I caught India Arie's show last night with Mint Condition.

India Arie is far from boring. She puts on a excellent live show.

She has the same strong female following Jill Scott has. You

talking about her not having performed in 3 years. The females

were mad crazy about her. The only problem with her is playing

Video, I Am Not My Hair, and There's Hope to far up in her set.

Those songs have the whole place jumping. She performed 3 new

songs from her new album due in February Open Door.

phunkdaddy said:

phunkdaddy said:

I caught India Arie's show last night with Mint Condition.

India Arie is far from boring. She puts on a excellent live show.

She has the same strong female following Jill Scott has. You

talking about her not having performed in 3 years. The females

were mad crazy about her. The only problem with her is playing

Video, I Am Not My Hair, and There's Hope to far up in her set.

Those songs have the whole place jumping. She performed 3 new

songs from her new album due in February Open Door.

Any 1 who says that she is boring has NEVER seen her live. From a live perspective Keys is no where NEAR India on any level if u ask me. On record....it is a different story thou. I'll still take India though.

How was Mint last night?

14 grammys, 70 million records, Billboards R&B artist of the decade (2000-09) and 11 years later, A.Keys is still relevant. One of the very, very, very few R&B artist who can go on an arena tour. She was the first announced performer of this years VMAs, in which she will perform a her brand new first single (and no, 'New Day' is not the single). I could go on and on but there's no point

In February of 2002 (grammy night, Alicia - 5, India - ZERO), Alicia's career really took off and Ms. head wrap got left in the dust. Yeah, yeah grammy's "don't mean what they use to" yada yada. However, the public, peers and writers have spoken. Where's India? Better yet....does anyone give a sh*t? I like a few India songs, but for the most part I could do without her. Erykah Badu>>

Graycap23 said:

phunkdaddy said:

I caught India Arie's show last night with Mint Condition.

India Arie is far from boring. She puts on a excellent live show.

She has the same strong female following Jill Scott has. You

talking about her not having performed in 3 years. The females

were mad crazy about her. The only problem with her is playing

Video, I Am Not My Hair, and There's Hope to far up in her set.

Those songs have the whole place jumping. She performed 3 new

songs from her new album due in February Open Door.

Any 1 who says that she is boring has NEVER seen her live. From a live perspective Keys is no where NEAR India on any level if u ask me. On record....it is a different story thou. I'll still take India though.

How was Mint last night?

Mint was on point as usual. It was a chick from Johannesburg that plays guitar whose name

i can't remember that came on first. I went to concessions and came back and they were

previewing some songs from the new cd. The songs i heard were tight. Mint performed

all the usual hits and a medley of Forever In Your Eyes, You Don't Have To Hurt No More,

Someone To Love, and If You Love Me. They also added Why Do We Try and Sometimes

to the set showcasing their musical skills. Interestingly they only performed Can't Get

Away from the 7 cd. I would see MC and India Arie again in a heartbeat.

IIAGY said:

14 grammys, 70 million records, Billboards R&B artist of the decade (2000-09) and 11 years later, A.Keys is still relevant. One of the very, very, very few R&B artist who can go on an arena tour. She was the first announced performer of this years VMAs, in which she will perform a her brand new first single (and no, 'New Day' is not the single). I could go on and on but there's no point

In February of 2002 (grammy night, Alicia - 5, India - ZERO), Alicia's career really took off and Ms. head wrap got left in the dust. Yeah, yeah grammy's "don't mean what they use to" yada yada. However, the public, peers and writers have spoken. Where's India? Better yet....does anyone give a sh*t? I like a few India songs, but for the most part I could do without her. Erykah Badu>>

So what? Records and grammys really dont mean shit because quite franky Alicia has only made one album that has honestly been worthy of anything. How many awards someone has doesnt mean anything. And its not yada yada I dont see how you can even use this as an arguement when you know yourself the grammys dont mean anything like they use to. They give grammys out like its candy. I like Alicia more than her peers i.e. Beyonce or Rihanna but I think its absurd she has that meany grammys at the most I could see her having 6 or 7. I do think she is deserving of some for Diary of Alicia Keys but thats just to many.

And how exactly is Alicia Keys still relevant? Her last radio hit was like 4 or 5 years ago?

