Dawn Richard
Dawn Richard |
|---|
Dawn Angelique Richard (born 5 August, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and member of the musical group, Danity Kane.
Early life
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana.She is Haitian-American (although now living in Baltimore, Maryland due to Hurricane Katrina), music has played an influential part in her life since early childhood. Not only was her father a member of the then-popular band Chocolate Milk, but her mother owned a dancing school where Dawn spent much of her childhood developing her skills at choreography and singing. Aside from music, Richard was a high school national basketball champion, as well as a state bowling champion. She was a top-notch student, and attended the University of New Orleans, majoring in art, under a full academic scholarship.
Career
Early on in her teenage life, Richard began performing with a local New Orleans group called "Realiti," before following her instincts and going solo under the name "Dawn Angelique." With help from her family and friends she released a solo album called "Been a While." Although it had no releases and did not chart, it was still good enough to secure her a spot as the opening act for Anthony Hamilton. Briefly leaving music behind, she focused on dance, becoming an NBA dancer for the New Orleans Hornets while attending university.
Her big break came when, in 2005, Richard auditioned for the MTV show Making the Band 3 in Orlando, where she was chosen to compete for a spot in Diddy's future girl-group. She beat out numerous contestants to secured herself a spot, along with Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Wanita Woodgette (now known as "D. Woods"), and Shannon Bex in the newly formed musical group, which would soon be called Danity Kane.
The idea for the name of the group came from one of Richard's drawing. An avid fan of manga, while Danity Kane was in the studio, Richard drew a female superhero which caught the attention of Diddy. When asked what the character's name was she replied "Danity Kane," and to Diddy this represented the girls of Making the Band 3. He then decided that it should be the name of the group. The name and story were first introduced during Danity Kane's TRL appearance on June 14th, 2006
Richard has also remixed a song with London-based artist Cherri V, whose title is "Fast Car." The song has since become one of the most listened to songs on Cherri V's myspace.
Early 2008, a song called "Phase" was leaked onto the internet and featured Lil Wayne. Although it was buzzed as a Danity Kane track, only Richard's voice was featured on the song, leaving speculation that it was a solo demo. July 2008, 2 new tracks were released onto the internet, one called "Rush Love" which featured Flo Rida, and another track called "Strobe Light". It is still unknown if this was part of a future solo endeavor.
During a MTV News break, it was stated that Richard is working on an untitled comic book.
Personal life
Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie J. Klang were aired together on the second season of Making the Band 4. The series showed the two groups doing performances, living together, and the relationships between members of the bands. During the series it showed Richard's relationship with Day26's Qwanell Mosley grow. The close friendship blossomed into something more and the two shared a kiss in one of the episodes.
On the live season finale, when Sway, reporter and executive producer for MTV News, asked the two about their relationship, the two said they wanted to "claim" each other, making their relationship official. Since then, Richard and Mosley have been seen together in various public places such as nightclubs and industry parties. In addition, Richard has made a cameo in Day26's Music Video "Since You've Been Gone" appearing as Mosley's love interest and Mosley returned the favor by appearing in Danity Kane's video for "Bad Girl."
Discography
Albums
| Year | Information | Chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | R&B | UWC | |||
| 2005 | Been A While
|
| |||
| 2006 | Danity Kane |
| |||
| 2008 | Welcome to the Dollhouse | ||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. 100 | U.S. Pop | U.S. R&B | CAN | GER | UWC | |||
| 2006 | "Show Stopper" (featuring Yung Joc) | 8 | 12 | 33 | — | 27 | 34 | Danity Kane |
| "Ride for You" | 79 | 55 | 122 | — | — | — | ||
| "Home for Christmas" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Promotional Release | |
| 2008 | "Damaged" | 10 | 5 | 100 | 26 | — | 23 | Welcome to the Dollhouse |
| "Bad Girl" (featuring Missy Elliott) | 110 | 85 | — | — | — | — | ||
Other charted songs
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. 100 | U.S. Pop | U.S. D/S | |||
| 2006 | "One Shot" | 111 | 85 | — | Danity Kane |
| "Touching My Body" | 119 | 81 | 74 | ||
| "Sleep on It" | 64 | 51 | 43 | ||
| 2008 | "Lights Out" | 101 | 73 | 67 | Welcome to the Dollhouse |
External links
- Dawn Richard Online (Official Site)
- Official MySpace Profile