India Arie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids India Arie
Arie performing in 2009
Born	India Arie Simpson (1975-10-03) October 3, 1975 (age 49) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Other names	India.Arie
Alma mater	Savannah College of Art and Design
Occupation	Singer songwriter
Years active	1997–present
Parent(s)	Ralph Simpson
Musical career
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	R&B neo soul
Labels	Motown (1999–2007) Universal Republic (2007–present)
Associated acts	Joe Sample Musiq Soulchild

India Arie Simpson (sometimes called India.Arie) is an American singer and songwriter. She was born on October 3, 1975. Her first album, Acoustic Soul, came out in 2001. Since then, she has released six more studio albums. India Arie has sold over five million records in the United States and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from 23 nominations. One of her wins was for Best R&B Album.

About India Arie

India Arie was born in Denver, Colorado. Her parents, Joyce and Ralph Simpson, really encouraged her musical talents when she was young. Her mother was also a singer who signed with Motown Records as a teenager. She even opened shows for famous artists like Stevie Wonder and Al Green. Now, her mother works as India Arie's stylist.

India Arie has an older brother named J'On and a younger sister named Mary A Martin. India Arie is African-American. DNA tests show that her family comes from the Mende people of Sierra Leone, the Kru people of Liberia, and the Fula people of Guinea-Bissau.

When India Arie was 13, her parents divorced. Her mother then moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia. India had tried many musical instruments while growing up in Denver. But it was her interest in the guitar at the Savannah College of Art and Design that changed everything. She realized she loved writing songs and performing. She said that when she started to understand her own feelings, she also began to understand people better. This was a direct result of writing songs.

India Arie helped start a music group in Atlanta called Government Earthseed. She performed one song on a local music collection. This led to her performing at the 1998 Lilith Fair music festival. In 1999, a music scout from Universal/Motown signed her. They introduced her to Kedar Massenburg, who was the CEO of Motown at the time. India Arie lived in New York City for more than ten years. Then she moved back to Atlanta to focus on her music career.

India Arie was named to Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul100 list. This list features people who are visionaries and influential leaders. She performed her Songversation album during motivational cruises in 2017.

India Arie's Music Career

India Arie released her first album, Acoustic Soul, on March 27, 2001. People really liked the album, and it sold very well. Acoustic Soul reached number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. It also reached number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Within a few months, Acoustic Soul sold over 2.1 million copies in the U.S. and 3 million worldwide. This happened even without a lot of radio airplay. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album as double platinum. It was also certified Gold in the United Kingdom and platinum in Canada.

The first song released from the album was "Video". It became very popular, reaching number 47 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. This is still her highest-charting song in that region. The second song, "Brown Skin", did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it became her highest-charting song in the United Kingdom, reaching number 29.

In 2001, India Arie sang a duet with rock singer John Mellencamp. The song was called "Peaceful World" and was on his album Cuttin' Heads. In 2002, India Arie and her album were nominated for seven Grammy Awards. But she did not win any, losing to Alicia Keys in most categories. She ended the Grammy ceremony by performing her song "Video". India Arie also sang a duet with jazz singer Cassandra Wilson on the song "Just Another Parade" for Wilson's 2002 album Belly of the Sun.

India Arie released her second album, Voyage to India, on September 24, 2002. It was very successful, just like her first album. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 109,000 copies in its first week. The album also topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The RIAA certified it Platinum. At the 2003 Grammy Awards, Voyage to India won Best R&B Album. The song "Little Things" won Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Her song "Get It Together" was used in movies like Brown Sugar (2002) and Shark Tale (2004).

On September 12, 2005, India Arie performed a song called "Just 4 2day" on the first episode of The Tyra Banks Show. She also sang "What About the Child", a song to help children affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This song was available to download online for one dollar. India Arie was also featured on Stevie Wonder's album A Time to Love, released on October 18, 2005. They sang a duet on the title track "A Time to Love", which India Arie wrote. This song was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006. Three years earlier, their version of "The Christmas Song" was also nominated for a Grammy. This song was made for a holiday TV commercial for Target.

