Ashanti

The Inc. recording artist, Ashanti, made a huge splash in 2002. Her self-titled debut album landed the #1 spot on both the Billboard Top 200 and R&B album charts selling a whopping 504,693 units in its first week. Her first week showing set a Soundscan record as the most albums sold by any first-time female artist in the chart’s history. Simultaneously, Ashanti also secured the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and the R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart with her song “Foolish.”

Also, Ashanti made Billboard history by having her first three chart entries all land in the top 10 of The Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. She is the first female to accomplish this feat and only second to the Beatles to do so.

January 2005, Ashanti fans can catch her in her silver screen debut in Coach Carter, the film she co-stars with Samuel L. Jackson. And in the spring, Ashanti will star as Dorothy in The Muppets’ Wonderful World of Oz.

THE ALBUMS:

• Ashanti, 2002 – 4 million
• Chapter II, 2003 – 2 million
• Ashanti’s Christmas, 2003 – 100,000
• Concrete Rose, 2004 – 1 million

THE AWARDS: (**indicates a win)

2003 NAACP IMAGE AWARDS (March 2003)

• Outstanding Female Artist
• **Outstanding New Artist

2003 SOUL TRAIN AWARDS (March 2003)

• **Best R&B/Soul Single, Female (“Foolish”)
• **Best R&B/Soul Album, Female (“Ashanti”)
• R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year (“Ashanti”)

2003 GRAMMY AWARDS (February 2003)

• Best New Artist
• Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (“Foolish”)
• **Best Contemporary R&B Album (“Ashanti”)
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (Fat Joe, “What’s Luv”)
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (Ja Rule, “Always On Time”)

2003 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS (January 2003)

• Fans Choice Award
• **Favorite New Artist in Pop/Rock
• **Favorite New Artist in Hip-Hop/R&B
• Favorite Female Artist in Hip-Hop/R&B
• Favorite Album – Pop or Rock ‘n Roll Music (“Ashanti”)

2002 BILLBOARD AWARDS (December 2002)

• **Female Artist of the Year
• **Top New Pop Artist of the Year
• **Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year
• **R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
• **R&B/Hip-Hop Female Artist of the Year
• **New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
• **R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year (“Foolish”)

2002 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS (August 2002)

• Best Female Video (“Foolish”)
• Best R&B Video (“Foolish”)
• Best New Artist In A Video (“Foolish”)
• Best Hip-Hop Video (“What’s Luv”)
• Best Hip-Hop Video (“Always On Time”)

2002 LADY OF SOUL AWARDS (August 2002)

• **Best R&B/Soul New Artist
• **Aretha Franklin Entertainer Of The Year
• Best R&B/Soul Single (“Foolish”)
• R&B/Soul Album of the Year (“Ashanti”)
• R&B/Soul Song of the Year (“Foolish”)
• Best R&B/Soul Music Video (“Foolish”)

2002 TEEN CHOICE AWARDS (August 2002)

• **Choice Breakout Artist
• Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Single (“Foolish”)
• Choice Music Collaborations (“Always On Time”)
• Choice Music Collaborations (“What’s Luv”)

2002 BET AWARDS (July 2002)

• Best New Artist
• Viewer’s Choice Award (“Always On Time”)

NICKELODEON’S KIDS CHOICE AWARDS (April 2003)

• **Best New Artist

FILM APPEARANCES:

• “Coach Carter”
• “Bride and Prejudice”

TV APPEARANCES:

• “The Muppets Wizard of Oz”
• “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
• “Sabrina”
• “American Dreams”

TV PERFORMANCES:

• Grammy Awards
• Saturday Night Live
• Soul Train Awards
• Lady of Soul Awards
• MTV Music Awards
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• Last Call with Carson Daly
• Live with Regis & Kelly

THE ENDORSEMENTS / PSAs:

• Candie’s (clothing)
• Wet Seal retail company
• BET PSA – Wrap It Up

THE BOOK:

• 11/2002 – poetry/essays book Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love