K. Michelle | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kimberly Michelle Pate[1] (1982-03-04)March 4, 1982 (age 43) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Education | Florida A&M University (BL) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | |
| Children | 1 |
Kimberly Michelle Pate (born March 4, 1982) is an Americancountry andR&B singer, and television personality.[2] She was a regular cast member on theVH1 reality television seriesLove & Hip Hop: Atlanta during its first two seasons, later returning to the show during itsfifth season.[3] She subsequently signed withAtlantic Records. Her debut studio album,Rebellious Soul, debuted at number two on the USBillboard 200, and number one on the USTop R&B Albums charts.[4][5] Her second studio albumAnybody Wanna Buy a Heart? was released in 2014, debuting at number six on the USBillboard 200 and number one on theUS Top R&B Albums chart selling 87,000 copies in its first week.[6] It spawned three singles, the Platinum selling "Love 'Em All", Gold selling "Maybe I Should Call" and Gold selling "Hard to Do".
In 2016, Michelle's third studio album,More Issues Than Vogue, was released to positive reviews. It debuted at number two on the USBillboard 200 and number one on theUS Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Singles from the album included "Not a Little Bit" and "Ain't You".[7][8] Her fourth album,Kimberly: The People I Used to Know, was released in 2017, and debuted at the top ten of theBillboard'sTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Her fifth studio album,All Monsters Are Human, was released in 2020. The album was preceded by two singles, "Supahood" and "The Rain".[9][10]
Michelle has also starred in reality seriesLove & Hip Hop: New York,K. Michelle: My Life andLove & Hip Hop: Hollywood (under the nameKimberly), as well as in her own special,The Rebellious Soul Musical, directed byGolden Globe winnerIdris Elba.[11] Throughout her career, she has received fourBET Awards nominations.[12] She won aSoul Train Music Awards and anNAACP Image Awards in 2013 and 2014. She was also honored with anASCAP Women Behind the Music award in 2015.[13]
Kimberly Michelle Pate was born on March 4, 1982, inMemphis, Tennessee.[14] As a child, Michelle learned to play piano and guitar, and took voice lessons from Bob Westbrook, who also trained pop singersJustin Timberlake andBritney Spears. She graduated fromOverton High School in Memphis in 2000.[15][16] She earned a music scholarship toFlorida A&M University (FAMU) by yodeling at her audition. She was crowned the Freshman Attendant of theHomecoming Court at the age of 18.[17] She is a member ofDelta Sigma Theta sorority, pledging Beta Alpha chapter Fall of 2001.[18] She reports that she stopped attending classes for a short time to have a son born in September 2004, then returned to finish college.[19] She graduated from FAMU with honors and was accepted into severallaw schools but did not attend, opting to pursue music full-time.[20][21][22]
Michelle's age was reported in her college yearbook as 18 in late 2000, which would put her birth year at 1982.[17] Her age was reported as 31 in 2015 byThe Source magazine, which would put her birth year at 1984.[23]AllMusic's biography of her initially gave a birth year of 1986, then in 2022 reported only "1980s", but in 2023 the year was changed to 1982.[24] Michelle gave 1986 in a 2013 interview.[25][26] The editor of "GossipWeLove.com" commented on the discrepancies in reported birth year, registering disbelief that Michelle could have entered college, and won her class's prom beauty contest, at age 14. Michelle formed a college friendship withBasketball Wives actress Royce Reed who was born in 1981.[27]
In 2009, Michelle signed a deal withJive Records and released her first R&B-charting single, "Fakin' It", featuringMissy Elliott.[4] The song peaked at number 100 on the U.S.Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. During 2010, Michelle released three follow-up singles, "Fallin'", "I Just Can't Do This" and "How Many Times", which charted at numbers 56, 53, and 53 respectively on the U.S.Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[28] At the time, Michelle was in the process of recording her debut album, originally titledPain Medicine, which was slated to have features from artists such asTrina,[29][30]Gucci Mane,Akon,Usher, andR. Kelly, who she would credit as her mentor during this period.[31] However, her album was scrapped whenJive Records folded in 2011.
