Amanda Brown (singer)

Amanda Brown
Birth name Amanda Leah Brown
Born June 4, 1985 (age 32)
The Bronx, New York, United States
Genres Pop, alternative, rock, R&B, soul, gospel
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, dancer, actress
Instruments Vocals, acoustic guitar
Years active 1999–present
Associated acts Alicia Keys, Adele, Adam Levine, The Killers
Website amandabrownmusic.com

Amanda Leah Brown (born June 4, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter, dancer and actress from New York City. She was a contestant on the third season of NBC’s The Voice and finished in fifth place.[1]

Early life

Amanda Leah Brown was born on June 4, in the Bronx, New York, the oldest of three children. She began singing at her local church in the Bronx at the age of six. At the age of 12, Brown decided to audition for the prestigious New York performing arts school, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. There she was introduced to a world of music: classical, jazz, pop, and rock. With a background in gospel music, Brown began to explore other music genres and experiment with her own singing/songwriting style.[2]

At the age of 18, Brown attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. After her first year of college, she decided to return to New York to pursue a career in music and transferred to Baruch College.

Music career

While attending college in New York, Amanda began auditioning for various singing opportunities, which eventually lead her to a life-changing offer to join Alicia Keys on her worldwide As I Am Tour in 2007 as a background singer.[3] Brown went on to sing background for world-renowned artists such as Stevie Wonder, Cee-Lo Green, Adele and The Killers.

In conjunction with her diverse background work, Brown began singing at the popular live-music venue, the Village Underground, located in the lower west side of Manhattan. It was there that she began to hone her solo performance chops singing and performing with some of New York City’s finest musicians.[4]

In 2011, Amanda digitally released her first single on iTunes entitled "Dreamer", which was co-written by Texacal, and produced by Z Musik.[5]

The Voice

In 2012, Brown auditioned for the third season of The Voice.[6] She won a spot on Cee Lo Green's team,[7] and was later stolen by Adam Levine after a duet performance with Trevin Hunte of Mariah Carey’s "Vision of Love", which was considered one of the best battles in the history of The Voice. She had also become the first stolen contestant in the history of The Voice.[8]

Amanda’s biggest moment came during her performance of Aerosmith's "Dream On", which was met with astonishing praise across all media outlets including Rolling Stone magazine, which stated, "You could say the stakes were very high last night, but they lowered considerably after the final performance of the night because, uh, how to put this delicately: Amanda Brown has this thing locked down."[9]

During her appearance on The Voice, Brown appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Digital Songs with her singles of "Dream On", "Stars" and "Someone Like You".[10]

She was also the first contestant on season three to perform by herself alongside another major artist (Ne-Yo) for a performance that opened the live show on December 3, 2012.[11]

Despite her success on the show, Brown was eliminated after making it to the top six contestants. During her exit interview, Brown stated, "This has been an extremely beautiful and amazing ride, and I owe my existence on this show for as long as I was here to [the fans]. So from the bottom of my heart – thank you."[12]

Performances and results

     – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes
Stage Song Original Artist Date Order Result
Blind Audition "Valerie" The Zutons September 25, 2012 N/A One Chair Turned
Joined Team Cee Lo
Battle Rounds "Vision of Love" (vs. Trevin Hunte) Mariah Carey October 8, 2012 N/A Defeated
Stolen by Adam Levine
Knockout Rounds "Paris (Ooh La La)" (vs. Michelle Brooks-Thompson) Grace Potter And The Nocturnals October 29, 2012 16.3 Saved by Coach
Live Playoffs "Dream On" Aerosmith November 5, 2012 18.10 Saved by Public Vote
Live Top 12 "Spectrum" Florence And The Machine November 12, 2012 21.5 Saved by Public Vote
Live Top 10 "Stars" Grace Potter And The Nocturnals November 19, 2012 23.6 Saved by Public Vote
Live Top 8 "Someone Like You" Adele November 26, 2012 25.1 Saved by Public Vote
Live Top 6 "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" Aretha Franklin December 3, 2012 27.3 Eliminated
"Here I Go Again" Whitesnake 27.9

After The Voice

After appearing on The Voice, Brown recorded a cover of the James Brown funk track "The Payback" for the soundtrack to the 2013 film Identity Thief.[13][14]

