Toni Braxton

She has a unique deep voice, but it's nowhere near what Mariah had. Her voice is a "love or hate" kind of a thing, which I guess is more limited in its appeal.

She was supposed to be touring with David Foster on his latest "Hitman Returns" tour through Asia but was dumped because she was too difficult. Now it's frickin' Ashanti!

Toni made two big mistakes: she stopped singing ballads and she left LaFace (Babyface).

Funny R2.

For a while, she had toned down her act because she was told that her voice was too strong, and that she needed to fit in with Ashanti, JLo and the other up and comers to sustain a career.

She gave some dreadfully lame performances that were more about posing in front of the microphone while she cooed out the songs in a whisper register.

And she tried mimicking JLo by wearing some tacky ass dress to the grammys.

*I* am the Braxton superstar now, .com!

I love Toni. Her career is just another LA Reid/Babyface casualty of the 90s. No one under their umbrella had a career after the 90s, they got completely fucked over.

I remember her VH1 special when she had her first son. She really couldn't manage her career when she was pregnant, and it never recovered.

Unfail my career!

Seemed like a cunt, nothing special about her voice or songs. A real nitwit, too.

r8 = A toothless Whitney posting from rehab

Beautiful voice, and it's a shame she fell by the wayside. Probably the best singer to come along in the last 20 years.

Mariah Carey just caterwauls, and her singing is very calculated, much like Whitney Houston's.

Her problem is she never grew as an artist. If you listen to the music she did in the 2000's, most of it sounds like the same bland R&B that she did in the 90's, and it sounds dated.

I agree with R6. With the exception of Usher, nobody with the LaFace camp had a career after the 90's.

Funny how a lot of the early-mid Nineties R&B female singers have had their careers flatline. Aside from Ms. Braxton, WEHT to Deborah Cox, Chante Moore, Gabrielle and Samantha Cole?

But then again the early 2000's soul divas like India.Arie, Blu Cantrell, Tweet, Sunshine Anderson and Goapele seem to have also vanished from the mainstream.

Blu Cantrell was a fucking porn star, that's why her career faltered. She must have traded some "favors" for a recording contract.

R11, not true. Outkast had one of their biggest successes in 2003. CeeLo and Pink have both done quite well post LA Reid & Kenny Edmonds. TLC might have continued to have hits if not for the death of Lisa.

Should have been a huge hit for her.

I think after 2000 it all became about having mainstream appeal for the labels, and a lot of these soul acts were stuck in contracts with them with nothing to do. By the time they got released people forgot about them. Erykah Badu talked about it when her last album came out.

I also think executives were afraid that these ladies were going to have a meltdown like Lauryn Hill if they made it big time. Mary J Blige put a lot of artists out of business when she made her big comeback too.

[quote] Should have been a huge hit for her.

No. I think "Hit the Freeway" is a perfect example of what R4 was talking about -- "dreadfully lame performances that were more about posing in front of the microphone while she cooed out the songs in a whisper register." It's no "Unbreak My Heart" or "You're Making Me High."

R&B as it was once known has been dead for years now. Who can we really label as R&B? Chris Brown? Ne-Yo? They're more like pop singers.

R14 Pink didn't release her first album until late '99, so she really doesn't count and most people didn't even know who the fuck CeeLo was until "The Voice". He's had very few songs that charted well in his career.

I loved Another Sad Love Song and You're Makin Me High. She had a fantastic voice, it's a shame she didn't last.

r18, yeah there is not much to choose today from when it comes to people with unique voices like Toni. I like that Miguel kid though.

Toni = The horny man's Anita Baker

It all went wrong because the dumb bitch refuses to live within her means. She's a bankruptcy scammer if I've ever seen one. She should have never been allowed to file after the first time. It was obvious she just racked up millions of dollars of debts knowing she had no intention of paying them. She belongs in jail.

That bitch Anita can't pay her bills either. All of the broke R&B artists need to do a charity record for themselves. Ill collect the money!