In 2012, Michelle joined the cast ofVH1's docu-soapLove & Hip Hop: Atlanta.[32] Thefirst season chronicles her return to the music industry after several personal struggles, including anabusive relationship with a music executive.[33] K was dubbed the show'sbreakout star,[34] signing a multi-album record deal withAtlantic Records shortly after filming.[35] She returned to the show for asecond season, which chronicled the recording of her debut studio album,Rebellious Soul. On May 20, 2013, she released the album's lead single, titled "V.S.O.P". The track was produced by Pop & Oak, and samples "Very Special", performed byDebra Laws, as well as "That's How Long" performed byThe Chi-Lites.[36][37] "V.S.O.P." reached at number 89 on the USHot 100 Singles[38] and number 27 on the USBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.[28] Its music video, directed byBenny Boom, was released on June 29, 2013.[39][40]Rebellious Soul was released on August 13, 2013, debuting at number 2 on the U.S.Billboard 200 and number one on the U.S.Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with first-week sales of 72,000 copies in the United States.[41] As of December 2014,Rebellious Soul has sold over 260,000 copies.[42]
On November 4, 2013, K. Michelle headlined her first tour,The Rebellious Soul Tour, presented by BET Music Matters. The 19 city tour kicked off in San Francisco and ended December 3, 2013 in Boston. It included stops in Los Angeles,Houston, Chicago, andAtlanta. Opening acts featured Chris Brown protégéSevyn Streeter andTiara Thomas. On January 14, 2014, the album's second single "Can't Raise a Man" was released, which peaked at number 94 on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.[43][44]
DuringLove & Hip Hop: Atlanta's reunion special, K. Michelle announced that she was leaving the show to join the cast ofLove & Hip Hop: New York in season four.[45] During this time, Michelle joinedRobin Thicke on the North American leg of hisBlurred Lines Tour, which began on February 21, 2014, inAtlanta, Georgia. On February 14, 2014, she released a mixtape project titledStill No Fucks Given.[46] K's purpose onLove & Hop: New York was mainly served to set up her own spin-off series,K. Michelle: My Life, which premiered November 3, 2014.[47][48]
On September 16, 2014, Michelle released "Love 'Em All" on iTunes as the first single from her second albumAnybody Wanna Buy a Heart?. Kevin, editor-in-chief of Spin Media websiteDirect Lyrics, described "Love 'Em All" as a "powerful and gritty" song and a "heartbreaker anthem".[49] On November 17, 2014, Michelle released "How Do You Know?" as her third single fromAnybody Wanna Buy a Heart?, which shot to number one on theiTunes R&B chart. Michelle announced that she would go on a joint tour withKeyshia Cole beginning in January 2015.[50]Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? was released through Atlantic Records on December 9, 2014.[51][52][53] The album debuted at number four on theBillboard 200 chart, number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart and number one on the R&B chart, selling 87,000 copies in the first week of its release.[54] AlthoughAnybody Wanna Buy a Heart? charted lower thanRebellious Soul, it toppedRebellious Soul's first-week sales. In its second week, the album sold 30,000 copies, bringing its sales to around 120,000 copies. As of June 2015,Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? has sold over 230,000 copies.Rebellious Soul andAnybody Wanna Buy a Heart? have sold 500,000 copies worldwide.[55]
On January 21, 2016, K. Michelle released the single "Not a Little Bit" from her third studio albumMore Issues Than Vogue.[56][57] From February 11, 2016, Michelle released several promo singles from the album, including "Ain't You",[58] "Mindful" and "Time".[59][60] On February 12, 2016,More Issues Than Vogue was made available for pre-order before its official release on March 25, 2016.[61] After making guest appearances in seasonsthree andfour ofLove & Hip Hop: Atlanta, K. Michelle would rejoin the main cast in seasonfive, which chronicled her return to Atlanta and the release of her third album,More Issues Than Vogue.[62][63]
Michelle toured for a month from July 14, 2016, to August 14, 2016 for herHello Kimberly Tour.[64] On September 30, 2016, Michelle released "Forward", from the soundtrack to the film "The Birth of a Nation".[65][66]
On February 3, 2017, Michelle released the single "Got Me Crazy", alongside DJ Feezy, Rick Ross and Fabolous. On February 6, 2017,K. Michelle: My Life ended after three seasons. On September 8, 2017, Michelle released two singles from her fourth albumKimberly: The People I Used to Know, "Birthday" and "Either Way", featuringChris Brown.[67]
On December 7, 2017, Michelle releasedKimberly: The People I Used to Know,[68] which would be her final album withAtlantic Records.
