VV Brown
Encyclopedia
Vanessa Brown also known as VV Brown, is an English
singer, songwriter, model, and producer signed to Island Records
in the United Kingdom and to Universal Republic Records and Capitol Records
in the United States. The Los Angeles Times
and UK newspaper The Independent
both named Brown an artist to watch in 2009/2010.
, England. She is the eldest of six siblings; Her mother is Jamaican and her father is Puerto Rican
. She attended Overstone Park School
near Northampton, which her parents own and work at. Brown learned to play the piano, developed her vocals and took classical
and jazz
piano lessons at a musical arts school.
Brown was given her name "V V" from her peers as an MC nickname when she attended her middle school. Her love for hip hop and artists such as J Dilla and Q-Tip still exists.
Brown studied violin at the age of 9 but gave it up because she found she was better at the piano and trumpet. She completed her grade 8 jazz trumpet at the age of 16 and went on to play in jazz bands up to the age of 21.
Growing up, V V listened to jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald
and Dizzy Gillespie
. Brown earned four "A" grade A-Levels, studying at Kingsthorpe Upper School (now Kingsthorpe Community College) a year early; she was offered places at five top UK universities to study law including Oxford, King's College London, LSE and York. She declined the offers to follow a career in music.
V V Brown was first offered a deal by Gut records when she was 14 but due to educational commitments she decided to finish her studies.
She was then offered a deal by Danny Simms, the manager and mogul associated with Bob Marley
. Brown declined to finish her studies.
She joined a punk band at 15 and had the opportunity to tour Japan.
Subsequently, P. Diddy attempted to sign her to his record label Bad Boy Records
.
Traveling Like the Light was then recorded in 2007-2008.
Brown said that most of the lyrics on the album (such as those from the singles: "Crying Blood," "Leave!" and "Shark In the Water") are about a failed affair Brown endured.
The album seen the release of four singles Crying Blood
, Leave!
, Shark in the Water
and Game Over. Shark in the Water charted in both UK, French and USA charts. It received gold status in America and France in 2009.
On September 14, 2011, Brown announced that the first single off her yet untitled sophomore album would be called 'Children' featuring Chiddy of Chiddy Bang
. The song hit US iTunes on September 20, 2011. On 4 October 2011, Brown confirmed the title of her second album as Lollipops & Politics as well as releasing the full tracklist.
On her Facebook account, while premiering the official music video for "Children", Brown announced that her sophomore album, "Lollipops & Politics", will be released on February 7, 2012 in the US.
to play African Express tour. She sang with Fela Kuti
's son Femi. Brown toured with Ladyhawke and The Ting Tings
. She has been confirmed for Camden Crawl, The Great Escape
, Evolution Music, Camp Bestival
, Supersonic, and Turning Point festivals while awaiting confirmation on several others.
In March 2009 Brown played for the Teenage Cancer Trust
event at the Royal Albert Hall
. In June she played the Glastonbury Festival
. Throughout the summer she played every major festival including Glastonbury, at which she was the only new artist to perform on the main stage. She states " it was a massive achievement in my life to do such a big stage at such a early point in my career."
V V Brown has also toured with The Script, Ida Maria
and collaborated with artists such as Babyshambles
, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
, Chipmunk
, N-Dubz
, Reverand And The Makers, Q-Tip
and many more.
V V Brown did a sold out tour throughout the UK in 2008
In 2009 Brown performed with Grace Jones and Sly and Robbie for the Island 50th event at Shepherds Bush Empire. This was a showcase of new and old talent on the label.
Brown supported Swedish electronic band Little Dragon
on the US leg of their tour in 2010. and was an opening act for P!nk
in her upcoming UK leg of her summer Carnival Tour in 2010 .
V V Brown's 2009 tour was an electric mix of music, fashion and entertainment with covers like 'Use Somebody' by Kings of Leon
and one of her opening acts is actually her sister Jay Brown and up and coming band The Stow. V V Brown toured as an opening act for Maroon 5
in 2010; this was her most extensive North American tour yet. She also did a small sold out club headline tour in the states to capacities of 500 and towards the end of the year was invited to perform for the National Grammy Committee in Los Angeles, California. In 2010, Brown also performed at the America festival SXSW at the British Embassy as well as a secondary gig with AOL. The AOL performance was a great success and led to huge support from the AOL team throughout Browns career.
