Keyshia Cole

Keyshia Cole
Cole in 2017
Born
Keyshia Myeshia Johnson

(1981-10-15) October 15, 1981 (age 42)
EducationTracy High School
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • television personality
  • actress
Years active1998–present
Spouse
(m. 2011; div. 2020)
Children2
FatherVirgil Hunter
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Websitekeyshiacole.com

Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the "Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Born and raised in Oakland, California, she began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer before signing with A&M Records to release her debut studio album, The Way It Is (2005). Supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 single "Love", the album received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and earned two nominations at the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards. Its success led Cole to film a reality television series for BET, in which she documented her career, family and personal life: Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is. The show ran for three seasons, and became one of the most-watched programs in the network's history.

Cole's second and third albums, Just Like You (2007) and A Different Me (2008), both peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and received platinum certifications by the RIAA. The former spawned the singles "Let It Go" (featuring Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim), "I Remember" and "Heaven Sent"—each of which peaked atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart—and received four Grammy Award nominations. Her fourth album, Calling All Hearts (2010), spawned the singles "I Ain't Thru" (featuring Nicki Minaj) and "Take Me Away", while her fifth, Woman to Woman (2012), spawned the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs-top 10 single "Enough of No Love" (featuring Lil Wayne). That same year, she starred in her second reality series, Keyshia & Daniel: Family First, alongside her then husband Daniel Gibson. Additional label swaps resulted in the Interscope release of Point of No Return (2014) and the Epic release of 11:11 Reset (2017).

From 2019 to 2020, Cole hosted the Fox Soul-syndicated television talk show One on One with Keyshia Cole.

  1. ^ Brandle, Lars (June 2, 2023). "Keyshia Cole Talks Survival in Official Trailer for 'This is My Story': Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nydaily was invoked but never defined (see the help page).