Christina Milian

Christina Milian
Milian in 2008
Born	Christina Flores (1981-09-26) September 26, 1981 (age 42) Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Other names	Christina Flores-Nash
Occupations	Singer songwriter actress
Years active	1996–present
Spouses	The-Dream ​ ​ (m. 2009; div. 2011)​ M. Pokora ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	3
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	Waldorf, Maryland, U.S.
Genres	R&B pop hip hop dance
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Labels	Milianheiress Music Def Soul Murder Inc. Interscope Island MySpace Young Money
Musical artist
Website	www.christinamilian.com

Christina Milian (/ˌmɪliˈɑːn/; née Flores, born September 26, 1981)^[1] is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Def Soul at the age of 19. In 2001, Milian released her self-titled debut album, which featured the singles "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me"; the former charted within the Top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and both peaked in the top three on the UK Singles Chart. In 2002, she performed the theme song "Call Me, Beep Me!", for Disney Channel's animated series Kim Possible. In 2004, Milian released her second studio album It's About Time, which provided her first major U.S. hit, "Dip It Low" (featuring Fabolous), which reached number five on the U.S. Billboard chart. "Whatever U Want" (featuring Joe Budden) was released as the album's second single. Both singles charted within the Top 10 of the UK chart.

In 2006, Milian released her third studio album So Amazin'. The album produced one single, "Say I" (featuring Jeezy), which peaked in the Top 30 of the US Billboard chart. A month after the release of So Amazin', Milian's representative confirmed that she was dropped from Island Records due to creative differences. Milian signed with Interscope Records in 2009. A single, ballad "Us Against the World", was released in October 2008.

Milian originally wanted to be an actress. Her first lead role was in the 2003 film Love Don't Cost a Thing, and she subsequently had lead roles in Be Cool and the 2006 horror film Pulse. Milian had a minor role in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and starred as the lead role in the straight-to-DVD film Bring It On: Fight to the Finish. Milian has also starred in the 2010 ABC Family Original Movie Christmas Cupid, alongside Ashley Benson and Chad Michael Murray. From 2015 to 2016, she starred in the sitcom Grandfathered. She is an entrepreneur and co-founded and co-owns Beignet Box, a dessert shop in the Los Angeles area.^[2][3][4]

Early life[edit]

Milian (Milián in Spanish) was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is of Afro-Cuban descent.^[5] Her parents are Don Flores and Carmen Milian.^[6][7][8]

Flores changed her name and adopted her mother's maiden name (Milian) in the hopes of landing a wider range of acting roles.^[9] The oldest of three sisters, including Danielle and Elizabeth, she moved with her family to Waldorf, Maryland, soon after her birth. Milian was four years old when she showed an interest in show business,^[10] and when her family realized that she was a talented actress, she became determined to pursue an entertainment career.^[11] As a child, Milian was "very imaginative and very creative", and watching television and listening to the radio became her life. They inspired her to have fun, and she convinced her parents that she "did not want to be inside the TV", although it took some time to convince them.^[9] By the time she was nine years old, Milian had begun auditioning with local talent agencies,^[9] shot commercials for Wendy's and Honeycomb, and played the lead role in the musical Annie. Milian's mother noticed her daughter's potential and left her husband and moved to Los Angeles with her three daughters when Milian was 13 years old. Her father had to stay in Maryland and divorced her mother soon after the move.^[11]

When Milian moved to Los Angeles, her only desire was to be an actress. She always wanted to be in the record business, but did not know how to obtain a recording contract. During this time, she was a host for Disney Channel's series Movie Surfers, by the name of Tina. After living in Los Angeles for six months, Milian moved into the same apartment complex as songwriter and producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who (like Milian) was also born in New Jersey. Jerkins heard about Milian from a boy band he was working with and once he heard her sing, they began working together. For a year and a half, Milian went into a studio every day and worked with Jerkins, which is where she started meeting people in the record business.^[12] She began writing songs at the age of 17 because she needed a demo to help her obtain a recording contract. According to Milian, every time she recorded a song, the producer would refuse to give her the demo, or would write lyrics that she did not agree with. She felt that she had to write a song, record a demo, and send it out on her own.^[13]

