СеСе Пенистон: Американская певица и звезда танцевальных хитов.

American singer

Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (/s//iː/'/s//iː// /'/p//ɛ//n//ɪ//s//t//ən/; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U. S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" reached the number 5 spot on the Hot 100 and number 2 in the UK Top 75. Peniston has performed at private engagements for Aretha Franklin's private birthday party in Detroit, Michigan, Pope John Paul II in Rome at the Vatican (as a member of the gospel band Sisters of Glory) and the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, during both of his inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D. C. She was the first foreign female entertainer to perform in post apartheid South Africa. According to Peniston, her vocal range vacillates between "five to seven octaves". In February 2011, Peniston signed a record deal with West Swagg Music Group/Bungalo Records, with full distribution through Universal Music Group Distribution, and announced release of a new solo album 15 years after her last studio set (I'm Movin' On from 1996 on A&M Records). By the end of the year, however, only three digital singles had been issued including a new song called "Stoopid! ", and two cover versions of her prior hits, "Keep On Walkin'" and "Finally". In December 2016, Billboard magazine listed her among the 100 Top Dance Club Artists of All Time (as the 52nd).

Peniston was born in Dayton, Ohio, but spent the majority of her formative years in Phoenix, Arizona, where she was raised from the age of nine. She is the third of four siblings. The daughter of Ronald Peniston, a military veteran and Barbara Anne, she started singing at church and doing plays and musicals such as H. M. S. Pinafore in the 6th grade. She participated in local karaoke contests and singing talent shows, while taking piano lessons. She attended Trevor G. Browne High School, class of 1987, in Phoenix, and landed a part in a local theater group's production of Bubblin' Brown Sugar (playing the young Sweet Georgia Brown). After earning her diploma, she continued to study liberal arts at Phoenix College, where she got involved in athletics, and entered beauty pageants. She was crowned Miss Black Arizona in 1989.

Despite insistence from the Peniston's management to release "Somebody Else's Guy" as a follow up, A&M label preferred an alternate composition, "Before I Lay (You Drive Me Crazy)", which featured Peniston's then beau JoJo Hailey (of K Ci & JoJo) who was supposed to help establish Peniston as an R&B artist. But the duet reached its top in the US R&B already at No. 52, two years later Peniston actually confirmed her doubts, after being questioned by the magazine: "I can speak about this firsthand, believe me. Sometimes doing what you feel isn't always accepted by the public. You've got to choose where you want to go and be consistent," (said by the artist at the 5th annual Billboard Dance Music Summit that urged members of the dance music community to work together toward greater credibility, visibility and sales for the genre, held July 8–10 in 1998). After only two singles released from her R&B set, A&M did not decide to select a song that would cater to another music format, and capitulated to progress with I'm Movin' On album that Peniston promoted also during Bill Clinton's election campaign, on which she performed several track from the set. Clinton commented on her performance on November 4, 1996 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, mentioning: "I want to thank CeCe Peniston for singing so beautifully." Following her dismissal, Peniston took playing as Glinda the Good Witch in a theatrical production of musical play The Wiz. In September, A&M re released the single "Finally" that re entered the UK Top 75 (No. 26), while the second, a Latino hip hop ballad, "When I'm with You" was her own solo track also produced by Marcus Cardenas.

Originally in 1997, singer, along with her friend Heather, founded the CeCe Peniston Youth Foundation to help raise funds for many other organizations, particularly those concerned with HIV/AIDS, women and children in need, hunger and the equality of mankind. Following this announcement, Peniston started to record the official PTA anthem, "Above Horizons", which was released on the organization's recording label, National PTA Recordings in June 2009, as its first music release. The single was available in three different mixes ("Original Mix", "Status Mix" and "Aaron Carl Mix") at PTAmusic. org, and its release coincided with PTA's unofficial announcement of Downloadfundraiser. com as a PTA National Member Benefits Provider, and the "category exclusive" digital music retailer for National PTA.