child; the complicated pregnancy confined her to bed rest. The couple's second son, Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis, was born in March 2003. As Diezel has been diagnosed with autism, Braxton has become involved with Autism Speaks, serving as their International Spokesperson. In November 2009 Braxton announced that she and her husband had separated. The couple later divorced in July 2013.

After Braxton's three-year-long dispute with LaFace and Arista had been settled, Toni signed a new $20 million contract. In March 2000, LaFace Records released "He Wasn't Man Enough", the first single from Braxton's third studio album, The Heat. By June 2000, the song peaked at number two on the Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. The Heat was released on April 25, 2000, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart with first-week sales of 194,448 copies sold, it remained in the top 20 for fifteen consecutive weeks. Braxton again worked with producers Babyface and Foster; also included in the staple were Rodney Jerkins, and new beau musician Keri Lewis.

Braxton has appeared in two Disney Broadway shows: She made her Broadway debut as Belle in Beauty and the Beast beginning September 9, 1998 when she replaced Kim Huber. During her run in the show Alan Menken wrote and composed a new song for the musical, titled "A Change in Me", which he specially wrote and composed for Braxton, and was still being used in the musical as of late July 2014. She left the production on February 28, 1999 and was succeeded by Andrea McArdle. Her role in Beauty and the Beast marked the first (and only) time a black woman commanded the leading role of Belle on Broadway. (In the UK, Michelle Gayle played the role in the West End.) It also marked the first time a black woman would star in a Disney musical on Broadway. In 1999, the lawsuit against LaFace Records was settled and Braxton was given back all her possessions, giving her time to record The Heat, her first album in four years.

Braxton experienced continued success with the albums Secrets (1996), which included the U.S. #1 hit singles "You're Makin' Me High/Let It Flow" and "Un-Break My Heart"; and The Heat (2000), which opened at #2 on the Billboard 200 and included the U.S. #2 hit single "He Wasn't Man Enough". Braxton's subsequent studio albums, More Than a Woman (2002), Libra (2005) and Pulse (2010), were released amid contractual disputes and health issues. In 2014, Braxton and longtime collaborator Babyface released a duet album entitled Love, Marriage & Divorce that earned the duo a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2015. In 2018, Braxton released her ninth studio album, Sex & Cigarettes.

In June 1996, Braxton released her second and most successful album, Secrets. Braxton said of the album: "The motivation for this album was to include a little bit of everything. Our aim was to come up with material, that would have a familiar 'feel' to the people, who bought the first album without being musically redundant." Along with Babyface, Braxton also worked with R. Kelly, Tony Rich, and David Foster on the album. Braxton co-produced the album and co-wrote two of its songs, including the 1997 single "How Could an Angel Break My Heart", which was also later included on Diana Princess of Wales Tribute, a Princess Diana memorial album.

By 1996, Braxton had sold more than 20 million records; unfortunately, she was still waiting on her financial rewards, eventually launching an unsuccessful lawsuit against Arista and LaFace Records. Soon after, she filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. Public reaction to these events was very harsh, having been expressed most clearly in an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Upon successfully filing for bankruptcy, Braxton relinquished the rights to many of her valued possessions, including the Grammys and American Music Awards she had previously been granted.

Braxton's debut album won her several awards, including three Grammy Awards (for Best New Artist and two consecutive awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1994 and 1995). She won two American Music Awards (for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist and Favorite New Adult Contemporary Artist) in 1994 and another one in 1995 (for Favorite Soul/R&B Album). Toni Braxton was certified 8x platinum in USA and has sales of over 10 million worldwide.

On July 13, 1993, LaFace Records released Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton. The album, which was primarily produced by Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons, peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart. The first single, "Another Sad Love Song", peaked at number seven and number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts respectively. The song was also the very first #1 song on the newly created Adult R&B Charts. Billboard created the chart in September 1993. The album's second single, "Breathe Again", peaked in the top five of both the Hot 100 and R&B singles charts and no 2 in the UK. More singles from Toni Braxton were released in 1994, including "You Mean the World to Me", "Seven Whole Days", and "I Belong to You/How Many Ways".

In the late 1980s, Braxton began performing with her sisters in a music group known as The Braxtons; the group was signed to Arista Records. After attracting the attention of producers Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and being signed to LaFace Records, Braxton released her self-titled debut studio album in 1993. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 10 million copies worldwide. In addition, the singles "Another Sad Love Song" and "Breathe Again" became international successes. The album brought Braxton three Grammy Awards, including the Grammy for Best New Artist.

Braxton and her four sisters (Traci, Towanda, Trina, and Tamar) began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s and were signed to Arista Records in 1989. Their first single, "Good Life", was released in 1990. Though the song was not successful, it attracted the attention of Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

Braxton is the eldest of six siblings. She has a younger brother Michael Jr. (born 1968) and four younger sisters Traci Renee (born 1971), Towanda Chloe (born 1973), Trina Evette (born 1974), and Tamar Estine (born 1977). They were raised in a strict religious household, and Braxton's first performing experience was singing in her church choir.

Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, actress, television personality, and philanthropist. Braxton has sold over 67 million records worldwide, including 41 million albums. She is one of the highest-selling female R&B artists in history. Braxton has won seven Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards, and numerous other accolades. In 2011, Braxton was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Toni Michelle Braxton was born in Severn, Maryland on October 7, 1967. Her father, Michael Conrad Braxton Sr., was a Methodist clergyman and power company worker, and her mother, Evelyn Jackson, a native of South Carolina, was a former opera singer and cosmetologist, as well as a pastor. Braxton's maternal grandfather was also a pastor.

The Heat was nominated for many awards. At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album's lead single, "He Wasn't Man Enough", was nominated for Best R&B Song and eventually won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, while the album itself was nominated for Best R&B Album. She was also nominated for Best R&B/Soul album, Female on the Soul Train Music Awards, but she lost to "Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1" by Jill Scott. She won 2 American Music Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album (The Heat).