Amerie | |
|---|---|
 Amerie in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Amerie Mi Marie Rogers (1980-01-12)January 12, 1980 (age 46) Fitchburg, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Origin | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | amerie |
Amerie Mi Marie Rogers Nicholson (born January 12, 1980[1][2]) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and writer. She has released four studio albums to date:All I Have (2002),Touch (2005),Because I Love It (2007),In Love & War (2009). She is best known for her 2005 single "1 Thing".
Rogers was born inFitchburg, Massachusetts,[3] to aKorean mother named Mi Suk and a Black American father, Charles Rogers. A few months after she was born, the Rogers family moved toSouth Korea, where Amerie lived for three years. Her father was achief warrant officer in the U.S. military,[1] so the family lived in many different places, including Alaska, Texas, Virginia and Germany. She has a younger sister, Angela Rogers,[4] who is now her lawyer.
Amerie has described her parents as conservative, protective, traditional Christians. Growing up, she and her sister were forbidden to leave the house or use the phone on school days. The singer enrolled atGeorgetown University to study literature, and was inNavy ROTC: "My dad didn't force me into it or anything. I joined so I could afford an education." She quit ROTC after her sophomore year and graduated with a B.A. in English and a Fine Arts minor in design.
While studying at Georgetown, Amerie befriended aWashington, D.C., club promoter who eventually put her in touch with producerRich Harrison. During an interview with Maxim Magazine, Amerie said she agreed to meet up with Rich at a public location because she did not know Rich. The chosen location was a McDonald's parking lot, where Rich played his tracks and Amerie sang along.
Harrison, who had just worked onMary J. Blige's albumsMary andNo More Drama, began recording and developing demos with Amerie. This led to her first record deal with Columbia Records. According to Amerie, she and Harrison immediately hit it off. In a 2002 Interview with Hip Online, she said: "For some reason we had a very special chemistry. When we would work together something great would happen."[5]
Amerie recorded the chorus for the 2001 single "Rule", performed byNas.[6] The single peaked at number 67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in the United States. She recorded a song with Detroit rapperRoyce da 5'9", titled "Life", the third and final single from his albumRock City (Version 2.0). In 2002, her debut single, "Why Don't We Fall in Love", was released and peaked at number 23 on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts. The song was an urban top-20 hit in Australia and reached the top 40 in the UK.[7][8]
Amerie's debut album,All I Have (produced and co-written in its entirety by Rich Harrison), was released in 2002 to generally positive reviews. It peaked at number nine on the U.S.Billboard 200 selling 89,000 copies in its first week of release;[9] the album has since been certified gold by theRIAA and had sold 657,000 copies by 2009, according toNielsen SoundScan.[10][11] To promote the album, Amerie went on tour withUsher andNas—on the former's Evolution 8701 Tour—and with rapperNelly.[12][13] The second and final single fromAll I Have was "Talkin' to Me", a top-20 entry on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, although it peaked outside the top 40 on theBillboard Hot 100.
In 2003, Amerie won theSoul Train Music Award for Best New Artist and was also nominated for Best R&B/Soul Album (All I Have) and Best R&B Soul Single – Female ("Why Don't We Fall in Love"). She received aBET Award nomination for Best Female R&B Artist and anImage Award nomination for Outstanding New Artist. Amerie lent her vocals to theLL Cool J song "Paradise", which reached number 14 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and became the singer's second top-40 Hot 100 entry. She was featured onDJ Kayslay's "Too Much for Me", on his 2003 albumThe Streetsweeper Vol. 1, which peaked at number 53 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Amerie appeared onBow Wow's third album,Unleashed, singing the hook on the song "To My Mama". She was also featured on theRodney Jerkins-produced track "When I Think of You" from the soundtrack to theJessica Alba dance filmHoney.
