Karyn Layvonne White (born October 14, 1965) is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "
Superwoman
Superwoman is the name of several fictional characters from DC Comics. Most of them are, like Supergirl, women with powers similar to those of Superman, like flight, invulnerability, and enhanced strength. Detective Comics, Inc. trademarked the ...
" (1988),
"
Secret Rendezvous" (1989), "
The Way You Love Me" (1988), and the
US Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
No. 1 single "
Romantic" (1991).
Early life
White was born in Los Angeles to Vivian and Clarence White. She is the youngest of five children. She sang in a church choir and worked as a backing singer, then sang on
Jeff Lorber
Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for '' Prototype' ...
's 1986 ''Private Passion'' single "Facts of Love", "True Confessions" and "Back in Love" before signing to
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
.
Career
White's self-titled debut album ''
Karyn White
Karyn Layvonne White (born October 14, 1965) is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman" (1988), " Secret Rendezvous" (1989), " The Way You Love Me" (19 ...
'' was released in 1988.
It was produced by
L.A. Reid
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...
and
Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
Nicknames
* Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber
* Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician
* "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
and achieved platinum status in the US. The album contained the Hot 100 hit singles "
The Way You Love Me", "
Secret Rendezvous", and "
Superwoman
Superwoman is the name of several fictional characters from DC Comics. Most of them are, like Supergirl, women with powers similar to those of Superman, like flight, invulnerability, and enhanced strength. Detective Comics, Inc. trademarked the ...
" as well as the No. 1 R&B hit "
Love Saw It
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the lov ...
", a duet with Babyface himself. White was nominated in the Best R&B/Urban Contemporary New Artist category for the
1989 Soul Train Music Awards, which was won by
Al B. Sure. She also received nominations for two Grammy Awards. She became the first female artist to have the first three solo releases from their debut album hit No. 1 on the
R&B charts
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
.
Her follow-up album was ''
Ritual of Love'' in 1991. It had songs produced by
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...
and featured the hit single "Romantic", which hit number one on the U.S.
''Billboard'' Hot 100. Other singles from the album include "The Way I Feel About You" (U.S. #12), "Walkin' the Dog", and "Do Unto Me" (the last two did not chart). The photographer and
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
Matthew Rolston
Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...
directed the video for the hit single "
Romantic". Michael Walls, who was credited as
stylist on ''Ritual of Love'', worked with White on the look for the ''Ritual of Love''
album sleeve
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl record. Alternative terms are ''dust sleeve'', ''album liner'' and ''liner''.
The term is also used to denominate the outermost cardboard covering of a record, i.e. the ''record jacket'' or ''album ...
, and three of the music videos released for the album. Walls had the idea for the
Chanel
Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
-inspired pearls and black dress used on the album cover, the
French maid
''French maid'' was a term applied in the Victorian and early 20th century periods to a lady's maid of French nationality. A lady's maid was a senior servant who reported directly to the lady of the house, and accompanied her mistress on ...
look and multiple wardrobe changes for video of "The Way I Feel About You", and the "Walkin' the Dog" video, which was based on a scene from the film ''
Sweet Charity
''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on ...
''.
Her next album was ''
Make Him Do Right
''Make Him Do Right'' is the third album by the American singer Karyn White, released in 1994. Its first single was "Hungah".
Critical reception
The '' Knoxville News Sentinel'' deemed the album "a lifeless recording overloaded with braindead bal ...
'' in 1994. The album did not sell well, although she did chart with the singles "Hungah" and the
Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
Nicknames
* Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber
* Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician
* "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
-penned "Can I Stay With You", which became her final U.S. R&B Top 10 hit in early 1995. "I'd Rather Be Alone", her last chart single to date, peaked at No. 50 on the same chart later that year. In 1995, White appeared with
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
,
Monica and others for the single "
Freedom (Theme from Panther)" for the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' ( ...
film
of the same name.
White left
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
in 1999, and dropped out of the music public eye for many years to start a family.
