Karyn White

Karyn Layvonne White (born October 14, 1965) is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman" (1988), "Love Saw It" (1988),[1] "Secret Rendezvous" (1989), "The Way You Love Me" (1988), and the US Hot 100 No. 1 single "Romantic" (1991).

Karyn White
Background information
Birth nameKaryn Layvonne White
Born (1965-10-14) October 14, 1965
OriginLos Angeles, California
GenresR&B, soul, new jack swing
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active1985–2007
2012–present
LabelsWarner Bros. (1986–1999)
KW Entertainment (2011–)
Associated actsBabyface, Michel'le, Jeff Lorber, Michael Jeffries, Bobby Brown, Jody Watley, Cherelle, Tevin Campbell, Johnny Gill

Early life

White was born in Los Angeles to Vivian and Clarence White. She is the youngest of five children. She sang in a church choir and worked as a backing singer, then sang on Jeff Lorber's 1986 Private Passion single "Facts of Love", "True Confessions" and "Back in Love" before signing to Warner Bros. Records.

Career

White's self-titled debut album Karyn White was released in 1988.[1] It was produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface and achieved platinum status in the US. The album contained the Hot 100 hit singles "The Way You Love Me", "Secret Rendezvous", and "Superwoman" as well as the No. 1 R&B hit "Love Saw It", a duet with Babyface. White was nominated in the Best R&B/Urban Contemporary New Artist category for the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, which was won by Al B. Sure. She also received nominations for two Grammy Awards. She became the first female artist to have the first three solo releases from their debut album hit No. 1 on the R&B charts.

Her follow-up album was Ritual of Love in 1991. It had songs produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and featured the hit single "Romantic", which hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Other singles from the album include "The Way I Feel About You" (U.S. #12), "Walkin' the Dog", and "Do Unto Me" (the last two did not chart). The photographer and director Matthew Rolston directed the video for the hit single "Romantic". Michael Walls, who was credited as stylist on Ritual of Love, worked with White on the look for the Ritual of Love album sleeve, and three of the music videos released for the album. Walls had the idea for the Chanel-inspired pearls and black dress used on the album cover, the French maid look and multiple wardrobe changes for video of "The Way I Feel About You", and the "Walkin' the Dog" video, which was based on a scene from the film Sweet Charity.

Her next album was Make Him Do Right in 1994. The album did not sell well, although she did chart with the singles "Hungah" and the Babyface-penned "Can I Stay With You", which became her final U.S. R&B Top 10 hit in early 1995. "I'd Rather Be Alone", her last chart single to date, peaked at No. 50 on the same chart later that year.

White left Warner Bros. Records in 1999, and dropped out of the music public eye for many years to start a family.

In 2006, she recorded a new album, titled Sista Sista; which was slated for release in 2006, but was shelved. Two tracks, "All I Do" and "Disconnected", were later released on the best of compilation album, Superwoman: The Best of Karyn White. She was also slated to appear on the Soul Train Music Awards in 2009 as a tribute to Babyface Edmonds. However, this performance was canceled when Edmonds and Reid withdrew from the Soul Train ceremony, declining the honor. In 2011, she was slated to have shot a pilot for a reality series with R&B singers Shanice and Debelah Morgan.

White released her first album after a seventeen-year break, Carpe Diem, in March 2012.[2] The album featured the singles "Sista, Sista" and "Unbreakable" both of which received music videos.

In 2017, White landed a recurring role on the BET Centric television series Beauty and the Baller as trophy wife Kym Banks.[3][4] She also returned with new music and her first feature film role, in Gale and the Storm directed by Derrick Muhammad.[5] The soundtrack for the film was released on September 4 and included her latest single "Blind Man Walking".[6][7] The film made its premiere on October 12, 2017.

She earned a 2017 UB Honors nomination for the Gale and the Storm soundtrack in the "Best Independent R&B Album Release" category.[8]

In July 2018, Karyn White released her single "Lame Excuses".

Personal life

White married Terry Lewis in 1992 and together they had a daughter, Ashley Nicole, and adopted son Brandon. Lewis brought to the marriage children Trey and Chloe.[9] They eventually divorced in 1999. White was later married to producer/musician Bobby G from 2007–09. She then started a relationship with musician Al B. Sure! in 2012.

White resides in Rocklin, California, a suburb of Sacramento, and runs a successful interior design and real estate business.[10]

Film

White starred in the feature film Gale and the Storm, directed by Derrick Muhammad and released in 2017.[11][12]

Discography
Main article: Karyn White discography
Studio albums

Awards and nominations
YearAward
1989American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist
1989Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best New Artist, Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Single, Female and Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album, Female
1989Billboard Music Award win for No. 1 R&B Single of the Year ("Superwoman")[13]
1989Billboard Music Award win for No. 1 Dance Club Song of the Year ("Secret Rendezvous")[14]
1989Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance ("The Way You Love Me").
1990Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance ("Superwoman")
1990American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Karyn White)[15]
2017UB Honors nomination for Best Independent R&B Album Release (Gale and the Storm – Soundtrack)

See also

References
  1. "Karyn White - Karyn White | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  2. kiera ·. "The Return of Karyn White". Soul Train. Retrieved April 29, 2012.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  3. "Legendary Songstress Karyn White Makes Debut in New Sitcom Beauty and The Baller premiering on BET Centric | ABNewswire".
  4. "First Listen: Karyn White Is "Walking" through the Storm". SoulTracks - Soul Music Biographies, News and Reviews. September 17, 2017.
  5. "Gale and the Storm" – via www.imdb.com.
  6. http://urbanbridgez.com/ubgblog/2017/08/02/karyn-white-to-release-new-album-film-gale-the-storm-streamnow/
  7. "Robot Check".
  8. http://urbanbridgez.com/ubgblog/2017/11/18/vote-ubhonors-2017/
  9. "TV One".
  10. Superwoman: The Best Of liner notes
  11. "Karyn White To Debut Film & Music". sacobserver.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  12. Muhammad, Derrick (2017), Gale and the Storm, Karyn White, Damien Lewis, Anthony M. Bertram, retrieved November 9, 2017
  13. "Information Not Found". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  14. "1989 Year-End Chart Dance Club Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  15. Archived September 5, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.