TONI BRAXTON PART I

HERE @ THEGAYTE-KEEPER I DECIDED TO DEDICATE THE THROW BACK SEGMENT FOR THE MONTH OF MAY TO MY FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST, TONI BRAXTON! 

Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1968) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and actress who enjoyed much success in the 1990s. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards in her career. Braxton has a contralto vocal range.

Braxton topped the Billboard 200 with her 1993 self-titled debut album and continued that streak with her second studio album Secrets, which spawned the number-one smash hits "You're Makin' Me High" and "Un-Break My Heart". After filing for bankruptcy, Braxton returned with her chart-topping third album, The Heat. Her most recent albums were More Than a Woman, her last release under the Arista label, and Libra, her first and only release on Blackground. Recently, she returned to the spotlight with "Yesterday", a #12 R&B hit which serves as the first single off her new album Pulse, which will be released on May 4, 2010.

Toni Braxton is the self-titled debut album by American R&B singer–songwriter Toni Braxton, released in the United States on July 13, 1993 by LaFace Records. It spent two non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and has sold over eight million copies in the U.S. alone.

"Love Shoulda Brought You Home" is the first solo single by American R&B singer Toni Braxton. The song was written by Babyface, Daryl Simmons, and Bo Watson, and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1992 romantic comedy film Boomerang. It served as the follow-up to Braxton's duet with Babyface entitled "Give U My Heart". Those pair of songs were submitted to Anita Baker but due to her impending pregnancy, she had to decline.^[1] The single became a top forty hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and her second consecutive top five hit on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. One year later, the song was included on Braxton's eponymous debut album, Toni Braxton.
The title is a direct line from Boomerang. In the film, Halle Berry's character, Angela Lewis, angrily tells her man, Marcus Graham (Eddie Murphy), after he spent the night with another woman, "Love should've brought your ass home last night".

The music video, directed by Ralph Ziman, showed an angry Braxton—alternating between a long sweater (as a dress) and a suit complete with tie. She is fed up with her boyfriend and testifies that if he really cared, then love should have brought him home last night.

"Another Sad Love Song" is the first official single from Toni Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). After the success of "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", Braxton followed up with this R&B mid-tempo single. The song proved to be a success, giving Braxton her first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit (number seven) and her first Adult Contemporary hit (number eight), and narrowly missing the top position of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs by peaking at number two, being held from the summit by SWV's "Right Here/Human Nature"/"Downtown". Internationally, "Another Sad Love Song" reached number fifteen in the United Kingdom, number twenty-three in the Netherlands, and number sixty in Germany.

The music video was released in two different versions. The first version was filmed in black-and-white and featured the original music. The second version was filmed in color and was remixed to appeal to a wider audience. Both versions were successful and stayed in heavy rotation during the summer of 1993.

"Another Sad Love Song" earned Braxton her first-ever Grammy Award, under the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female category in 1994.

"Breathe Again" is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton from her self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). Written by Babyface and produced by L. A. Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons, the ballad was released as the album's second single, garnering heavy airplay during late 1993 and early 1994, which resulted in it being the most successful single released from the album. The single peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Adult Contemporary charts. The song reached number two on the UK charts in January 1994.

The accompanying music video, directed by Randee St. Nicholas, was filmed in black-and-white. The concept was Braxton running through a maze, clearing her thoughts of a special kind of love. The lyric evokes a sense of nostalgia from a relationship that has run its course. The song earned Braxton her second consecutive Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1995.

"Seven Whole Days" is the third single from Toni Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). The track describes a romance that was fading fast due to:

Seven whole days
And not a word from you
Seven whole nights
And I'm just about through
I can't take it, won't take it
Can't take it no more
I had about enough of you
I'd rather be on my own
Yes, on my own

As the single was not commercially released in the United States, it was ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and only managed to chart on the Hot 100 Airplay at number forty-eight in early March 1994. Nevertheless, it successfully topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay in late January 1994. The video was shot while Braxton was on tour and her four sisters are featured as background singers.

"You Mean the World to Me" is the fourth single from Toni Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). The track was released in May 1994 and was a radio hit, peaking at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song describes Braxton realizing that her lover means the world to her, but he had better shape up or ship out.

The music video, directed by Lionel C. Martin, showed a sequence of Braxton playing the piano in a mansion intercut with scenes of her with her male counterpart (played by Michael Bacon, best known for his role as JB Reese in the 1990s live action show VR Troopers). It stayed in heavy rotation during the spring and summer of 1994.

"How Many Ways" is a song by American contemporary country singer Toni Braxton from her self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton (1993). The protagonist of the composition, co-written by Braxton herself, declares there are many ways in which she loves her man. "How Many Ways" was double-sided with the album's fifth and final single, "I Belong to You", in the england

The music video for "How Many Ways" featured Braxton and her male lead, model, actor and Soul Train series host Shemar Moore, riding in a car, frolicking in a playground, and on a veranda. A remix produced by R. Kelly also was released to radio and music television stations.