Amerie gained additional recognition from her first acting role, in the 2004 filmFirst Daughter (directed byForest Whitaker), in which she starred alongsideKatie Holmes. Also in 2004, she began working on her second album,Touch. As withAll I Have, the album was co-written and produced by friend Rich Harrison, who contributed seven new tracks to the record; additional production came fromLil Jon,Bryce Wilson,Red Spyda, andDre & Vidal. Unlike her first album, Amerie co-wrote every track but one, "Come with Me", which Harrison wrote. She assumed more creative control over the visual imagery accompanying the album, such as videos and artwork—"I feel like when you do a record, you have a vision in your mind and you want to carry it across and it doesn't end with the studio", she has said.[14]
In 2005, Amerie released the album's lead single, "1 Thing". The dance-pop song, which sampledThe Meters's 1960s funk recording "Oh, Calcutta!", became Amerie's biggest hit to date. In the United States, it reached number eight on theBillboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[15][16] The RIAA certified the single gold.[11] The song was a top-five hit in the UK, where it became one of the year's best-selling singles, and attained top-ten and top-twenty positions across Continental Europe.[15]
Touch was released in 2005 and peaked at number five on theBillboard 200, selling 124,000 copies in its first week.[9] The album was certified gold by the RIAA, having sold 406,000 copies in the United States as of 2009.[11][17] The album's title track, "Touch", was released as the second single and peaked at number 95 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the United States, although it was a top-20 entry in the UK. A third single, "Talkin' About", was released in America only; an official music video was planned but eventually scrapped. Later in 2005, Amerie was featured alongsideFat Joe on "I Don't Care", the lead single fromRicky Martin's albumLife. The single entered the top 20 in several European countries and Australia.
The success of "1 Thing" andTouch led to two Grammy Award nominations for Amerie in 2006: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for "1 Thing"), andBest Contemporary R&B Album (forTouch). "1 Thing" earned nominations at theMTV Video Music Awards—forBest Female Video andBest Choreography—andSoul Train Lady of Soul Awards— for Best R&B/Soul Single, Solo; R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year; Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video; and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut. At the 2005VIBE Awards, Amerie won Club Banger of the Year for her hit. "1 Thing" was adapted into a variety ofremixes by rappers such asEve,Fabolous, andJay-Z. In 2009, "1 Thing" was sixth onThe Root's list of Top 10 Hip-Hop/R&B Songs of the 2000s.[18]
In 2006, Amerie returned to the studio to work on her third album,Because I Love It, with producers such asThe Buchanans, One Up, and Mike Caren. The album was her first not to feature writing and production from producer Rich Harrison. She cited music of the 1980s as a major influence on the album, saying "I love 80s music period! That's why I didBecause I Love It, since it had mostly R&B, soul, and 80s new wave. When I said I wanted to do that in 2006, people were like, 'what?!' [...] but I love it."[19]
Because I Love It's first single, "Take Control", (co-produced by Mike Caren and co-written byCee-Lo Green), became a top-10 hit in the UK in 2007.Because I Love It was released in 2007 in Europe, Asia, and Australasia and reached the top 20 in the UK, where the album's second single, "Gotta Work", peaked at number 21. The album has been certified silver by theBPI.[20] During 2007, the impending U.S. release ofBecause I Love It madeBlender magazine's list of "25 Reasons to Love '07".[21] The official release date was delayed several times and the singles "Take Control" and "Gotta Work" were given little promotion (with the former peaking at number 66 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart).[22] Amerie spoke of her difficulties with Columbia Records in a late 2007 interview, stating that the label was not promotingBecause I Love It adequately.[23]
In 2008, Amerie announced she had signed a label/production deal through theIsland Def Jam Music Group, which allowed her to release her music under her own label, Feenix Rising.[24][25][26][27][28] Later that year, Columbia Records released the compilation albumPlaylist: The Very Best of Amerie;[29] in 2009, the label released a second compilation album,Best 15 Things, in Japan only.