In 2006, she recorded a new album, titled ''Sista Sista''; which was slated for release in 2006, but was shelved. Two tracks, "All I Do" and "Disconnected", were later released on the
best of
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
, ''Superwoman: The Best of Karyn White''. She was also slated to appear on the
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 ...
in 2009 as a tribute to Babyface Edmonds. However, this performance was canceled when Edmonds and Reid withdrew from the Soul Train ceremony, declining the honor. In 2011, she was slated to have shot a pilot for a reality series with R&B singers
Shanice
Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox (née Wilson; born May 14, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. Shanice had the ''Billboard'' hit singles " I Love Your Smile" and " Silent Prayer" in 1991 and " Saving Forever for You" in 19 ...
and
Debelah Morgan
Debelah Laksh Morgan (born September 29, 1977) is an American singer and songwriter. Morgan is best known for her hit single " Dance with Me" off of her third studio album, which reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Early life and educ ...
.
White released her first album after a seventeen-year break, ''
Carpe Diem
is a Latin aphorism, usually translated "seize the day", taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work ''Odes'' (23 BC).
Translation
is the second-person singular present active imperative of '' carpō'' "pick or pluck" used by Horace t ...
'', in March 2012.
The album featured the singles "Sista, Sista" and "Unbreakable," both of which received music videos.
In 2017, White landed a recurring role on the BET Centric television series ''Beauty and the Baller'' as trophy wife Kym Banks. She also returned with new music and her first feature film role, in ''Gale and the Storm'' directed by Derrick Muhammad. The soundtrack for the film was released on September 4 and included her latest single "Blind Man Walking". The film made its premiere on October 12, 2017.
She earned a 2017 UB Honors nomination for the ''Gale and the Storm'' soundtrack in the "Best Independent R&B Album Release" category.
Personal life
White married
Terry Lewis in 1992 and together they had a daughter, Ashley Nicole, and adopted their son Brandon. Lewis brought to the marriage his children Trey and Chloe. The couple eventually divorced in 1999. White was later married to producer/musician
Bobby G from 2007–09. She then started a relationship with musician
Al B. Sure!
Albert Joseph Brown III (born June 4, 1968), known professionally as Al B. Sure!, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host and former record executive. He was born in Boston and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. During the ...
in 2012.
White resides in
Rocklin, California
Rocklin is a city in Placer County, California, about from Sacramento, and about northeast of Roseville in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with Granite Bay, Loomis and Lincoln. As of the 2010 census, Ro ...
, a suburb of Sacramento, and runs a successful interior design and real estate business.
[''Superwoman: The Best Of'' liner notes]
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''
Karyn White
Karyn Layvonne White (born October 14, 1965) is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman" (1988), " Secret Rendezvous" (1989), " The Way You Love Me" (19 ...
'' (1988)
* ''
Ritual of Love'' (1991)
* ''
Make Him Do Right
''Make Him Do Right'' is the third album by the American singer Karyn White, released in 1994. Its first single was "Hungah".
Critical reception
The '' Knoxville News Sentinel'' deemed the album "a lifeless recording overloaded with braindead bal ...
'' (1994)
* ''
Carpe Diem
is a Latin aphorism, usually translated "seize the day", taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work ''Odes'' (23 BC).
Translation
is the second-person singular present active imperative of '' carpō'' "pick or pluck" used by Horace t ...
'' (2012)
Awards and nominations
See also
*
List of Billboard number-one singles
This is a list of songs that have peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the magazine's national singles charts that preceded it. Introduced in 1958, the Hot 100 is the pre-eminent singles chart in the United States, currently mon ...
*
List of artists who reached number one in the United States
This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on '' Billboard'' magazine's weekly singles chart(s). This list spans from the issue dated January 1, 1955 to the present. Prior to the creation of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ''Bil ...
*
List of Billboard number-one dance club songs
This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by '' Billboard'' magazine's Dance Club Songs chart – a weekly national survey of popular songs in U.S. dance clubs. It began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action'' chart. It is ...
*
References
External links
Official website*
Karyn Whiteat
VH1
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Karyn
1965 births
Living people
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
20th-century African-American women singers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American women pop singers
Musicians from Los Angeles
Singers from California
People from Rocklin, California
Dance-pop musicians
21st-century African-American women singers
New jack swing musicians