Brandy Norwood

Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), better known mononymously as Brandy, is an American recording artist and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Carson, California, she enrolled in performing arts schools as a child and performed as a backing vocalist for teen groups. From 1993 to 1994, Norwood appeared in a supporting role on the short-lived ABC sitcom Thea and signed with Atlantic Records. The following year, she released her self-titled debut album. Norwood starred in the UPN sitcom Moesha as the title character, which lasted six seasons and resulted in numerous other roles. She resumed her music career in 1998 with the widely successful duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica, "The Boy Is Mine", and her second album, Never Say Never; it sold 16 million copies, featured two number one singles, and earned Norwood her first Grammy Award.

Throughout the 2000s, Norwood held a precarious position in the pop industry. In 2002, she starred in the reality series Brandy: Special Delivery. Her third and fourth albums, Full Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004), were released to critical success; however, they were not as commercially successful as her previous two albums in the 1990s. She served as a judge on the first season of America's Got Talent before being involved in a widely publicized car accident in 2006. After several lawsuits stemming from the accident, Norwood's fifth album Human (2008) was released to commercial failure.

Entertainment

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention. Although people's attention is held by different things, because individuals have different preferences in entertainment, most forms are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry which records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to a banquet adapted for two; to any size or type of party, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience.

The Entertainer

An Entertainer is a person who entertains (singer, actor, comedian, etc.)

The Entertainer may refer to:

Theatre, film and TV

Music

Artisan temperament

The Artisan temperament is one of four temperaments defined by David Keirsey. Correlating with the SP (sensing–perceiving) Myers-Briggs types, the Artisan temperament comprises the following role variants (listed with their corresponding Myers-Briggs types): Composer (ISFP), Crafter (ISTP), Performer (ESFP), and Promoter (ESTP).

Description

Artisans are concrete in speech and utilitarian in pursuing their goals. Their greatest strength is tactical variation. Their most developed intelligence role is that of either, the Operator (Promoters and (Crafters) or the Entertainer (Performers and Composers).

As the stimulation-seeking temperament, Artisans prefer to live one day at a time. They may spontaneously pursue activities that offer fun or pleasure. Artisans tend to be more permissive as parents than the other temperaments, wanting their children to explore and enjoy the world. Interests: In education, Artisans tend to seek work involving operations and equipment, which could range from a scalpel to a fighter jet.

Brandy

Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn, "gebrande wijn" "burned wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks, some are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of aging, and some brandies are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring.

In broader sense, the term "brandy" also denotes liquors obtained from distillation of pomace (pomace brandy) or mash or wine of any other fruit (fruit brandy). These products are also named eaux-de-vie.

Varieties of wine brandy can be found across the winemaking world. Among the most renowned are Cognac and Armagnac from Southwestern France.

History

The origins of brandy were clearly tied to the development of distillation. While the process was known in classical times, it wasn't used for significant beverage production up until the 15th century.

Initially wine was distilled as a preservation method and as a way to make it easier for merchants to transport. It is also thought that wine was originally distilled to lessen the tax which was assessed by volume. The intent was to add the water removed by distillation back to the brandy shortly before consumption. It was discovered that after having been stored in wooden casks, the resulting product had improved over the original distilled spirit. In addition to removing water, the distillation process led to the formation and decomposition of numerous aromatic compounds, fundamentally altering the composition of the distillate from its source. Non-volatile substances such as pigments, sugars, and salts remained behind in the still. As a result, the taste of the distillate was often quite unlike that of the original source.

Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)

"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" is a 1972 pop song written and composed by Elliot Lurie and recorded by Lurie's band, Looking Glass, on their debut album Looking Glass. The single reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 charts, remaining in the top position for one week. Billboard ranked it as the 12th biggest song of 1972. Horns and strings were arranged by Larry Fallon.

Song info

Synopsis

The lyrics tell of Brandy, a barmaid in a port town. She falls in love with a sailor who gives her a locket that bears his name. In the end, Brandy is left in love with "a man who's not around." Brandy may have been based on Mary Ellis (1750–1828), a spinster in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Before and after

In February 1972, Robert Mandel was the Epic Records Promotion Manager in Washington, DC. He received a test pressing of an album by a new group named "Looking Glass". He took the test pressing around to every radio station in the Washington/Baltimore region. At the time, WPGC AM was one of the leading Top 40 AM stations in the country and was the number one radio station in DC. Harv Moore was the programme director. He decided to play the test pressing at night and as Harv related at the time, "the switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree". He said that he had never received a response like that on a record in his 20 years in radio. Based on the airplay at WPGC and as all the other Top 40 stations followed, Epic rush-released the single of "Brandy". Based on requests alone, two weeks later, when the single finally hit the stores, "Brandy" was the number one record in DC without a single copy yet sold. Other stations around the country started playing it and it ended up being a number one million seller.

Brandy (album)

Brandy is the self-titled debut album by American R&B singer Brandy. It was released by Atlantic Records on September 27, 1994 in North America, December 5 in the United Kingdom and on several dates in Europe and Oceania, starting on February 3, 1995. The album contains a range of contemporary genres, and the songs are a mix of soft hip hop soul, pop and contemporary mid–1990s R&B. They were chiefly produced by Keith Crouch who would contribute all four single releases from the album. Aside from Crouch, Norwood worked with a range of other writers and producers, including R&B group Somethin' for the People, Arvel McClinton, and Damon Thomas and young Robin Thicke.

Upon release, Brandy received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented Norwood's appearance, as well as the album's timeless appeal. It became a commercial success as well. While initial sales were slow, the album reached the top 20 of the US Billboard 200 was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over two million copies in the United States. It experienced similar success in Australia and Canada, where it was platinum and gold respectively. Worldwide, the album has sold over six million copies.