page_title: CeCe Peniston
section_title: 1991–92: Finally
hierarchical_section_title: CeCe Peniston / Biography / 1991–92: Finally
caption_attribution_description: English: Delgado with Peniston in 1991
context_page_description: Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston 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 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 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".
  On February 4, 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. 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".
context_section_description: Peniston was 21 years old when her debut single "Finally" was released. The song burst on to the US club scene in the fall of 1991, where it became an instant dance anthem peaking, in October, at the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play for two weeks, while achieving a respectful starting position (at No. 29) overseas.
  After her first song climbed the international charts, Peniston was headed into the studio to record a full-length album. However, she "had two months to pull the whole album together" and "didn’t realize the impact the record was having until it reached the top five". She also described how difficult it was to begin her career at such an extreme pace, but  the result was a solidly produced ten track collection titled Finally, issued in January of the following year.
  Both the single and album entered the US Hot 100, as well as the UK Top 75 chart (at No. 5 and No. 2 for single, respectively at No. 70 and at No. 10 for album release), and ultimately earned Peniston a gold or silver certification in both countries. By the end of 1992 her debut (in Europe re-released in 1997 with a bonus remix "Finally '97") sold over 540,000 in United States.
  "We Got a Love Thang", the second single (co-written by Chantay Savage), with a video clip in heavy rotation on TV music channels, went to No. 1 in the US Dance chart in February (No. 20 in the Hot 100), and in England (where "Finally" skipped to No. 2 eventually) "We Got a Love Thang" peaked at No. 6. Who provided backing vocals on the album remains a source of contention. While on her album Finally Darnnel Rush was credited, on its single release, the name of Kym Sims (who was a co-writer of "Keep On Walkin'") appeared as one of back-up vocalists.
  With another hit record on the charts, Peniston began a year of touring clubs and small theaters in the USA in support of her album. Her travels started with a series of shows in the Philippines, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy, and after her return to the USA, Peniston continued with such R&B acts as Joe Public, the Cover Girls, R. Kelly and Levert.
  While on tour, "Keep On Walkin'", a hip hop swinging composition, joined the list of Peniston's three consecutively running hits, bringing Peniston in June her third No. 1 in the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (No. 15 in the Hot 100), and another Top 10 hit in UK. Later in August, that was also her highest outing in the US R&B chart, scoring at No. 3.
  On October 17, Billboard magazine announced that Peniston was the leading nominee in the Billboard Music Awards, being nominated in four categories: three times in the dance category with "Finally" (Best New Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Director), and one in the R&B/Rap category (Best Female Artist) for her urban hit "Keep On Walkin'". Ultimately the song won two awards, and three of her singles released in 1992 were listed also within the Top 100 songs of the Billboard Year-End chart (at No. 20 with "Finally", at No. 61 with "Keep On Walkin'", and at No. 97 with "We Got a Love Thang"). In the UK, Peniston was listed as the 20th of Top Selling Singles Artists in 1992.
  Additional songs taken from album Finally achieved the Top 40 status at least in the hip hop/R&B field. The grieving lyrics of her ballad "Inside That I Cried", co-written by Peniston's then-husband, Malik Byrd (who appeared also in its video), and produced in conjunction with Anita Baker's cohort, Steve Lindsey, peaked at No. 10 in the US R&B (No. 94 in the Hot 100 and No. 42 in UK Top 75). The fifth single, a midtempo, "Crazy Love", climbed to No. 31 (No. 97 in the Hot 100 and No. 44 in UK).
  By the end of the year, Peniston received several awards for her achievements in the music industry for 1992. Among them, one Billboard Music Award (as Best New Artist – Dance, the second went to the video director Claude Borenzweig), three ASCAP Awards (for Song of The Year, Most Performed Song of The Year, and Pop Songwriter of The Year), another three awards (as Best New Dance Artist, Best Dance Solo Artist, and for Best 12
caption: Peniston with Felipe Delgado at Chaton Studios in Phoenix, Arizona, putting final touches to her debut album
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