Watch out Dionne, Anita is batshit crazy. She'll cut you. And you did a wise thing not mentioning Aretha, who doesn't believe in paying her bills either.

r23 = A vocally bankrupt Mariah

R19, CeeLo had two really huge crossover hits before The Voice. Crazy and F**K you.

I wouldn't confuse r&b music with what tops the Billboard 100 chart these days. Acts like Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, Lil Wayne, and Pitbull are all rap artists that have transcended into pop radio airplay because they rap over pop/crossover music. As far as r&b singers, Trey Songz has been a recent exception to crossover, but other than him...what r&b acts have sustained airplay and record sales that have transcended their core listeners? Toni herself is mostly remembered for a song [Unbreak My Heart] that most definitely wasn't a straight up r&b record. It was one that helped her eventually crossover into other formats. It was somewhat of a fluke because her overall music sounds nothing like that record, which is probably why she has been mostly ignored since.

Unbreak My Hear was a CRAP song!

There, I said it.

R14, "Crazy" was not a solo single for Cee-Lo. It was with the band he was in, Gnarls Barkley. Also, "Crazy" was a hit in 2006, and "Fuck You" in 2010. One hit song four years apart from albums that barely dented the charts is not the epitome of success.

Unbreak My Heart is also my least favorite Toni song. I dont if thats because it was played to death or because Diane Warren is an overrated songwriter. Her Babyface songs are as smooth as butter.

She really knows hot to name kids.

Diane Warren is the biggest hack songwriter of all time. I don't know how she got to be so popular.

Unbreak My Heart is a Celine Dion like song.

The oddest thing about Diane Warren is that for all the love songs she writes, everyone in the industry comments on how emotionally frigid she is, and how she's never been in a relationship (I think). Anyone remember when she was on American Idol in the second season and Simon kept remarking how he couldn't believe she of all people had written all those romantic songs.

Deborah Cox had a hit with the song "Beautiful U R" here in Canada a couple of years ago. I remember wishing it had been used at some point toward the end of Ugly Betty's run because it's perfect for it.

I've got lupus, ya'll! THAT'S what happened!

I liked "He Wasn't Man Enough For Me" which may have been her last big hit. But she seemed really vague, a la Beweave, and more of a record company puppet with a bland MOR voice. No fire or passion. Like a Chaka, or a Patti Labelle. Or even Diane Ross.

"Probably the best singer to come along in the last 20 years."

DOUBLE MARY!

Anita Baker is arguably the best R&B songstress of the past 30 years and she's constantly in bankruptcy.

I LOVED Anita Baker way back in the late 80s - she was one of my favorite artists. God, was she good and then she just kind of disappeared. I don't know if she had/has personal problems, but she hasn't released any music in quite a long time.

Where are y'all getting your info about Anita? My understanding is that old whore took her concert proceeds and ran, and hasn't needed to work a day since.

Anita has had enough bitches!

Wasn't Toni rumoured to be a lesbian?

The 00s were all about horrible Swedish induced pop music. The industry has been trying to get back to R&B music for the last two years. Articles have been written on the subject. I'm sure it'll come back around eventually, but R&B singers had it really rough in the last decade. En Vogue are back together.

Toni got lucky and she should thank her lucky stars she had the success she had. Any young, halway decent singer could have sung the sungs she was handed. It's her own fault she couldn't figure out how to sustain her career.

Diane Warren had some great ballads in 80's and maybe the early 90's. However since then her output has been totally uninspired. She should have called it a day somewhere in the mid 90's.

[quote]Any young, halway decent singer could have sung the sungs she was handed.

Bitch please. If that was the case then Tamar would be the superstar Braxton. Even bitter Anita Baker who NEVER compliments anyone acknowledged Toni's talent.

Isn't Diane Warren some kind of weird recluse cat-lady type? She must be worth a goddamn fortune.

Her and Eddie Murphy are now reportedly dating. I'm sure the twice-bankrupt woman isn't dating him because of his money, but because it's true love...

