Alexis Jordan

Alexis Jordan (born April 7, 1992)

Jordan's debut single, "Happiness", was released in September 2010, and reached number one in the Netherlands, Norway and on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs, and also became a top-three hit in Australia and the United Kingdom. "Good Girl" was released as Jordan's second single in February 2011, and reached No. 1 on the US Hot Dance Club Songs, No. 3 in Scotland and No. 6 in UK. Jordan's debut self-titled album was released on February 25, 2011. It debuted in the UK and Scotland at No. 9 and on the Australian Albums Chart at No. 11. Jordan also featured on Sean Paul's single "Got 2 Luv U", which reached number one in Switzerland and Romania.

Life and career

1992–2008: Early life and career beginnings

Alexis Jordan was born on April 7, 1992, in Columbia, South Carolina, to a mother of African American, Native American and European descent and a Puerto Rican father. Jordan began writing songs while she was in third grade. While in the studio, rapper Jay-Z walked in,

2010–2012: Record deal and Alexis Jordan

Her self-titled debut album was released on February 25, 2011. Jordan's single "Happiness" (which samples the Deadmau5 track "Brazil (2nd Edit)") was released in September 2010. In the United States, the song reached No. 1 on the Hot Dance Club Songs, becoming Jordan's first No. 1 single on that chart. It also reached No. 1 in Norway In Australia, "Happiness" was certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments of 210,000 copies. "Good Girl" was released as Jordan's second single in February 2011. The song debuted at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Jordan her second top-10 hit in the United Kingdom. It also reached No. 15 in Ireland and became her second chart-topper on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart in April. "Hush Hush" was released as the album's third single on May 8, 2011.

On April 12, 2012, Alexis embarked on her first headline tour in the United Kingdom. Jordan performed in three cities – London (Scala) on Thursday June 30, Birmingham HMV (Institute) on Saturday July 2 and Manchester (Club Academy) on Sunday July 3. Tickets went on sale on Friday April 15. In June and July 2011 Jordan also supported British boy band JLS on their eight-day UK tour. She also appeared at T4 on the Beach in the UK and performed "Hush Hush" and "Good Girl". Jordan featured on Sean Paul's single "Got 2 Luv U", which reached number one in Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, Bulgaria, Romania, France, United States Billboard (in the Latin Raps & Pop Songs) and Venezuela. Jordan also made a cameo appearance in the film Honey 2. In June 2012, Jordan appeared at Birmingham Pride, performing "Good Girl", "Got 2 Luv U", "Shout Shout" and "Hush Hush" On November 25, 2012, she appeared as musical guest on X Factor (Romania).

2011–2014: Second studio album In October 2011, she confirmed via Twitter that she was working on her second studio album. In November 2011, Jordan went to a recording studio in New York where she recorded with Stargate, she stated that the album is nearly completed. In the same YouTube video uploaded by Jordan, she was asked what she was doing and she replied "Writing about different things 'cause I'm like all messed up cause I'm talking about girl power, then I'm talking about myself and how people don't really know me that well so they gonna get to know me in this song."

On January 15, 2013, a new song titled "Acid Rain" leaked online. It was intended to serve as the lead cut from her second album. "Acid Rain" samples Bingo Players' song "Rattle," and is written by Sia and produced by Stargate. An alternate version of the song excluding Cole was released for digital download on February 20, 2013. Jordan was released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation label after the single "Gone" (March 2014) failed to chart internationally.

Artistry

Music and influences Jordan's self-titled debut album contained dance-pop, pop and R&B music, in an interview Jordan described the album's musical style saying "I don't want to be kept in a box. I'm that pop artist, but I can switch it up and turn to R&B/soul and do lots of ballads and the hip-hop swag. It's very versatile". Alexis described her album's genre as being "universal" saying in an interview "It's going to be very universal. It's not just a pop dance record. It has a little reggae, a little hip-hop swag, so it's going to be everything."

Jordan cites singers Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé as influences. Jordan also cites Michael Jackson as an influence, calling him "a big inspiration", and also is inspired by Billie Holiday, saying "I like Billie Holiday's sound". MOBO Awards Best International Act MTV Europe Music Awards Best Push Act