Bad Boy's Faith Evans Inspires Fans On Cross-Country Tour With Dru Hill and Total.NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 12, 1999-- `Keep The Faith' album passes RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America, Washington, DC, www.riaa.com) A membership association of music recording companies. Its goal is to promote the record label industry and protect the rights of copyright owners. It was a major contributor to the SDMI digital distribution system. gold - She rules charts with her own songs and guest vocals on Whitney Houston and Eric Benet singles `Never Gonna Let You Go' is new single, video completed on West Coast Faith Evans, First Lady of Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment, has wrapped up an extensive U.S. tour with Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American singing group, most popular during the late 1990s, whose repertoire included R&B, soul, and gospel music. Founded in Baltimore, Maryland and active since 1992, Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B #1 hits "In My Bed", "Never and Bad Boy/Arista labelmates Total that found the "vocal powerhouse" (as USA Today USA Today National U.S. daily general-interest newspaper, the first of its kind. Launched in 1982 by Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett newspaper chain, it reached a circulation of one million within a year and surpassed two million in the 1990s. described her Washington, D.C. performance) winning new fans every step of the way. Just two nights into the cross-country tour of theaters and arenas, the Washington Post singled out Faith's "sassy sas·sy 1 adj. sas·si·er, sas·si·est 1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent. 2. Lively and spirited; jaunty. 3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat. assurance," saying, "Evans belted out her many hits in her angelic yet hearty soprano. Her rendition of 'Soon As I Get Home' was an awe-inspiring melismatic ride that had hands in the air and cries of 'Sing it, girl' coming from every part of the hall." The tour underscored the success of KEEP THE FAITH, her second hit album, top 5 R&B and top 10 pop, certified RIAA gold. The album boasts three smash singles: "Love Like This," which hit #2 on Billboard's Hot R&B singles chart and went top 10 on the Hot 100; "All Night Long" (featuring Puff Daddy), also top 5 R&B and top 10 pop; and the brand new "Never Gonna Let You Go," currently rising on pop and R&B charts. The video for "Never Gonna Let You Go" was shot outside San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden with director Marcus Raboy (whose credits include multiple videos with Faith, Mary J. Blige, Naughty By Nature Naughty by Nature is a Grammy Award Winning American Hip hop group that at the time of its formation in 1991 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee. The group formed in East Orange, New Jersey (colloquially referred to as "Illtown" in the 1980s). , Das EFX Das EFX is an American hip-hop group. It consists of rappers Skoob (also known as Books, born Willie Hines on January 2, 1971) and Dre (also known as Krazy Drayzy, born Andre Weston on June 1, 1972). , Ice Cube and many others). One of the most versatile and talented singers on the contemporary urban front, Faith's own songs were paced in the winter and spring by two more singles on which she was a guest vocalist: Whitney Houston's #1 R&B and top 10 pop smash "Heartbreak Hotel" (also featuring Kelly Price); and Eric Benet's "Georgy Porgy." For several weeks, combined radio listening audience figures for the four singles consistently topped the 100 million mark. Faith's presence on the R&B and pop charts contributed to the solid impressions she made in the course of her travels. Midway along the tour in the Windy City, she "tore the house down," as the Chicago Defender attested. "Her strong renditions of `Won't You Come Over' and `Love Like This' proved she has one of the best voices of new school R&B female artists." The Chicago Tribune was unequivocal in its praise of Faith Evans, ranking her alongside VH1's array of divas. "The full force of maturity and sensuality in her voice was felt as she sang a string of lush lullabies, from the uptempo, gospel-inflected 'Love Like This' to the deeply emotional 'My First Love.' Her intense, smoldering smol·der also smoul·der intr.v. smol·dered, smol·der·ing, smol·ders 1. To burn with little smoke and no flame. 2. presence is a rarity in today's young R&B artists ... at times her voice evoked images of Ma Rainey, Ella Fitzgerald and Chaka Khan." While preparing for the tour, Faith taped a premiere BET special, "Girls Nite Out," with fellow Arista arista (ä·riˑ·st artists Monica, Deborah Cox, Andrea Martin, and LaFace artist Shanice. The special was shot on location at Disney Island in Orlando, and was unprecedented in bringing together such a powerful lineup of female artists. Faith Evans is an award-winning songwriter as well, having penned hits for Mary J. Blige, Usher, Tevin Campbell and others. FAITH, her critically acclaimed Bad Boy/Arista debut album of 1995, featured a string of '95-'96 R&B hit singles: "You Used To Love Me," "Soon As I Get Home" (RIAA gold), and "Ain't Nobody." Faith also co-wrote and recorded (with Puff Daddy and the Family and Mase) "I'll Be Missing You," the historic tribute to her late husband. It sold over three million copies in the U.S. alone, spent 11 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was No.1 in 18 countries around the world. FAITH was voted Album of the Year at the "Soul Train" 1996 `Lady Of Soul' awards, and Faith Evans was voted Best New Artist. At the end of the year, "I'll Be Missing You" swept virtually every awards presentation: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video at the 12th annual "Soul Train" Music Awards; Rap Single of the Year in Billboard; Best R&B Video at the MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards were established in 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year. Originally beginning as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards is now a respected pop culture awards show in its own right. ; and the Grammy award for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group has been awarded since 1991, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. . As the Chicago Sun-Times summed up, "Her classy style and silky smooth vocals are why she's called the First Lady of the Bad Boy label." |
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