fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist.[1][2] He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma.

Brian McKnight
McKnight at the 2019 Celebrity Fight Night
Born	Brian Kelly McKnight (1969-06-05) June 5, 1969 (age 53) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Education	Maynard Evans High School Oakwood College (no degree)
Occupation	Singer songwriter record producer actor multi-instrumentalist arranger
Years active	1988–present
Spouse(s)	Julie McKnight ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 2003)​ Leilani Mendoza ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	6 expecting 1
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	R&B soul
Instrument(s)	Vocals piano keyboards guitar bass guitar trumpet flugelhorn trombone tuba percussion
Labels	SoNo Universal Kobalt E1 Warner Bros. Motown Polygram Mercury Wing
Formerly of	Black Men United
Website	mcknight360.com
Musical artist

McKnight is known for his songs from albums such as Brian McKnight (platinum debut), Anytime and Back at One. His work has earned him 16 Grammy Awards nominations,[3] third only to Zubin Mehta and Snoop Dogg for the record of most Grammy nominations without a win.[4]

Early life

McKnight was born in Buffalo, New York to Claude McKnight, Jr. and Ruth Elaine Willis. His music experience began in childhood when he became a member of his church choir, which was directed by his grandfather. McKnight explored different genres of music, and in his early teens, he started musical ambitions by composing instrumental material while learning to play several instruments. McKnight formed a band and began performing his original songs at local venues. By the age of 18, he was offered a publishing deal.[5]

Career

Mercury Records: Brian McKnight and Anytime (1990–1997)

McKnight's older brother, Claude McKnight III (and his band Take 6), signed a record deal with Warner Brothers in 1990. This encouraged McKnight to shop his own demo tapes and by the age of 19, he signed his first recording deal with Mercury Records subsidiary, Wing Records.[6] His self-titled debut album Brian McKnight was released in 1992, and peaked at number 58 on the Billboard 200 chart. His first release was "The Way Love Goes", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[7] The album also featured the ballad, and Top 20 single, "One Last Cry". It was followed by two more albums for Mercury, I Remember You (1995) and Anytime (1997). Anytime, McKnight's final album with Mercury, sold over two million copies and was nominated for a Grammy. The video for "Anytime", directed by Darren Grant, was nominated for Best Male Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. In 1997, McKnight recorded "Remember the Magic" for Walt Disney World's 25th anniversary.^{[citation needed]}

Motown Records: Bethlehem and Back at One (1998–2004)

McKnight signed with Motown in 1998 and released a Christmas album, Bethlehem, the first of five albums he released on Motown.

In 1998, McKnight was a guest star on the show Sister Sister. He appeared in multiple episodes, as Tia and Tamera's college professor.

In 1999, McKnight released Back at One, his most successful album to date, which eventually went on to sell over three million copies. Additionally, Back at One is one of four of McKnight's studio albums to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, reaching number 7 on October 9, 1999.[8]

In 2004, McKnight co-wrote the song "Wait" with Australian soul artist Guy Sebastian, which appeared on Sebastian's Beautiful Life album.

Warner Brothers: Ten and media/radio gigs (2005–2014)

In late 2005, McKnight signed with Warner Bros. Records and released the album Ten during December 2006. It was his only studio album with the label. Three singles were released from the album: "Find Myself in You" (which originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 2006 Tyler Perry movie Madea's Family Reunion), "Used to Be My Girl" and "What's My Name".

In October 2007, McKnight made his Broadway debut in the show Chicago.^{[citation needed]}

Between 2006 and 2010, McKnight hosted The Brian McKnight Morning Show, a radio show with Pat Prescott on KTWV The Wave in Los Angeles. The show was briefly simulcast on KHJZ-FM, Smooth Jazz 95.7 The Wave in Houston, Texas. In January 2009, McKnight hosted "The Brian McKnight Show" on 98.7 KISS FM in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, McKnight appeared in the eighth season of Celebrity Apprentice.[9] Each celebrity played to raise money for the charity of his or her choice. McKnight elected to play for Youthville USA.^{[citation needed]}

Between September 2009 and May 2010, McKnight served as the media personality and hosted[10] The Brian McKnight Show, a late night talk show billed as a combination of talk and variety which aired in syndication.

