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INDIA.ARIE often
says that she put a dot in her name to make it recognizable, a trademark of
sorts. But in the year-and-a-half since the release of her Motown debut Acoustic
Soul, this artist's true signature has emerged: honest, unpretentious and
yet deeply affecting music. Its lack of glitz may have seemed counter-intuitive
in the wake of the teen pop phenomenon and the endless bling-bling materialism
of hip-hop. But, cutting through the static, denial and inertia of the world
with a simple yet profoundly powerful message -- Love yourself! – India.Arie
drew a legion of fans who were not only entertained, but truly encouraged,
warmed, and even changed, by her album. And they can't wait for her second
album, entitled Voyage To India scheduled for release this September 24, 2002.
Acoustic Soul
had made an impressive No. 10 debut on the Billboard national album chart
at its release in March, 2001, thanks to enthusiastic response to the exposure
of the "Video" music clip on BET, MTV and VH-1. But India.Arie's
staying power was yet to reveal itself. Within six weeks of release, without
the kind of concentrated radio play that typically powers pop and rap albums,
Acoustic Soul was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units. India.Arie
was then starting to establish the steady visibility and mounting sales that
sustained the album through the year.
Almost immediately,
India.Arie was sought out by veteran roots-rocker John Mellencamp for a duet
on "Peaceful World," which became one of the staple adult-rock records
of 2001, and she collaborated with a kindred eclectic spirit, jazz crossover
artist Cassandra Wilson, on "Just Another Parade." India.Arie's
"Good Man" was featured in the Mel Gibson movie “We Were Soldiers”,
following her first film soundtrack appearance, in Spike Lee's 2000 joint
“Bamboozled”.
Sade, on tour behind
her first album in nine years, personally invited India.Arie to open for her
and the initially scheduled 28 arena dates were expanded to 40. As frequently
as India.Arie shouted out to her influences and heroes from, Stevie Wonder to
Bonnie Raitt, Donny Hathaway and James Taylor, pop music's A-list were. In turn,
unanimous in their praise of India.Arie's accomplishments with love letters
coming from Chaka Khan, Dido, Nelly Furtado, Destiny's Child, Britney Spears
and Justin Timberlake. Elton John made particular note of the "warmth and
style" he admired in India.Arie's album in a March, 2002 New York Times
interview, and she was also singled out by Oprah Winfrey for the "inspirational"
and "insightful" qualities of "Video." "We needed this
song," Winfrey told her on an Oprah episode showcasing of the most promising
young female singers of the year.
India.Arie headlined
the MTV2/Vibe "Women in Hip-Hop and Soul" tour. She also made small-
screen appearances on, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with
David Letterman, the Showtime drama Soul Food, Last Call with Carson Daly,
Rosie, CBS This Morning, The Mohammed Ali Birthday Tribute, and the American
Music Awards. She performed with John Mellencamp on The Today Show, Larry
King Live, the Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center and the VH-1 Fashion Awards.
Late in the year, India.Arie starred in the Fall print and TV holiday campaign
of apparel retailer The Gap, appearing with Sheryl Crow, Liz Phair and Lisa
"Left Eye" Lopes in one TV spot, and solo in another.
By early December
2001 Acoustic Soul passed the million-unit mark in sales. It then had to be
counted among long-term grass-roots breakthroughs on the level of, David Gray,
Jill Scott, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, the bluegrass soundtrack collection
O Brother Where Art Thou, and the subsequent Norah Jones and John Mayer albums.
Year-end plaudits were rolling in, she was then named Best New Artist by Vibe
Magazine and nominated for awards from MTV2, Billboard's Video Awards, and
BET in 2001. India.Arie also drew nominations from the NAACP Image Awards
and Soul Train's Lady of Soul Awards. Entertainment Weekly magazine listed
India.Arie among the Top 100 "It" Entertainers of 2001.
Thus, one more
chapter opened when the 2002 Grammy nominations were announced on January
27th. That morning India.Arie astonished the record industry by drawing nominations
in seven categories, including the top four categories: Best New Artist, Record
of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year -- the most garnered by
any solo artist for the year. Even though she took home no awards on Grammy
night, her multiple nominations had already kicked the visibility of Acoustic
Soul into a second-wind high gear, and India.Arie responded with a series
of engaging interviews and confident performances. The new round of coverage
in print landed India on the covers of Essence, Honey and Jet, with major
stories in People, Newsweek, TV Guide, USA Today and daily papers all around
the nation.
