Early life Larrieux was born Amel Eliza Stowell on March 8, 1973, in
New York City.
Groove Theory In 1991, Larrieux met
Mantronix member
Bryce Wilson at Rondor Music. Wilson, who wanted to begin his solo career as producer and musician, was looking for a vocalist to work with. Wilson and Larrieux began to produce demos together and subsequently formed the duo
Groove Theory. Their debut release,
Groove Theory, spawned several radio hits such as "
Tell Me", "Keep Tryin'", and "Baby Luv". The duo were also featured in successful motion picture soundtracks such as 1996's
Sunset Park and 1997's
Love Jones. Larrieux, pursuing a solo career, would not be involved in the duo's eventually-shelved second album
The Answer. Makeda Davis would step in as lead singer in 1999 until Groove Theory officially disbanded in 2001. Larrieux said of leaving the group, "You have to make a bunch of compromises and .. you know, I just couldn't go on forever. We wanted different things and a combination of that and the label wanting different things from us just made me decide that it was time to move on."
Solo career In 1996, Larrieux guested on the self-titled debut album of
Sade's backing band
Sweetback, yielding the single "You Will Rise", which reached number 42 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Larrieux co-wrote and co-produced her debut solo album
Infinite Possibilities, released in February 2000 on
Epic Records, along with husband Laru Larrieux; the album reached number 79 on the
Billboard 200 and number 21 on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and produced the hit "
Get Up", her highest-charting solo hit to date. Larrieux parted ways with Epic Records after this CD. "I was asked to tone it down as a solo artist, which is one of the reasons why I was really glad to leave the major label where I was signed", she said. Husband Laru Larrieux, who had been co-writing and producing most of Amel's material, started the independent label Blisslife Records with her to distribute her music. In 2001, Larrieux covered "
Sophisticated Lady" with artist
Clark Terry for the
Red Hot Organization's compilation album
Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to
Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing
AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. On November 10, 2010, Larrieux spoke about going independent, saying, "This is the right time [to be independent]. People are more hip to the internet. People are more open to what independent means." She went on to say that black independent artists are too under the radar. Her second album
Bravebird was released under Larrieux's independent label Blisslife Records label on January 20, 2004. While it underperformed on the
Billboard 200, it peaked at number 28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number five on
Independent Albums. It spawned the midtempo radio single "For Real", which showcases her ability to utilize the
whistle register and inspired
Ebony magazine to rave about her "ethereal high-octave vocals that bring to mind
Minnie Riperton. A portion of the album's seventh track, "Giving Something Up", could be heard in the commercial for
BET's
HIV/
AIDS awareness campaign Rap-It-Up, in which Larrieux participated in September 2003. Larrieux's collaboration with
Stanley Clarke and
Glenn Lewis, a
cover of
Roberta Flack and
Donny Hathaway's 1972 song "
Where Is the Love" from Clarke's 2003 album
1, 2, To the Bass, received a nomination for
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the
2004 Grammy Awards. Larrieux's third album
Morning was released in April 2006 and features the single "Weary", which reached number 29 on the
Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart in May 2006.
Morning is her highest-charting album to date, peaking at number 74. The song "No One Else", written for Mike Shaunessy, was featured on the soundtrack to
Tyler Perry's 2007 film
Why Did I Get Married?. In May 2007, Larrieux released an album of
jazz standard covers titled
Lovely Standards. It broke into the top five of the Top Jazz Albums and sold 3,700 units in its first week of release. Larrieux was featured on
2Pac's 2007 greatest hits album
Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug, on the previously unreleased song "Resist the Temptation". On February 4, 2010, SoulSummer.com announced that Larrieux is currently in the studio with
Bryce Wilson working on
Groove Theory's second official album. The duo had their first live show together in years on October 7, 2010, in
Tokyo, Japan. Larrieux said of the show, "Tokyo was too fly, as usual. The audiences just got better and better." Larrieux said in a November 2010 interview that she and Wilson are currently looking for a label they feel comfortable with. In March 2009, Larrieux released the songs "Orange Glow" and "Don't Let Me Down" from her fifth studio album,
Ice Cream Everyday, to iTunes and other online music stores. Larrieux also contributed "Don't Let Me Down" to the
Enough Project. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo's women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo. Larrieux said on October 19, 2010 that she was "dutifully" trying new things for her fifth studio album. In August 2011, Larrieux confirmed through
Power Player Magazine the release date for her new album to be late January 2012. When asked about the five-year delay on her fifth album, Larrieux said she wanted to add and delete more songs to perfect the final product. "I stay on the road a lot", she said. "My experiences inform me as a writer, so then I come back and I have more songs to write, and I keep adding and subtracting, so the editing process made this album take a little bit longer than I expected." Larrieux's song "Don't Let Me Down" was used in the 2014 film
Beyond the Lights. ==Discography==