Alexis Jordan (born April 7, 1992) is an American singer and actress from

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. Jordan rose to fame as a contestant on the first season of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'' in 2006 at the age of 14. After being eliminated from the show, she began to upload cover songs to YouTube, which received millions of views. The exposure led Jordan to the attention of Norwegian production team Stargate and American rapper Jay Z, who both went on to sign her to their joint label, StarRoc. Her debut single, "

Happiness Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...

", was released in September 2010, and reached number one in the Netherlands and Norway, and also became a top-three hit in Australia and the United Kingdom. Jordan's debut self-titled album was released on February 25, 2011. " Good Girl" was released as Jordan's second single in February 2011. Her self-titled debut album was released on February 25, 2011. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at No. 9 and on the Australian Albums Chart at No. 11. Jordan also featured on

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

's single "

Got 2 Luv U "Got 2 Luv U" is the first single from Jamaican recording artist Sean Paul's fifth studio album ''Tomahawk Technique''. The song features vocals from American singer Alexis Jordan. It was released on 19 July 2011 by Atlantic Records. The song ...

", which reached number one in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Life and career

1992–2008: Early life and career beginnings

Fall skyline of Columbia SC from Arsenal Hill

Jordan was born on April 7, 1992, in

, to a mother of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, white, Native American descent and a Puerto Rican father. Jordan began writing songs while she was in third grade. At the age of 11, she moved with her parents and three younger siblings Taylor, Malichai and Malcolm to

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17th ...

, to pursue a career in the arts. At the age of 12, Jordan served as an opening act for Smokey Robinson at a

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

tribute concert. In 2006, Jordan auditioned for the first season of ''

''. She sang

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

's "

I Have Nothing "I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from '' The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album'' (1992) by Arista Records. The song was written by David Foster and L ...

" at her audition and made it through to the next round, only to be eliminated in the semifinals. Judge

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

brought her back to compete in the semifinals, after the public didn't gather enough votes for Jordan. After being eliminated from the show, Jordan and her family moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to be closer to the music industry. While there, she began to upload cover songs on YouTube while submitting demos. By 2008, Jordan's YouTube page was racking up millions of views. The exposure led Jordan to the attention of production team Stargate who called her to fly to New York and record a few songs with them. While in the studio, rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

walked in, which ultimately resulted in Jordan becoming the first artist signed to the new, Sony Music-affiliated label, StarRoc/

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

– a joint venture between Stargate and Jay-Z's Roc Nation label.

2010–12: Record deal and ''Alexis Jordan''

Her self-titled debut album was released on February 25, 2011. The album was recorded from January 1, 2007, to October 15, 2010, in which Jordan worked with StarGate,

Sandy Vee Sandy Julien Wilhelm (born 22 April 1975) better known by his stage name Sandy Vee, is a French music producer and songwriter. He gained much commercial and critical recognition for co-producing Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)", Katy Perry's ...

, Nightwatch and

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

. The album debuted at number twenty-eight in Ireland on March 4, 2011. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number nine on March 6, 2011. The album also debuted at number eleven in Australia. On April 30, 2011, the album debuted at number 80 on the

Dutch Album Chart The Dutch Album Top 100 or Album Top 100 is a weekly hit list of music albums, compiled by Dutch Charts. List shows the 100 best-selling music albums of the moment in the Netherlands. The list has passed through various name changes and has expand ...

. In its 13th week the album shot from 72 to 23, reaching its peak of 21 two weeks later. Jordan's single "

" was released in September 2010. In the United States, the song reached No. 1 on the

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

, becoming Jordan's first No. 1 single on that chart. It also reached No. 1 in Norway and the Netherlands (where it stayed for 10 weeks), and peaked at No. 3 in Australia and the United Kingdom. In Australia, "Happiness" was certified triple platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA), for shipments of 210,000 copies. " Good Girl" was released as Jordan's second single in February 2011. The song debuted at No. 6 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, giving Jordan her second top-10 hit in the United Kingdom. It also reached No. 15 in Ireland and became her second chart-topper on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs chart in April. "Hush Hush" was released as the album's third single on May 8, 2011. On April 12, 2012 Alexis embarked on her first headline tour in the United Kingdom. Jordan performed in three cities – London (Scala) on Thursday June 30, Birmingham HMV (Institute) on Saturday July 2 and Manchester (Club Academy) on Sunday July 3. Tickets went on sale on Friday April 15. In June and July 2011 Jordan also supported British boy band