She shared the
cover of Entertainment Weekly with fellow Grammy nominees Alicia Keys and
Nelly Furtado, and appeared on Saturday Night Live and Live with Regis and
Kelly in the wake of her performance on the Grammy show. Meanwhile pop radio,
which had largely bypassed "Video" on its initial release jumped
back on the case. The album rebounded mightily in sales to #14 nationally
and as winter nearly turned into summer "Video" was still peaking
in high rotation on major market pop stations in May 2002, 14 months after
the original album release.
In April, India.Arie
was honored at the 2002 Essence Awards for her musical message. The inscription
on her award read: “You have written an anthem to Black womanhood that
celebrates our strength, courage and wisdom. You illuminate our beauty-naturally.”
Currently India.Arie's album remains in the Billboard Top 100 -- the oldest
entry on the chart, with the exceptions of Linkin Park, Tim McGraw and O Brother.
To date Acoustic Soul has sold over 1.8 million copies.
In a way, much
of the country played catch-up in 2002 with what India.Arie's listeners already
knew last year. We have no excuse to be asleep on her second. The buzz from
fans and the industry sites who've worked with her is that, with an artist
as open-hearted as she is, we may only be starting to see how good she's really
going to become. As for the present, India.Arie has abundantly proven her
ability to move millions -- one heart at a time.
By early December 2001 Acoustic Soul passed the million-unit mark in sales.
It then had to be counted among long-term grass-roots breakthroughs on the
level of, David Gray, Jill Scott, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, the bluegrass
soundtrack collection O Brother Where Art Thou, and the subsequent Norah Jones
and John Mayer albums. Year-end plaudits were rolling in, she was then named
Best New Artist by Vibe Magazine and nominated for awards from MTV2, Billboard's
Video Awards, and BET in 2001. India.Arie also drew nominations from the NAACP
Image Awards and Soul Train's Lady of Soul Awards. Entertainment Weekly magazine
listed India.Arie among the Top 100 "It" Entertainers of 2001.
Thus, one more
chapter opened when the 2002 Grammy nominations were announced on January
27th. That morning India.Arie astonished the record industry by drawing nominations
in seven categories, including the top four categories: Best New Artist, Record
of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year -- the most garnered by
any solo artist for the year. Even though she took home no awards on Grammy
night, her multiple nominations had already kicked the visibility of Acoustic
Soul into a second-wind high gear, and India.Arie responded with a series
of engaging interviews and confident performances. The new round of coverage
in print landed India on the covers of Essence, Honey and Jet, with major
stories in People, Newsweek, TV Guide, USA Today and daily papers all around
the nation.
She shared the
cover of Entertainment Weekly with fellow Grammy nominees Alicia Keys and
Nelly Furtado, and appeared on Saturday Night Live and Live with Regis and
Kelly in the wake of her performance on the Grammy show. Meanwhile pop radio,
which had largely bypassed "Video" on its initial release jumped
back on the case. The album rebounded mightily in sales to #14 nationally
and as winter nearly turned into summer "Video" was still peaking
in high rotation on major market pop stations in May 2002, 14 months after
the original album release.
In April, India.Arie
was honored at the 2002 Essence Awards for her musical message. The inscription
on her award read: “You have written an anthem to Black womanhood that
celebrates our strength, courage and wisdom. You illuminate our beauty-naturally.”
Currently India.Arie's album remains in the Billboard Top 100 -- the oldest
entry on the chart, with the exceptions of Linkin Park, Tim McGraw and O Brother.
To date Acoustic Soul has sold over 1.8 million copies.
In a way, much
of the country played catch-up in 2002 with what India.Arie's listeners already
knew last year. We have no excuse to be asleep on her second. The buzz from
fans and the industry sites who've worked with her is that, with an artist
as open-hearted as she is, we may only be starting to see how good she's really
going to become. As for the present, India.Arie has abundantly proven her
ability to move millions -- one heart at a time.
Courtesy of Motown.com
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