Myron Lavell Avant (born April 26, 1978), mononymously known as Avant, is an American R&B singer. He is known for his songs " Separated", "Read Your Mind", and "Makin' Good Love". He has produced three Platinum-selling albums. He has released 15 singles and 7 albums.

Early life and education

Avant was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, the youngest of five siblings. He did not belong to a wealthy family and grew up watching his mother struggle to provide the best to her children. His mother encouraged him to improve his music skills by playing classic R&B artists like

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

, and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

. He was passionate about music since his childhood. He pursued acting during his high school education at Cleveland School of the Arts. After graduating from high school, he worked a few factory jobs.

Career

Avant began writing songs at the age of 14. He independently released his debut single " Separated" in 2000. It was a song based on a failed romantic relationship. The single created a buzz and was played on the radio. It helped him land a deal at Magic Johnson Music. In 2000, he released his debut album, ''

My Thoughts ''My Thoughts'' is the debut studio album by American singer Avant. It was released on May 9, 2000 by MCA Records and Magic Johnson's Magic Johnson Music. Avant worked with Steve "Stone" Huff on the majority of the album. It debuted at number 45 ...

'', which sold more than 1.3 million copies in the United States and 4.4 million worldwide. It was released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

. His debut album featured a remake with fellow R&B singer

Keke Wyatt Ke'Tara Shavon "Keke" Wyatt (born March 10, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. After performing in a number of girl bands and working as a songwriter during her teenage years, in 2000 she garnered nation ...

of the 1983

René & Angela René & Angela were an American R&B duo consisting of musical artists and producers René Moore and Angela Winbush. They formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1986. They are most remembered for their 1985 song "I'll Be Good". Career They recorded th ...

ballad " My First Love". It reached the top 5 of the R&B chart and helped boost Wyatt's career. He released his second album, '' Ecstasy'', in 2002. It featured another of his top ten hits, "Makin' Good Love". His third album, '' Private Room'', was released in 2003, and reached number four on ''Billboard''s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A track from the album, "Read Your Mind", was ranked 13th on the Hot 100. A remix featuring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

appeared on the promotional vinyl and was released on September 30, 2003. In 2006, Avant released his fourth album '' Director'', which topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and debuted at number four on the ''Billboard'' 200. Its lead single, "When It Hurts", reached number 91 on the

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 ...

. Avant was featured in the remix of

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After th ...

' song "

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...

" from the 2004 album ''

The Hunger for More ''The Hunger for More'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Lloyd Banks, released via Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. Originally scheduled for a May 25, 2004 release, the album was ultimately released on June 29, 2004 as l ...

''. He also made a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the 2004 feature film '' BarberShop 2: Back in Business''. In 2009, Avant collaborated with

Maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

on a cover of "Joy and Pain" as a tribute to the band for an album called ''Silky Soul Music: An All Star Tribute to Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly''. His self-titled fifth album, '' Avant'', was released on December 9, 2008. Avant later signed to Verve Forecast and released his sixth studio album '' The Letter'' (formerly titled ''Wake Up'') on December 21, 2010, featuring production from the likes of

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

;

Mike City Mike City (born Michael Flowers) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for producing the singles " I Wish" for Carl Thomas, " Heard It All Before" for Sunshine Anderson, "Full Moon" for Brandy and "One Woman ...

; Marshall Leathers; and Kajun. His eighth album '' The VIII'' was released on September 25, 2015. In 2019, Avant returned with the single "Not Gone Lose" and signed a label deal to release the album ''Can We Fall in Love'', which was released in July 2020.

Influences

Although successful, Avant began drawing comparisons to fellow R&B singer R. Kelly and even faced some backlash from music critics. Avant has cited Kelly as his biggest influence and inspiration. "Being compared to R. Kelly is a compliment in itself. He's been in the game for about twelve years. He is Mr. R&B. To be in the game, and to be named in the same sentence as that man is truly a privilege", Avant said.

Personal life

Avant suffers from

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...

and has taken up a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

diet to help manage its effects.

Discography

* ''

'' (2000) * '' Ecstasy'' (2002) * '' Private Room'' (2003) * '' Director'' (2006) * '' Avant'' (2008) * '' The Letter'' (2010) * '' Face The Music'' (2013) * '' The VIII'' (2015) * '' Can We Fall in Love'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

;

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 ...

, - , rowspan="1", 2001 , Separated , Best R&B/Soul Single – Male , , - , rowspan="1", 2007 ,

4 Minutes "4 Minutes" is a song by American singer Madonna from her eleventh studio album ''Hard Candy'' (2008), featuring vocals by American singer Justin Timberlake and American producer Timbaland. It was released as the lead single from the album on ...

, Best R&B/Soul Single – Male , , - , rowspan="1", 2015 , Himself , Centric Certified Award , ;UB Honors , - , rowspan="1", 2020 , Can We Fall in Love , Best Independent R&B Album ,

References

External links

*
Avant
on

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

Avant on YouKnowIGotSoul

Avant on Singersroom

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avant 1978 births Living people Musicians from Cleveland MCA Records artists American hip hop singers African-American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Ohio American contemporary R&B singers Ballad musicians 21st-century African-American male singers