Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas (born October 13, 1980), better known as Ashanti, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, model and actress. She became famous in the early 2000s. Ashanti released her debut album Ashanti in 2002. It released three singles: "Foolish", "Happy", and "Baby". "Foolish" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Happy" and "Baby" reached the top twenty. Ashanti's first album sold 503,000 copies the first week. She then became the first "new female artist" to sell that many records in one week. She outsold artists including Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill. She also became the first female artist to have two singles "Foolish" at number one and "What's Luv?" (with Fat Joe) at number two. Ashanti also became the first artist to have three top ten songs ("Foolish", "What's Luv?" and "Always on Time") on the Hot 100 the same week. She was the first women and second artist, behind The Beatles, to do this.

Her first album also won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Later that year, her duet with Ja Rule on "Mesmerize" reached number two on the Hot 100. Her next album, Chapter II (2003) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 326,000 copies the first week. The album was given three Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song. Chapter II was certified platinum by the RIAA. This means that 1 million copies of the album were shipped in the United States. The two singles "Rock wit U (Awww Baby)" and "Rain on Me" reached the top ten in the US. Her holiday album Ashanti's Christmas (2003) reached number 160 on the Billboard 200.

Ashanti's third album, Concrete Rose (2004), debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 254,000 copies the first week. The album was certified platinum in a month of its release. The singles "Only U" was a top ten hit in the US, while "Don't Let Them" did not do so well. The single became the worst charting song in Ashanti's career. Her first greatest hits album Collectables by Ashanti (2005) reached number 59 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was a top ten hit on the Hot R&B Albums chart. The only single to be released from that album was "Still on It". It reached number 15 on the Hot Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Ashanti's second greatest hits album, Can't Stop, was released in 2006. It only charted in Japan at number 259. Ashanti took a short break from recording music.

Her fourth album, The Declaration, was released in 2008. It reached number six on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 86,000 copies the first week. The singles "The Way That I Love You" reached the top 40 on the Hot 100. The single "Good Good" reached number 30 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In 2009, The Vault was released. The album contained 12 songs recorded by Ashanti that were not released. It reached number 110 on the Japan Albums chart. Ashanti's fifth album Braveheart was set to be released on August 28, 2012. The lead single, "The Woman You Love" reached number 59 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in December 2011. Ashanti has starred in several movies. These include The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) and John Tucker Must Die (2006). As of 2008, she has sold more than 27 million records worldwide.

Discography
 Ashanti (2002)
 Chapter II (2003)
 Concrete Rose (2004)
 The Declaration (2008)
 BraveHeart (2014)

Movies 
Films
 The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)
 Coach Carter (2005)
 John Tucker Must Die (2006)
 Resident Evil Extinction (2007)
 Coach Carter 2

Television
 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (2002)
 Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) (2003)
 WrestleMania XIX (Opening: America the Beautiful) (2003)
 The Proud Family (voice) (2003)
 Pepsi Smash (Commercial) (2003)
 Punk'd (2004)
 Oxygen: Custom Concert (2004)
 Las Vegas (TV series) (2005)
 2007 World Series (Opening: 'God Bless America') (2007)
 NFL Thanksgiving Classic CBS (Opening: 'National Anthem') (2007)
 BET Awards Nomination Special "I Wanna Thank My Mama" (host) (2008)
 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2010)

Theater
 The Wiz (2009)

References

Books

Other websites 

1980 births
Actors from New York
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Singers from New York