Amel Larrieux - Independent Releases

Independent Releases

Bravebird
Her second album Bravebird was released under Larrieux's indie label Blisslife Records label on January 20, 2004. While it underperformed on the Billboard 200, it peaked at number twenty-eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number five on Independent Albums. It spawned the midtempo radio single "For Real", which showcases her ability to utilize the whistle register and inspired Ebony magazine to rave about her "ethereal high-octave vocals that bring to mind Minnie Riperton. A portion of the album's seventh track, "Giving Something Up", could be heard in the commercial for BET's HIV/AIDS awareness campaign Rap-It-Up, in which Larrieux participated in September 2003.

Larrieux's collaboration with Stanley Clarke and Glenn Lewis, a cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's 1972 song "Where Is the Love" from Clarke's 2003 album 1, 2, To the Bass, received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Morning
Larrieux's third effort Morning was released in April 2006 and features the single "Weary", which reached number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart in mid-2006. Morning is her highest-charting album to date, peaking at number seventy-four. Follow-up single "No One Else", written for Mike Shaunessy was featured on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's 2007 film Why Did I Get Married?. The song Gills and Tails also received radio airplay.

Lovely Standards
In May 2007, Larrieux released a jazz standard cover album entitled Lovely Standards. It broke into the top five of the Top Jazz Albums and sold 3,700 units in its first week on store shelves.

Larrieux was featured on 2Pac's 2007 greatest hits album Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug, on the previously unreleased song "Resist the Temptation".