She was also a contributing writer for Parade Magazine, publishing episode reviews of The Voice: Season Four.[15]

In May 2013, Amanda performed Magic to Do at the Ben Vereen Lifetime Achievement Gala at her former High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.[16]

Within a week of her Ben Vereen feature, Brown also performed both Ain't No Mountain High Enough and How Am I Supposed to Live Without You in two duets with Michael Bolton on Fox & Friends[17]

In June 2013, Amanda Brown released a song on EMW Music Group's album "Shuffle". All the proceeds from the album went to VH1 Save The Music Foundation.[18]

In December 2015, Amanda performed backing vocals for Adele in the NBC special, "Adele Live in New York City" at Radio City Music Hall.[19] Brown then went on to tour with Adele for her Adele Live 2016 world tour from 29 February 2016 to 2 July 2017.

In February 2018, Brown dropped "Believers", the first single of her first full-length project "Dirty Water", released in 11 May 2018.[20]

In April 2018, Amanda released "No Good", the second single of her debut album "Dirty Water".[21]

Philanthropic work

Brown maintains a passion for philanthropy and has been active in volunteering for children's programs such as Free Arts in New York. In 2013, Brown donated a signed copy of the Identity Thief soundtrack to the Suicide Prevention Hotline's auction in order to raise money for the organization.

Discography

  • Dirty Water (2018)

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Sales Album
US CAN
2011 "Dreamer" — — — Single release
2012 "Dream On" 113 94
  • US: 32,000
 Non-album releases by The Voice
"Stars" 97 69
  • US: 47,000
"Someone Like You" — —
  • US: 22,000
2018 "Believers" — — — Dirty Water
"No Good" — — —

References

  1. ↑ Hopper, Jessica (5 December 2012). "'The Voice' Cuts Amanda Brown, Melanie Martinez". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Davis, Maia (11 April 2013). "Noteworthy graduates: Amanda Brown from 'The Voice'". United Federation of Teachers NY Teacher Issue. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "VYV: Alicia Keys - As I Am World Tour 2008". VYV. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. ↑ On the Spot: Amanda Brown, The Girl Spot Blog, 1 September 2015, retrieved 5 August 2017
  5. ↑ Dreamer, iTunes, January 2011, retrieved 25 July 2017
  6. ↑ Sacks, Ethan (7 October 2012). "Five New Yorkers get their shot at the big time on NBC show 'The Voice'". NY Daily News. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. ↑ Vespa, Gina (25 September 2012). "Amanda Brown Brings 'Valerie' to Team Cee Lo on 'The Voice'". PopCrush.com. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Maerz, Melissa. "The Voice recap: The Art of the Steal". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  9. ↑ Hopper, Jessica (6 November 2012). "The Voice Contender Amanda Brown Drops Jaws with Aerosmiths Dream On". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "Amanda Brown Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  11. ↑ Whitney, Alyse. "The Voice Watch Ne-Yo and Amanda Brown Sing Let Me Love You on The Voice". Wetpaint.com. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  12. ↑ Brown, Amanda. "Amanda Brown After Her Elimination". NBC. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  13. ↑ McRady, Rachel. "The Voice Season 3's Amanda Brown Releases Single on Identity Thief Soundtrack". Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  14. ↑ Identity Thief Soundtrack, iTunes, 5 February 2013, retrieved 25 July 2017
  15. ↑ Brown, Amanda. "AMANDA HAS A NEW BLOG IN PARADE MAGAZINE!". Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  16. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "Stephen Schwartz, Norm Lewis, Julia Murney, Leslie Uggams and More Honor Ben Vereen at LaGuardia High May 20". Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "Fox & Friends Kicks Off Summer Concert Series With Michael Bolton". 24 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "Shuffle", iTunes, 4 June 2013, retrieved 25 July 2017
  19. ↑ Blistein, Jon (15 December 2015). "Watch Adele's Full Radio City Music Hall Show". Rolling Stone NBC. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  20. ↑ http://bigtakeover.com/news/song-premiere-believers-by-amanda-brown
  21. ↑ https://www.popmatters.com/amanda-brown-no-good-2559495781.amp.html
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