Chanté Moore

Chanté Torrane Moore (born February 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, television personality, and author. Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Moore established herself as an R&B singer.

Her debut studio album Precious was released in 1992. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on November 14, 1994, in the United States, spawning such R&B hits as "Love's Taken Over" and "It's Alright". Released in 1994, her second album, A Love Supreme, did not achieve the same success as her debut album.

In 1999, her third album, This Moment Is Mine, was released. The album included "Chanté's Got a Man", her first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart, which became her signature song and her best charting song to date. She then released three more solo studio albums, Exposed (2000) Love the Woman (2008), Moore Is More (2013) and two collaborative albums Things That Lovers Do (2003), Uncovered/Covered (2006), both with Kenny Lattimore.

Aside from her success in music, Moore became a television personality in 2013, being involved in TV One's reality series R&B Divas: Los Angeles for three seasons before it was cancelled.

Early life
Born to Christian Evangelist parents, Moore was raised in San Francisco, California, and grew up singing in church. She was heavily influenced by the music of George Duke and Lee Ritenour. Moore was a beauty pageant contestant and model when, at age twenty-two, she was discovered by MCA Records executive Louil Silas.

1986–1995: Debut album Precious, breakthrough and A Love Supreme
Motivated by her then-boyfriend to approach a professional career in music, Moore was initially signed by talent manager Benny Medina to Warner Bros. Records at the age of 19. While she recorded an album, titled Listen to My Song, for the label, the project was shelved late into the production and Moore was eventually dropped. In February 1991, she signed with MCA Records executive Louis Silas, Jr.'s newly founded Silas Records, a joint venture with MCA, after A&R director Madeleine Randolph had presented him several demos from her Listen to My Song sessions. Silas Records' first signee, she immediately began recording her solo debut album. In October 1991, "Candlelight and You," a duet which Moore had recorded with R&B singer Keith Washington for her debut was placed on the MCA-produced soundtrack for the comedy film House Party 2.

On September 29, 1992, Silas Records released Moore's debut album, Precious. The album featured production from Simon Law, Bebe Winans, George Duke, among others, and peaked at number one-hundred and one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart. The first single, "Love's Taken Over" peaked at number eighty-six and number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts, respectively. The album's second single, It's Alright failed to make impact on the Billboard Hot 100, however, peaking at number thirteen on the R&B charts. More singles from Precious were released in 1993, including "As If We Never Met" and "Who Do I Turn To?". The album was certified gold by the RIAA on November 14, 1994.

On November 15, 1994, Moore released her second album A Love Supreme which peaked at sixty-four on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Moore was one of the co-executive producers of the album and co-wrote eight of its songs, along with Fred Moultrie. The album's first single, "Old School Lovin'", peaked at number nineteen on the R&B chart, marking her third top 20 R&B song. Three more songs were released from the album: "This Time" (1994), "I'm What You Need" (1995) and "Free/Sail On" (1995). In 1995, Moore appeared on the soundtrack to the hit film Waiting to Exhale and featured on five tracks, performing a solo on "Wey U," and adding backing vocals on the hit single, "Count On Me."

1996–2002: This Moment Is Mine, divorce and Exposed
In 1999, she released her third album This Moment Is Mine, which was led by her biggest single to date, "Chanté's Got a Man", written for then-husband Kadeem Hardison. It peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the R&B chart and was certified gold. It was followed-up by the single "I See You in a Different Light" with JoJo Hailey of Jodeci and included as the theme for the film For the Love of the Game starring Kevin Costner.

Following her divorce from Hardison, Moore worked with a different set of collaborators for the more contemporary R&B album Exposed, which followed in 2000 and included the singles "Straight Up" (produced by Jermaine Dupri) and "Bitter" for which the latter's video continued the saga of the R. Kelly and The Isley Brothers "Mr. Big" story.

In 2002, Moore had the distinction of winning a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single for the song "Contagious", featuring The Isley Brothers and R. Kelly. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

2003–2007: Duet albums with Kenny Lattimore: Things That Lovers Do and Covered/Uncovered
A year after marrying R&B singer Kenny Lattimore, the two signed as a duet act to Arista Records and released a duet cover album titled Things That Lovers Do in 2003. The album was promoted with a stageplay named after the album and a music video for the single "You Don't Have to Cry", which shows a prominently pregnant Moore on screen with Lattimore.

In fall 2006, Moore issued a follow-up to Things That Lovers Do, another album of duets with her then-husband Kenny Lattimore; a double-CD of gospel and R&B love songs titled Uncovered/Covered. The set was led off by dual singles, the Bryan-Michael Cox-produced "Figure It Out", and "Make Me Like the Moon", a gospel ballad co-written by Lattimore and Moore and produced by Fred Hammond. Uncovered/Covered was released via LaFace/Verity/Zomba Music Group on October 10.

In 2007, Moore starred in the stageplay By Any Means Necessary, along with Dave Hollister, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Shar Jackson, and Danielle Mone Truitt.

2008–2012: Label change and Love the Woman
During the recording of her duet album with Lattimore, she signed a new solo recording contract with Peak Records, a subsidiary of Concord Music Group.

On June 17, 2008, Moore released her fifth solo album Love the Woman. The album's lead single "Ain't Supposed to Be This Way" impacted radio on May 12, 2008.

In 2009, Moore set some dates for a Love the Woman tour, with performances in Los Angeles, and Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, she starred with James Pickens, Jr. (of Grey's Anatomy), Vickie Winans, Loretta Devine, Reginald VelJohnson, Rocky Carroll and Kenny Lattimore in a live stage production of Otis Sallid's ''Gospel! Gospel! Gospel'' at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in May 2009.