JLS JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company ...

on their eight-day UK tour. She also appeared at

T4 on the Beach T4 on the Beach was an annual British one-day music event which was held on the beach at Weston-super-Mare and televised on Channel 4. The event began in 2003 as Pop Beach in Great Yarmouth, changing to the current title and venue in 2005. The d ...

in the UK and performed " Hush Hush" and " Good Girl". Jordan featured on

's single "

", which reached number one in Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, Bulgaria, Romania, France, United States Billboard (in the Latin Raps & Pop Songs) and Venezuela. Jordan also made a cameo appearance in the film ''

Honey 2 ''Honey 2'' is a 2011 American dance film and a sequel to the 2003 film ''Honey'', directed by Bille Woodruff, who directed the original film. It stars Kat Graham, Randy Wayne, Seychelle Gabriel and Lonette McKee, reprising her role as Connie D ...

''. In June 2012, Jordan appeared at

Birmingham Pride Birmingham Pride is a weekend-long LGBTQ+ festival held annually in the Gay Village, Hurst Street, Birmingham, England, over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Birmingham Pride is the UK's largest two-day gay pride festival. It usually features ...

, performing "Good Girl", "Got 2 Luv U", "Shout Shout" and "Hush Hush" On November 25, 2012, she appeared as musical guest on X Factor (Romania).

2012–14: Second studio album

In October 2011, she confirmed via Twitter that she was working on her second studio album. In November 2011, Jordan went to a recording studio in New York where she recorded with Stargate, she stated that the album is nearly completed. In the same YouTube video uploaded by Jordan, she was asked what she was doing and she replied "Writing about different things 'cause I'm like all messed up cause I'm talking about girl power, then I'm talking about myself and how people don't really know me that well so they gonna get to know me in this song." On January 15, 2013, a new song titled "

Acid Rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid ...

" leaked online. It was intended to serve as the lead cut from her second album. "Acid Rain" samples Bingo Players‘ song “ Rattle,” and is written by

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

and produced by Stargate. However it served only as a buzz single, as it was leaked in early 2013 and was never released on worldwide radios. On December 28, 2013 Jordan released a new message on her Facebook page in which she confirms that the official lead single from her then upcoming second studio album would be titled "Gone" and it would be released on March 1, 2014. The official video was shot in late 2013. Its official music video was premiered on February 28, 2014. Jordan was dropped by Jay-Z's Roc Nation label after the single failed to chart.

Personal life

In 2014 Jordan married

Luke Broadlick People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known a ...

. In 2016, she gave birth to their daughter, Anora. In 2017, she gave birth to their first son, Lincoln. In 2019, she gave birth to their second son, Abel.

Artistry

Music and influences

Jordan's self-titled debut album contained

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

, pop and R&B music, in an interview Jordan described the album's musical style saying "I don’t want to be kept in a box. I’m that pop artist, but I can switch it up and turn to R&B/soul and do lots of ballads and the hip-hop swag. It’s very versatile". Alexis described her album's genre as being "universal" saying in an interview "It's going to be very universal. It's not just a pop dance record. It has a little reggae, a little hip-hop swag, so it's going to be everything." Jordan cites singers

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

as influences. Jordan also cites

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

as an influence, calling him "a big inspiration", and also is inspired by Billie Holiday, saying "I like Billie Holiday’s sound".

Discography

Studio albums * ''

Alexis Jordan Alexis Jordan (born April 7, 1992) is an American singer and actress from Columbia, South Carolina. Jordan rose to fame as a contestant on the first season of ''America's Got Talent'' in 2006 at the age of 14. After being eliminated from the sho ...

'' (2011)

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Alexis 1992 births Living people African-American actresses American people of Puerto Rican descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent Actresses from Columbia, South Carolina Actresses from Santa Clarita, California A African-American women singers American child actresses American child singers American dance musicians American film actresses American television actresses America's Got Talent contestants Child pop musicians Hispanic and Latino American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers American YouTubers Musicians from Columbia, South Carolina 21st-century American women singers American female YouTubers Music YouTubers