Jazmine Sullivan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jazmine Sullivan
Sullivan in 2015
Background information
Birth name	Jazmine Marie Sullivan
Born	(1987-04-09) April 9, 1987 (age 38) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day
Genres	R&B neo soul
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Years active	2003–present
Labels	RCA J Arista

Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She has won two Grammy Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, and two BET Awards. In 2022, Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jazmine signed with J Records to release her first album, Fearless (2008). It was very popular, reaching number six on the Billboard 200 chart. It also became a platinum-certified album, meaning it sold over a million copies. Her songs "Need U Bad" and "Bust Your Windows" were big hits. After a break, she signed with RCA Records and released her third album, Reality Show (2015). Her fourth album, ... Tales (2021), was a huge success, reaching number four on the Billboard 200. It included popular songs like "Pick Up Your Feelings" and "Girl like Me".

Jazmine Sullivan's Early Life and Career Beginnings

Growing Up in Philadelphia

Jazmine Sullivan was born on April 9, 1987, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents are Don and Pam Sullivan. Her mother used to be a backup singer for a record company called Philadelphia International Records. When Jazmine was five, her family moved into a historic home called Historic Strawberry Mansion in Philadelphia, where her father worked as a curator.

Jazmine went to the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. She studied vocal music there and graduated in 2005. She started singing in her church choir as a young child.

Starting Her Music Journey (2003–2009)

Jazmine Sullivan performing live in 2008.

When Jazmine was fifteen, she signed with Jive Records. She recorded an album, but it was never released, and she later left the label. She sang on songs for other artists, like Kindred the Family Soul. During these early recording sessions, she met famous rapper and producer Missy Elliott. Missy Elliott later helped produce many songs on Jazmine's first two albums.

Jazmine also wrote a song called "Say I" with producers Cool & Dre. This song was given to singer Christina Milian and became a hit for her. Jazmine's own breakthrough song, "Need U Bad", came out in May 2008. This song, which featured Missy Elliott, became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Jazmine's First Albums and Success

Fearless Album Release (2008)

Jazmine Sullivan's first album, Fearless, was released on September 23, 2008. She wrote many of the songs on the album herself. She also helped produce the album along with Missy Elliott and others. Fearless was a big success, reaching number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 6 on the Billboard 200.

The second single from Fearless was "Bust Your Windows". This song became very popular and was even featured on the TV show Glee. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. Famous musician Stevie Wonder even called "Bust Your Windows" a classic song. Another song from the album, "Lions, Tigers & Bears", also became a top ten hit. The Fearless album has sold over 510,000 copies in the United States and is certified platinum.

Jazmine Sullivan performing live in 2009.

Jazmine also sang on songs with other artists like Jadakiss and Ace Hood. She toured with Maxwell and Ne-Yo, and performed at the Essence Music Festival.

Love Me Back Album (2010)

Jazmine started working on her second album, Love Me Back, in 2009. Missy Elliott and other producers helped create the album. It was finished in June 2010 and released on November 30, 2010. The album reached number 17 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Jazmine shared that the songs on Love Me Back were about her own experiences. She said writing music was like therapy for her. The first song released from the album was "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)". It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011. The second song, "10 Seconds", also did well on the R&B charts.

In December 2010, Billboard magazine honored Jazmine as the 'Rising Star' of the year. In January 2011, Jazmine announced she was taking a break from music. She said she would return when it felt fun again. Later, her record label, J Records, closed down, and she moved to RCA Records.

Jazmine's Return to Music

Reality Show Album (2015)

In 2014, Jazmine Sullivan announced her return to music with a new album called Reality Show. She said she couldn't stay away from her passion for music. The album was inspired by her watching reality TV shows during her break. It had 14 songs.

The first song from the album, "Dumb", featured rapper Meek Mill. The second song, "Forever Don't Last", became a top 10 hit on the Adult R&B Songs chart.

Reality Show was released on January 13, 2015. It was praised by critics and reached number one on the Billboard R&B Albums chart. The album earned Jazmine three Grammy Award nominations.

In 2016, Jazmine sang on four songs for Frank Ocean's visual album Endless. She also helped write songs and sang backup vocals for Mary J. Blige's album Strength of a Woman. She teamed up with singer Bryson Tiller for the song "Insecure" for the TV show of the same name.

... Tales Album (2021)

In August 2020, Jazmine announced a new song called "Lost One", marking her official return to music. The next day, she confirmed her fourth album, ... Tales, was coming. She released the second song, "Pick Up Your Feelings", in November 2020.

... Tales was released on January 8, 2021. It was a huge success, debuting at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart. This was her highest-charting album ever.

In February 2021, Jazmine was nominated for the 52nd NAACP Image Awards. On February 7, 2021, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" with country artist Eric Church at Super Bowl LV. In May, "Pick Up Your Feelings" became a gold-certified single.

On June 24, 2021, Jazmine released "Tragic". She performed it at the 2021 BET Awards and won the BET Award for Album of the Year for ... Tales. She also sang with Curtis Harding on the song "Our Love" for the Netflix series Arcane. In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jazmine at number 182 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Jazmine's Musical Style

Jazmine Sullivan's voice is known for being powerful and sometimes raspy. Music critics say her sound mixes modern music with a style from the 1980s, giving her an "old-school hip hop" feel. She is a mezzo-soprano, which means she has a middle vocal range.

She describes her songwriting as "flashbacks" because she often writes about her past relationships and feelings. She likes to write about what she is going through, and it can take her anywhere from a day to a month to finish a song. Jazmine is well-known for writing her own songs, which makes her very popular with both critics and fans. Her song "Bust Your Windows" was listed as one of the 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women by National Public Radio.

Jazmine's Personal Life

On May 11, 2020, Jazmine shared that her mother, Pam, had been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in October 2019. Jazmine often spoke about her mother's strength and how it inspired her. Sadly, on July 24, 2023, Jazmine announced that her mother had passed away.

Jazmine Sullivan's Albums

• Fearless (2008)
• Love Me Back (2010)
• Reality Show (2015)
• ... Tales (2021)

Concert Tours

Headlining Tours

• The Reality Show Tour (2015)
• The ... Tales Tour (2022)
• Europe 2024 (2024)

Co-headlining Tours

• Year of the Gentlemen Tour (2009)
• The Serenade Tour (2024)

Awards and Nominations

Jazmine Sullivan has received many awards and nominations throughout her career.

See also

In Spanish: Jazmine Sullivan para niños

• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2008
• List of R&B number-one singles of 2008 (U.S.)