India Arie performing in Lokeren, Belgium, August 3, 2004

India Arie's album Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship had her best first-week sales ever, with 161,000 copies sold. The album was certified gold in August 2006. It sold 730,000 copies in the U.S. and 1.3 million worldwide. The song "I Am Not My Hair", which she sang with Akon, was the most successful song from this album. It reached number 97 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 65 on the UK Singles Chart. On April 16, 2007, India Arie was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She also sang a duet with Anthony David for his song "Words" on his 2008 album Acey Duecy.

Her next album, Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics, came out on February 10, 2009. It reached number 3 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the R&B chart. For this album, India Arie worked with artists like Sezen Aksu, Keb Mo, Gramps Morgan, and Musiq Soulchild. She wanted to make music that was meaningful and diverse. India Arie said this was her first album where she wrote and sang songs without worrying about what others would think. This was after she took a much-needed vacation to Hawaii. This album was also her first after leaving Motown Records and moving to Universal Records.

In 2009, India Arie performed "Video" with British singer Adele at the VH1 Divas show. India Arie was one of over 70 artists who sang on "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti". This was a charity single to help people after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. India Arie also sang on "Imagine" for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, The Imagine Project. Other artists on that song included Seal, Pink, and Jeff Beck.

In late 2010, she was a guest singer on Carlos Santana's version of The Beatles' song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". This song was on his album Guitar Heaven. Yo-Yo Ma also played cello on the song.

In September 2012, India Arie was part of a campaign called "30 Songs/30 Days". This campaign supported Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. This was a media project based on a book about women's rights.

In March 2013, India Arie announced she was working on her fifth studio album, Songversation. It was released on June 25, 2013. The first song from the album, "6th Avenue", came out on iTunes on November 4, 2012. India Arie and Israeli musician Idan Raichel produced it. The second song, "Cocoa Butter", was released on iTunes on April 9, 2013.

In 2015, she released an album with musician Joe Sample called Christmas with Friends.

In July 2016, she released her new song "Breathe". This song was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the last words of Eric Garner. She also said a new album called Worthy was being made. She performed "Breathe" at the Soul Train Awards in November with host Erykah Badu.

In June 2017, she announced her first EP (a shorter album) called SongVersation: Medicine. It was released on June 30. It included the song "Breathe" and a new version of "I Am Light" from her 2013 Songversation album. She said the EP was "made to be listened to in a quiet time, prayer, meditation, Yoga." She hoped the songs would bring "softness, clarity, calm, and inspiration."

In September 2018, she released her new song "That Magic". This song was the first single from her sixth studio album, Worthy, which came out on February 15, 2019.

In February 2022, India Arie and other artists announced they would remove their music from Spotify. This was because of concerns about content on the platform. India Arie's music is still available on Spotify.

India Arie's Impact on Music

India Arie and her music have inspired many other artists. These include Alexa Goddard, Anne-Marie, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Jess Glynne, Jhene Aiko, Khalid, Melanie Fiona, and Tori Kelly.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Acoustic Soul (2001)
• Voyage to India (2002)
• Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006)
• Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (2009)
• Songversation (2013)
• Christmas with Friends (2015)
• Worthy (2019)

Collaborations

• Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time by Carlos Santana (2010) – India sings While my guitar gently weeps with Yo Yo Ma on cello
• The Imagine Project by Herbie Hancock (2010) – India sings Imagine with Pink, Seal, Konono No. 1, Oumou Sangare and Jeff Beck
• "My Everything" by Sauti Sol (2020) – Midnight Train

Awards and Nominations

India Arie on the red carpet at VH1 Divas 2009.

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Award is a very important award in the music industry. It is given by The Recording Academy to recognize great achievements in music. India Arie has won four Grammy awards and has been nominated twenty-three times.

BET Awards

Soul Train Music Awards

NAACP Image Awards

Concert Tours

India Arie performing at Texas A&M University–Commerce in April 2014

Headlining Tours

• Voyage to World Tour (2002/03)
• Testimony Tour (2006/10)
• Songversation Tour (2013/14)

Opening Act Tours

• Lovers Rock Tour (2001)

Film and TV Appearances

Theatre Work

In 2009, India Arie played the role of Nina Simone in a special reading of a new Broadway musical called Soul Doctor. This reading was held at the Roundabout Theatre Company. The musical is about the life of Shlomo Carlebach and was written by Daniel Wise.

See also

In Spanish: India.Arie para niños