Toni had a huge career and blew it due to her own ego and greed. She was always a creation of Babyface and LA Reid and then bit the hand that fed her.

After the success of her first two albums, she demanded her recording contract be renegotiated. Arista paid off LaFace Records and signed her to the label directly for an advance of $30 million. Then her third album came out and did only moderate business. Her final album on Arista did no business and she was dropped from the label by LA Reid, who replaced Clive Davis in 2002.

She has no money because she spent it.

I'm addicted to her and her family's reality show. Her latest bankruptcy was due to major health issues, but she still lives in a (rented) gigantic house and appears to live very comfortably.

She wasn't man enough for me.

I always liked "Spanish Guitar," though it sounds a lot like "Unbreak My Heart" - probably intentionally.

She got some great remixes in the day. The Soul Solution remix of "Unbreak My Heart" still sounds awesome over 15 years later.

Toni seems jealous of Tamar.

"Hit The Freeway" is one of her best that was slept on. Pharell did some magic on that one!

I'm so upset. She looked like she was living comfortably in her autism PSA.

Agree with R20. TB's voice appeals to me more than say, Celine Dion's. CD is hyped as the voice of the past century of something, and people I've spoken to tend to concede this even if they don't like her music.

I've seen / listened to Dion live, but Braxton interests me more. I wonder what she could do if she didn't give a toss what people thought and put out something from the heart, untethered by a record label or agent's interest.

Toni faded out of popularity years ago because her recent music sounds incredibly dated, like she's still living in the 90's. Like someone said, her last good song was "Hit the Freeway" and that was a decade ago. The bland 90's R&B she did is awful.

Toni's debut album was originally written for and recorded by Anita Baker.

Baker and Babyface/Reid could not agree on financial terms.

LaFace went out and signed an Anita sound-alike so they could release the album as-is with only the vocal tracks switched.

IMO, "The Heat" murdered Braxton's career. Over the course of 2 albums LaFace had set her up with a huge, dedicated adult audience, mostly white. She and Whitney shared a fanbase.

They dont like hip-hop.

R59,

Assuming that's true (idk), that would sound like sabotage, conscious or no. I mean wouldn't Babyface know this? Seems basic.

Also if true, it reminds me of how a friend was fired from a company she'd worked with for a long time. A lot of preparation went into setting the groundwork for getting rid of her, looking back after the fact.

She seemed to have stablized when she had her Vegas show, but then she got divorced and got sick and she had to stop.

I've worked with her. At the end of the project she gave me a gift from Tiffany ... the store not the singer.

Seriously. She gave me candlesticks from Tiffany's.

[quote]IMO, "The Heat" murdered Braxton's career. Over the course of 2 albums LaFace had set her up with a huge, dedicated adult audience, mostly white. She and Whitney shared a fanbase.

Uh, that was a hit album, not to mention the lead single.

She was not set up for an adult audience. Maybe with her debut album she was, but after that, no way. Did you not hear her album "Secrets", or her #1 single "You're Makin' Me High"?

[quote]Toni's debut album was originally written for and recorded by Anita Baker.

link.

Seems you're WAAAAAY off the mark.

Braxton and her four sisters (Traci, Towanda, Trina, and Tamar) began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s and were signed to Arista Records in 1989. Their first single, "Good Life", was released in 1990. Though the song was not successful, it attracted the attention of Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

With Braxton's low register sounding similar to that of Anita Baker, Reid and Babyface recruited her to record a demo of "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", a song that they had written for Anita Baker for the soundtrack of Eddie Murphy's film, Boomerang. Baker, who was pregnant at the time,[11] did not record the song but suggested that Braxton record it. Her recording was later included on the soundtrack along with "Give U My Heart", a duet by Braxton and Babyface. Braxton, meanwhile, was signed to Reid and Edmonds' Arista-distributed imprint, LaFace Records, and immediately began recording her solo debut album.