[Edited 8/11/12 12:05pm]

IIAGY said:

14 grammys, 70 million records, Billboards R&B artist of the decade (2000-09) and 11 years later, A.Keys is still relevant. One of the very, very, very few R&B artist who can go on an arena tour. She was the first announced performer of this years VMAs, in which she will perform a her brand new first single (and no, 'New Day' is not the single). I could go on and on but there's no point

In February of 2002 (grammy night, Alicia - 5, India - ZERO), Alicia's career really took off and Ms. head wrap got left in the dust. Yeah, yeah grammy's "don't mean what they use to" yada yada. However, the public, peers and writers have spoken. Where's India? Better yet....does anyone give a sh*t? I like a few India songs, but for the most part I could do without her. Erykah Badu>>

Yes the crowd in Charlotte NC last night. Like i said she got a lot of love without having

performed in 3 years. People still love India regardless if u see it or not. India does

more with less out of any artist i've seen in recent years. She can just play an acoustic

song and the crowd feels it because it's heartfelt and real. She's not on stage singing

performing to a track. As far as Alicia i'll take Diary album and Teenage Love Affair. The rest

is just useless especially her debut album outside the singles which was full of fluff and

samples.

mjscarousal said:

IIAGY said:

14 grammys, 70 million records, Billboards R&B artist of the decade (2000-09) and 11 years later, A.Keys is still relevant. One of the very, very, very few R&B artist who can go on an arena tour. She was the first announced performer of this years VMAs, in which she will perform a her brand new first single (and no, 'New Day' is not the single). I could go on and on but there's no point

In February of 2002 (grammy night, Alicia - 5, India - ZERO), Alicia's career really took off and Ms. head wrap got left in the dust. Yeah, yeah grammy's "don't mean what they use to" yada yada. However, the public, peers and writers have spoken. Where's India? Better yet....does anyone give a sh*t? I like a few India songs, but for the most part I could do without her. Erykah Badu>>

So what? Records and grammys really dont mean shit because quite franky Alicia has only made one album that has honestly been worthy of anything. How many awards someone has doesnt mean anything. And its not yada yada I dont see how you can even use this as an arguement when you know yourself the grammys dont mean anything like they use to. They give grammys out like its candy. I like Alicia more than her peers i.e. Beyonce or Rihanna but I think its absurd she has that meany grammys at the most I could see her having 6 or 7. I do think she is deserving of some for Diary of Alicia Keys but thats just to many.

And how exactly is Alicia Keys still relevant? Her last radio hit was like 4 or 5 years ago?

[Edited 8/11/12 12:05pm]

Quite frankly, your argument can be made for India. Her last release, Testimony Vol.2 was released in 2009. The single from it, "He Heals Me", did not even chart. Her remake of The Beatles, (with Santana)"While My Guitar Gently Weeps", did not chart high (20) on the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts and failed to place on the R&B charts. While all this was happening or "not happening", Alicia still managed to put out material, alone or as a guest on projects of other artists. Her last album, "The Element Of Freedom", debut on Billboard, album charts at No.1 and went platinum. How is she not relevent?

smoothcriminal12 said:

Alicia. I have all of hers but her last one. I only have India's debut.

THIS

I can't believe the crazy hate Alicia gets on here

For me they are two completely different genres of artists an it makes no sense to compare them.

Also this reminds me the early 00's was imo a pretty good time in music. I mean i was only in elementry, but it's when i started to get into music.

I mean look at that cover, India Arie, Alicia Keys, Nelly Furtado, Lauryn's influence & sound was still around at that time. A Good batch of female artist's at the time

So records sales make people relevant? Interesting.

Stymie said:

So records sales make people relevant? Interesting.

Not to throw shade.......

But people bring up MJ & Janet sales ALL the time, same with Whitney, Mariah & all other divas for everytime a new hit falls through

Ottensen said:

For me they are two completely different genres of artists an it makes no sense to compare them.

A better comparision would have been, India and Eryka.

Gunsnhalen said:

Gunsnhalen said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

Alicia. I have all of hers but her last one. I only have India's debut.

THIS

You should both check out India's second album. Like Alicia, it's her best.