Brown was requested by Q tip to perform with him at the Jack Daniel event in Los Angeles June 2010 which led to a further writing collaboration and friendship.
Due to the success Brown had in France and the association with the French/Morocon market Brown went on to perform a sold out show in Morocco for 20,000 people.
V V Brown has also been a part of many high-end corporate gigs such as Cartier, Private Jet companies, Phone Brands and Fashion houses.
Brown performed her first show at the South Bank with Annie Lennox, Paloma Faith and Kate Nash. Her 30 minute consisted of a quartet.
with the rest of her hair left long but lately she has experimented with other styles moving away from her trademark look " I'm excited about the second album because fashion wise its a chance to grow" .
In November 2008 V V Brown took part in the Naomi Campbell charity fashion show at which she catwalked with the likes of models such as Tyson Beckford
and Daisy Lowe
with many others.
On 20 February 2009 Brown also modeled and performed at the Ashish fashion for London Fashion Week.
V V Brown has been confirmed as one of the new faces of Marks & Spencer, starring in adverts alongside Twiggy
, Lisa Snowdon
, Ana Beatriz Barros
and Dannii Minogue
Her contract has been renewed and has been confirmed as the face of Marks and spencers alongside Danni,Twiggy,Ana and Lisa in 2011.
"As a black woman I hope I can do whatever I can to contribute to Blackness being more commercialised. We have so many parts of the media that focus on one type of beauty and I hope my little contribution adds to this.
Brown, who stands at 5 ft 11 in, was signed to Next Model Management after a chance meeting with one of their agents on a transatlantic flight.
On 27 January 2009 Brown did her first shoot for Vogue magazine which is in the April/May issue.
On 30 June 2009 Brown's online vintage clothing store, called www.vvvintage.com, went live.
Brown has been in several international magazines with numerous spreads such as ID, Paper, LOVE, Elle, Cosmopoliton, American Vogue, Teen Vogue, British Vogue and more. She has worked with top photographers like Rankin and continues to experiment with her love of photography and fashion.
.
Brown has also been involved in the Rockcorps shows which allows teenagers to work for their community in aid for a ticket to see a concert. Brown took part in both the London Rockcorps shows and did work in Paris with French young teenagers with a following concert.
. The documentary series followed her as she tried to break into the U.S. music scene.
Her music has also been synched in several American TV shows and movies across America such as CSI, Sex In The City, Ugly Betty, The Back Up Plan, Lesbian Vampire Killers and several more.
V V Brown had her TV debut in the UK on Jools Holland in 2008 and also appeared on other T.V shows such as The Alan Carr Show, The album Chart Show, T4, GMTV.
She made her French TV debut on Taratata in 2009 of which the following day the album debut at number 1 on the digital chart. It led to other TV shows such as Le Grand Journal and other huge French TV shows which solidified a strong success for Brown in this territory.
V V Brown is currently in talks for doing a voice over for a huge French animation movie. " I am absolutley excited about this. This is something that has been on my tick list for quite sometime."
Brown landed 2 huge advertisement deal with the French bank "BNP" and a very reputable French furniture company, off which her song LEAVE was used for 2 years contributing to her general awareness and success in France.
Brown's American TV Debut happened on the Rachael Ray
show leading to several other TV shows such as David Letterman, Carson Daily and The Ellen Degeneres Show. She also performed on the BET show Black Girls Rock in 2010 performing alongside artists like Keisha Cole, Jill Scott, Keri Hilson and Mary J Blige. " Brown states " I found this a great opportunity as a black woman to be positive about other black women in music and the general black community."
In February 2011 Brown's song, "Travelling Like the Light", was synched in the new BT
advert in the UK as well as landing a huge 2 year synch deal on Canadian television for a car advertisement. Despite a lack of enormous awareness internationally Brown remains to have a consistent career in synch ability and has been used in many advertisements, films, fashion shows and art exhibitions.
The song, "L.O.V.E." is currently being used in commercials for Unilever
's Best Foods/Hellmann's Mayonnaise in the United States.
Brown is also one of the women to represent Marks & Spencer
clothing alongside Dannii Minogue
and other various women. She has appeared in their latest TV advertisements.
EMI publishing has been a huge support to Brown's career. She was signed to EMI publishing at the age of 18 and has a 10 year career with them to date.
Brown's dream is to eventually move from Pop music and go into Film scoring.
