Kelis

As a child she sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending a private school. At age thirteen she left home because her parents couldn't handle her anymore. She did still go to school, were she formed the R&B trio BLU (Black Ladies United). After graduation, she formed a band with the Neptunes, and, with their support, landed herself a record deal.

Her debut album ''Kaleidoscope'' was, overall, not an American success; though, its debut single "Caught Out There" was a modest-sized urban radio success and a MTV/BET video hit in America.

However, the entire album really took off in Europe, where all three singles, "Caught Out There", "Good Stuff", and "Get Along With You", were sizable hits. The album ''Wanderland'' was released two years later, exclusively in Europe and Asia, after its lead single, "Young Fresh 'N New", failed to catch on in America; the video for "Young Fresh 'N New" barely registered on American MTV or VH1, but got pretty heavy play on MTV2.

Kelis, who had moved to Europe during her successful period there, returned to America where she met and fell in love with rapper Nas; the couple were married on January 8th 2005. She has since worked with a variety of musicians including Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, OutKast, P. Diddy, Moby, Richard X, and Enrique Iglesias.

Her most notable duets were immensely popular singles and music videos, even in America, during 1999 and the early 2000s decade: "Got Your Money" with Ol' Dirty Bastard, "What It Is" with Busta Rhymes, and "Candy" with Foxy Brown. Because of Kelis' "featured" status on those tracks, and because of her extremely versatile style, the general public likely never fully realized that several of the biggest hip-hop hits of the past five years have included vocals by Kelis, instead choosing to focus mainly on the rapper who had the lead roles in the hit songs.

Kelis finally did find mainstream success in America in 2003, with her #1 urban, #3 Hot 100 song, "Milkshake"; this helped to propel her album ''Tasty'' to the top of the charts. Ths single and album were similarly huge in Europe. The album's second single, "Trick Me", once again proved to be a smash at radio and video channels in Europe during mid-2004, though the song did not enjoy success in America, where its music video was not even released. "Not In Love", Kelis & Enrique Iglesias' duet, off of Iglesias' album, was also released as a single in 2004 and failed to catch on in America, outside of the club charts.

Prior to the summer, it was rumored that Kelis' next American single would be "In Public", a raunchy and vulgar duet with her fiancé. While "Trick Me" was climbing the charts in Europe but languishing in America, the more raw and urban-sounding "In Public" was being predicted as Kelis' best shot at repeating "Milkshake"'s level of success in America.

At present, ''Tasty's'' third single, "Millionaire" (which features Andre 3000), has been released in Europe and is climbing the charts. Its music video has just begun receiving airplay there as well, but neither the single nor the video will be released in America. It is unknown whether "In Public" will be released to American radio stations sometime in the near future.

Kelis most recently made news in America not because of a new song but because she was rushed to a hospital in Switzerland, after having had an allergic reaction to nuts that she had consumed in a restaurant there. Her allergic reaction was treated and she was safely released from the hospital.

Her most popular song out of her entire career is "Milkshake". It was one of the most popular songs on 2004.