Briana Babineaux (born August 26, 1994), who goes by the stage name Bri, is an American

urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

artist and musician. She started her music career, in 2015, with releasing a live album, ''Keys to My Heart'' (2016), by

Tyscot Records Tyscot Records is an independent American gospel music record label based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tyscot Records was founded by Craig Tyson and Dr. Leonard Scott in 1976 in to record their church choir, Christ Church Apostolic Radio Choir. ...

. This album charted on three ''Billboard'' magazine charts.

Early life

Babineaux was born on August 26, 1994, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii to a military father, who served in the Marines. Her father, Shawnta Babineaux, moved the family back to his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, when she was three months of age. Babineaux's parents got divorced, when she was two years old. She was raised by her mother, Shannon Miller, and her step-father, Louis Miller, who is a pastor at House Of Freedom, in Lafayette, Louisiana. She began singing at three years old, eventually graduating from Northside High School in Lafayette, Louisiana as a member of their 2012 graduating class. While in high school, she was a member of the volleyball and track teams, earning a scholarship to

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

, yet she only stayed one semester because her interest in athletics waned. She stands 5-foot 6 inches tall. Babineaux eventually settled on her music and academics, while changing universities to the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

, where she is majoring in criminal justice.

Music career

Her music career started in 2014, with her YouTube channel by posting videos of her singing, where they have received hundreds of thousands of views. She started professionally recording music in 2015, with her first live album, ''Keys to My Heart'' that released on March 25, 2016, from

. This album charted on three ''Billboard'' magazine charts, while it placed on the ''Billboard'' 200,

Top Gospel Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, and Independent Albums charts, where it peaked at Nos. 138, 1, and 9, respectively.

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bri 1994 births Living people American gospel singers 21st-century African-American women singers African-American songwriters African-American Christians Musicians from Honolulu Singers from Louisiana Songwriters from Hawaii Songwriters from Louisiana