The death of her career is as much about the death of "adult contemporary" as it is about the death of R&B. Two musical trends that were HUGE in the 90's and have since been replaced on the airwaves by terrible "Hip Hop" and brainless autotune pop-crap.

The closet kills.

^ Does DL believe that all black female songstresses are closet lesbians, or just more misguided wishful thinking on the part of some?

Never got a lesbian or even bi vibe from her (unlike Whitney).

Hit The Freeway was great, I actually liked the recent Make My Heart as well

I always remember what a fool she made of herself when she tried to out J-Ho by showing up at an awards she nearly naked.

She had a white band around her ass. I remember Tequila Mockingbird saying at the time that it had "sanitized for your protection" on it.

Jesus, if fucking Pink can still have a career, Toni Braxton certainly should. Shame.

I don't get a gay or bi vibe from Toni either. I don't know any of music after The Heat.

I heard someone said Toni had admitted to lesbionic sex on a BET interview show back in the 90s. I forgot the name

She's dating Eddie Murphy.

I like her voice, but she is a con artist who should be a in jail for swindling all her creditors.

Of course, they should be on the street for giving her anything C.O.D.

It went wrong for Toni Braxton when she started buying Versace utensils.

This is when Versace wasn't as cheap. This was the mid 90s.

I agree, R68. Make My Heart is a great dance track.

Ever see Toni perform live in concert? I have. In concert, Toni's sort of a dud. She can't really sing close to the way they've made her sound on records.

Plus, she's gotten kind of chunky. She's not sexy, sultry Toni any longer. She's not huge, but she's not svelte, so you're immediately hit with this off-putting image when she walks on stage. And she wears these rather sexy outfits which show way to much skin, leg, crotch shots, etc. That may be fine when you're a sexy young thing. But it's not so fine when you've put on the pounds.

And then you hear this odd voice. And you're sitting there thinking to yourself, "That's Toni Braxton?"

loved her songs amazing voice coulda done alot with tht voice had she took the time to grow in the music industry.... its sad her career flapped just like tht... miss toni in the r&b world

[quote]Ever see Toni perform live in concert? I have. In concert, Toni's sort of a dud. She can't really sing close to the way they've made her sound on records.

She sang well on last night's episode in the studio with her ex husband. While I dont think she is chunky, I do think she tries to hard to be sexy in concert instead of actually showing people she has a great voice. Same with her sister Tamar.

She looks really good for a bankrupt 44 year with lupus, heart disease and a special needs child. But she needs to take that for what it's worth and stop being such a diva.

She is definitely a diva.

When she released her first album she was marketed as this talented singer with a smoky Anita Baker vibe who had grown up secretly listening to secular music in a very religious household. Two years later, when she came out with her second album, she had transformed herself into a sultry sex kitten singing songs about masturbation and taking her clothes off more often than even Mariah Carey. I think she also got herself a boob job around the same time and wanted everyone to see the results.

[quote]She sang well on last night's episode in the studio with her ex husband.

Why did her and her ex-husband get divorced if they're just going to keep hanging out and working together?

[quote]Why did her and her ex-husband get divorced if they're just going to keep hanging out and working together?

Because he probably has a huge dick.

R83 Then why doesn't she just go back to him?

Didn't her tits explode?

He probably shares/shared it with other women. And he probably doesnt like Toni's grand diva-ness.

Toni tried dating him but said they're better as friends.

Is Toni into anal?

Toni's very much into the difficult brown.

I like Toni's new song with Babyface. It's a gentle song but pleasant. They have made another album together that is out next month.

They did well last night on The Tonight Show. Here is "Hurt You"

Now that he's fat, the "Babyface" nickname suits him better. "Puppyfat" would be more apt, though.

She's got a deeper voice than I remembered. She must be getting some big cock.

Toni has one of the most distinctive and beautiful tones. All this nonsense in the modern music industry of finding "singers with rare tones" (aka Shitney, Perry, Rihanna etc), well Toni is someone with a different tone who can actually fucking sing.

"Hurt You" is lovely. Babyface sounds the same too.

