*Brandy is a powerhouse. Singer/songwriter, actress and most recently, Broadway superstar. Next up – THE MOON! Hey, it’s possible if she collaborates with mega-mogul Richard Branson, who continues to invest in aircraft technology that will shuttle the privilege into the cosmos. Brandy could be the inflight entertainment onboard his Virgin Galactic ship. Seems like the obvious, and most logical, next career move.
Ms. Brandy is currently staring on Broadway in the hit musical “Chicago” – playing Roxie Hart, a wannabe vaudevillian star who murders her lover and is arrested. The role allows Brandy to show off her sensual, naughty side as she dances and sings in some very risqué outfits. The performance marks her professional stage debut.
JET spoke with “The Boy Is Mine” singer about her shift in focus, motherhood, and how she plans to challenge herself. Below are highlights from the interview.
JET: I grew up watching you on television. From the days of Thea to Moesha, I feel like you’ve been around pretty much my entire life. What changes in the entertainment industry have you witnessed since entering it more than 20 years ago?
Brandy: Well you know, the most consistent thing about life is change. The whole industry is different now. We connect with fans differently. Music has just changed a lot. But I think the beautiful thing about life is that how it works doesn’t change. I think that if you still stay positive and if you have you have a lot of belief and faith in what God has given you, you can still make things happen the way you want them to happen even when businesses and industries change.
Members of Brandy’s family were in the audience April 28 when she made her debut, including her 12-year-old daughter, Sy’rai, who was in tears. Brandy credits her daughter for keeping her motivated.
JET: You talk a lot about purpose and some of the struggles you’ve been through. What do you contribute your tenacity to? What keeps you going?
Brandy: I have a 12-year-old daughter that’s looking for me to set the example. I have people who love me and I have fans out there that are looking for me to get it together. And I almost didn’t get it together. I almost gave up. But my mom always says that I always get to the edge of the cliff, but I never fall off. So I just said I’m not gonna keep going to the edge anymore. I’m just gonna get it right. And I’m just going to decide to be the best version of myself. And when you’ve been sad and have dealt with depression so deeply and so darkly, [you get] tired of feeling like that. I felt like that for so long and I got tired of my daughter seeing me like that and I wasn’t setting a great example. So through prayer and changing my mind and disciplining myself to get to where I needed to be, I changed my life. And now I know why I’m here. At 36, I know it now.
Brandy recently said that once she realized her life and career in Los Angeles had become stagnant, it was time for a change.
JET: Let’s talk about Chicago. How’d that happen?
Brandy: I got a call and I was asked to be Roxie Hart. And I mean butterflies, a little bit of fear, nerves ALLL of that just happened and I’m like, “I don’t care. I’m doing it. This is what I’ve been waiting for.” And the opportunity to trust God and trust the unknown because I didn’t know what this was. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve been on stage, but I’ve never been another person completely different from myself on stage. Eight shows a week, I’ve never done anything like that. So I had to trust that it wouldn’t have been put in front of me if I wasn’t supposed to do it.
You can read Brandy’s full interview with JET, here.
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