AlexdeParis said:

Gunsnhalen said:

THIS

You should both check out India's second album. Like Alicia, it's her best.

I just realized i actually heard a good chunk of her Voyage To India cause my mom had it.

The truth & Little Thing's where good songs.

Gunsnhalen said:

AlexdeParis said:

You should both check out India's second album. Like Alicia, it's her best.

I just realized i actually heard a good chunk of her Voyage To India cause my mom had it.

The truth & Little Thing's where good songs.

This one is my favorite India song:

Acoustic Soul by India is simply amazing...

shorttrini said:

mjscarousal said:

So what? Records and grammys really dont mean shit because quite franky Alicia has only made one album that has honestly been worthy of anything. How many awards someone has doesnt mean anything. And its not yada yada I dont see how you can even use this as an arguement when you know yourself the grammys dont mean anything like they use to. They give grammys out like its candy. I like Alicia more than her peers i.e. Beyonce or Rihanna but I think its absurd she has that meany grammys at the most I could see her having 6 or 7. I do think she is deserving of some for Diary of Alicia Keys but thats just to many.

And how exactly is Alicia Keys still relevant? Her last radio hit was like 4 or 5 years ago?

[Edited 8/11/12 12:05pm]

Quite frankly, your argument can be made for India. Her last release, Testimony Vol.2 was released in 2009. The single from it, "He Heals Me", did not even chart. Her remake of The Beatles, (with Santana)"While My Guitar Gently Weeps", did not chart high (20) on the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts and failed to place on the R&B charts. While all this was happening or "not happening", Alicia still managed to put out material, alone or as a guest on projects of other artists. Her last album, "The Element Of Freedom", debut on Billboard, album charts at No.1 and went platinum. How is she not relevent?

Commercially I dont see how one would call her relevant still.... When I think of relevant thats what I think of and once again I dont see what charting has to do with the quality of their music. Im not dissing Alicia but some of the comments seen off and exaggerated. She hasnt had a commercial hit in about 4 or 5 years which is why I commented to the person that said she was still relevant. Relevant to what exactly?

Gunsnhalen said:

Stymie said:

So records sales make people relevant? Interesting.

Not to throw shade.......

But people bring up MJ & Janet sales ALL the time, same with Whitney, Mariah & all other divas for everytime a new hit falls through

But thats mostly to talk about achievement or popularity for them specifically since they were pop stars.. Alicia and India were never really pop stars. I just dont see how charting has to do with her music being better than India's which was what a poster was implying.

scriptgirl said:

I choose Alicia only because India's earth goddess, blacker than thou act grates

India Arie is way more talented, as for recent music of the last 10 years India and Janelle are my favs....

Ottensen said:

For me they are two completely different genres of artists an it makes no sense to compare them.

Gunsnhalen said:

Stymie said:

So records sales make people relevant? Interesting.

Not to throw shade.......

But people bring up MJ & Janet sales ALL the time, same with Whitney, Mariah & all other divas for everytime a new hit falls through

That's because they're hypocrites.

Terrib3Towel said:

While we're on the subject, why did India fall off the face of the earth? Her last hit was that hair song, right? As far as my preference goes, I'll go with Alicia, only because in my eyes India is a one album wonder and Alicia has continued to stay relevant and put out okay music.

To be fair to India she's sold 8 million records and she did it without the help of

that guy named Clive Davis who you know who marketed Alicia to pop radio so

it's not surprising that Alicia have sold more records and have a bigger audience.

I beg to differ with India being a one album wonder since a big chunk of her

sales have come from her debut album Acoustic Soul and Voyage To India.

