Omarion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Omarion | |
|---|---|
Omarion attending his clothing line launch.
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Omari Ishmael Grandberry III |
| Born | November 12, 1984 |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Urban/Dance-pop/R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Songwriter, Dancer, Actor |
| Instrument(s) | Voice |
| Years active | 2001 - 2004 (B2K) 2005 - Present (Solo) |
| Label(s) | TUG Entertainment Sony Urban Music Epic Columbia |
| Associated acts |
B2K, Bow Wow, Marques Houston |
| Website | Official Website |
Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known as Omarion, is an American Grammy-nominated R&B singer, actor, songwriter, record producer, founder of the group 2 Much, and the former lead singer of boy band B2K.
Contents |
Omarion was born in Inglewood, California, the son of Leslie (née Burrell) and Trent Grandberry.[1] He was born around midnight at home. He is the oldest of seven children. His younger brother O'Ryan is also a singer. Omarion began to perform at age five. He was part of "UAC" but soon disbanded as he wanted to focus on his talent, hip-hop and R&B. Before he made it into the music business, he was in commercials for Kelloggs Corn Pops and McDonald's. It has recently been revealed that Omarion was molested by both Chris Stokes and Marques Houston when he was younger.
In 2001, Omarion became the leading man of the hip hop/R&B boy band, B2K. The band, including Omarion, was made up of four members, Jarell "J-Boog" Houston, DeMario "Raz-B" Thornton, and Dreux "Lil' Fizz" Frederic. The band released their debut album, B2K, to some success. Their second album, Pandemonium, was far more successful, reaching the top ten on the Billboard 200, giving them their first #1 with "Bump, Bump, Bump". Following their third album, a soundtrack to the movie You Got Served, B2K announced they had broken up.
Almost a year after B2K's split, Omarion released his debut album, O. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, eventually going platinum. The album included the relatively successful song "O". That same year, he was featured on Bow Wow's hit song "Let Me Hold You". The song reached #4 of the Billboard 100, becoming Omarion's first top-ten single as a solo artist.
In December of 2006, Omarion released his second album, 21, named for his age at the time he recorded it (though he turned 22 before the CD was released.) "Entourage", the first single, reached only #58 on the Hot 100. The video featured former B2K bandmate Lil' Fizz. Omarion and Chris Stokes founded 2Much. They are signed on O record label.
Omarion has toured with Bow Wow, Ciara, Yung Joc, Ne-Yo, Usher, Lloyd, Mario (singer), Pretty Ricky, Jibbs, and many others. The second single from 21, "Ice Box", produced by Timbaland, has gained significant radio airplay and has become his biggest single to date, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There is an official remix featuring Usher as well as a DJ White Owl mix featuring Usher & Fabolous and another remix featuring Tah'Burner.[2]
Omarion and Bow Wow have been in the studio for the past few months recording their new album due out December 11. Omarion and Bow Wow have both stated that this is a different project that they have done in their highly successful music careers. The first single off their new album is "Girlfriend", a video which had premiered late October. The follow-up single "Hey Baby" has already been leaked before it's official debut via the internet, [1].
In early 2004, Omarion appeared in several movies, most notably You Got Served, in which he starred alongside his label mate Marques Houston and his fellow B2K bandmates at the time. The movie centered around a group of friends in a breakdancing crew who take part in a street dancing competition. The movie was panned by critics, earning a 17% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 2.1/10 on IMDb, though it still managed to earn $40 million worldwide. Later that year he had a minor role in the comedy Fat Albert, based on the animated series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. This also starred Marques Houston.
Omarion will next appear in Somebody Help Me also starring Marques Houston, opening sometime in 2007. Omarion also starred in Feel the Noise, which was produced by Jennifer Lopez. The single for the film, called "Cut Off Time", features Kat DeLuna. He will also star in the upcoming sequel to You Got Served, You Got Served 2, most likely being released sometime in 2008. The film will, like its predecessor, will also star Marques, however it is most likely that the rest of B2K will not return.
Omarion was in London at the time of the London bombings on July 7, 2005. Whilst he was not near any of the stations, nor did he travel on the London Underground during his stay, a press release was released on his behalf asking for people to pray for his safe return to the US. This has given rise to many online communities (such as Fark) "praying for Omarion" whenever there is a disaster or terrorist attack.[citation needed]
However, the same day, his website released a statement saying that he was in no way affiliated with the company or writer who had released the statement on his behalf. He apologized for the confusion and asked his fans to pray for those affected by the attack.[citation needed]
- 2005: O
- 2006: 21
- 2008: A New Rush
- 2005: "O"
- 2005: "Touch"
- 2005: "I'm Tryna"
- 2006: "Entourage"
- 2006: "Ice Box" (featuring Timbaland)
- 2007: "Cut Off Time" (featuring Kat Deluna)
- 2002: "Uh-Huh" (with B2K)
- 2002: "Gots Ta Be" (with B2K)
- 2002: "Why I Love You" (with B2K)
- 2003: "Bump, Bump, Bump" (with B2K featuring P. Diddy)
- 2003: "Girlfriend" (with B2K)
- 2003: "What a Girl Wants" (with B2K])
- 2004: "Badaboom" (with B2K featuring Fabolous)
- 2007: "Girlfriend" (with Bow Wow)
- 2007: "Hey Baby (Jump Off)" (with Bow Wow)
- 2003: "Feelin' Freaky" (Nick Cannon featuring B2K)
- 2005: "Let Me Hold You" (Bow Wow featuring Omarion)
- American Music Awards
- 2005, Favorite R&B Male Artist (Nominated)
- BET Awards
- 2005, Viewer's Choice Award: "O" (Winner)
- 2005, Best New Artist (Nominated)
- Image Awards
- 2006, Outstanding New Artist (Nominated)
- Grammy Awards
- 2006, Best Contemporary R&B Album: O (Nominated)
- MTV Movie Awards
- 2004, Best Male Breakthrough Performance: You Got Served (Nominated)
- 2004, Best Dance Sequence: You Got Served w/ Marques Houston (Nominated)
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Good Burger | Friend | |
| 2004 | You Got Served | David | |
| The Bernie Mac Show | Shonte | ||
| One on One | Nyghtmare/Darius | ||
| Fat Albert | Reggie | ||
| 2005 | Cuts | Darius | |
| The Proud Family Movie | Fifteen Cent (Voice) | ||
| 2007 | Somebody Help Me | Darryl Jennings | |
| Feel the Noise | Rob | ||
| 2008 | Backdown | David |
- TUG Official Site
- Official Website
- Official Myspace Site
- Official Fan Site
- Omarion at the Internet Movie Database
- MTV article on press release controversy
Categories: Articles lacking sources from February 2007 | All articles lacking sources | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since October 2007 | 1984 births | African-American actors | African-American singers | American dancers | American film actors | American male singers | American pop singers | American rhythm and blues singers | B2K members | Living people