India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
from her 23 nominations, including
Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...
.
Background
India was born in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, the daughter of Joyce and
Ralph Simpson. Her musical skills were encouraged by both parents in her younger years. Her mother is a former singer (she was signed to
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
as a teenager and opened for
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 ...
and
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
) and is now her stylist. She has an older brother named J'On and younger sister Mary A Martin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Arie is
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, and according to a DNA analysis, she descends from the
Mende people
The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the largest ethnic group at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly larger than the Mende at 31.2%. The Mende are pred ...
of
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, the
Kru people
The Kru, Kroo, Krou or Kuru are a West African ethnic group who are indigenous to western Ivory Coast and eastern Liberia. They migrated and settled along various points of the West African coast, notably Freetown, Sierra Leone, but also the Ivo ...
of
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
and the
Fula people
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
of
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
.
After Simpson's parents divorced, her mother moved the family to
Atlanta, Georgia
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 ...
when India was 13.
Simpson had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, but her interest in the
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
while attending the
Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France.
Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Unit ...
, in
Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
, 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
Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...
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
Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 ...
. In 1999, a
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
/Motown music scout signed her and made an introduction to former
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
CEO
Kedar Massenburg
William "Kedar" Massenburg (born 1963) is an American record producer and record label executive, who was the president of Motown Records from 1997 to 2004. Massenburg is best known for bringing Erykah Badu to fame. He trademarked the term "neo so ...
. Arie resides in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Named to
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
's ''SuperSoul100'' list of visionaries and influential leaders, India.Arie performed Songversation during 2017 motivational cruises.
Musical career
Arie released her debut album ''
Acoustic Soul'' on March 27, 2001. The album was met with positive reviews and commercial success. ''Acoustic Soul'' debuted at number ten on the U.S.
''Billboard'' 200 and number three on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...
. Within months, without the concentrated radio
airplay
Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
that typically powers
pop and rap albums, ''Acoustic Soul'' was certified double platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA), selling 2,180,000 copies in the U.S. and 3,000,000 copies worldwide.
The album was also certified Gold by the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
and platinum by
Music Canada
Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...
.
The album was promoted with the release of the lead single "
Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
". "Video" attained commercial success peaking at 47 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and becoming her highest-charting song in the region to date. The album's second single "
Brown Skin
"Brown Skin" is the second single released by American soul and R&B singer-songwriter India.Arie from her debut studio album '' Acoustic Soul'' in 2001. The single failed to chart on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100, but it became her highest charting ...
" failed to chart on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, but it became her highest-charting single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 29.
Arie performed a duet with
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
singer-guitarist
John Mellencamp
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...
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
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
. She closed the ceremony with a performance of her song "
Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
". Arie performed a duet with
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
singer
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...
on the song "Just Another Parade" for her 2002 album ''
Belly of the Sun
''Belly of the Sun'' is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. It was released on the Blue Note label in 2002.
Background
The title of the CD comes from a line in "Only a Dream in Rio" that Wilson had translated to Yoruba "... ...
''.
Arie followed the success of her debut on September 24, 2002, with the release of ''
Voyage to India
''Voyage to India'' is the second studio album by American singer India Arie, released on September 24, 2002, by Motown. The album is titled after a track by Arie's idol Stevie Wonder from his 1979 album '' Journey Through "The Secret Life of P ...
''.
It debuted at number six on the
''Billboard'' 200 with first week sales of 109,000 copies
and topped the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...
,
with the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
certifying it Platinum.
At the
2003 Grammy Awards
The 45th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002. Musicians accomplishments ...
, it won
Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...
, and the single "
Little Things" won
Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
The song "Get It Together" was featured on many film soundtracks including ''
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar.
Brown Sugar may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
'' (2002) and ''
Shark Tale
''Shark Tale'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman (in his feature directorial debut) ...
'' (2004).
On September 12, 2005, Arie performed "Just 4 2day", a song written for her appearance on the debut of ''
The Tyra Banks Show
''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', was an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010.
While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...
''. 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
Katrina or Katrine may refer to:
People
* Katrina (given name)
* Katrine (given name)
Meteorology
* List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina
** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurrican ...
and
Rita
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
. Arie is also featured on
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 ...
'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
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers c ...
at the
2006 Grammy Awards
The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...
. Three years earlier, their rendition of
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...
's 1944 classic "
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.
The Nat King Cole Trio f ...
", recorded for the holiday TV commercial for retailer
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
, 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.
![India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/India.Arie_2.jpg)
The first-week sales of Arie's album ''
Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship'', 161,000 copies, are her best sales week to date. The album was certified gold in August 2006, selling 730,000 in US and 1,300,000 worldwide. "
I Am Not My Hair
"I Am Not My Hair" is a song by American soul and R&B singer–songwriter India.Arie from her third studio album, '' Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship'' (2006). Written by Arie, Shannon Sanders, and Drew Ramsey, it was released as the album' ...
