Kelis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kelis
Kelis performing during Manchester Pride in Manchester on August 29, 2010
Born	Kelis Rogers (1979-08-21) August 21, 1979 (age 45) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Le Cordon Bleu
Occupation	Singer songwriter chef restaurateur
Years active	1997–present
Works	Discography filmography
Spouse(s)	Nas ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2010)​ Mike Mora ​ ​ (m. 2014; died 2022)​
Children	3
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	R&B pop hip hop dance
Labels	Ninja Tune Virgin Star Trak Arista Interscope Jive Geffen will.i.am BMG
Associated acts	Dave Sitek Free School Nas The Neptunes Raphael Saadiq will.i.am

Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and chef. She went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York. There, she played saxophone and sang in the Girls Choir of Harlem. After high school, Kelis became a backing vocalist for the hip hop group Gravediggaz. She then started working with music producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, known as the Neptunes. They helped her sign with Virgin Records in 1998.

Kelis's first album, Kaleidoscope (1999), was inspired by jazz and disco music. It was popular internationally, especially in the UK. Her song "Caught Out There" was her first to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. After her second album, Wanderland (2001), didn't sell well in the US, she left Virgin Records. She then signed with The Neptunes' label, Star Trak Entertainment.

Her third album, Tasty (2003), became a big success. Its main song, "Milkshake", reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Both "Milkshake" and "Trick Me" were very popular in the UK. Her fourth album, Kelis Was Here (2006), featured the hit song "Bossy". After this, Kelis took a break from music to study cooking at Le Cordon Bleu.

Later, she signed with will.i.am Music Group and released her fifth album, Flesh Tone (2010). This album explored electronic music. Songs like "Acapella" and "4th of July (Fireworks)" did well on dance charts. In 2014, she released her sixth album, Food, which connected to her cooking career. This album became a top-20 hit in the UK.

Kelis has received many awards and nominations, including from the Brit Awards and Grammy Awards. She has worked with many artists across different music styles. These include Nas, Busta Rhymes, Calvin Harris, and Duran Duran. She has sold 6 million records worldwide. In the United Kingdom, ten of her songs have reached the top ten on the singles chart.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Kelis Rogers was born and grew up in Harlem, New York. Her first name is a mix of her parents' names: Kenneth and Eveliss. Her father, Kenneth, was an African-American jazz musician and a Christian minister. Her mother, Eveliss, is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer. Kelis has three older sisters.

As a child, Kelis sang in church choirs. She also learned to play the violin, piano, and saxophone. She attended Manhattan Country School, a private school. Later, she went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. There, she formed an R&B group called BLU (Black Ladies United). Before graduating, Kelis also worked as a bartender and in a clothing store.

Music Career Highlights

Early Albums: Kaleidoscope and Wanderland

In 1997, Kelis sang background vocals on a song for the hip hop group Gravediggaz. A friend then introduced her to The Neptunes, a production duo. They became good friends, and with their help, she signed a record deal with Virgin Records. Kelis later said she didn't earn much money from her first two albums' sales.

Kelis started recording her first album, Kaleidoscope, in 1998. It was released by Virgin Records in 1999. The album reached number 144 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Its main song, "Caught Out There", became a top ten hit on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The album was more successful in Europe. "Caught Out There" was a huge hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number four. The album Kaleidoscope was certified gold in the UK. In 2001, Kelis won a Brit Award for International Breakthrough Act. She also won an NME Award for Best R&B/Soul Act.

Kelis's second album, Wanderland, came out in 2001 in Europe and Asia. It was not released in North America until 2019. Kelis said her U.S. record company didn't support the album. Wanderland did not sell well, reaching number 78 in the UK. Its only single, "Young, Fresh n' New", reached the top forty in the UK.

Breakthrough Success with Tasty

In 2003, Kelis had another top ten hit in the UK with "Finest Dreams" by Richard X. She also had a European club hit with "Let's Get Ill" by P. Diddy. Later in 2003, she became very famous in the U.S. with her song "Milkshake". This song reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Milkshake" helped her third album, Tasty, become a gold-certified album in the U.S. It sold over 500,000 copies. "Milkshake" also earned Kelis a Grammy Award nomination in 2004. While The Neptunes worked on Tasty, Kelis also collaborated with other producers. She wanted to show she could be successful without The Neptunes.

Tasty was very popular in Europe. In the UK, it was certified platinum. The album's second single, "Trick Me", was a top ten hit in many European countries. Kelis also had success in Australia, where Tasty went gold. She later released "Millionaire" and "In Public" as singles.

In 2004, Kelis worked with Enrique Iglesias on the song "Not in Love". This song reached the UK top five. She also toured as the opening act for Britney Spears. In 2005, she sang a cover version of "Brass in Pocket" for the movie Just Like Heaven.

Kelis Was Here and a New Direction

Kelis's fourth album, Kelis Was Here, was released in 2006. It reached number ten on the Billboard 200 chart. This was Kelis's first album without The Neptunes. She worked with other producers like Cee-Lo and will.i.am. Kelis Was Here was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2007.

The first song from the album, "Bossy" (featuring Too Short), was a hit in the U.S. It reached number 16. Another song, "Lil Star", was a top ten hit for Kelis in the United Kingdom. In 2007, Kelis toured in Europe, performing at many festivals.

After leaving her record label in 2007, Kelis took a break from music. She said she felt tired of the music business. In 2008, a greatest hits album called The Hits was released.