Is her voice gone? She now does PSAs for Autism Speaks, and she speaks in barely more than a whisper. Could be an affectation.

Does anyone remember Toni Perms from the 60s? My grandmother used to give herself one while on the porch in the Bronx. She died of brain cancer caused by the ingredients.

Here is the official video for "Hurt You"

the upcoming album's cover-I like it!

I still listen to her all the time. I love her voice more than Mariah or Whitney. I hope she makes a successful comeback.

She ruined her voice when she got that awful nose job, which she didn't need.

I love that new song!

a hack! but it was a HUGE career boost to Donny & Marie who swooped in when Toni was unable to fulfill her contract. They ended up getting a multi-million 5+ year deal out of it!

R101 you clearly don't know music if you think Toni is a "hack". Her tone is beautiful.

Next single "Where Did We Go Wrong?"

I love it. Both Toni and Babyface sing so tenderly and you can feel the pain in their voices. Very beautiful. Of course it's not for kids. This is for the adults.

I always assumed Babyface was good looking. Google imaging him proves otherwise. He looks like that Disney hound - jowly.

R104 lol nope. He's just a musical genius in terms of writing and producing. He's not the greatest singer either but he's very good at making hits.

His partnership with Toni is historic in music. They really made some classics.

I like their new stuff too even though it's all adult contemporary.

Was he responsible for He Wasn't Man Enough For Me? I always thought that was a funny lyric for contralto Toni. Not many men outside of Barry White would be man enough for her.

r106: That was Darkchild.

Toni didn't make any career mistakes. Her bread and butter, the ballad, died as a radio staple around 2000. Her voice dosent work well with uptempo tracks; It's to thick and mannered. It grabs your attention and takes it away from the pulsing beats. When people just wanna dance, the big voiced diva set get shoved aside.

R107 she can do dance tracks. "I Heart You" went to #1 on the club/dance play charts, a song she co-wrote.

Her problem is her age. She's making appropriate music for her age but that doesn't appeal to kids.

Young people don't care if an older woman tries to get sexy and drop it like it's hot. Toni has had some other uptempo songs that sounded great but got no radio play because she was well past 30.

[quote] When people just wanna dance, the big voiced diva set get shoved aside.

What's your frame of reference? Big voiced, usually black, divas have been a dance music staple since forever.

If the voice works as part or the song, it's all good. If the voice dominates the song, it's ovah.

Toni dominates the song. Particularly on uptempo tracks. The oughties were all about hip-hop party tracks, which is why she literally went from a #1 hit to radio silence. He wasn't man enough was a hit because she was still famous enough to overcome how out of place she seemed singing it.

I disagree. It was a hit because it was a catchy "attitude" song. Her career went down the tubes because she was no longer favoured for the sought after material once the first bankruptcy was . She could have had a hit with the likes of Kelly Clarkson's (execerable) "Because Of You" or that "To the Left" Beyonce song.

I found a video for a Braxton song earlier this year that was never advertised or released as a single. It was probably done circa mid 2000's. Anyone know which song this is? It has a video for it but it seems like the producers canned it and gave up on her even though it was a great song.

r111, if that were true TLC's Fanmail album wouldn't have happened. They filed for bankruptcy and tossed in lawsuits against Laface Records and Arista. The same label and distributer Toni was on.

You're right about choice material not going her way, though. Exactly who here thinks My Humps or Goodies or any or the other hip hop party tracks that dominated last decade would've been big hits if Toni performed them?

Of course the big producers of the era wouldnt toss her a bone. Wrong voice, wrong image.

R112 Are you talking about "Maybe"?

R112 you're thinking of Hit The Freeway. Good song. Some good mixes of it too. Link is of non-mix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8dewR9RygY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I was thinking of the song/video "Please", which isn't available on itunes either, but I think is one of her best songs.

Toni can sing most genres. Her popularity fell after LaFace aka fucking LA Reid screwed her. She did have a horrible diva attitude during work though so it was hard to feel bad for her.

