Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1968 in Severn, Maryland) is a six-time Grammy Award winning African American R&B singer and pianist. She is most notable for her dark, deep, thick contralto vocals, which are low even by contralto standards. On April 21, 2001, Braxton married former Mint Condition keyboardist Keri Lewis. That same year, she had her first child, a son named Denim Cole Braxton-Lewis. Braxton's second son, Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis, was born in 2003.
Braxton is the oldest of six children. She attended elementary school at Quarterfield elementary, and middle school at Corkran Middle School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Her father was a clergyman, and the Braxton children were raised in a strict religious household. Braxton's first performing experience was singing with a church choir. She attended Bowie State University to obtain a teaching degree but decided to pursue a musical career. She and her four sisters (Traci, Trina, Towanda and Tamar) performing as The Braxtons, released their first single "The Good Life" in 1990. This single attracted the attention of producer Antonio "L.A." Reid which led to Braxton recording demos of songs written for Anita Baker for a new Eddie Murphy film, Boomerang. Pregnant, Baker passed and suggested the "girl in the demos". That was the break Braxton needed, and her songs "Give U My Heart" and "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" ended up on the soundtrack to Boomerang in 1992.
In 1993, Braxton released her self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton, under LaFace/ Arista with anticipation from the single "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" from the Boomerang soundtrack which was also included on the debut.
The album was a critical and popular success peaking at number-one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart where it remained for two weeks.
Along with "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", Toni Braxton also featured the 1993 U.S. top ten hit singles "Another Sad Love Song" and "Breathe Again" and the 1994 singles "You Mean The World To Me," and "How Many Ways". "Breathe Again" and "Seven Whole Days", which was never released as a commercial single, topped the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.
