Brian McKnight
McKnight at the 2019 Celebrity Fight Night inPhoenix
Born	Brian Kelly McKnight (1969-06-05)June 5, 1969 (age 56) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Education	Maynard Evans High School Oakwood College (no degree)
Occupations	Singer songwriter record producer multi-instrumentalist arranger
Years active	1988–present
Works	Discography filmography production
Spouses	Julie McKnight ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 2003)​ Leilani Mendoza ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	5
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Genres	R&B soul
Instruments	Vocals piano keyboards guitar bass guitar trumpet flugelhorn trombone tuba drums percussion
Labels	SoNo Universal Kobalt E1 Razor & Tie Warner Bros. Motown Polygram Mercury Wing
Formerly of	Black Men United
Website	mcknight360.com
Musical artist

Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr.^[1] (bornBrian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist.^[2][3] AnR&B performer, he is recognized for his stronghead voice, high belting range, andmelisma.

McKnight was raised inOrlando, Florida, and moved toLos Angeles to pursue a musical career at the age of 19. He signed withMercury Records to release his 1992 debut single, "The Way Love Goes", which preceded his debut albumBrian McKnight (1992). A modest success, the album receivedplatinum certification from theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned his first hit song, "One Last Cry", which peaked at number 13 on theBillboard Hot 100. The following year, he recorded the duet "Love Is" (withVanessa Williams) for theBeverly Hills, 90210 soundtrack; the song peaked at number three on the chart. His 1997 single, "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)" (featuringMase) peaked within the chart's top 20 and led his third album,Anytime (1997)—his final release with Mercury before he signed withMotown. His 1999 single, "Back at One" peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100 and remains his highest-charting song; it preceded thealbum of the same name (1999), which was the first of four of his albums—Superhero (2001),U Turn (2003), andGemini (2005)—to consecutively debut within the top ten of theBillboard 200. His ninth album,Ten (2006) marked his finalmajor label release.

He has received 16Grammy Award nominations,^[4] third only toZubin Mehta andSnoop Dogg for having the most nominations for the award without a win.^[5]

McKnight was born inBuffalo, New York to Claude McKnight, Jr. and Ruth Elaine Willis. His introduction to music was joining his church choir as a child; it was directed by his grandfather. Brian and his family moved toOrlando, Florida when he was about 10. His father worked forMartin Marietta.^[6] He began composing instrumental material while learning to play several instruments.

His brothers graduated fromLake Howell High School inWinter Park, Florida and the family moved toOrange County, Florida. Brian McKnight then went toMaynard Evans High School in Orlando. McKnight formed a band and began performing original songs at local venues. By 18, he was offered a publishing deal and left forLos Angeles when he was about 19.^[7][6]

McKnight's older brother, Claude V. McKnight III (and Claude's bandTake 6), signed a record deal with Warner Brothers subsidiaryReprise Records in 1987, releasing their first album in early 1988 and encouraging Brian to shop his owndemo tapes. By the age of 19 he signed his first recording deal with a subsidiary ofMercury Records,Wing Records.^[8] His debut albumBrian McKnight was released in 1992, and peaked at number 58 on theBillboard 200 chart. His first release was "The Way Love Goes", which peaked at number 11 on theBillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[7] The album also featured the ballad and Top 20 single, "One Last Cry". It was followed by two more albums for Mercury,I Remember You (1995) andAnytime (1997).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 forBest Male Video at the1998 MTV Video Music Awards. In 1997, McKnight recorded "Remember the Magic" forWalt Disney World's 25th anniversary.^{[citation needed]} After the release of his debut album, McKnight was part of the groupBlack Men United alongsideGerald Levert, his then-labelmateJoe,Christopher Williams,Boyz II Men, and others for the song "U Will Know", appeared and co-produced (alongsideD'Angelo) on thesoundtrack to the 1994 filmJason's Lyric.

McKnight signed withMotown in 1998 and released aChristmas album,Bethlehem, the first of five albums he released on Motown. In 1998, he was a guest star on the showSister Sister. He appeared in multiple episodes, as Tia and Tamera's college professor. That same year, he recorded a duet with Mariah Carey on a song that named "Whenever You Call" that was released as a bonus track in Carey's#1's compilation.^[9] The duet is also featured in the 25th anniversary edition of Carey'sButterfly album.

