Milian's self-titled debut album was released in 2001, and features the singles "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me"; both peaked in the top three on the UK Singles Chart. The singer's second studio album, It's About Time (2004), provided her first major US hit "Dip It Low". Milian's third studio album, So Amazin' (2006), produced only one single, "Say I". A month after the release of So Amazin', Milian's representative confirmed that she had left Island Records due to creative differences. Milian signed with Interscope Records in 2009, through which she will release her album, Elope. A single, ballad "Us Against the World", was released in October 2008.
Although Milian is best known for her singing career, she originally wanted to be an actress. Her first lead role was in the 2003 film Love Don't Cost a Thing, and subsequently had main roles in Be Cool and the horror film Pulse. Milian had a minor role in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and starred as the lead role in the straight-to-DVD film Bring It On: Fight to the Finish. On September 4, 2009, Milian and R&B singer/songwriter The-Dream eloped in Las Vegas,[2] and she gave birth to their daughter, Violet, on February 26, 2010.[3] Milian and The-Dream announced their separation on July 12, 2010.[4] Milian has since been cast in the ABC Family Original Movie Ex-Mas Carol, alongside Ashley Benson and Chad Michael Murray.[5]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Early life
* 2 Music career
o 2.1 2000–2002: Christina Milian
o 2.2 2003–2004: It's About Time
o 2.3 2005–2006: So Amazin'
o 2.4 2007–2008: Dream in Color
o 2.5 2009–present: Elope
* 3 Other ventures
o 3.1 Acting
o 3.2 Management
* 4 Personal life
* 5 Discography
* 6 Filmography
* 7 Awards and nominations
* 8 References
* 9 External links
[edit] Early life
Milian was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Afro-Cuban parents Carmen (née Milian) and Don Flores.[6] Named Christine Flores at birth, Milian changed her name and adopted her mother's maiden name in the hopes of landing a wider range of acting roles.[7] The oldest of three sisters, Danielle and Elizabeth, she moved with her family to Waldorf, Maryland soon after her birth.[6] Milian was only four years old when she showed an interest in show business,[8] and when her family realized that she was a talented actress, she became determined to pursue an entertainment career.[6] As a child, Milian was "very imaginative and very creative", and watching television and listening to the radio became her life. They inspired her to have fun, and she convinced her parents that she "did not want to be inside the TV", although it took some time to convince them.[7] By the time she was nine-years-old, Milian had begun auditioning with local talent agencies,[7] shot commercials for Wendy's and Honeycomb, and played the lead role in the musical Annie. Milian's mother noticed her daughter's potential and moved to Los Angeles with her three daughters when Milian was 13 years old. Milian's father stayed in Maryland and divorced her mother soon after the move.[6]
Milian describes her family as her "everything", and says that although she got along with everyone as a child, she did not have many friends. Acting at a young age, Milian says that "people knew about it. It was the talk. Even the teachers were talking about it."[9] When Milian moved to Los Angeles, her only desire was to be an actress. She always wanted to be in the record business, but did not know how to obtain a recording contract. After living in Los Angeles for six months, Milian moved into the same apartment complex as songwriter and producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Jerkins heard about Milian from a boy band he was working with and once he heard her sing, they began working together. For a year and a half, Milian went into a studio everyday and worked with Jerkins, which is where she started meeting people in the record business.[10] She began writing songs at the age of 17 because she needed a demo to help her obtain a recording contract. According to Milian, every time she recorded a song, the producer would refuse to give her the demo, or would write lyrics that she did not agree with. She felt that she had to write a song, record a demo, and send it out on her own.[11]
[edit] Music career
[edit] 2000–2002: Christina Milian
Milian made her first professional musical appearance on rapper Ja Rule's second studio album Rule 3:36 (2000), performing vocals on the song "Between Me and You".[12] The song was released as the album's lead single in 2000, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100,[13] and in the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart.[14] Milian co-wrote and performed backing vocals for the track "Play" for Jennifer Lopez's album J. Lo (2001), and co-wrote "Same Ol' Same Ol'", the first single from girl group PYT's debut album PYT (Down with Me) (2001).[12] Milian's collaboration with Ja Rule led to a record deal with The Inc. Records and Def Soul Records, prompted by his affiliation with Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of The. Inc Records that was distributed through Def Jam, the parent label of Def Soul Records. She travelled to Sweden and recorded her self-titled debut album.[7] The album was released on October 9, 2001 in the UK,[15] peaking at number 23 and selling a total of 101,986 copies.[16] Internationally, the album peaked at number 36 in the Netherlands, and number 98 in Sweden.[17] The album's domestic release was postponed because of the September 11 attacks, which occurred just two weeks before its release date. Her label opted to release it later that year, in the fourth quarter, but as Milian explained, new artists generally do not release their albums during that time. As a result, the album was again delayed until the first quarter of 2002;[18] however, Milian eventually opted not to release it.[18] Two singles were taken from the album, "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me", both of which charted worldwide.[19][20] A music video for the track "Get Away" was filmed in Paris, although it was not officially released as a single.[21]