McKnight sang the National Anthem for MLB Opening Day in Cincinnati, Ohio with his sons Brian, Jr. and Niko on March 31, 2011. He had previously sung the National Anthem for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, Game 6 of the 2002 World Series in Anaheim, California (near his Los Angeles home), and the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Detroit. He has also made numerous other "National Anthem" appearances throughout his career. Additionally, McKnight sang "God Bless America" in the 7th inning of Game 7 of the National League Champion Series in San Francisco on October 22, 2012.^{[citation needed]}

On April 23, 2012, McKnight posted to YouTube "If You're Ready To Learn", which has been characterized by Billboard as a "filthy jam". Billboard selected this lyric from the work to quote: "Let me show you how your p—y works / Since you didn't bring it to me first."[11] Other media outlets such as MTV, the Toronto Sun, and NewMediaRockstars[12] have also written about McKnight's recent, more adult-oriented efforts.[13][14] Shortly after the single's release, McKnight and Funny or Die revealed that the single was a collaboration between the two. McKnight later explained that he wrote the parody as a commentary on the state of R&B, which he noted was in a period of degradation overall with famous radio station 98.7 Kiss FM shuttering and hit singles being inferior quality music, among other ailments.[15]

Brian McKnight Music and Kobalt: Better (2015/2016)

On August 14, 2015, McKnight released the single "Uh Oh Feeling", the first track from his album Better. It was released on his own label, Brian McKnight Music LLC via Kobalt Label Services.[16] Better was released on February 26, 2016. The album received positive reviews.[17]

SoNo Recording: An Evening with... and Genesis (2016–present)

On September 23, 2016 (twenty years from the date of his studio album Anytime), McKnight released his first live CD, DVD and Blu-ray collection entitled An Evening with Brian McKnight (in partnership with independent recording label, SoNo Recording Group, via the Universal Music Group). The concert was recorded in Los Angeles, at the historic Saban Theatre. The release includes fourteen songs performed live with his full band, plus three newly written and recorded songs. The first single, "Everything", reached the Top 20 on the national Adult Contemporary charts in September 2016. The CD version of the concert debuted on the Billboard R&B chart at number 13, as a Hot Shot Debut. Also included, is a duet with Gino Vannelli, on the song "Brothers in the End". The Blu-ray and DVD version of the release premiered on the Billboard Music DVD chart at number 9.^{[citation needed]}

McKnight released the album Genesis on August 25, 2017.[18] It featured three Top 30 Urban AC and AC hits: "Everything", "Forever" and "I Want U". Genesis premiered on the Nielsen SoundScan Top 10 Current R&B Albums and Top 20 Current Hip Hop/R&B Albums. The album was produced by Tim Kelley, part of the legendary duo Tim & Bob.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2018, McKnight was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards. He was nominated for Outstanding Male Artist and Outstanding Album for Genesis (alongside Bruno Mars, Charlie Wilson, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z and Mary J Blige).^{[citation needed]}

In May 2018, McKnight announced he was working on his next studio album tentatively titled Bedtime Story, which would be 60 minutes of music "for the bedroom aka baby-making music".[19]

In 2021, Brian McKnight competed on The Masked Singer spin-off The Masked Dancer as "Cricket".

Personal life

McKnight was married in 1990 to singer-songwriter and his college sweetheart, Julie McKnight. They have two children, Brian Jr., and Niko. They divorced in 2003.^{[citation needed]}

McKnight has a daughter named Brianna McKnight. [20]

In 2014, he began dating Dr. Leilani Malia Mendoza, and they announced their engagement in May 2017.[21] On December 29, 2017, McKnight and Mendoza were married.[22] They share three children: Julia, Jack and Kekoa Matteo. Kekoa Matteo died in infancy. [23]