Career[edit]

2000–2002: Christina Milian, record deal and acting debut[edit]

Milian made her first professional musical appearance on rapper Ja Rule's second studio album Rule 3:36 (2000), performing vocals on the song "Between Me and You".^[14] The song was released as the album's lead single in 2000, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[15] and in the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart.^[16] Milian co-wrote and performed vocals for the track "Play" for Jennifer Lopez's album J. Lo (2001), and co-wrote "Same Ol' Same Ol'", the second single from girl group PYT's debut album PYT (Down with Me) (2001).^[14]

Milian's collaboration with Ja Rule led to a record deal with Def Soul Records, prompted by his affiliation with Murder Inc. Records, an imprint that was distributed through Def Jam, the parent label of Def Soul Records. She travelled to Sweden and recorded her self-titled debut album.^[9] The album was released on October 9, 2001, in the UK,^[17] peaking at number 23 and selling a total of 101,986 copies.^[18] Internationally, the album peaked at number 36 in the Netherlands, and number 98 in Sweden.^[19] The album's domestic release was canceled, primarily due to the September 11 attacks;^[20] it was later released internationally on October 9, 2001.^[21] Two singles were taken from the album, "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me", both of which charted worldwide.^[22][23] A music video for the track "Get Away" was filmed in Paris, although it was not officially released as a single.^[24]

The critical response to the album was mixed to generally positive. Imran Ahmed of the New Musical Express predicted that based on the record, "genius can't be more than a few albums away".^[25] Contrastingly, entertainment.ie writer Andrew Lynch suggested that Milian needed original ideas.^[26] Milian believed that the public expected "a certain thing" from her when she first appeared with Ja Rule, however she wanted to record the type of music she was signed to do. She said that "AM to PM" was a "cool record," but it was not what the public expected. Milian approached the executives at her record company, Island Def Jam, and explicitly confronted them for not understanding her image. She felt that she had gained their respect by explaining that she was serious about her musical career.^[9] In the following years, she was featured on the track "It's All Gravy", a duet with British rapper Romeo, which was a UK top ten hit;^[15] provided the theme song for the hit Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible, "Call Me, Beep Me!";^[27] and collaborated with Hilary Duff on Duff's Christmas album Santa Claus Lane (2002), on the song "I Heard Santa on the Radio".^[28]

Although Milian is best known for her singing career,^[29] she originally wanted to be an actress.^[12] When asked whether she prefers singing or acting, Milian said that "they're both my passion. But, honestly, if I had to choose, it would probably be my music. I love writing. I love listening. I love the challenge of it."^[12] Milian has also stated that she loves "performing live on the stage ... above all else. It's my favorite."^[20]

Milian's first major acting role was offered by the Disney Channel to join The Mickey Mouse Club; however, she did not accept and opted to star as a reporter on Movie Surfers.^[30] During this time, she had minor roles in film and television, including Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, The Steve Harvey Show, Get Real, The Wood and American Pie.^[31] In 2002, Milian was appointed the host of the live competitive music series Becoming Presents: Wannabe on MTV, where she met director Joseph Kahn. Kahn suggested she audition for a lead role in the film Torque. Her audition was successful and she played a supporting role in the film. She was subsequently cast in her first lead role in Love Don't Cost a Thing.^[11]

Milian has been described as a role model to young girls; she has said that there are a lot of people who young girls look up to, but "at the end of the day you have to be your own person and love yourself."^[20] Milian worked with the Children Uniting Nations charity, in which she was a big sister to foster children,^[32] and says her favorite charity is the Penny Lane Foundation.^[33] Milian was awarded with a humanitarian award at The Reign fundraiser from the Elton John AIDS Foundation for being a role model for young children. Milian said, "I've never been rewarded that way and never been acknowledged like that. That was really nice of them, and I was happy I was able to show up for the kids."^[13]

2003–2004: It's About Time and continued acting[edit]

