Debelah Morgan

Debelah Laksh Morgan (born September 29, 1977) is an American singer and songwriter. Morgan is best known for her hit single "Dance with Me" off of her third studio album, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

Debelah Morgan
Birth nameDebelah Laksh Morgan
Born (1977-09-29) September 29, 1977
OriginDetroit, Michigan, U.S.[1]
GenresR&B, pop, dance, gospel
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active1994–present
LabelsAtlantic Records (1994–1996; 1999–2002)
VAZ/Motown Records (1997–1998)
Champion Center (2010–present)

Early life and education

The owner of a five-octave vocal range, R&B singer Debelah Morgan wrote her first song at the age of eight, soon after forming her own girl's choir and serving as their arranger. At 15, she was teaching gospel choir at the University of Arizona, that same year winning Miss Teen Black Arizona honors; she would later win Miss Black Teen World. Morgan then relocated to Los Angeles, taking home a silver medal in the NAACP international music competition.[3][4]

Career

She signed with Atlantic Records in 1994, and released her debut album Debelah, which featured the singles "Take It Easy" and "Free", both of which charted on the R&B charts.[5] A couple of years later, she moved to VAZ/Motown Records and released her single "Yesterday" which was a Top 30 R&B hit, and landed on the Pop charts. However, while her second album, It's Not Over, was released in Japan and a few other international territories, it was shelved in the United States in 1998.[6]

Two years later, she re-signed with Atlantic Records and released her biggest single to date, "Dance with Me", which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in addition to becoming a top-five dance hit. Her third studio album, Dance with Me, soon followed in 2000 and peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[7] Two additional singles ("I Remember" and "Close to You") were released from the album. Additionally, she contributed the song "Why Did You Have to Be" to the Osmosis Jones soundtrack and a cover of "Do You Remember?" to the Phil Collins tribute album, Urban Renewal.[8]

In 2005, she signed with the independent label RansomWear and released her fourth album Light at the End of the Tunnel (a gospel release), which was preceded by the single "Just as I Am".[9] The album remains out of print and is not available on any digital services.

In 2010, she released the live album Let the Worship in Champions Live 2 with her Las Vegas church, of which she is their worship leader.[10] The following year, she was slated to have shot a pilot for a reality series with R&B singers Shanice and Karyn White.

In 2012 and 2013, she performed with the R&B group Rose Royce as their lead vocalist for several shows.[11][12]

In 2015, she collaborated with Shanice and All-4-One on the track "Go to Bed" off the latter's album Twenty.[13]

Discography

Albums
List of albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[14]		 AUT
[15]		 GER
[15]		 NZ
[15]		 SWI
[15]
Debelah —————
It's Not Over
  • Released: September 15, 1998
  • Label: VAZ / Motown
 —————
Dance with Me
  • Released: August 15, 2000
  • Label: The DAS Label / Atlantic
 2062533964
Light at the End of the Tunnel
  • Released: 2005
  • Label: Ransomwear Music
 —————

Singles
List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US US
R&B		 US
Dance		 AUS
[14]		 UK
[16]
"Take It Easy" 1994 —56——— Debelah
"Free" —96———
"Yesterday" 1998 562845—— It's Not Over
"I Love You" —————
"Dance with Me" 2000 8274310 Dance with Me
"I Remember" 2001 ———55—
"Close to You" —————
"Why Did You Have to Be?" ————— Osmosis Jones
"Just as I Am" 2005 ————— Light at the End of the Tunnel

References
  1. "Debelah Morgan Biography, Bio, Profile, pictures, photos from Netglimse.com". Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  2. "Debelah Morgan". Billboard.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  3. Jason Ankeny (September 29, 1977). "Debelah Morgan | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  4. Debelah Morgan Orlando Sentinel
  5. Debelah Morgan. "Debelah - Debelah - Amazon.com Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  6. "Debelah Morgan - It S Not Over - Amazon.com Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  7. "Debelah Morgan - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  8. "Urban Renewal: Featuring the Songs of Phil Collins - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. February 25, 2003. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  9. "Ransomwear Music Corner - Ransomwear". Freewebs.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  10. "CD Baby Music Store". Cdbaby.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  11. "KLN Publishing, LLC: Rose Royce - A blast from the past that everyone still loves". Klnpublishingllc.blogspot.com. June 21, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  12. Perry, Brandon A. (October 10, 2013). "Classy Soul at the Classic | Around Town". Indianapolisrecorder.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  13. "Twenty+ (Deluxe Version) by All-4-One on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. July 24, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  14. Peaks in Australia:
    • All except noted: "Discography Debelah Morgan". australian-charts.com. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
    • "I Remember" and "Dance with Me" platinum certification: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 193.
  15. "Debelah Morgan – Dance with Me". australian-charts.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  16. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 378. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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