NEW YORK (Universal Records) - Multi-platinum Motown recording artist
Brian McKnight receives his own Valentine's gift from fans this week, with record buyers making his new album, Gemini, the No 4 selling album in the country. The award winning balladeer's eighth studio album sold over a 100,000 CDs this week.
Without the help of videos, Gemini has already spawned two smash hits - "What We Do Here," and "Every Time You Go Away." Both songs topped the Adult R&B and Urban AC radio charts. The seductive ballad What We Do Here," held the No 1 spot at Adult R&B for five weeks in a row and earned a Grammy nomination for "Best R&B Male Vocal Performance."
The sultry follow-up, "Every Time You Go Away," hit the bulls-eye with the No 1 most-added song at Urban AC radio and had some critics comparing the love song to his previous smash, "Back At One." People magazine praises McKnight's newest effort as "sophisticated soul can still be as smooth as satin sheets."
The new album also provides plenty of opportunities for the writer/producer to flex his versatility, like the soulful arc of "She," which includes guest appearances from Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli and Philly neo-soulster Musiq, and the hyper-smooth "What You Gonna Do," with guest stints from Juvenile and Akon.
With over 16 million records sold in a career that has produced the triple platioum (1999) Back At One, the double platinum (1997) Anytime, and (2003) acclaimed U-Turn, Brian has received many awards and accolades from the American Music, Blockbuster, NAACP image, Soul Train and more.
The talented singer, songwriter, musician and producer has worked with some of music's biggest stars, such as Nelly, Mariah Carey, Vanessa Williams, Justin Timberlake, Willie Nelson, and others.
Fans can catch McKnight on the WB talk show "Life & Style" on 2/25; he'll be the featured performer at "The State Of The Black Family" forum - which airs live on C-SPAN on 2/26; and he has upcoming performances on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 2/27 and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The charismatic singer is also slated to co-host and perform at this year's Soul Train Awards in March.