In 2018, K. Michelle joined the cast ofLove & Hip Hop: Hollywood in season five, making her the only person in the franchise's history to appear in three incarnations ofLove & Hip Hop as a main cast member. Michelle announced that her next project will be titledFAB, anacronym for "Fuck All U Bitches".[69] On November 19, 2018, Michelle released the song "Save Me".[70] It was later announced that she had signed a new record deal withEntertainment One Music.[71]
In 2019, K. Michelle also appeared in theLove & Hip Hopclip show specialsLove & Hip Hop Awards: Most Certified (where she won theClapback Queens category) and40 Greatest Love & Hip Hop Moments: The Reboot. In November 2019, during one of her O.S.D. Tour stops, Michelle announced the title of her fifth album,All Monsters Are Human, set to be released in January 2020.[72] On January 1, 2020, Michelle released her sixth mixtapeNot 1 Fuck Given (which also marks her third body of work from her0 Fucks Given series). On the same day, she shared a lengthy message to her supporters onInstagram where she called her fifth album a "masterpiece." She wrote, "Where do I begin? Well first I just want to say thank you for loving on me. The last two years have been a real journey and growing experience for me. I literally was fighting for my life. I know I've had you guys waiting for my album so I wanted to give you something to vibe to until then. You know for years now we've had fun together remixing my favorite songs."[73] On January 10, she revealed cover art and tracklist forAll Monsters Are Human and made the album available for pre-order on digital retailersApple Music andAmazon.[74][75]
All Monsters Are Human was released to positive critical reviews on January 31, 2020,[76] along with a music video for one of the songs from the album, "Just Like Jay".[77] The album debuted and peaked at number 51 on the USBillboard 200 with first week sales of 8,200 copies.[78]
In 2022, K. Michelle announced her sixth studio album,I'm the Problem, would be her final R&B album.[79] The album was released on September 22, 2023, throughMNRK.[80] Its lead single, "Scooch", was released on February 11, 2022, and reached No. 1 on theBillboard Adult R&B Songs chart.[81]
K. Michelle, who has long expressed her desire to record acountry music album,[82] began teasing the project which expected to drop after her final R&B album,I'm the Problem.[83] She released a country song titled "Tennessee" as a bonus track on the album, debuting it under heralter ego, Puddin'.[84] She also featured on the track "Country Love Song" with Justin Champagne[85] and appeared onThe Judds tribute album,A Tribute to the Judds, which was released on October 27, 2023, on a cover of "Love Can Build a Bridge" alongsideJelly Roll andFisk Jubilee Singers.[86] K. Michelle and Jelly Roll performed the song together on the57th Annual Country Music Association Awards on November 8, 2023.[87]
It was announced on July 29, 2024, that K. Michelle had signed a recording contract withBBR Music Group andBMG Nashville, to release her debut country record.[88] K. Michelle, who had initially wanted to be a country music singer before beginning her R&B career, moved to Nashville and became "fully engulfed" in the process, making connections with creatives, playing with musicians, and recording in her in-home studio.[82] She performed in June 2024 atCMA Fest for the second time in her career, and is finalizing her first headlining tour as a country act.[88]
In August 2025, K. Michelle released "Jack Daniel's", her first country single under the label.[89]
Headlining
Supporting
| Year | Awards | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Soul Train Music Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Won |
| 2014 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding New Artist | Won | |
| BET Awards | Best Female R&B Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Nominated | |||
| Centric Award | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Female Artist | Nominated |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Rebellious Soul Musical | Piper |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13, 2016 | Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta | Herself | ||
| 2013–14 | Love & Hip Hop: New York | |||
| 2014–17 | K. Michelle: My Life | |||
| 2015 | Love & Hip Hop Live: The Wedding | |||
| Punk'd | ||||
| L.A. Hair | ||||
| 2016 | Stevie J & Joseline: Go Hollywood | |||
| 2018–19 | Leave It to Stevie | Guest | ||
| Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood | Herself | |||
| Killer Curves: Bodies to Die for | ||||
| 2019 | American Soul | Martha Reeves | ||
| 2022 | Marriage Boot Camp | Herself | ||
| My Killer Body with K. Michelle | ||||
| Single Black Female | Bebe | Television film | ||
| Tamron Hall | Herself/Guest | Episode: K. Michelle & Tess Holliday | ||
| 2024 | Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge | Bebe | Television film | |
| Queens Court | Herself | |||
| 2025 | Single Black Female 3: The Final Chapter | Bebe | Television film |
| Studio albums |
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| Singles | |
| Promotional singles | |
| Other songs | |
| Featured singles | |
| Official tours | |
| Related articles | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
