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[Seven]

http://www.who.com.au/article/entertainment/brandy-brings-her-slayana-world-tour-to-australia

Actress and Grammy-winning singer Brandy, who hit the ARIA charts with songs such as "I Wanna Be Down" and the Monica duet "The Boy Is Mine," will tour Australia for the first time this month with three dates on her Slayana World Tour ? June 17 at Metro City in Perth, June 20 at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, and June 21 at Hamer Hall in Melbourne.

"It's about time," Brandy tells WHO, adding that her daughter Sy'rai, who turns 14 on June 16, will join her on the trip.

"I want to have an open mind and I want my daughter to have an open mind," says Brandy, 37. "I told her, do not go on the Internet, don't look ? because my daughter loves to research ? and I'm like, 'Listen, we're going to get there and we're just going to explore and in that way, we don't have any preconceived thoughts or anything.' We can just embrace Australia for what it really is."

With stylistic influences from her recent stint as Chicago's Roxie Hart on Broadway, Brandy says fans can expect a high-energy show fusing retro sounds and a theatre vibe akin to the video for new single "Beggin' and Pleadin.'"

"I think that's how growth happens," she says of her Broadway experience. " You learn things in the present moment and then you take it with you into other moments, and then you apply what you've learned and you continue to evolve. I think that's what life is all about, constant growth, constant change and then wisdom ? all of it kind of happens for you."

Brandy also gets inspiration from her all-time favourite idol, Whitney Houston.

"The first concert that I saw was [Whitney's]," she says. "She played in Los Angeles at the Forum. I didn't really see the concert because I was in the nosebleed section, so I spent most the concert talking my way down to try to get to backstage!"

Houston would later pick a 16-year-old Brandy to play Cinderella in a multicultural version of the musical for US television. "I was able to make history with her," Brandy recalls. "I was the first African American princess and she played my fairy godmother? I think I was more excited about working with her and being around her than I was being Cinderella."

Brandy adds she is fuelling 20 years of experience into her tour, too. "I think passion and reinventing yourself are all a part of longevity, and loving what you do," she says. "I really love what I do. There were times where I hated the industry and didn't want to sing anymore. I've had my moments like every other artist, but after a while, you start to feel unfulfilled and you start to feel like something is off, and what's off is that you are not living your purpose. Like I'm here to inspire people, I'm here to relate through music and change moods and emotions, and that's a gift, and so when that gift isn't being used, something is not right and you have to get back to it."

For more with Brandy, pick up a copy of WHO on newsstands this week.

What is WHO and are there any Australia Starz who can get a copy for the rest of the interview?

[b7]

With stylistic influences from her recent stint as Chicago's Roxie Hart on Broadway, Brandy says fans can expect a high-energy show fusing retro sounds and a theatre vibe akin to the video for new single "Beggin' and Pleadin.'"

this sounds GREAT

[Seven]

http://www.viva.co.nz/article/culture-travel/brandy-auckland-2016/

You may remember her as the star of TV's Moesha, or the teen singer behind 90s hits Sitting Up In My Room, Baby, Have You Ever and, with Monica, The Boy is Mine.

Since her 1994 self-titled debut (at just 15-years old), Brandy Norwood, most commonly known as Brandy, has released five albums, sung the lead in Chicago on Broadway and starred in a number of TV shows and movies (including I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and Cinderella alongside her idol Whitney Houston).

Now, Brandy has her own TV show again (Zoe Ever After, which launched in January this year) and is celebrating the release of her single Beggin & Pleadin, the first on her new label Slayana Records (currently the singer is suing her former label for blocking her from recording or releasing new music).

Brandy launches her Slayana World Tour next week in Auckland. We spoke to her, en route to rehearsal in LA, about her first visit to New Zealand, the 90s and the inspiration for her new work.

Brandy on her upcoming tour...
?I always get nervous because I want for it to be so great, you know, for you to all have a great time. I really care about that so I'm gonna work really hard, so you guys get exactly what you've been waiting for.?

On stage fright...
?I love the stage, even though I have so much stage fright weeks in advance and moments before, when I go on stage I become somebody completely different.?

On her role in Chicago and her latest music video, inspired by The Color Purple...
?I love the 20s. I kinda wish I was born back then, just to feel that vibe. But it's so amazing how when you put on the clothes and set the scene with the right lights and the right music, you can really take yourself back in time. Every time I do Chicago it takes me to a different time and to a different world which I love.?