In 1999, McKnight releasedBack at One, his most successful album to date, which eventually went on to sell over three million copies. Additionally,Back at One is one of four of McKnight's studio albums to reach the Top 10 on theBillboard 200 albums chart, reaching number 7 on October 9, 1999.^[10] In 2004, he co-wrote the song "Wait" with Australian soul artistGuy Sebastian, which appeared on Sebastian'sBeautiful Life album.^[11]

In early 2005, McKnight made a cameo appearance in Mariah Carey's "It's Like That" music video directed byBrett Ratner. In late 2005, McKnight signed withWarner Bros. Records and released the albumTen during December 2006. It was his only studio album with the label. Three singles were released from the album: "Find Myself in You" (which originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 2006Tyler Perry movieMadea's Family Reunion), "Used to Be My Girl" and "What's My Name". In October 2007, McKnight made hisBroadway debut in the showChicago.^{[citation needed]}

Between 2006 and 2010, McKnight hostedThe Brian McKnight Morning Show, a radio show with Pat Prescott onKTWV The Wave in Los Angeles. The show was briefly simulcast onKHJZ-FM, Smooth Jazz 95.7 The Wave in Houston. In January 2009, McKnight hosted "The Brian McKnight Show" on 98.7KISS-FM in New York City.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, he appeared as a performer in the eighth season ofCelebrity Apprentice.^[12] Each celebrity played to raise money for the charity of his or her choice. He elected to play for Youthville USA.^{[citation needed]} Between September 2009 and May 2010, he hosted^[13]The Brian McKnight Show, a late night talk show billed as a combination of talk and variety which aired in syndication. McKnight sang the national anthem forMLBOpening Day in Cincinnati, Ohio with his sons Brian, Jr. and Niko on March 31, 2011. He had sung the national anthem for the1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, Game 6 of the2002 World Series inAnaheim, California (near his Los Angeles home), and the2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Detroit. He has sung the anthem throughout his career at numerous places. He sang "God Bless America" in the 7th inning of Game 7 of theNational League Championship Series in San Francisco on October 22, 2012.^{[citation needed]}

On April 23, 2012, McKnight posted toYouTube "If You're Ready To Learn", which has been characterized byBillboard as a "filthy jam". Billboard selected this lyric from the song to quote: "Let me show you how your __ works / Since you didn't bring it to me first."^[14] Other media outlets includingMTV, theToronto Sun, andNewMediaRockstars^[15] have written about McKnight's recent, more adult-oriented efforts.^[16][17] Soontly after the single's release, McKnight andFunny or Die revealed that the single was a collaboration between the two. McKnight later explained 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 station98.7 Kiss FM shuttering and hit singles being inferior quality music, among other ailments.^[18]

On August 14, 2015, McKnight released the single "Uh Oh Feeling", the first track from his albumBetter. It was released on his own label, Brian McKnight Music LLC viaKobalt Label Services.^[19]Better was released on February 26, 2016 and the album received positive reviews.^[20]

On September 23, 2016 (twenty years from the date of his studio albumAnytime), McKnight released his first live CD, DVD and Blu-ray collection entitledAn Evening with Brian McKnight (in partnership with independent recording label, SoNo Recording Group, viaUniversal Music Group). The concert was recorded at the historicSaban Theatre inBeverly Hills, California. The release includes fourteen songs performed live with his full band, plus three newly written and recorded songs. The first single, "Everything", was in the Top 20 on the national Adult Contemporary charts in September 2016. The CD version of the concert debuted on theBillboard R&B chart at No. 13, as a Hot Shot Debut. Also included is a duet withGino Vannelli, on the song "Brothers in the End". The Blu-ray and DVD version of the release premiered on theBillboard Music DVD chart at number 9.^{[citation needed]}