Neither artist is a one album wonder in terms of sales. I've only dug one Alicia album

and a few other singles but my opinion doesn't diminish her success nor should one's

opinion about India diminish her success. As far as India falling off the face

of the earth well she did admit in concert on Friday she had considered herself retired

for a year and had flirted with going back to school but she said something in her spirit

told her she was born to write and perform music. India takes her craft seriously and she

wears her emotions on her sleeve much like Qtip so it's not surprising she made that statement. The audience in Charlotte friday let India know that people still want to hear

and see her perform and she was very classy appreciative and surprised at the love she

was getting. She could barely get started on a new song without someone yelling i love

you India. Hell even i was surprised at the response she was getting. She's already preparing a new album to be released in February so no one has heard the last of her

yet. Just so we're straight on India's success. Here's some info:

India.Arie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

India.Arie
Background information
Birth name	India Arie Simpson
Born	October 3, 1975 (age 36) Denver, Colorado United States
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia
Genres	Soul, R&B, neo soul, blues, folk, pop
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, flute, keyboard
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Motown (1999–2007) SoulBird / Universal Republic (2007–present)
Website	www.indiaarie.com www.soulbird.com

India.Arie (born India Arie Simpson; October 3, 1975) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer .^[1] She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.

Contents 1 Background 2 Musical career 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 4 Awards 4.1 Grammy Awards 5 Tours 6 Filmography 7 Theater 8 References 9 External links

Background

Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado. Her musical skills were encouraged by both parents early in life. Her mother Joyce is a former singer (she was signed to Motown as a teenager and opened for Stevie Wonder and Al Green)^[2] and is now her stylist. Her father is former ABA and NBA basketball player Ralph Simpson. She has an older brother named J'On. After her parents divorced, Simpson's mother moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia when she was thirteen.^[3] Simpson had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, but her interest in the guitar while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, led to a personal revelation about songwriting and performing. "When I started tapping into my own sensitivity, I started to understand people better. It was a direct result of writing songs", she said at the press release of her debut album, Acoustic Soul.

Co-founding the Atlanta-based independent music collective Groovement EarthShare (Groovement was the collective artists' name and EarthShare was their independent label name), her one-song turn on a locally-released compilation led to a second-stage gig at the 1998 Lilith Fair. In 1999, a Universal/Motown music scout spotted her and made an introduction to former Motown CEO Kedar Massenberg. Arie resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Musical career

Acoustic Soul was released on March 27, 2001 and debuted at number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Within months, without the concentrated radio airplay that typically powers pop and rap albums, Acoustic Soul was certified double platinum, selling 2,180,000 copies in the U.S. and 3,000,000 copies worldwide. Arie performed a duet with rock singer-guitarist John Mellencamp on the song "Peaceful World" for his 2001 album Cuttin' Heads. While Arie and the album were nominated for seven Grammy awards in 2002, they won no awards, losing in five of seven categories to Alicia Keys. She closed the ceremony with a performance of her song "Video". Arie performed a duet with jazz singer Cassandra Wilson on the song "Just Another Parade" for her 2002 album Belly of the Sun.

Arie followed the success of her debut on September 24, 2002 with the release of Voyage to India. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B chart. In 2003 it won her two Grammy Awards in 2003—"Best R&B Album" and Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for the song "Little Things". Soon after its release, Voyage to India was certified platinum selling 1,400,000 copies^{[citation needed]}in the U.S. and 2,300,000 worldwide^{[citation needed]}.

On September 12, 2005, Arie performed "Just 4 2day", a song written for her appearance on the debut of The Tyra Banks Show.^[4] She also performed "What About the Child", a song that did not air but was made available as a one-dollar Internet download to support child victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.^[5] Arie is also featured on Stevie Wonder's album A Time to Love, released on October 18, 2005. Arie and Wonder duet on the title track "A Time to Love", written by Arie, which was nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Three years earlier, their rendition of Mel Tormé's 1944 classic "The Christmas Song", recorded for the holiday TV commercial for retailer Target, had been nominated for the same category, making it the first song created and financed exclusively for a commercial to be nominated for a Grammy Award.^[6]

India.Arie performing in Lokeren Belgium, August 3, 2004

Arie's third studio album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, was released on June 27, 2006. It gave Arie her first number-one spot on the Billboard 200 and was her second chart-topper on the R&B charts. This album was also the first number-one album for Motown in twelve years^{[citation needed]}. Its first-week sales of 161,000 copies are Arie's best sales week to date and was certified gold in August 2006, selling 730,000 in US and 1,300,000 worldwide. "I Am Not My Hair" was the most successful release from Testimony: Vol. 1., reaching the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at #97 and the UK Singles Chart at #65. Arie collaborated with Akon for her song "I Am Not My Hair". On the April 16, 2007 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show entitled "After Imus: Now What?", Arie guest-starred as a panelist. Arie performed a duet with singer Anthony David for his song "Words" for his 2008 album Acey Duecy.