I'd love for Toni to have another mainstream hit but radio seems to only care about songs appealing to the under 35 crowd these days.

So many people can relate to Toni's and Babyface's new album "Love & Divorce" that they could have hit singles if the damn radio would play them.

They should focus on getting the songs played on TV shows like GREY's ANATOMY or whatever the hot equivalents of that show are.

so Toni said recently she wants to play a lesbian in a movie lol. That would be interesting.

I never really did like Toni's voice. It's so thick and deep and doesn't have much range.

When she first hit her sound was just unique enough to really pull her out front. To me she was a sexed up younger version of Anita Bakker. She had a lot of backing to get her career going.

Right after she filed for bankruptcy the first time she appeared on Oprah and she pretty much revealed why she has money issues. She simply has no monitor on budgeting. Even Oprah was shocked at some of the stupid things she did with her money. Ridiculous items were purchased and foolishly she was allowing so called financial advisers signature power in regard to checks. She had no idea at any time what she actually had in the bank. She also believed that each concert naturally was a gain for her so there were no problems. She never took into account each contract that included her cost in putting together a band, back up singers, dancers, etc.. Sorta sad and a bit pathetic when you think about it.

She should have stayed with the studly Curtis Martin. She wouldn't have gone broke, that's for sure.

Are any of you serious? Toni Braxton is one of the most talented, gifted singers of her day. Who hasn't stumbled? Sometimes in life you have to leave the mentor to find your own voice and your own way; I believe that's what happened to her. Now that she's back with Babyface, it's amazing how much she has grown and how much you love and miss the two of them singing together. If you didn't grow up in the era of Toni Braxton and Babyface, you missed so much. That's when music was music. I don't know what this music is that they put out now. Congrats Toni on a great comeback with Love, Marriage and Divorce. I have learned if a relationship is meant to be, it does come back together. At least that's what the union with you and Babyface reminds me.

Anyone get the album? It came out this past tuesday. It has bounced between #3 and #4 on the itunes charts. I think it's a nice album with adult-themed songs so obviously most younger people won't appreciate it.

Toni has one of the most beautiful tones ever. Even if she's not singing a big note, her voice is just so naturally pretty. It's hard for her to go off-key. Babyface on the other hand...he has been SO pitchy during all their performances of "Hurt You" these last couple months. He needs to stick to writing and producing. He never was the greatest singer.

I would love to see her come back strong as well as find someone she respects and trusts to help her manage her finances. She's a doll.

R124 are you under the impression that Toni is reading Dataloung? Who exactly are you talking to?

I like a lot of the songs on the album. Also, LMAO there's a song that has a line wishing your ex gets gonorrhea! How can anyone not love this collaboration? I think it's fabulous. I think many of us have wished something slightly negative but not too bad on an ex or 2

"Where Did We Go Wrong" is a beautiful yet sad single. Toni's tone is so pure and soft!

LOL @ R95.

R77 was good, too.

She was soooooooooo Haawwwwtt in that white latex catsuit in her music video from the 90's.

R77 and R131 I have seen Toni in concert and she was amazing. Her voice was on point, so was her body and she was charismatic/professional. Maybe R77 caught her on a day she wasn't feeling well.

If you've seen her recent performances with Babyface, her voice and body are still good live.

Bitch is in more financial trouble. Secrets was the first CD I bought. I still love it to this day.

Miss Dionne has some nerve! Toni is an amazing talent

UNNNNBREAK MYYYY HEARRRRTT 😩

I've never felt that Toni Braxton was some sort of great vocal talent. I think she's a beautiful woman and (at best) an effective Song Stylist who (early on) benefited from some FANTASTIC songwriters and producers. Primarily Babyface.

Unfortunately, like most recording artists who were signed to LaFace Records back in the 90s, she was given a HORRIBLE contract. That, mixed with the fact that Toni herself seems to be lousy with money and for whatever reason never had a solid financial adviser, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Does she still run around with that bad weave?