McKnight released the albumGenesis on August 25, 2017.^[21] It featured three Top 30 Urban AC and AC hits: "Everything", "Forever" and "I Want U".Genesis premiered on theNielsen SoundScan Top 10 Current R&B Albums and Top 20 Current Hip Hop/R&B Albums. The album was produced byTim Kelley of the duoTim & Bob.^{[citation needed]} In January 2018, McKnight was nominated for twoNAACP Image Awards. He was nominated for Outstanding Male Artist and Outstanding Album forGenesis (alongsideBruno Mars,Charlie Wilson,Kendrick Lamar,Jay-Z andMary J Blige).^{[citation needed]} In May 2018, McKnight announced that he was working on his next studio album tentatively titledBedtime Story, which would be 60 minutes of music "for the bedroom aka baby-making music".^[22] In 2021, Brian McKnight competed onThe Masked Singer spin-offThe Masked Dancer as "Cricket".

McKnight was married from 1990–2003 to singer-songwriter, Julie McKnight, and they have two sons.^[23] Brian also has a daughter he fathered from a previous relationship.^[23] He had been estranged from his son Niko for many years, dating back to the elder McKnight publicly referring to his oldest children—Niko and older brother Brian Jr.—as being "products of sin".^[24] On May 30, 2025, Niko died of cancer.^[25]

In 2014, Brian McKnight and Leilani Malia Mendoza, a pediatric neurophysiologist, began dating and they announced their engagement in May 2017.^[26] On December 29, 2017, McKnight and Mendoza were married.^[27] Mendoza has two children from a previous relationship. McKnight and Mendoza had a son who died in infancy.^[28] In December 2022, McKnight and Mendoza had another son, Brian Kainoa Makoa Jr.^[1] McKnight legally changed his name to Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. matching his son's name.^[1]

Brian McKnight grew up aSeventh-day Adventist.^[29] Religion was important in the McKnight family, with many generations being Seventh-day Adventists. His grandfather was a pastor of a church, and his mother played the piano and sang in a gospel choir in Emanuel Temple inBuffalo, New York. Being the youngest of four boys, McKnight became a member of ana cappellagospel quartet with his brothers. He also attendedOakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist university inHuntsville, Alabama, from 1987 to 1989. In his second year, he got into trouble for violating Oakwood's rules about dormitory visitors for having his girlfriend in his dorm room. They were both expelled.^[30][31]

Studio albums

• Brian McKnight (1992)
• I Remember You (1995)
• Anytime (1997)
• Bethlehem (1998)
• Back at One (1999)
• Superhero (2001)
• U Turn (2003)
• Gemini (2005)
• Ten (2006)
• I'll Be Home for Christmas (2008)
• Evolution of a Man (2009)
• Just Me (2011)
• More Than Words (2013)
• Better (2016)
• Genesis (2017)
• Exodus (2020)

• Brian McKnight official website
• Brian McKnight entertainment website
• Brian McKnight's Biography fromVH1
• Brian McKnight's Profile fromVibe
• Brian McKnight Fans website
• Orlando Sentinel announcing his talk show,Blogs.OrlandoSentinel.com
• Brian McKnight Just Me 2011 World Tour
• Music.Yahoo.com interview
• Announcement of Niko McKnight's death from Claude McKnight viaTiktok

• 1969 births
• Living people
• American soul guitarists
• American tenors
• American contemporary R&B singers
• Record producers from New York (state)
• American male trumpeters
• American multi-instrumentalists
• American ballad musicians
• Motown artists
• Warner Music Group artists
• Musicians from Buffalo, New York
• 20th-century American keyboardists
• African-American record producers
• African-American male singer-songwriters
• American male singer-songwriters
• Participants in American reality television series
• Singer-songwriters from New York (state)
• Guitarists from New York (state)
• 20th-century American guitarists
• 20th-century American pianists
• 21st-century American trumpeters
• American male pianists
• 21st-century American pianists
• African-American pianists
• 20th-century African-American male singers
• 20th-century American male singers
• 20th-century American singers
• 21st-century African-American male singers
• 21st-century American male singers
• African-American male guitarists
• African-American guitarists
• American male guitarists
• Maynard Evans High School alumni

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