I have so many memories of doing the first album and working with some of the producers that I worked with, and being in the middle of Times Square doing the video (for “Baby”). I remember doing the photo shoot for the album like it’s yesterday. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.
Now 33 and recently engaged, Brandy opened up about those early years as a tomboy, how she can still channel heartbreak despite her happiness and why her gay audience is, as she says, “the best audience.”Ĭan you believe it’s been almost 20 years since you released your self-titled debut? Later that decade, she’d star in “Cinderella” with Whitney Houston.īrandy’s relationship with the legendary icon, and the tragedy of her death last year, is evoked in the title of Brandy’s latest album, “Two Eleven,” eerily representing the day Houston died and also Brandy’s birthday. The plucky then-teen, who was just 16 when she released her 1994 debut, dominated the charts with an iconic run of hits: “I Wanna Be Down,” “Have You Ever” and her diva-off with Monica, “The Boy is Mine,” a song so abiding that even “Glee” couldn’t resist a cover.īut with a starring role in “Moesha,” debuting in 1996, the cross-pollinating performer quickly made it clear that she wanted to conquer not just music but acting, too. The ’90s wouldn’t have been the same without Brandy.