Her next album, Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics was released on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and No. 2 on the R&B chart. Within this CD, Arie collaborated with such artists as Sezen Aksu, Keb Mo, Gramps Morgan and Musiq Soulchild to fulfill her self-proclaimed desire to "do projects with people who are making music that is meaningful, with a lot of integrity and a lot of sonic diversity". Arie also identified this CD as her first to to write and sing songs without worrying about public opinion after a much-needed vacation to Hawaii. The album was her first produced and released after her departure from Motown to Universal Records.^[7] Arie performed "Video" with British singer Adele at the 2009 VH1 Divas. Arie is one of over 70 artists singing on "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti", a charity single in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Arie contributed vocals to "Imagine" for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, The Imagine Project along with Seal, P!nk, Jeff Beck, Konono N°1, Oumou Sangare and others.^[8]

Arie at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2010.

India.Arie's new album, a work produced in collaboration with Israeli singer Idan Raichel is due to be released in summer, 2012.^[9]

Discography

Studio albums

Main article: India.Arie discography

• 2001: Acoustic Soul
• 2002: Voyage to India
• 2006: Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
• 2009: Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics
• 2012: Open Door

Awards

India.Arie on the red carpet VH1 Divas 2009.

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Arie has won four awards from twenty-one nominations, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist, she lost all. In 2002, She got record Most Nominations in One Night without winning with received seven nominations.

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2002	India.Arie	Best New Artist	Nominated
	Acoustic Soul	Album of the Year	Nominated
		Best R&B Album	Nominated
	"Video"	Record of the Year	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
		Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
		Best R&B Song	Nominated
2003	"The Christmas Song"	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Nominated
	"Little Things"	Best Urban/Alternative Performance	Won
	Voyage to India	Best R&B Album	Won
2006	"A Time To Love"	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Nominated
2007	"I Am Not My Hair"	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
		Best R&B Song	Nominated
	Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationships	Best R&B Album	Nominated
2008	"Beautiful Flower"	Best R&B Song	Nominated
2009	"Words"	Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group	Nominated
2010	"Chocolate High"	Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group	Nominated
	Testimony Vol. 2, Love & Politics	Best R&B Album	Nominated
	"Pearls"	Best Urban/Alternative Performance	Won
2011	"Imagine"	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Won
		Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)	Nominated

BET Awards

2002 - Best Female R&B Artist (Won)

2003 - Best Female R&B Artist (Won)

MTV Video Music Award

2001 - MTV2 Award for "Video" (Nominated)

Soul Train Music Award

2003 - Female R&B/Soul Single for "Little Things" (Nominated)

Tours

Headlining

• Voyage to World Tour (2002/03)
• Testimony Tour (2006/10)

Opening act

• Lovers Rock Tour (2001)

Filmography

List of television and film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	American Dreams	Nina Simone	"Act of Contrition" (Season 1, Episode 16)
2003	The Bernie Mac Show	Herself	"Raging Election" (Season 2, Episode 13)
2006	One on One	Herself	"I Love L.A.: Part 1" (Season 5, Episode 21)
2009	Pastor Brown	Lateefah	Debut film

3. 
   

[hide] v t e India.Arie Albums Acoustic Soul (2001) Voyage to India (2002) Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006) Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (2009) Singles "Video" "Brown Skin" "Little Things" "I Am Not My Hair" (feat. Akon) "The Heart of the Matter" "There's Hope" "Beautiful Flower" "Words" (with Anthony David) "Chocolate High" (feat. Musiq Soulchild)

India is a very respected R&B artist even though she's not as known as Alicia, but lets remember when Alicia came out she was marketed to everyone. She was like an r&b-pop star and had the help of a big record label. Even though I dont want to mention race in this case, but in the media you'd always hear that Alicia had a white mother of italian-irish decent to appeal a larger crowd of people. I dont know if the same was done with other biracial singers (Faith Evans) because I was a baby when she was "known". It does matter though, because you can market a person like that in more countries because there's a familiarty, "oh she's part italian? great. Let me check her out". lol