Amerie described her fourth album,In Love & War, as "a fusion of hip-hop, soul, and rock" with elements of music of the 1970s, and "a direct extension of my first album [All I Have]".[30] The album's lead single, "Why R U", reached number 55 on theBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the U.S.[31] "Heard 'Em All", which featured rapper Lil Wayne, peaked at number 81 on the same chart;[32] it did, however, enter the top 10 on theKorean pop charts.[33] With little radio support—the third single, "Pretty Brown" (featuringTrey Songz), was released only two weeks before the album—and hindered by distribution problems,In Love & War peaked at number 46 on theBillboard 200 and at number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[34]
In 2010, Amerie announced that she had changed the spelling of her stage name to Ameriie, explaining: "I operate on vibes and intuition, and I believe everything is energy; the vibration of the double I is right for me. Slightly different spelling, completely same pronunciation!"[35] Later that year, she premiered a new song titled "Outside Your Body".[36]
In 2011, it was reported that Amerie was in the studio working on her fifth studio album, titledCymatika Vol. 1.[37][38] The album's title is based on the wordcymatics, the study of visible sound and vibration. The production lineup consisted of Riley Urick, The Buchanans, and Andre Harris (ofDre & Vidal), among others; Amerie said that she may reunite with Rich Harrison for the project but that it would be "a matter of when and in what way."Cymatika Vol. 1 was also to include special guest appearances from Drunken Tiger'sTiger JK andTasha Reid.[39] According to Amerie,Cymatika would explore freedom, androgyny, and the New world order, and was influenced by trance music, electronica, house music, and New wave music.[40] Second and third volumes ofCymatika were planned.[41][42]
In 2012, Amerie announced a forthcoming "mini-LP" titledThe Prelude.[43] In 2013, she stated that she had been working on a new project,Because I Love It Vol. II, a follow-up to her 2007 album.[44] She said this album,BILI, stemmed from songs that did not fit sonically or thematically ontoCymatika—"songs that are heavy in percussion, but have a very aggressive, soulful element to them. They don't exist in any one time, or sound of the moment".BILI andCymatika were both slated for release in 2015.[45][46] A single, "What I Want" (which samples "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band), was released fromBILI in 2014.[42][47] Later in 2014, she premiered the track "Mustang" and announced a UK tour for 2015.[48][49] In 2015, Amerie collaborated with producer Rich Harrison on a new single, "Out Loud".
In 2016, Amerie appeared on the radio showThe Breakfast Club, 105.1 and announced an EP titledDrive, a second untitled EP due later in the year, and that she was still at work on her albumCymatika (which was to be part of a trilogy).[50]Drive was initially released on the streaming serviceSoundCloud. In 2017, Amerie released the single "REDRUM", which was set to be featured on an upcoming album titledMA3.[51]
In 2018, Amerie simultaneously released two albums,4AM Mulholland andAfter 4AM;[52] this was her first full-length album since 2009 and her second independent release (followingDrive).[53] In 2019, she performed alongsideNelly andCraig David at R'n'B Vine Days, a one-day music festival in Australia.[54]
In August 2022, it was announced that Amerie had written a children's picture book,You Will Do Great Things, it was published by Macmillan in March 2023.[55][56][57]
In November 2024, Amerie announced a forthcoming studio album would be released in 2025.[58] On March 28, 2025, she released the single "Mine".[59][60][61]
Since the start of her career, Amerie has been heavily involved within the creative process of her music, receiving not only writing credits but production and instrumentation credits as well.[62] Amerie is asoprano.[63][64][65]
In an interview with Myplay.com, she described her early process of recording music: "I used to record songs that I wrote by using two different tape recorders and two separate tapes. I would start by recording myself on the first tape, singing the song down from top to finish. Then, I would play it back, while singing the harmonies and recording them on the second tape. I'd just keep repeating the process, going back and forth between tapes until I had a final version of the full song on one tape, with stacked harmonies, backgrounds and everything!".[66]
Amerie listed diverse musical influences in a 2014 interview, including the musicalGrease, Motown era soul music, late 1960s rock and roll, Heavy metal music, 1980s pop music and new wave music, music of Germany,Korean traditional music, R&B, and hip hop music. She cited film score as an inspiration, describing them as "that very surround-sound, immersive experience".[67] She also cited late singer and actressAaliyah as inspiration on her vocals and dancing.[68][69] She also revealed thatCarl Thomas's 2000 albumEmotional influenced her debut albumAll I Have.[70]
While she almost exclusively releases English-language songs, Amerie has recorded with Korean artists such as4minute on "Heard 'em All", a performance of which aired onKBS andMnet.
