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Birth Name: Omari Ishmael Grandberry
Birth Date: November 12, 1984
Birth Place: Inglewood, California, USA
Height: 5' 6"
Nationality: American
Famous as: R&B singer, former lead singer
of boy band B2K
Popular for: Album "O" (2005)
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Biography:
Headlining the Scream Tour IV at Cleveland
State University's Wolstein Center alongside his best friend, Bow Wow on July 27, 2005, Omarion shared a great result with the young rapper
as Bow Wow's “Let Me Hold You” which he featured in soared to the top spot of Billboard's Rap Singles chart by
August. This merely prolonged the string of success he has experienced during the year, mostly through his solo debut album,
“O.” Not only gaining tremendous accomplishment in music, he would also likely to reach the title of a movie star
as he was cast in “The House” (2005).
Born as Omari Ishmael Grandberry on November
12, 1984 in Los Angeles, California, Omarion was raised by his supportive mother, Leslie Burrell. Living among six siblings
along with a half brother, he developed a boundless enthusiasm for music at a very young age. A big chance to be a music artist
landed on the fourteen-years-old boy when he became the last member of B2K, thus completed the band's formation which already consisted of Lil
Fizz, Raz-B and J-Boog. In a short time, B2K rose as one of the most popular American groups during 2002-2003, bringing Omarion
to the spotlight.
To everyone's surprise, the band decided to split in January 2004 after they starred together in
“You Got Served” (2004). It was the time Omarion began to focus his attention on a solo career. Carrying out a
similar sound and formula like the band had applied before, his debut single entitled "Never Gonna Let You Go (She's A Keepa)”
featuring Big Boi was launched in the early fall of 2004. Looking for another opportunity, he took part in the movie version
of “Fat Albert” and “The Bernie Mac Show” which both came up in
the same year.
On February 22, 2005, he finally released “O” under Epic Records. Produced by AllStar,
The Underdogs, and Corner Boys, five songs of this debut album were co-written by Omarion himself so that he was able to show
his fans “a deeper insight of what went on inside his head.” The album turned out to score magnificent result
as it rocketed to the first rank at the three charts of Billboard, including The Billboard 200. Furthermore, it was later
certified gold, making a highlight in his solo career. Omarion afterwards ventured into another field by writing a book about
his own life. “There's a lot about me that my fans don't know,” he said. “I've been singing and dancing
since I was 5 years old and have made a lot of sacrifices. You don't live a normal life when you're in the limelight.”
Upon his participation in Live 8 show in July 2005, Omarion was in London when a bomb struck one of its areas on July
7, 2005. A press release from PRWireService stated that this talented African-American pop singer would like his fans to pray
for his safety during his trip and returning to home. By the following day, Reuters placed an article contained the announcement
of Shana Gilmore, his publicist, which confirmed that Omarion was not injured at all. This led him to receive rough criticism
concerning the fake press release. He then proclaimed a denial to any connection with Gilmore while Gilmore herself insisted
that she was misquoted and in fact was not Omarion's publicist. Apart from the awful situation he encountered, Omarion has
proven that he was able to stand alone, coming out from the shadow of his former band's success. His attainment could be as
well was the continuation of what Beyonce Knowles and Justin Timberlake had experienced.
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