About Kelis
Kelis is the stage name of American musical artist Kelis Rogers, born on the 21st of August 1979 in the Harlem neighborhood in New York. Her name is a combination of the names of her two parents, Kenneth, her father and Eveliss, her mother. Her father was an American jazz artist and a Pentecostal minister. Her mother, half Chinese, half Portuguese, was a fashion designer and is the one who encouraged Kelis to pursue a career in music.
In 1998 Kelis began the recording of her debut album, Kaleidoscope. It was finished in less than a year and produced by The Neptunes members Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. The album entered the charts at number 144 on the Billboard 200, selling 11000 copies in the first week. The album received great attention especially in Europe, where all three single became hits. The album was certified gold in the UK, with over 100000 copies sold.
Kelis’s second album, Wanderland, released in 2001, was not well received in the US, being released solely in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The album sold only 80000 copies worldwide.
In 2003, Kelis released her third album, Tasty, which entered the mainstream success and was largely appreciated by both critics and public. Kelis was even nominated at the Grammy Awards in 2004 for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
Kelis’s fourth album, Kelis Was Here was released in 2006 and entered the Billboard 200 directly at number ten. Even so, the album sold only 157000 copies in the US.
2010 brought the release of Kelis’s fifth album, Flesh Tone. The album debuted at number 48 in the Billboard 200 and at number 5 in the Dance/Electronic Albums.
