Nicci Gilbert

She is mainly known for being the lead vocalist of an American female R&B girl-group Brownstone who rose to fame in the mid 1990s best known for their 1995 hit single "If You Love Me", which was nominated for a Best R&B Performance Grammy Award.

In 2012, she starred as a cast member and executive producer in the TV One's R&B Divas: Atlanta, which features the lives of five 1990s chart-topping R&B singers.

[citation needed] After graduating from high school, Gilbert studied music and drama at Eastern Michigan University.

At first, Gilbert struggled there, where she appeared in various talent shows while paying her bills with non-musical "day gigs" (including a job at Taco Bell).

But things started to pick up for Gilbert when, in 1993, she formed Brownstone's original lineup with Monica Doby and Charmayne Maxwell.

[3] "Grapevyne" and "I Can't Tell You Why" were released as the third and fourth singles from album, respectively, but were not successful as "If You Love Me" charting at numbers forty-nine[7] and fifty-four on the Billboard Hot 100.

[7] From the Bottom Up also contained Brownstone's hit remake of the Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why", which was originally a pop/rock tune but received an urban contemporary makeover from Gilbert and her colleagues.

Band member Monica Doby left the group due to internal strife with Gilbert and she was replaced by Kina Cosper.

[11] On October 11, 2010, a trailer for the stage musical Soul Kittens Cabaret directed by Gilbert, was released to YouTube via American Technologies.

[13] In 2012, she executive produced TV One's R&B Divas, whereas she was cast alongside singers Faith Evans, Keke Wyatt, Monifah, and Syleena Johnson.