", a collaboration with
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...
, 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. On the April 16, 2007 episode of ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'' entitled "After Imus: Now What?", Arie guest-starred as a panelist. Arie performed a duet with singer
Anthony David for his song "
Words
A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...
" 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
Sezen Aksu (; born Fatma Sezen Yıldırım; 13 July 1954) is a Turkish pop music singer, songwriter and producer who has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Her nicknames include the "Queen of Turkish Pop" and "''Minik Serçe''" ("Little Spar ...
,
Keb Mo
Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...
, 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 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. Arie performed "Video" with British singer
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
at the 2009
VH1 Divas. Arie is one of over 70 artists singing on "
We Are the World: 25 for Haiti", a
charity single
A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity.
George Harrison's " Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-mad ...
in aid of the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
. Arie contributed vocals to "
Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
" for the 2010
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
album, ''
The Imagine Project
''The Imagine Project'' is the forty-sixth and latest studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock released on June 22, 2010. Prominent guests include John Legend, India Arie, Seal, Dave Matthews, Jeff Beck, Chaka Khan, Tedeschi & Tr ...
'' along with
Seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
,
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
,
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
,
Konono N°1,
Oumou Sangare and others.
In the fall of 2010, she was a featured guest vocalist on Carlos Santana's version of The Beatles classic song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from his album ''Guitar Heaven''. The song also features Yo-Yo Ma on cello.
In September 2012, she featured in a campaign called "30 Songs/30 Days" to support ''
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide'', a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book.
In March 2013, it was announced that Arie was working on her upcoming fifth studio album, ''Songversation'', which was released on June 25, 2013. The first single of the album, "6th Avenue", was released on iTunes on November 4, 2012; it was produced by India Arie and Israeli musician
Idan Raichel
Idan Raichel ( he, עידן רייכל, ; b. 12 September 1977) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician known for his "Idan Raichel Project" (Hebrew: ), distinctive for its fusion of electronics, traditional Hebrew texts, and diverse mu ...
. The second single "Cocoa Butter" was released on iTunes on April 9, 2013.
In 2015, she released a collaborative album with musician
Joe Sample
Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...
titled ''
Christmas with Friends''.
In July 2016, she premiered her new single "Breathe" inspired by the ''
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
'' Movement, especially
Eric Garner
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was killed in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, put him in a prohibited chokehold while arresting him. Video footage of the inciden ...
's last words. She also announced a new album titled ''Worthy'' was in the works. She performed the single on the
Soul Train Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of ''Soul Train'', the pro ...
with host
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...
in November.
In June 2017, she announced the release of her first EP ''SongVersation: Medicine'' on June 30. It was preceded by the single "Breathe" and the new single "I Am Light" which was originally included on her 2013 ''Songversation'' album. She expressed that the EP was "made to be listened to in a quiet time, prayer, meditation, Yoga. My wish is that these songs bring softness, clarity, calm, and inspiration."
In September 2018, she premiered her new single "That Magic". The song serves as the lead single from her sixth studio album titled ''Worthy'' which was released on February 15, 2019.
In February 2022, Arie joined several artists to announce plans to remove her music from music service
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
because it platformed
Joe Rogan
Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly ...
, a podcast host who repeatedly made false claims about the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
vaccine. According to media reports, Arie's planned departure from the service is over racial comments Rogan made.
Discography
Studio albums
*2001: ''
Acoustic Soul''
*2002: ''
Voyage to India
''Voyage to India'' is the second studio album by American singer India Arie, released on September 24, 2002, by Motown. The album is titled after a track by Arie's idol Stevie Wonder from his 1979 album '' Journey Through "The Secret Life of P ...
''
*2006: ''
Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship''
*2009: ''
Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics''
*2013: ''
Songversation
''Songversation'' is the fifth studio album by American singer India.Arie. The album was released on June 25, 2013, by Soulbird Music and Motown Records. It includes the singles "6th Avenue" (released in 2012), "Cocoa Butter" and "Just Do You" (bo ...
''
*2015: ''
Christmas with Friends''
*2019: ''Worthy''
EP albums
*2017: ''SongVersation: Medicine – EP''
Collaborations
* 2010 : ''Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time'' by Carlos Santana. – India sings ''While my guitar gently weeps'' with Yo Yo Ma on cello.
* 2010 : ''The Imagine Project'' by Herbie Hancock. – India sings ''Imagine'' with
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
,
Seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
, Konono No. 1, Oumou Sangare and Jeff Beck.
* 2020: " My Everything" by
Sauti Sol
Sauti Sol is a Kenyan band formed in Nairobi, Kenya, by vocalists Bien-Aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano and Savara Mudigi in 2005. Initially an a cappella group, guitarist Polycarp Otieno joined before they named themselves Sauti Sol.