The critical response to the album was mixed to generally positive. Imran Ahmed of the New Musical Express predicted that based on the record, "genius can't be more than a few albums away".[22] Contrastingly, entertainment.ie writer Andrew Lynch suggested that Milian needed original ideas.[23] Milian believed that the public expected "a certain thing" from her when she first appeared with Ja Rule, however she wanted to record the type of music she was signed to do. She said that "AM to PM" was a "cool record," but it was not what the public expected. Milian approached the executives at her record company, Island Def Jam, and "cussed them all out", telling them that they were not listening to her. She felt that she had gained their respect by explaining that she was serious about her musical career.[7] In the following years, she was featured on the track "It's All Gravy", a duet with British rapper Romeo, which was a UK top ten hit;[13] provided the theme song for the hit Disney series Kim Possible, "Call Me, Beep Me!";[24] and collaborated with Hilary Duff on Duff's Christmas album Santa Claus Lane (2002), on the song "I Heard Santa on the Radio".[25]
[edit] 2003–2004: It's About Time
"My first single off my last album, 'AM to PM', was more of a kiddie kind of thing, very pop. This new single is more R&B, kind of a club/party kind of vibe. And I'm excited about it 'cause it's a new me. I'm 22 now and there's been some maturity, and it's nice for people to see this change."
Milian on her growth between albums.[26]
Milian felt that Island Def Jam was confused as to how they wanted her image to be portrayed; one second she was young and singing "AM to PM", and next she was a grown woman singing "Get Away". She realized that the change confused the audience, and that "nobody was buying it".[10] In 2003, Milian's label Def Soul was shut down and absorbed by its parent Def Jam, although Milian was instead moved over to Island Records. After the international release of her debut album, Milian went back into the recording studio. The singer felt that music trends had changed into rock music, hardcore hip hop and tribute songs, and her music did not fall into those categories. Milian decided to stop recording and toured overseas for a year and a half. When she returned to the US, she decided not to release her previous album domestically, and started working on a new album.[10][18] Milian traveled the world, working with the popular producers Bloodshy & Avant, "Darkchild", Cory Rooney, Warryn Campbell, Bryan-Michael Cox and Polli Paul.[27][28]
Milian's second studio album, It's About Time, was released on July 13, 2004 in the US.[29] The critical response to the album was mixed; the club tracks, most notably lead single "Dip It Low", were praised while the ballads were said to be disappointing.[30][31] The style and sound of the album was compared to that of Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Lopez by several critics.[28][32] Milian later admitted that her new sexy image for "Dip It Low" and the whole album was mainly for shock value. She had to make her way back into the US market, and by choosing a sexier image, she made a name for herself. "Dip It Low" was also meant to show that she was not the same eighteen year old girl in the "AM to PM" video.[27] To create her new image, Milian also decided to change her appearance and lightened her hair. Taking inspiration from Janet Jackson who constantly changed her image, Milian thought to herself, "'When did I like Janet Jackson the most?' It was when she had her lightened hair."[7]
Milian believed that the album was more R&B when compared to her "bubble-gum" pop debut album.[8] The change was reflected in the album's lead single, "Dip It Low", which was more of a club and R&B track than her previous pop release "AM to PM".[26] Milian performed as an opening act on the Usher and Kanye West tour to promote her album.[33] The album debuted and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 album chart and number 21 in the UK, selling a total of 382,000 and 63,708 copies respectively,[16][34] and received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Contemporary R&B Album" in 2005.[35] The album's first single, "Dip It Low", became Milian's biggest hit to date, reaching number two in the UK and number five in the US.[36][37] The single was certified Gold by the RIAA for digital sales,[38] and earned a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration".[35] The album's second and final single, "Whatever U Want", featuring Joe Budden, failed to reprise the success of the lead single but reached the top ten in the UK
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