Milian felt that Island Def Jam was confused as to how they wanted her image to be portrayed; one second she was young and singing "AM to PM", and next she was a grown woman singing "Get Away". She realized that the change confused the audience, and that "nobody was buying it".^[12] In 2003, Milian's label, Def Soul, later shifted its focus into R&B veterans under its Def Soul Classics faction; Def Soul would later be folded into its parent, Def Jam, in 2011. However, Milian would later be drafted to sister label Island Records. After the international release of her debut album, Milian went back into the recording studio. The singer felt that music trends had changed into rock music, hardcore hip hop and tribute songs, and her music did not fall into those categories. Milian decided to stop recording and toured overseas for a year and a half. When she returned to the US, she decided not to release her previous album domestically, and started working on a new album.^[12][20] Milian traveled the world, working with the popular producers Bloodshy & Avant, "Darkchild", Cory Rooney, Warryn Campbell, Bryan-Michael Cox and Polli Paul.^[35][36]

Milian's second studio album, It's About Time, was released in the US on July 13, 2004.^[37] The critical response to the album was mixed; the club tracks, most notably lead single "Dip It Low", were praised while the ballads were said to be disappointing.^[38][39] The style and sound of the album was compared to that of Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez by several critics.^[36][40] Milian later admitted that her new sexy image for "Dip It Low" and the whole album was mainly for shock value. She had to make her way back into the US market, and by choosing a sexier image, she made a name for herself. "Dip It Low" was also meant to show that she was not the same 18-year-old girl in the "AM to PM" video.^[35] To create her new image, Milian also decided to change her appearance and lightened her hair. Taking inspiration from Janet Jackson who constantly changed her image, Milian thought to herself, "'When did I like Janet Jackson the most?' It was when she had her lightened hair."^[9]

Milian believed that the album was more R&B when compared to her "bubble-gum" pop debut album.^[10] The change was reflected in the album's lead single, "Dip It Low", which was more of a club and R&B track than her previous pop release "AM to PM".^[34] Milian performed as an opening act on Usher's Truth tour to promote her album.^[29] The album debuted and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 album chart and number 21 in the UK, selling a total of 382,000 and 63,708 copies respectively,^[18][41] and received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Contemporary R&B Album" in 2005.^[42] The album's first single, "Dip It Low", became Milian's biggest hit to date, reaching number two in the UK and number five in the US.^[43][44] The single was certified Gold by the RIAA for digital sales,^[45] and earned a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration".^[42] The album's second and final single, "Whatever U Want", featuring Joe Budden, failed to reprise the success of the lead single but reached the top ten in the UK.^[46]

Milian starred in Be Cool (2005), the sequel to Get Shorty, with John Travolta and Uma Thurman,^[29] and recorded two songs for its soundtrack.^[47] She was then cast in a lead role in the horror film Pulse, starring alongside Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhalder. The film was a remake of the Japanese film Kairo (2001), and was adapted by Wes Craven and Ray Wright.^[48] Filming took place in Romania, a traumatic time for Milian, where she endured racial abuse and discovered that boyfriend Nick Cannon was cheating on her.^[49] Milian has also appeared in two video games: Def Jam Vendetta (2003), where she plays non-playable character/singer Angeline "Angel" Rodriguez , D-Mob's girlfriend, & a main player love interest.^[50] and as one of the female leads, Carmen Mendez, in the video game Need for Speed: Undercover (2008).^[51]

2005–2006: So Amazin' and record departure[edit]

Whereas Milian's previous albums had pop and R&B stylings, she was encouraged by Island Def Jam to target a new audience and release an urban record.^[52] Explaining the change, Milian said that one of her main problems was that previous releases would often find mainstream success, but would be relatively unsuccessful on urban radio. As an R&B artist, she wanted to build her core audience–a true fan base that would support her through time–to increase her career's longevity. The main purpose of her genre change was to go back to the streets and add to her core audience.^[35] To create a more urban record, Milian had a list of producers that she wanted to work with.^[35] L.A. Reid suggested to Milian that she should work with Cool & Dre, with whom she ended up working with as the first people to start off the album. Although Milian was originally supposed to work with several different music producers, she felt that the chemistry they had in the first week was so "instant and real" that she felt she could not get a better "vibe" with anybody else other than them.^[35][53] Milian ended up working with Cool & Dre on the majority of the production of the album,^[41] producing ten of the album's eleven tracks together.^[54] The album completed within a three-month period, whereas Milian's previous albums would take six months to a year.^[53]