Sauti Sol ...
- Midnight Train album
Awards
![India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/India.Arie_2009_VH1_Divas_1.jpg)
;
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
The Grammy Award is an honor awarded by
The Recording Academy
The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...
to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. Arie has won four Grammy awards from twenty-three nominations.
, -
, rowspan="7" ,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, , rowspan="2" , ''Acoustic Soul'' , ,
Album of the Year , ,
, -
,
Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...
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Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
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Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
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Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...
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Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
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Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
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2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
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The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.
The Nat King Cole Trio f ...
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Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers c ...
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Little Things" , ,
Best Urban/Alternative Performance , ,
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2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
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A Time to Love" , , Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals , ,
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2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
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I Am Not My Hair
"I Am Not My Hair" is a song by American soul and R&B singer–songwriter India.Arie from her third studio album, '' Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship'' (2006). Written by Arie, Shannon Sanders, and Drew Ramsey, it was released as the album' ...
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, ''Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationships'' , , Best R&B Album , ,
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2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, , "Beautiful Flower" , , Best R&B Song , ,
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2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
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Words
A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...
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Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1970 and 2011. From 1967 to 1969 and in 1971 the award included instrumental performances. The award had several minor name changes:
*From 1967 to 1968 the ...
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2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
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, ''Testimony Vol. 2, Love & Politics'' , , Best R&B Album , ,
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, "Pearls" , , Best Urban/Alternative Performance , ,
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2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
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Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
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2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
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Best New Age Album
The Grammy Award for Best New Age Album is presented to recording artists for quality albums in the new-age music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several c ...
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2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
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Best Traditional R&B Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers of quality traditional R&B vocal performances. ...
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BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
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2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
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Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
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2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
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Best Female R&B Artist , ,
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2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
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2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
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Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of ''Soul Train'', the pro ...
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2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
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Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
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Best R&B/Soul Album – Female , ,
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Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
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Best R&B/Soul Single – Female , ,
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2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
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Little Things" , , Best R&B/Soul Single – Female , ,
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2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, , ''Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationships'' , , Best R&B/Soul Album – Female , ,
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NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
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Outstanding New Artist , ,
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Outstanding Female Artist , ,
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Outstanding Album , ,
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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 ...
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Outstanding Duo or Group , ,
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Little Things" , ,
Outstanding Music Video , ,
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Outstanding Song , ,
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, ''Voyage to India'' , , Outstanding Album , ,
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, 2004 , , "The Truth" , , Outstanding Music Video , ,
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, 2006 , , India Arie , , Outstanding Female Artist , ,
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, rowspan="3" , 2007 , , India Arie , , Outstanding Female Artist , ,
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I Am Not My Hair
"I Am Not My Hair" is a song by American soul and R&B singer–songwriter India.Arie from her third studio album, '' Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship'' (2006). Written by Arie, Shannon Sanders, and Drew Ramsey, it was released as the album' ...
" , , Outstanding Music Video , ,
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, Outstanding Song , ,
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, 2008 , , "Beautiful Flower" , , Outstanding Song , ,
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, 2009 , , India Arie &
Anthony David , , Outstanding Duo or Group , ,
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, 2010 , , India Arie , , Outstanding Female Artist , ,
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, "Cocoa Butter" , , Outstanding Music Video , ,
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Tours
![14165-India Arie-6236 (13785148283)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/14165-India_Arie-6236_%2813785148283%29.jpg)
;Headlining
*Voyage to World Tour (2002/03)
*Testimony Tour (2006/10)
*Songversation Tour (2013/14)
;Opening act
*
Lovers Rock Tour
The Lovers Rock Tour was the fifth concert tour by English band Sade (band), Sade. Predominately visiting amphitheaters in North America, the tour supported the band's fifth studio album, ''Lovers Rock (Sade album), Lovers Rock''. Taking place ...
(2001)
Filmography
Theater
In 2009, India Arie portrayed Nina Simone in a staged reading at the
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
History
The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...
of the upcoming
Broadway musical
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
"Soul Doctor", about the life of
Shlomo Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime.
...
written by
Daniel Wise.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arie, India
1975 births
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women guitarists
21st-century American women singers
African-American women singer-songwriters
American contemporary R&B singers
American contraltos
American flautists
American neo soul singers
American people of Bissau-Guinean descent
American people of Fulbe descent
American people of Liberian descent
American people of Mende descent
American people of Sierra Leonean descent
Ballad musicians
Feminist musicians
Grammy Award winners
Guitarists from Colorado
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
Living people
Motown artists
Musicians from Atlanta
Musicians from Savannah, Georgia
Singers from Denver
Writers from Denver
Writers from Savannah, Georgia
African-American guitarists
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
Singer-songwriters from Colorado
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
21st-century flautists