In July 2011, it was announced that she would be the TV host for an upcoming women's fitness reality series sponsored by SportyGirl Fitness. The following year, Moore performed at the 2012 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in a tribute to the late singer Donna Summer.

2013–2015: Moore Is More, R&B Divas: Los Angeles and Will I Marry Me?
On January 1, 2013, Moore signed a new record deal with Shanachie Entertainment. She released her sixth studio solo album Moore Is More on July 30, which was preceded by the single "Talking in My Sleep".

In early 2013, it was also announced that Moore had joined the cast of the reality TV show R&B Divas: Los Angeles with Kelly Price, Dawn Robinson (of En Vogue), Michel'le, Lil' Mo and Claudette Ortiz. They filmed the series throughout the year, and it premiered/aired during the summer. A second season was filmed in 2014.

In March 2014, it was announced that Moore would start a limited run in Vegas on March 24 in the Bally's Las Vegas legendary show Jubilee!, after Terry Ellis (of En Vogue) had completed her run. The show was directed by Frank Gatson Jr. and also starred Grammy-nominated singer Luke James. The second season of R&B Divas: Los Angeles premiered in July 2014, and Moore released a digital single, "I Know, Right?", later that month.

She released her self-help book Will I Marry Me? in August 2014. Moore's manager, Cheryl Cobb Debrosse, began producing an adaptation of Will I Marry Me? into a one-woman show in 2015. That same year, Moore announced work on a new solo album which would include new material in addition to a few remakes of her songs, due to the experience of her one-woman show. The third (and final) season of R&B Divas: Los Angeles premiered on February 11, 2015.

2016–2021: The Rise of the Phoenix and Christmas Back to You
In 2016, she premiered a new track titled "Ghetto Love" featuring Kurupt on Donnie Simpson's radio show. Later in July, she appeared on the radio show to premiere her new single "Put It On Fate" of which she filmed a music video on July 13.

In February 2017, Moore, along with Carl Anthony Payne II and LisaRaye McCoy, began touring with and co-starring in Je'Caryous Johnson's off-Broadway play Married But Single Too. The same month, she released "Real One," the lead single off her seventh studio album The Rise of the Phoenix, her debut on her own record label CM7 Records. The song proved to be her most successful single in seventeen years, peaking at number 10 on the US Adult R&B Songs chart and at number 39 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Released to streaming services on September 8, 2018, followed by a digital and physical release the weeks after, The Rise of the Phoenix, chiefly produced by Lil' Ronnie, earned positive reviews from critics, and peaked at number 24 on the US R&B Album Sales chart.

Also in 2017, Moore released her first full-length Christmas album titled Christmas Back to You. Again featuring main production from Lil' Ronnie, the project comprises five original songs and six cover versions of Christmas standards and carols. In March 2018, Moore premiered the single "One Love," featuring Lewis Sky, ahead of a new EP, 1 of 4, released on April 5. Including guest appearances from Sky, Felly the Voice, D. Bryant, and girl band June's Diary, the EP was the first project to be released as part of a four-EP series, but while Moore released another single from the project, "Fresh Love," in 2019, the series was eventually discontinued and plans, to release all four parts on one album were shelved. In September 2021, Moore released the standalone single "Right One", which she co-wrote alongside Eric and Jovan Dawkins.

2022–present: Ninth studio album and Singer 2024 in China
In November 2022, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her debut album Precious (1992), Moore performed a medley, consisting of "Love's Taken Over", "It's Alright" and "Chanté's Got a Man," at the 2022 Soul Train Music Awards, to rave reviews. In January 2023, P Music Group announced that Moore had signed with the label. In June 2023, she was a part of Babyface's Tiny Desk concert ensemble, along with Avery Wilson and Tank. The following month, Moore announced that she had started work on her ninth studio album, involving previous collaborators such as Laney Stewart, Tricky Stewart, Babyface, and Simon Law, as well as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

In May 2024, she participated in the Chinese reality show Singer 2024, a singing competition for professional singers.

Personal life
In 1991, Moore married a friend from her childhood. In her 2014 autobiographical self-help book, Will I Marry Me?, she publicly revealed this marriage (and subsequent divorce), stating that the two had dated in sixth grade. Moore also shared that the friend was her first kiss at the age of 13. Speaking of this time in her life, during an UNSUNG interview, she said: "After being in a couple of relationships that weren't so great, I was a little shy about love, so I thought, I'll outsmart love this time; I'll marry my friend." In 1993, Moore met actor Kadeem Hardison. While filing for divorce, she and Hardison dated. Moore's mother died on her brother's birthday on January 25, 1995. In 1996, she and Hardison welcomed a daughter named Sophia Hardison. The pair secretly married in 1997 and later divorced in 2000.

Moore married singer Kenny Lattimore in a private ceremony in Jamaica on New Year's Day in 2002. Their son was born in 2003. On July 27, 2011, in a statement on her Facebook page, Moore announced that she and Lattimore had divorced. Her older brother Kelvin Gomillion (born January 25, 1961) died on August 18, 2013.

On October 26, 2021, Moore announced her engagement to former BET Executive, Stephen G. Hill. The couple wed in Los Cabos, Mexico on October 22, 2022.

Discography
Solo albums
 * Precious (1992)
 * A Love Supreme (1994)
 * This Moment Is Mine (1999)
 * Exposed (2000)
 * Love the Woman (2008)
 * Moore Is More (2013)
 * The Rise of the Phoenix (2017)
 * Christmas Back to You (2017)

Collaborative albums
 * Things That Lovers Do (2003)
 * Uncovered/Covered (2006)