On her new song Beggin & Pleadin...
?It's part of a new movement ? it's my freedom movement, my stance to own myself, own my voice, own my life and own my artistry. Everything is inspired from that one song, and then I'm pushing forward to tell a very real raw story ... Everything that I do from here on, it has to be real, it has to be from the heart.?

On her on-stage style...
?I definitely have a vision for what I'm going to look like. But you know, just to put it out there, I'm a simple girl. I don't need a whole lot of stuff going on. Honestly I just need a mic.?

On depression...
?I go through that, at different times I feel that way, but I have a practice where it kinda keeps me above it. I feel things probably deeper than anyone you know, when you feel so much you can get creative in that space.?

On the 90s music scene...
?I'm so glad I came out in that era ? where legends were still on the charts ? You've got Whitney and Toni and Mariah ? It just kept me on my toes, and it made me reach for greatness. I think in this era it's a little easier to be successful. Talent is what I think prevails at the end of the day and I'm just so glad that I'm able to have preserved my gift and to still be able to do what I love to do in 2016. That's awesome, and to still have sanity, all at the same time!?

[b7]

On the 90s music scene...
?I'm so glad I came out in that era ? where legends were still on the charts ? You've got Whitney and Toni and Mariah ? It just kept me on my toes, and it made me reach for greatness. I think in this era it's a little easier to be successful. Talent is what I think prevails at the end of the day and I'm just so glad that I'm able to have preserved my gift and to still be able to do what I love to do in 2016. That's awesome, and to still have sanity, all at the same time!?

cf;;cfcf;ffvv



true

[Sovereign.]

Yes high-energy show! 

Kwe' ain't hea for a Tori Kelly mess! 

[LOONA.]

Everything that I do from here on, it has to be real, it has to be from the heart.

I think in this era it's a little easier to be successful. Talent is what I think prevails at the end of the day and I'm just so glad that I'm able to have preserved my gift and to still be able to do what I love to do in 2016.

[CandyCrush]

....I'm here to relate through music and change moods and emotions, and that's a gift, and so when that gift isn't being used, something is not right and you have to get back to it."

for the ones who thinks she's not interested in music any more

she speaks of passion, and doing what you love. I think she just wants CONTROL now, wants to be her own boss. And she's working on that part. The music is coming.

[FRANCE]

Kwe' ain't hea for a Tori Kelly mess!

[Harlem]

Bitch is bout to bring THEATER to fuckin TOUR!!!! BRING YOUR SONGS TO LIFE THEN BRAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[b7]

Bitch is bout to bring THEATER to fuckin TOUR!!!! BRING YOUR SONGS TO LIFE THEN BRAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol!!

People freaking out over one little clip of a rehearsal as if they don't know what she can do. This show is gonna be everything and even more than what I originally expected

[CandyCrush]

Bitch is bout to bring THEATER to fuckin TOUR!!!! BRING YOUR SONGS TO LIFE THEN BRAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol!!

People freaking out over one little clip of a rehearsal as if they don't know what she can do. This show is gonna be everything and even more than what I originally expected

think Black Girls Rock x 1000
she is coming for wigs, snatching tape and ALL!!!!

[Monika]

Bitch is bout to bring THEATER to fuckin TOUR!!!! BRING YOUR SONGS TO LIFE THEN BRAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Omg, i can't wait!

Imma need for her to add RHD and Torn down back to the setlist, though! 

[Monika]

On the 90s music scene...
?I'm so glad I came out in that era ? where legends were still on the charts ? You've got Whitney and Toni and Mariah ? It just kept me on my toes, and it made me reach for greatness. I think in this era it's a little easier to be successful. Talent is what I think prevails at the end of the day and I'm just so glad that I'm able to have preserved my gift and to still be able to do what I love to do in 2016. That's awesome, and to still have sanity, all at the same time!?

cf;;cfcf;ffvv



true

Yes, very true,

[Harlem]

Bitch is bout to bring THEATER to fuckin TOUR!!!! BRING YOUR SONGS TO LIFE THEN BRAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol!!

People freaking out over one little clip of a rehearsal as if they don't know what she can do. This show is gonna be everything and even more than what I originally expected

Right smh! I actually LIVED for that clip b/c on stage that choreo is gon be a fuckin problem! Her & Frank got soo many tricks up there sleeves, we bout to get LASHED!!!

[GLOCK]

Praying she sells a dvd