Bria Valente | |
|---|---|
 Bria Valente in December 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Brenda Fuentes Minneapolis,Minnesota, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, model |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | |
Brenda Fuentes, better known by her stage nameBria Valente,[1] is an Americansinger andmodel. Aprotégée ofPrince, Valente released her debut album,Elixer, as part of a three-album set with Prince'sLotusflow3r andMPLSound on March 29, 2009.[1] The collection debuted at number two on theBillboard 200 albums chart.[2]
Valente was born and raised inMinneapolis, Minnesota. She stated in an interview withTavis Smiley that she first met Prince at the age of 17 atPaisley Park Studios while working with keyboardistMorris Hayes.[3] She later moved toLos Angeles, California, and worked as amodel and background dancer forUsher.[1] She is credited with backing vocals on Usher's 2001 album8701.[citation needed]
Valente returned to Minneapolis, where she began her association with Prince, contributing vocals to his 2007 album,Planet Earth.[1] Valente recordedElixer in 2009; she sang lead vocals, with Prince on guitar, and Morris Hayes providing beats.[1][4] Prince described it as aquiet storm-style album.[5] The music review websiteMetacritic rated the album 49 out of 100, labeling it as having "mixed or average" reception, based on 12 reviews.[6] The album was released through the website lotusflow3r.com, as well as exclusively through U.S. retailerTarget.[7]
As of 2010[update], Valente was Prince's girlfriend. She also became aJehovah's Witness during this period.[8] Purple Music, a Swiss-based record label released Valente's CD single "2 Nite" on February 23, 2012, as part of a Prince club remixes package including the single "Dance 4 Me" by Prince.
Albums
Singles
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