Brown has contributed vocals and possible songwriting credits for The Bottletop Band's Charity Album on a track titled "Voices".
In 2011 it was said in an interview by soul culture from Grammy nominee Jazmine Sulivan that " Someone that I do love is V V Brown.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
singer, songwriter, model, and producer signed to Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
in the United Kingdom and to Universal Republic Records and Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in the United States. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and UK newspaper The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
both named Brown an artist to watch in 2009/2010.
Early life and career
Vanessa Brown was born in NorthamptonNorthampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, England. She is the eldest of six siblings; Her mother is Jamaican and her father is Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
. She attended Overstone Park School
Overstone Park School
Overstone Park School is an independent co-educational day school near Northampton, England, for pupils aged 3 months to 18 years.-School:The school was established in 1983 by husband and wife Corville Oliver Brown and Marion Faith Brown. Mrs. Brown is now the Principal of the school, while Mr....
near Northampton, which her parents own and work at. Brown learned to play the piano, developed her vocals and took classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
piano lessons at a musical arts school.
Brown was given her name "V V" from her peers as an MC nickname when she attended her middle school. Her love for hip hop and artists such as J Dilla and Q-Tip still exists.
Brown studied violin at the age of 9 but gave it up because she found she was better at the piano and trumpet. She completed her grade 8 jazz trumpet at the age of 16 and went on to play in jazz bands up to the age of 21.
Growing up, V V listened to jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
and Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
. Brown earned four "A" grade A-Levels, studying at Kingsthorpe Upper School (now Kingsthorpe Community College) a year early; she was offered places at five top UK universities to study law including Oxford, King's College London, LSE and York. She declined the offers to follow a career in music.
V V Brown was first offered a deal by Gut records when she was 14 but due to educational commitments she decided to finish her studies.
She was then offered a deal by Danny Simms, the manager and mogul associated with Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
. Brown declined to finish her studies.
She joined a punk band at 15 and had the opportunity to tour Japan.
Subsequently, P. Diddy attempted to sign her to his record label Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records is a record label founded in 1993 by producer/rapper/entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records.-Beginnings:...
.
2002–2006: Back to the Music
At 18, Brown was invited to an open audition for VH1 divas by friends and was stopped outside the venue by an executive from London Records. Brown was offered a development deal by London records. The development soon came to an end and, at 19, Brown was offered a deal by Polydor records in the UK and A&M records in the US. She left her deal with Polydor and A&M in 2006 with no single or album release.2007–2009: Traveling Like the Light
Brown moved back to London and began performing in bars and clubs around London. She was rediscovered by executive Darcus Beese and signed to Island Records.Traveling Like the Light was then recorded in 2007-2008.
Brown said that most of the lyrics on the album (such as those from the singles: "Crying Blood," "Leave!" and "Shark In the Water") are about a failed affair Brown endured.
The album seen the release of four singles Crying Blood
Crying Blood (song)
"Crying Blood" is the debut single by singer VV Brown . It was released on 3 November 2008 and was accompanied by a music video. The song did not chart as it was not eligible to do so...
, Leave!
Leave!
"Leave!" is the second single by singer VV Brown from her first album Travelling Like The Light. It was released on March 2, 2009, and was accompanied by a music video...
, Shark in the Water
Shark in the Water
"Shark in the Water" is the third single off the debut album Travelling Like The Light by singer–songwriter VV Brown. Written by VV Brown it was released on 6 July 2009 off Island Records. The song is a metaphorical record about anxiety, and was inspired by Brown's experience with infidelity by a...
and Game Over. Shark in the Water charted in both UK, French and USA charts. It received gold status in America and France in 2009.
2011–present: The Playground Mixtape and Lollipops and Politics
Prior to the mastering of Browns sophmore album, "Lollipops and Politics", a free mix tape was released through soundcloud to show some of the ideas and the raw process whilst making the new album.On September 14, 2011, Brown announced that the first single off her yet untitled sophomore album would be called 'Children' featuring Chiddy of Chiddy Bang
Chiddy Bang
Chiddy Bang is an American alternative hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group consists of Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege and Noah "Xaphoon Jones" Beresin. The duo was introduced through former band member Zachary Sewall in late 2008 during their freshman year at Drexel University, in...
. The song hit US iTunes on September 20, 2011. On 4 October 2011, Brown confirmed the title of her second album as Lollipops & Politics as well as releasing the full tracklist.
