Billie Myers biography
Billie Myers (born 14 June 1971, Coventry, West Midlands, England) is an English rock singer-songwriter. She is probably best known for her 1998 transatlantic hit, "Kiss the Rain".
Biography
Myers was born in Britain to a British mother, and Jamaican father. Before commencing her career in music, Myers was a nurse and insurance agent. She was discovered in a club by the record producer Peter Harris. Soon after their first meeting, Myers began writing material for her debut album,
Growing, Pains (1997). The album was produced by Desmond Child. The first single from the album, "Kiss the Rain", became a Top 20 hit.
Myers was signed to a recording contract with Universal Records in 1997, and toured with the Lilith Fair in 1998, as well as headlining her own tour. Singles from Growing, Pains have appeared on television commercials and in the TV series, Dawson's Creek. Growing, Pains achieved gold record status in 1997, and Myers' follow-up album, Vertigo, was issued in 2000.
Her vocal style is a combination of pop, jazz and world music.
She has spoken about her bisexuality and the difficulties "not being gay enough" has caused her in the past.
On 11 October 2009, Myers sang "America the Beautiful" before a crowd of some LGBT's and their allies at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. In introducing the song, she criticized president Barack Obama for failing to mention marriage equality and the battle to ban same-sex marriage in Maine during his speech the previous night at a Human Rights Campaign dinner.
Growing, Pains (1997)
Myers' debut album,
Growing, Pains, was released in the United States on 18 November 1997. It achieved gold status, thanks in large part to the success of its first single. Myers wrote or co-wrote all songs featured on the record, and although she had not written songs prior to creating
Growing, Pains, she had regularly written in journals and diaries for years beforehand, which facilitated the songwriting process.
Her first single, "Kiss the Rain" entered the UK Singles Chart and eventually reached number 4. In the United States, "Kiss the Rain" reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 31 weeks on the chart. The American television series Dawson's Creek (episode #2-02, titled "Crossroads") featured "Kiss the Rain", and it was also used in promotions for Archer Daniels Midland, which were most often seen on both Sunday morning talk shows and ADM's underwriting spot for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
The dance remix of "Kiss the Rain" was the first number 1 for both Myers and the remix team, Thunderpuss.
The follow-up single, "Tell Me", reached number 25 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. Myers admitted that once "Kiss the Rain" had retreated from charting position, she felt disappointed because "Tell Me" did not match the success of her first single.
Biography from 
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