Milian's third studio album, So Amazin', was released on May 16, 2006.^[55] The album's lead single, "Say I", featured rapper Young Jeezy.^[56] The single saw peak positions of number four in the UK,^[18] and number twenty-one in the US.^[57] So Amazin' debuted and peaked at number eleven on the Billboard 200 albums chart,^[57] selling 54,000 copies in its first week and 163,000 copies in total.^[51][58] Internationally, the album peaked at number 55 on the Swiss Albums Chart, 67 on the UK Albums Chart, and 139 on the France Albums Chart.^[59] Reviews of So Amazin' were mixed; critics felt that while Milian claimed that she was displaying the various sides of her personality, the album could "only [scratch] the surface of who she really is."^[60][61] "Say I" was praised by several critics, and was described as "instantly rousing" and "intoxicating".^[60][62] In June 2006, Milian's representative confirmed that Island had released her from the imprint.^[63] In an interview with Rap-Up, Milian revealed she was dropped a week after her album was released. The singer believed it was a "budget cut", and that Island Def Jam wanted to spend more money on label mate Rihanna; Milian also turned down what would later be Rihanna's hit single, "SOS".^[64] She said, "it was embarrassing. It was a week after my album got put out. I would be in my room a lot of the time crying by myself."^[52][65] After leaving Def Jam, Milian released her first compilation album, The Best of Christina Milian (2006).^[66]

2007–2010: Elope and hiatus[edit]

Milian signed with MySpace Records in 2008.^[51] She began writing songs and recording in the studio with numerous different producers, including Cool & Dre, J. R. Rotem, The Runners, Danja, Terry "MaddScientist" Thomas, T-Pain, Jim Jonsin and Toby Gad.^[51][67] Milian was featured on the cover of Rap-Up's 2008 Winter issue, in which she announced that the album's title was Dream in Color (later retitled as Elope).^[68] A single was released in October 2008, ballad "Us Against the World". It was written by Milian and produced by Madd Scientist. The single, described by Milian as a "cinematic power ballad", premiered via MySpace on October 6, 2008, and was made available by digital download the next day.^[51] Milian felt that Madd Scientist "brought the best out of me" while producing "Us Against the World", and "was really able to do some amazing things with my vocals".^[69]

After recording songs with the aforementioned producers, Milian took a break from music and started filming Bring It On: Fight to the Finish. When Milian returned to music, she concentrated on promoting her single "Us Against the World", and shot its music video. Since then, Milian said that she became "a little bit more meticulous with what I feel deserved to be on the album", and resumed recording.^[33] Songs recorded for the album included the 1990s Madonna-styled ballad "Stay", Euro-club record "Tug of War" and the feel-good song "Diamonds",^[51] which featured Kanye West.^[70] Other features included Rick Ross on the Cool & Dre produced track "Blissful",^[71] and Pitbull.^[72]

In early 2009, Milian began working with The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, and L.O.S. Da Maestro,^[68] which led to her signing a deal with Radio Killa Records.^[73] Milian revealed that aside from "Us Against the World", The-Dream and Tricky Stewart would be producing all the songs on her album.^[33] In March 2009, Milian changed the album's title to Elope. Regarding the album's title change, Milian explained, "the definition of elope is to run away secretly with one's beloved. This next album is about taking responsibility for yourself and making your own decisions."^[68] In June 2009, The-Dream said that the album was finished.^[74] Upon completion of the album, Milian said it represented "independence, not having to answer to any type of 'authority', being a woman at her best and feeling very confident". She said that fans could expect an "edgy sound with lots of strong powerful anthems. Big up tempos, R&B and Pop at it's [sic] best and two big ballads".^[75]

In August 2009, Milian confirmed that she had signed a deal to release Elope through Interscope Records,^[76] with a 2010 release date. Originally scheduled to be released in 2009, Tricky Stewart explained the delay, saying "we just got our label deals done, so the reason why some of these projects got delayed had to do with technicalities and things of that nature". The album has been furthered delayed because of Milian's marriage to The-Dream and her pregnancy.^[7