In 2003, Amerie was the presenter of theBET teen/youth lifestyle seriesThe Center, which she also helped to develop. In 2004, Amerie earned her first acting role, portraying the role of Mia Thompson, a college student who rooms with the president's daughter, in the filmFirst Daughter, alongsideKatie Holmes.
In 2014, Amerie launched a YouTube video blog titled "Books Beauty Amerie" and said that she was writing two novels, oneyoung adult and onefantasy.[71]
In 2017, Amerie published an anthology book viaBloomsbury Publishing titledBecause You Love to Hate Me and a sci-fi trilogy novel series.[72]
In 2019, Amerie started her own Book Club, "Amerie's Book Club"[73] where she highlights diverse and unique perspectives and voices.
In 2019, Amerie performed on tour with other artists such asAshanti,Keri Hilson, andMonica for the Femme It Forward movement.[74]
In 2007, Amerie began dating her manager,Sony Music executive Lenny Nicholson. It was officially announced that Amerie and Nicholson were engaged on February 27, 2010, and the couple married on June 25, 2011, in an oceanfront ceremony inAnguilla. She now goes by Amerie Nicholson or Amerie Rogers Nicholson.[75] On May 15, 2018, she gave birth to the couple's first child, a son.[76][77] On June 16, 2025, she announced her divorce from Lenny Nicholson.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Center | Herself / Hostess | |
| 2004 | First Daughter | Mia Thompson |
| Year | Awards | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | NAACP Image Awards | Herself | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist | Nominated |
| BET Awards | Best Female R&B Artist | Nominated | ||
| Billboard Music Awards | Best New R&B/Hip Hop Artist | Nominated | ||
| Best Female R&B Hip Hop Artist | Nominated | |||
| Soul Train Music Awards | Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist | Won | ||
| All I Have | Best R&B/Soul Album – Female | Nominated | ||
| "Why Don't We Fall in Love" | Best R&B Soul Single – Female | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | Black Reel Awards | "Paradise" (LL Cool J feat. Amerie) | Black Reel Award for Best Original or Adapted Song | Nominated |
| 2005 | MTV Video Music Awards | "1 Thing" | Best Female Video | Nominated |
| Best Choreography | Nominated | |||
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Soundtrack Single | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Herself | Choice Female Breakout Artist | Nominated | |
| "1 Thing" | Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Track | Nominated | ||
| BET Awards | Video of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Herself | Best Female R&B Artist | Nominated | ||
| Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards | Aretha Franklin Award for Entertainer of the Year | Won | ||
| Music Television Awards | Best New Act | Nominated | ||
| MOBO Awards | "1 Thing" | Best Single | Nominated | |
| Vibe Awards | Club Banger of the Year | Won | ||
| 2006 | Grammy Awards | Touch | Best Contemporary R&B Album | Nominated |
| "1 Thing" | Best R&B Female Vocal Performance | Nominated | ||
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite Song From a Movie | Nominated | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best Video from a Film | Nominated | ||
| 2007 | MOBO Awards | "Take Control" | Best Song | Nominated |
| Virgin Media Music Awards | Herself | Most Fanciable Female | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Rober Awards Music Poll | Best R&B/Soul | Nominated |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
