Biography

1969-1989: Early life and career beginnings

McKnight was born in Buffalo, New York. His musical career began in childhood when he became a member of his church choir.

1990-1997: Mercury Records

In 1990, McKnight's older brother, Claude McKnight III, and his band, Take 6, signed a record deal with Warner Brothers. This encouraged McKnight to shop his own demo tapes and by the age of 19, he'd signed his first recording deal with Mercury Records subsidiary, Wing Records. In 1992, Brian McKnight was released, and his self-titled debut peaked at fifty-eight in the Billboard 200 chart, which primarily featured the ballad (and top twenty single) "One Last Cry". It was followed by two more albums for Mercury, 1995's I Remember You and 1997's Anytime. Anytime, McKnight's final album with Mercury, sold over two million copies and was nominated for a Grammy. The video for "Anytime", directed by Darren Grant, was nominated for Best Male Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. In 1997, McKnight recorded "Remember the Magic" for Disney World's 25th anniversary.

1997-2003: Motown Records

McKnight signed with Motown in 1998 and released the Christmas album Bethlehem, the first of five albums he released on Motown. In 1999, McKnight released Back at One, his most successful album to date, which eventually went on to sell over 3 million copies. Also "Back at One" is one of four of McKnight's studio albums to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, reaching to #7 on October 9, 1999.

2004-2012: Warner Brothers and television/radio career

In 2004, McKnight co-wrote with Australian Soul artist Guy Sebastian the song "Wait", off Sebastian's Beautiful Life album.

In October 2007, McKnight made his Broadway debut in the show Chicago.

From 2006 to 2010 he hosted a radio show, The Brian McKnight Morning Show with Pat Prescott on KTWV The Wave in Los Angeles, CA. The show was briefly simulcast on KHJZ-FM, Smooth Jazz 95.7 The Wave in Houston, TX from 6AM-9AM CST.

On January 26, 2009, McKnight hosted "The Brian McKnight Show" from 7PM-Midnight on 98.7 KISS FM in New York City.

In 2009, he appeared in the second season of Celebrity Apprentice. Each celebrity played to raise money for the charity of his or her choice; McKnight elected to play for Youthville USA.

From September 2009 to May 2010, McKnight served as the media personality and hosted The Brian McKnight Show, a late night talk show billed as a combination of talk and variety, aired in syndication. The show was cancelled on May 29, 2010 after one season.

On March 31, 2011 McKnight sang the National Anthem for MLB Opening Day in Cincinnati, Ohio with his sons Brian, Jr. and Niko. He had previously sung the National Anthem for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio, Game 6 of the 2002 World Series in Anaheim, California, near his Los Angeles home, and the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Detroit. McKnight has also made numerous other "National Anthem" appearances throughout his career. On October 22, 2012 McKnight sang "God Bless America" in the 7th inning of Game 7 of the National League Champion Series in San Francisco, California.

On April 23, 2012 McKnight posted to YouTube "If You're Ready To Learn", which has been characterized by Billboard as a "filthy jam." Billboard selected this lyric from the work to quote: "Let me show you how your p—y works/Since you didn't bring it to me first." Other media outlets such as MTV, the Toronto Sun, and NewMediaRockstars have also written about McKnight's recent, more adult-oriented efforts. Shortly after the single's release, McKnight and known humor website "Funny or Die" revealed that the single was a collaboration between the two parties. McKnight would later explain that he wrote the parody as a commentary on the state of R&B, which he noted was in a period of degradation overall with famous radio station 98.7 Kiss FM shuttering and hit singles being inferior quality music, among other ailments.

2015-present: Brian McKnight Music LLC / Kobalt

On August 14, 2015 McKnight released the single "Uh Oh Feeling" as the first track to be taken from his upcoming studio album Better, which will be released on his own label Brian McKnight Music LLC via Kobalt Label Services. "Better" was released on February 26, 2016, the album was followed by positive reviews including fan comments retweeted via McKnight's Twitter profile.

Personal life

McKnight was married to Julie McKnight. Brian and Julie had two children: Brian, Jr and Niko. McKnight divorced his wife, Julie, in 2003. Since his divorce, McKnight has fathered two daughters (Brianna and Braylinn) by two different women. He currently lives in Chatsworth, CA with girlfriend, Leilani Malia and her two children: Julia and Jack. He also performed "Side Pieces" with Drake at the 2014 ESPY Awards as a tribute to all the back-ups in the shadows of the professional ballers.

Religion

Brian McKnight was raised a Seventh-day Adventist. He grew up attending Emmanuel Temple. He also attended Oakwood College (now University), a Seventh-Day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1987-1989. McKnight explains, concerning his musical beginnings in the church:

"I'm the fifth generation of Seventh Day Adventists and the youngest of four brothers. When I was still very small, we formed a gospel quartet. Our models were the great gospel groups, the Swan Silvertones and Mighty Clouds of Joy. The McKnight brothers were serious singers. The reputation went out: these boys could shout. My big brothers—Claude (a part of the gospel group Take 6), Freddie and Michael—man, they were my heroes. Each was a leader in his own right. Outside church, they listened to jazz. Church music thrilled me, but jazz stimulated me."

Discography

Main article: Brian McKnight discography

Studio

• Brian McKnight (1992)
• I Remember You (1995)
• Anytime (1997)
• Back at One (1999)
• Superhero (2001)
• U Turn (2003)
• Gemini (2005)
• Ten (2006)
• Evolution of a Man (2009)
• Just Me (2011)
• More Than Words (2013)
• Better (2016)

Compilation

• From There to Here: 1989-2002 (2002)
• Gold (2007)
• 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection - The Best of Brian McKnight (2007)
• Ultimate Collection (2009)
• Icon: Love Songs (2011)
• Greatest Hits (2014)

Christmas

• Bethlehem (1998)
• I'll Be Home for Christmas (2008)

Awards and nominations

• American Music Award

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1999	Anytime	Favorite Soul/R&B Album	Nominated

• BET Awards

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
2007	Brian McKnight	BET J Cool Like Dat	Nominated

• Grammy Award

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1994	"Love Is"	Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
1999	"Anytime"	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
	"The Only One For Me"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
2000	Back at One	Best R&B Album	Nominated
	"Back at One"	Best Short Form Music Video	Nominated
2001	"6, 8, 12"	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
	"Stay or Let It Go"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
	"Coming Back Home"	Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
2002	"Still"	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
	"My Kind of Girl"	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Nominated
	"Love of My Life"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
		Best R&B Song	Nominated
	"Win" from Men of Honor	Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media	Nominated
2003	"All the Way"	Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals	Nominated
2004	"Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
2005	"What We Do Here"	Best Male R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated

• NAACP Image Award

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
2000	"Back at One"	Outstanding Male Artist	Won
2001	"Stay or Let It Go"	Outstanding Male Artist	Nominated
2002	Superhero	Outstanding Male Artist	Nominated

• MTV Video Music Award

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1998	"Anytime"	Best Male Video	Nominated
2000	"Back at One"	Best R&B Video	Nominated

• Soul Train Music Awards

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1999	"Anytime"	Best R&B/Soul Album, Male	Won
2000	"Back at One"	Best R&B/Soul Single, Male	Nominated
	Back at One	Best R&B/Soul Album, Male	Nominated
2002	"Love of My Life"	Best R&B/Soul Single, Male	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]