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Derek BlanksR&B singer Brandy hit the Billboard stage for the first time to perform a three-song medley of hits at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards. Speaking backstage with reporters, Brandy reflected on her many Billboard chart-toping hits, flashing back to her first entry in 1994.
“I do remember the first time I saw my name on the Billboard charts. I think I was number ninety something with “I Wanna Be Down,” Brandy recalled. “And from there I started to climb the charts and I remember going all the way up to the top if the charts.
“I Wanna Be Down” peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 songs chart. In her career, Brandy has been nominated for a number of Billboard Music Awards winning Best New R&B Artist and Best R&B Female Artist in 1995.
But it was her iconic 1998 duet, “The Boy Is Mine” with fellow singer Monica that would land Brandy her first #1 Hot 100 entry. The duet also won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.
Brandy said she was happy to have made “history” with Monica, who was also at the peak of her career in the last nineties.
“You know when you’re on the Billboard charts, you’re doing something,” added Brandy. “So I’m just grateful to be at any number that I’ve been able to [at.]”
In August, Brandy released her eighth studio album, b7, with guest appearances from her daughter Sy’rai Smith, Chance the Rapper, and Daniel Caesar on her Grammy-nominated single “Love Again.”
By Rachel George
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