Exploring Dance Music with Flesh Tone

In 2009, Kelis signed with Interscope Records. She released her fifth album, Flesh Tone, which focused on dance music. Kelis said she was careful about signing with another big label. She wanted her album to be widely heard. She also collaborated with artists like Basement Jaxx and Benny Benassi.

Critics generally liked Flesh Tone. The first single, "Acapella", was a top five hit in the UK. It also reached number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Flesh Tone reached number 48 on the Billboard 200. The second single, "4th of July (Fireworks)", was a top ten club hit.

In 2010, Kelis went on her first U.S. tour with Robyn. She also performed at major festivals like Glastonbury. In 2011, Kelis worked with Scottish producer Calvin Harris on the song "Bounce". This song debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It became Kelis's tenth UK top ten single.

Food and Culinary Ventures

In 2012, Kelis announced her sixth album would be released. She said it would have a "trip-hoppish" and "deeper and darker" sound. She worked with producers like Skream. However, she later decided to move away from dance music.

By 2013, Kelis was working with producer Dave Sitek. She signed with the British label Ninja Tune for her album, Food, released in 2014. Produced entirely by Sitek, Food entered the UK Albums Chart at number 20. In the U.S., it reached number 73 on the Billboard 200.

Food received very positive reviews from critics. The Independent newspaper gave it a five-star review. Mic called Food the best album of 2014 and of Kelis's career. In 2015, Kelis sang on the song "Back and Forth" for disco producer Giorgio Moroder's album. In 2017, she released a new song, "Who's Lovin' You".

Recent Years: Anniversaries and New Music

In 2018, Kelis contributed vocals to "My Milkshake," a new version of her 2003 hit. In March 2020, Kelis began her Kaleidoscope 20th Anniversary Tour in the UK and Europe. The tour was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kelis also worked with Disclosure on "Watch Your Step" in 2020. In 2021, she was featured on "Deal with It" by Ashnikko. In October 2020, a short animated film about her life as a singer and chef was released online.

Kelis has mentioned working on new music, including an album called Dirt. She released the singles "Midnight Snacks" in 2021 and "Feed Them" in 2022.

In 2022, a part of Kelis's song "Milkshake" was used in the Beyoncé song "Energy". Kelis later said she was not told about this use and had not approved it. She also said that the original songwriters of "Milkshake" had taken her rights to the song.

In February 2023, Kelis appeared in a commercial for the Super Bowl. In March 2023, she announced she would perform at the Glastonbury Festival. She also announced a European tour. On June 3, 2023, Kelis performed at the Mighty Hoopla music festival in London. In September 2023, Kelis released "Milkshake 20" (Alex Wann Remix), which she helped produce.

Other Ventures

Culinary Career

From 2006 to 2010, Kelis trained to be a saucier (a chef who specializes in sauces). She graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, a famous cooking school.

In 2013, Kelis launched her own sauce line called Feast. It later became available to buy in 2015 under the name Bounty & Full. Kelis's first cookbook, My Life on a Plate, was released in 2015. She described it as an "exploration of tastes and cultures."

In March 2014, Kelis opened a food truck to cook for people at the American music festival SXSW. She also shared her recipes on the Spotify app Supper to promote her album Food. That same year, the Cooking Channel aired a cooking show starring Kelis called Saucy and Sweet. In 2016, Kelis opened a pop-up restaurant in London. She also adapted it into a food truck for UK music festivals.

Fashion and Television

In 2006, Kelis designed her own line of fashion accessories called Cake. In 2007, she was in talks to host a fashion show for VH1. She also auditioned for different acting roles.

In 2017, Kelis became a judge on the BBC One singing contest Pitch Battle. In 2020, Kelis competed as the Daisy on the British version of The Masked Singer. She was eliminated in the fifth episode.

Personal Life

Kelis met rapper Nas at an MTV Video Music Awards party in 2002. They got engaged and married in July 2003. In April 2009, she filed for divorce. She was seven months pregnant at the time. In July 2009, Kelis gave birth to her first son. Their divorce was finalized in May 2010.

Kelis married photographer Mike Mora in 2014. She gave birth to her second son in November 2015. Since January 2020, Kelis has been living on a farm outside Los Angeles. In September 2020, she gave birth to her and Mike Mora's second child, a daughter. Mike Mora passed away on March 14, 2022, at age 37.

Artistic Style

AXS described Kelis as a "punky, rebellious" singer-songwriter. The New York Times praised Kelis's "dynamic" voice. IGN called Kelis "strange, weird, and eccentric." The Chicago Tribune noted her "voice that lives in the basement."

Kelis's first album, Kaleidoscope, was influenced by many 1970s music styles. These included urban, rock, jazz, hip hop, R&B, soul, and disco music. Kelis said early jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald were big influences for the album. Many songs on the album were made for clubs and had electronic beats for dancing. Her second album, Wanderland, sounded similar to her first. It explored more modern funk sounds and included elements of soul and rap.

The album Food (2014) has influences from soul, funk, gospel, and Afrobeat. Kelis said she wanted the album to make people feel nostalgic, like old records their parents played.

Awards and Nominations

Discography

Studio albums

• Kaleidoscope (1999)
• Wanderland (2001)
• Tasty (2003)
• Kelis Was Here (2006)
• Flesh Tone (2010)
• Food (2014)

Tours

Film and TV Appearances

Images for kids

• 

  Kelis performing during Manchester Pride in Manchester, England on August 29, 2010

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  Kelis on stage in 2011

See also

In Spanish: Kelis para niños