On her Facebook account, while premiering the official music video for "Children", Brown announced that her sophomore album, "Lollipops & Politics", will be released on February 7, 2012 in the US.
Touring
Brown played many festivals and gigs in 2008. Brown was invited by Damon AlbarnDamon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
to play African Express tour. She sang with Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...
's son Femi. Brown toured with Ladyhawke and The Ting Tings
The Ting Tings
The Ting Tings are an English music duo comprising Jules de Martino and Katie White . They formed in December 2007 while based at Islington Mill Studios in Salford...
. She has been confirmed for Camden Crawl, The Great Escape
The Great Escape (festival)
The Great Escape was a music festival held at Newington Armory, located within Sydney Olympic Park that took place in 2006 and 2007. Initially held over the Easter long weekend for the first two events, in 2008 it was announced the festival would take place on the Labour Day weekend, however the...
, Evolution Music, Camp Bestival
Camp Bestival
Camp Bestival is a British music festival, the "little sister" of Bestival, both organised by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank. It is held annually, in July, at Lulworth Castle in Dorset and is targeted at families with small children. It has a capacity of 10,000 adults and 5,000 children...
, Supersonic, and Turning Point festivals while awaiting confirmation on several others.
In March 2009 Brown played for the Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity that focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin’s and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. The units are dedicated areas for teenage patients, who are involved in their concept and creation...
event at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
. In June she played the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
. Throughout the summer she played every major festival including Glastonbury, at which she was the only new artist to perform on the main stage. She states " it was a massive achievement in my life to do such a big stage at such a early point in my career."
V V Brown has also toured with The Script, Ida Maria
Ida Maria
Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen is a Norwegian rock musician known primarily by the stage name Ida Maria. Her first album; Fortress Round My Heart was released in 2008...
and collaborated with artists such as Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is the stage name of English artist Sam Duckworth and his band. He is sometimes referred to as Get Cape, Cape, GCWCF and Slam Dunkworth . According to Duckworth, his stage name comes from a ZX Spectrum magazine...
, Chipmunk
Chipmunk (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London....
, N-Dubz
N-Dubz
N-Dubz are a British hip hop group from Camden Town, London. The group consists of members Dappy, Tulisa Contostavlos and Fazer.N-Dubz were previously signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the World Records...
, Reverand And The Makers, Q-Tip
Q-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
and many more.
V V Brown did a sold out tour throughout the UK in 2008
In 2009 Brown performed with Grace Jones and Sly and Robbie for the Island 50th event at Shepherds Bush Empire. This was a showcase of new and old talent on the label.
Brown supported Swedish electronic band Little Dragon
Little Dragon
Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic band, formed in Gothenburg in 1996. It consists of Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano and her close high school friends Erik Bodin , Fredrik Källgren Wallin and Håkan Wirenstrand .Little Dragon's first release was the double A-side 7" single...
on the US leg of their tour in 2010. and was an opening act for P!nk
P!nk
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
in her upcoming UK leg of her summer Carnival Tour in 2010 .
V V Brown's 2009 tour was an electric mix of music, fashion and entertainment with covers like 'Use Somebody' by Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
and one of her opening acts is actually her sister Jay Brown and up and coming band The Stow. V V Brown toured as an opening act for Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
in 2010; this was her most extensive North American tour yet. She also did a small sold out club headline tour in the states to capacities of 500 and towards the end of the year was invited to perform for the National Grammy Committee in Los Angeles, California. In 2010, Brown also performed at the America festival SXSW at the British Embassy as well as a secondary gig with AOL. The AOL performance was a great success and led to huge support from the AOL team throughout Browns career.
Brown was requested by Q tip to perform with him at the Jack Daniel event in Los Angeles June 2010 which led to a further writing collaboration and friendship.
Due to the success Brown had in France and the association with the French/Morocon market Brown went on to perform a sold out show in Morocco for 20,000 people.
V V Brown has also been a part of many high-end corporate gigs such as Cartier, Private Jet companies, Phone Brands and Fashion houses.
Brown performed her first show at the South Bank with Annie Lennox, Paloma Faith and Kate Nash. Her 30 minute consisted of a quartet.
Fashion
The most distinctive aspect of Brown's style is her trademark retro fringe, nearly always rolled into a flattopFlattop
A flattop is a type of very short hairstyle similar to the crew cut, with the exception that the hair on the top of the head is deliberately styled to stand up and is cut to be flat, resulting in a haircut that is square in shape...
with the rest of her hair left long but lately she has experimented with other styles moving away from her trademark look " I'm excited about the second album because fashion wise its a chance to grow" .
In November 2008 V V Brown took part in the Naomi Campbell charity fashion show at which she catwalked with the likes of models such as Tyson Beckford
Tyson Beckford
Tyson Craig Beckford is an American male model and actor, best known as a Ralph Lauren model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo program Make Me a Supermodel.-Biography:...
and Daisy Lowe
Daisy Lowe
Daisy Rebecca Lowe is an English fashion model who has modelled for editorial photo shoots and commercial advertising campaigns and has worked as a runway model...
with many others.
On 20 February 2009 Brown also modeled and performed at the Ashish fashion for London Fashion Week.
V V Brown has been confirmed as one of the new faces of Marks & Spencer, starring in adverts alongside Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
, Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon is an English fashion model, television personality and presenter. She was the host of the reality television show Britain's Next Top Model from 2006 until 2009...
, Ana Beatriz Barros
Ana Beatriz Barros
Ana Beatriz Barros is a Brazilian model known for her work with Guess?, bebe, Victoria's Secret, Chanel cosmetics, and Jennifer Lopez's JLO fashion line.-Early life and family:...
and Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane "Dannii" Minogue is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, radio personality, fashion designer and model...
Her contract has been renewed and has been confirmed as the face of Marks and spencers alongside Danni,Twiggy,Ana and Lisa in 2011.
"As a black woman I hope I can do whatever I can to contribute to Blackness being more commercialised. We have so many parts of the media that focus on one type of beauty and I hope my little contribution adds to this.
Brown, who stands at 5 ft 11 in, was signed to Next Model Management after a chance meeting with one of their agents on a transatlantic flight.
On 27 January 2009 Brown did her first shoot for Vogue magazine which is in the April/May issue.
On 30 June 2009 Brown's online vintage clothing store, called www.vvvintage.com, went live.
Brown has been in several international magazines with numerous spreads such as ID, Paper, LOVE, Elle, Cosmopoliton, American Vogue, Teen Vogue, British Vogue and more. She has worked with top photographers like Rankin and continues to experiment with her love of photography and fashion.
Charity
Brown has been involved in various charities such as The Teenage Cancer Trust, Oxfam, NSPCC, Animal Rights, Recycling Foundation and the Bottle Top campaign and has done various works contributing to poverty in Africa and Fair trade. She also made a video for Global CoolGlobal Cool
Global Cool is a green lifestyle campaign run by the Global Cool Foundation, a registered climate change charity in the United Kingdom. Global Cool works with celebrities and the media and entertainment industries to promote green behaviours such as using public transport and taking flight-free...
.
Brown has also been involved in the Rockcorps shows which allows teenagers to work for their community in aid for a ticket to see a concert. Brown took part in both the London Rockcorps shows and did work in Paris with French young teenagers with a following concert.
Television
November 2010, V V Brown was featured on the MTV series World of JenksWorld of Jenks
World of Jenks is a documentary series starring Andrew Jenks. The series premiered on September 13, 2010 on MTV following 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The show showcases the lives of inspirational young people from various locations of the United States...
. The documentary series followed her as she tried to break into the U.S. music scene.
Her music has also been synched in several American TV shows and movies across America such as CSI, Sex In The City, Ugly Betty, The Back Up Plan, Lesbian Vampire Killers and several more.
V V Brown had her TV debut in the UK on Jools Holland in 2008 and also appeared on other T.V shows such as The Alan Carr Show, The album Chart Show, T4, GMTV.
She made her French TV debut on Taratata in 2009 of which the following day the album debut at number 1 on the digital chart. It led to other TV shows such as Le Grand Journal and other huge French TV shows which solidified a strong success for Brown in this territory.
V V Brown is currently in talks for doing a voice over for a huge French animation movie. " I am absolutley excited about this. This is something that has been on my tick list for quite sometime."
Brown landed 2 huge advertisement deal with the French bank "BNP" and a very reputable French furniture company, off which her song LEAVE was used for 2 years contributing to her general awareness and success in France.
Brown's American TV Debut happened on the Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray
Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
show leading to several other TV shows such as David Letterman, Carson Daily and The Ellen Degeneres Show. She also performed on the BET show Black Girls Rock in 2010 performing alongside artists like Keisha Cole, Jill Scott, Keri Hilson and Mary J Blige. " Brown states " I found this a great opportunity as a black woman to be positive about other black women in music and the general black community."
In February 2011 Brown's song, "Travelling Like the Light", was synched in the new BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
advert in the UK as well as landing a huge 2 year synch deal on Canadian television for a car advertisement. Despite a lack of enormous awareness internationally Brown remains to have a consistent career in synch ability and has been used in many advertisements, films, fashion shows and art exhibitions.
The song, "L.O.V.E." is currently being used in commercials for Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
's Best Foods/Hellmann's Mayonnaise in the United States.
Brown is also one of the women to represent Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
clothing alongside Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane "Dannii" Minogue is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, radio personality, fashion designer and model...
and other various women. She has appeared in their latest TV advertisements.
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
||
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| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
FR Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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| 2009 | Travelling Like the Light Travelling Like the Light Travelling Like the Light is the debut album of English musician V V Brown, released 13 July 2009 on Island Records. Initially released in the United Kingdom, the album was digitally released in the United States on 2 February 2010 and was physically released on 20 April 2010. Brown was inspired by...
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30 | 16 | 179 | France British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Gold |
| 2012 | Lollipops & Politics
Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... , Capitol Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
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| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
FR Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
US | US Dance | EU |
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| 2009 | "Crying Blood Crying Blood (song) "Crying Blood" is the debut single by singer VV Brown . It was released on 3 November 2008 and was accompanied by a music video. The song did not chart as it was not eligible to do so... " |
- | - | - | - | - | Travelling Like the Light |
| "Leave Leave Leave may refer to:* Leave , a 2002 Mandopop album* "Leave ", a 2004 R&B song* "Leave" , a 2000 pop rock song... " |
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| "Shark in the Water Shark in the Water "Shark in the Water" is the third single off the debut album Travelling Like The Light by singer–songwriter VV Brown. Written by VV Brown it was released on 6 July 2009 off Island Records. The song is a metaphorical record about anxiety, and was inspired by Brown's experience with infidelity by a... " |
34 | 13 | 67 | 11 | 43 | ||
| "Game Over Game over Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game... " |
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| 2011 | "Children" (featuring Chiddy) |
TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | Lollipops & Politics |
As featured artist
| Year | Single | Peak position | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
FR Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
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| 2009 | "I Got Soul I Got Soul "I Got Soul" is a 2009 charity single by charity group War Child UK, recorded by Young Soul Rebels. It was released on October 19, 2009. It is a cover of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done"... " (as part of Young Soul Rebels Young Soul Rebels Young Soul Rebels is a 1991 critically acclaimed coming-of-age/drama British film written by Isaac Julien and Paul Hallam, and directed by Juilen. The film examines the interaction between youth cultural movements during the late 1970s in the UK. Namely skinheads, punks and soulboys along with the... ) |
10 | - | War Child UK War Child (charity) War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia... |
| 2011 | "J'ai fait tout ça pour vous" (with Melissa Nkonda) |
- | 69 | Nouveaux Horizons |
Songwriting Credits
Brown has also been involved in writing songs for and with other artists such as UK band "The Sugababes". She wrote the song "Denial" and "No Can Do". She is also a writer on the Pussy Cat Dolls record, writing the song "I Don't Need A Man" and was a main backing vocalist on the whole PCD record in 2007. She has many other writing projects that she has been involved in and Brown continues to write songs for other artists whilst being published by EMI publishing through president Guy Moot and Fran Malyan.EMI publishing has been a huge support to Brown's career. She was signed to EMI publishing at the age of 18 and has a 10 year career with them to date.
Brown's dream is to eventually move from Pop music and go into Film scoring.
Future Projects
V V Brown is currently working on a 150 page graphic novel called The City of Abacus with David Allain. "The comic has taken a while and we originally wanted to release it as a collection of series but we felt by concentrating on the whole book we would have more time to make it amazing. Now that its nearly finished we can market the whole book as a body of work."Brown has contributed vocals and possible songwriting credits for The Bottletop Band's Charity Album on a track titled "Voices".
In 2011 it was said in an interview by soul culture from Grammy nominee Jazmine Sulivan that " Someone that I do love is V V Brown.