Religion

Brian McKnight was raised a Seventh-day Adventist. Religion was important in the McKnight family, with many generations being Seventh-day Adventists. His grandfather was a pastor of a church, and his mother played the piano and sang in a gospel choir in Buffalo's Emanuel Temple. Being the youngest of four boys, McKnight became a member of an a cappella gospel quartet with his brothers. He also attended Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1987 to 1989. In his second year, McKnight got into trouble for violating Oakwood's rules about dormitory visitors for having his girlfriend in his dorm room. They were both expelled.[24][25]

Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Beverly Hills 90210	Himself	Episode: "Ready or Not"
1994–1996	Martin	Himself	Episode: "Love is in Your Face" Part 2
1996	Living Single	Himself	Episode: "Wake Up to the Breakup"
1998	Sister, Sister	Dr. Keith Brooks	2 Episodes: "The Grass is Always Finer", "Greek to me"
1998	Sister, Sister	Clarence Walker	Episode: "Before There Was Hip Hop..."
2000	A Diva's Christmas Carol	Himself	TV film
2002	My Wife and Kids	Himself	Episode: "Anniversary"
2013	The Eric Andre Show	Himself	Episode: "Krysten Ritter; Dominic Monaghan"
2013	The Country Christmas Story	Danny Gibson	TV film (Lifetime)
2015	Tosh.0	Himself	Episode: "Jackie B."
2021	The Masked Dancer	Cricket
2022	Atlanta	Himself	Episode: "The Goof Who Sat By the Door"

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Black Dynamite	Sweet Meat
2017	Naked	Himself

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Nominee/work	Category	Result
American Music Awards	1999	Brian McKnight	Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist	Nominated
		Anytime	Favorite Soul/R&B Album	Nominated
BET Awards	2007	Brian McKnight	BET J Cool Like Dat Award	Nominated
Grammy Awards	1994	"Love Is" with Vanessa Williams	Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
	1999	"Anytime"	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
		"The Only One For Me"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
	2000	Back at One	Best R&B Album	Nominated
		"Back at One"	Best Short Form Music Video	Nominated
	2001	"6, 8, 12"	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
		"Stay or Let It Go"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
		"Coming Back Home" with BeBe Winans & Joe	Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
	2002	"Still"	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
		"My Kind of Girl" with Justin Timberlake	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Nominated
		"Love of My Life"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
			Best R&B Song	Nominated
		"Win" from Men of Honor	Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media	Nominated
	2003	"All the Way" with Kenny G	Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
	2004	"Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
	2005	"What We Do Here"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards	1998	"Anytime"	Best Male Video	Nominated
	2000	"Back at One"	Best R&B Video	Nominated
NAACP Image Awards	2000	"Back at One"	Outstanding Male Artist	Won
	2001	"Stay or Let It Go"	Outstanding Male Artist	Nominated
	2002	Superhero	Outstanding Male Artist	Nominated
	2018	Genesis	Outstanding Male Artist	Nominated
			Outstanding Album	Nominated
Pop Awards	2018[26]	Brian McKnight	Lifetime Achievement Award	Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards	1999	"Anytime"	Best R&B/Soul Single, Male	Won
	2000	"Back at One"	Best R&B/Soul Single, Male	Nominated
		Back at One	Best R&B/Soul Album, Male	Nominated
	2002	"Love of My Life"	Best R&B/Soul Single, Male	Nominated

References

External links

• Brian McKnight official website
• Brian McKnight entertainment website
• Brian McKnight's Biography from VH1
• Brian McKnight's Profile from VIBE
• Brian McKnight Fans Website
• Blogs.OrlandoSentinel.com
• Brian McKnight JUST ME 2011 World Tour
• Music.Yahoo.com

На других языках

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- [en] Brian McKnight

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[es] Brian McKnight

Brian McKnight (n. Búfalo, Nueva York, 5 de junio de 1969) es un cantante, compositor y productor de música R&B. Es un multinstrumentista ya que toca el piano, la guitarra eléctrica, acústica, electroacústica y la trompeta. Últimamente hizo una aparición en la película Naked exclusiva para usuarios que dispongan del servicio de Netflix.

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[ru] Макнайт, Брайан

Брайан Макнайт (англ. Brian McKnight, род. 5 июня 1969) — американский певец, автор песен, аранжировщик, продюсер и телеведущий.

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