India.Arie

Infobox Musical artist
Name = India.Arie


Img_capt = India.Arie performing "Wings of Forgiveness" at Pori Jazz 2007 in Pori, Finland in July 2007
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = India Arie Simpson
Born = birth date and age|1975|10|3
Denver, Colorado, United States
Origin =
Instrument = Singing, guitar, flute
Genre = Soul, R&B, neo soul, blues, folk, acoustic
Occupation = Singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist, flautist
Years_active = 2001–present
Label = Motown, SoulBird Music
URL = [http://www.indiaarie.com/ www.indiaarie.com]

India.Arie (born India Arie Simpson on October 3 1975) is an American soul, R&B, and neo soul singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and flautist.

Early years

Arie was born in Denver, Colorado. She absorbed musical skills early in life as she was encouraged by both parents. Her mother Joyce is a former singer (she was signed to Motown as a teenager and opened for Stevie Wonder and Al Green) [cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HST/is_5_6/ai_n6192628 |title=The soul of a songwriter: India.Arie talks about reading, writing and stoking her creative fires |accessdate=2007-05-05 |work=Black Issues Book Review |date=September–October 2004] and is now her stylist. Her father is former ABA and NBA basketball player Ralph Simpson. She has an older brother named J'On. After her parents divorced, Arie's mother moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia when she was thirteen. [cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/arie_india/artist.jhtml#bio |title=India.Arie MTV biography |accessdate=2007-10-15 |work=MTV] Arie had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, but her interest in the guitar while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, led to a personal revelation about songwriting and performing. "When I started tapping into my own sensitivity, I started to understand people better. It was a direct result of writing songs", she said at the press release of her debut album, "Acoustic Soul".

Co-founding the Atlanta-based independent music collective Groovement EarthShare (Groovement was the collective artists' name and EarthShare was their independent label name), her one-song turn on a locally-released compilation led to a second-stage gig at the 1998 Lilith Fair. In 1999, a Universal/Motown music scout spotted her and made an introduction to former Motown CEO Kedar Massenberg.

Musical career

"Acoustic Soul" (2001)

Sidestepping all the devices of flavor-of-the-month record-making, "Acoustic Soul" acquainted listeners with a brave and eloquent new voice. The album drew an uncommonly broad swath of listeners from lovers of hip hop, neo soul, blues, folk, and classic troubadour-style singer-songwriter, all at once.

"Acoustic Soul" was released on March 27, 2001 and debuted at number ten on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Within months, without the concentrated radio airplay that typically powers pop and rap albums, "Acoustic Soul" was certified double platinum, selling 2.18 million copies in the U.S. and 3 million worldwide. As a capstone to the album's success, Arie had the distinction of having the most total Grammy Award nominations of any single artist that year. Fans and peers alike were stunned when she was not awarded a Grammy Award in any of the nominated categories. Nonetheless, Arie stole the spotlight by closing the ceremony with a brave performance of her song "Video", accompanied only by herself on the guitar.

"Voyage to India" (2002)

Arie followed the success of her debut in 2002 with the release of "Voyage to India". Debuting at number six on the "Billboard" 200 and number one on the R&B chart, it eventually earned her two Grammy Awards in 2003—"Best R&B Album" and Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for the song "Little Things". Soon after its release, "Voyage to India" was certified platinum selling 1.4 million copies in the U.S. and 2.2 million worldwide.

"Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" (2006)

Arie's third studio album, ', was released on June 27, 2006. It gave Arie her first number-one spot on the "Billboard" 200 and was her second chart-topper on the R&B chart. This album was also the first number-one album for Motown in twelve years since Boyz II Men' 1994 "II". Its first-week sales of 161,000 copies are Arie's best sales week to date and was certified gold in August 2006, selling 730,000 in US and 1.3 million worldwide. Her acclaimed cover of Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter" from this album has returned in 2008 as a feature in the trailers to the film '.

Arie is expected to release "" in 2008. The lead single, "Beautiful Flower", is now available on the iTunes Store.

Collaborations

*Arie performed a duet with rock singer-guitarist John Mellencamp on the song "Peaceful World" for his 2001 album "Cuttin' Heads".

*Arie performed a duet with jazz singer Cassandra Wilson on the song "Just Another Parade" for her 2002 album "Belly of the Sun".

*On the [http://tyrashow.warnerbros.com/show_recaps/show_recap_mon1.html September 12, 2005 premiere] of "The Tyra Banks Show", Arie [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63-7HdZwmcY performed] "Just 4 2day", a song she wrote especially for Tyra's show. She also performed "What About the Child", a song that did not air but was made available as a one-dollar Internet download to support child victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. [cite web |url=http://www.iamplify.com/tyra_banks_release.php |title=Tyra Banks & India.Arie |accessdate=2007-03-06 |work=iAmplify|date=December 8 2005]

*Arie is also featured on Stevie Wonder's album "A Time to Love", released on October 18 2005. Arie and Wonder duet on the title track "A Time to Love", written by Arie, which was nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Three years earlier, their rendition of Mel Tormé's 1944 classic "The Christmas Song", recorded for the holiday TV commercial for retailer Target, had been nominated for the same category, making it the first song created and financed exclusively for a commercial to be nominated for a Grammy Award. [cite web |url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~mroyen/News/2003/news_february_9_2003.htm |title=Brian McKnight, Marc Anthony & More On Stevie Wonder Tribute Collection |accessdate=2007-06-01 |work=Spotlight on R&B |date=February 9 2003]

*Arie performed a duet with Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes on the title song "Timeless" for his 2006 album "Timeless".

*Arie performed the vocals for "It Might Be You" on Dave Koz's 2007 album "At the Movies".

*Arie collaborated with Akon for her song "I Am Not My Hair". On the April 16, 2007 episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" entitled "After Imus: Now What?", Arie guest-starred as a panelist. She stated that she wasn't completely crazy about the duet partner, but the label suggested that it would make the album more commercial. Versions without Akon on the song are currently available on the iTunes Store.

*Arie performed the song "She Is" for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, inspired by the PBS Independent Lens documentary "Iron Ladies of Liberia".

*Arie performed a duet with singer Anthony David for his song "Words" for his 2008 album "Acey Duecy".

Grammy Awards history

Discography

Albums

*2001: "Acoustic Soul"
*2002: "Voyage to India"
*2006: ""
*2009: ""

ingles

* "The Heart of the Matter" charted on the UK Singles Chart on 1 June 2008, based on download sales alone, due to the release of the "" soundtrack.Fact|date=June 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.indiaarie.com Official website]
* [http://umrg.com/artist.aspx?pg=product&aid=426&pid=1836 India.Arie on Motown Records website]
* at LyricWiki
*allmusicguide|id=11:kg8gtq0z9u48|label=India.Arie
*imdb name|id=1136546|name=India.Arie
* [http://www.vibe.com/celebs/feature.html?id=170 Profile on VIBE.com]

Persondata
NAME = India.Arie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Simpson, India Arie
SHORT DESCRIPTION = American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and flautist
DATE OF BIRTH = October 3 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH = Denver, Colorado, United States
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =