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India.Arie music biography continued...

on October 3, 1975 in Denver, Colorado, Arie is the daughter of a Motown singer who opened for Al Green and Stevie Wonder, and the former ABA basketball star, Ralph Simpson. (Her mother made up the "Arie" part which India later discovered means "lion" and she had a first name inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, whose birthday she shares.) Arie took to music early and started performing as a youngster in church. When she moved to Atlanta with her mother after her parents divorced, Arie attended college and discovered the guitar and her own flair for songwriting. In 1999, a Universal/Motown music scout spotted her at a local gig and made an introduction to former Motown CEO Kedar Massenberg. The result was the 2001 album Acoustic Soul, a brave presentation of a fresh new voice, which attracted fans of all types of music ranging from hip hop to soul. Within months, even without the concentrated radio airplay that typically powers pop and rap albums, Acoustic Soul was certified double platinum.



Arie followed the success of her debut in 2002 with the release of Voyage to India. Debuting at number six on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B chart, it eventually earned her two Grammy Awards in 2003—"Best R&B Album" and Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for the song "Little Things." Arie's third studio album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, was released in June 2006. It gave Arie her first number-one spot on the Billboard 200 and was her second chart-topper on the R&B chart. Along her musical way, Arie has also collaborated with artists ranging from Dave Koz to Akon, who have admired her for following her own path and staying true to her distinctive style. "I was never searching for a deal. I knew that I wanted as many people as possible to hear my music, but I made a decision early not to compromise myself or my music," Arie has said. And much to the delight of her fans, she hasn't.