RaVaughn Nichelle Brown, known professionally as RaVaughn, is an American singer-songwriter and actress from

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

. She was initially signed to

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

's imprint Compound University which includes artists such as

Adrienne Bailon Adrienne Eliza Bailon-Houghton ( née Bailon () ; born October 24, 1983) is an American television personality, singer, and actress. She is a former member of the girl groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls. From 2013 to 2022, Bailon was a co-host o ...

. RaVaughn is the older sister of actress

Rhyon Nicole Brown Rhyon Nicole Brown (; born October 6, 1992) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Career She made her film debut in ''Santa & Pete'' (1999) And has since appeared in various television shows. Brown has had recurring roles on shows such as ...

. Her music is primarily R&B but contains pop and rock elements. She has been influenced by artists such as

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 ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

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 ...

and

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

. RaVaughn has recorded demos and

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

for multiple artists, including

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

and

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 ...

to name a few. RaVaughn released her debut EP, ''Love Always… The Introduction'', in 2012. Her unreleased debut studio album,'' Love Always'', was supposedly underpromoted by the singles "Better Be Good" and "Best Friend".

Career

After attending college in New York City and putting out a few demos, she became a background singer on the hit TV show

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

for three seasons. Shortly thereafter, she was signed to Ne-Yo's imprint Compound University and soon after to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 2011. RaVaughn attended the

2013 Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...

with singer-songwriter,

. On June 17, RaVaughn sat down with ''The Source'' to discuss her career and unmateralized projects. In the interview, she shed some light on her album, ''Love Always''. "For my debut album, I want women to be inspired to be a strong woman, not taking B.S. from anyone, and being in control for yourself."

Releases

RaVaughn's debut EP entitled ''Love Always… The Introduction'' was released on September 14, 2012. After its release, music website Urban Music Daily wrote that "RaVaughn is the ultimate contemporary R&B artist. The passion she pours into her lyrics is astounding." On February 21, 2013, she released her planned debut album's lead single "Better Be Good" featuring Wale. On March 15, 2013, she published via her

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

page her album's sampler which includes tracks "Better Be Good", "It's Over", "Sick of Crying", "Lovin U", and "God Made Me Over". Her second single "Best Friend" was released on May 16, 2013. As of 2014, RaVaughn had since been released from her deal with Compound and Columbia Records, thus the album, ''Love Always'', has remained unreleased.

Performances

She performed her song "Best Friend" On

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

in April 2013. On May 7, 2013 RaVaughn joined

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...

's ''On the Road'' tour featuring

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio. In an exclusive interview with Yahoo!, she talked about her past experiences and her life on tour. RaVaughn performed alongside

, 2 Chainz, and Wale, at 106 KMEL's Summer Jam concert on June 9 in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, California. Staff members at Concrete Loop were "blown away" by RaVaughn's exclusive performance of "Best Friend" on June 26, 2013. RaVaughn performed at the 2013 BET Awards in Los Angeles, California on June 30, 2013 as one of the Music Matters artists.

Discography

;EPs *2012: ''Love Always… The Introduction'' ;Albums *''Love Always'' ;Singles

References

{{authority control African-American women singer-songwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women singers