CeeLo Green is a world-class singer and songwriter. He made a name as a frontman of the duo Gnarls Barkley. He’s also managed to build a successful career as a solo artist.
CeeLo also appeared as a judge on the popular TV show The Voice. He won two GRAMMYs with Gnarls Barkley for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Urban Alternative Performance. And, as a solo artist, he won a GRAMMY for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
Early Life
The man behind the stage name of CeeLo Green is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway. He was born on May 30, 1974, in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents were ordained, Baptist ministers. Unfortunately, CeeLo lost both his parents when he was young. When he reached adolescence, CeeLo got involved with a few gangs. He committed petty theft and dropped out of school in the 9th grade.
After leaving school, he got sent to a military academy. He saw the academy through and earned a GED. CeeLo was always interested in music. He had a piano at home, and he spent all the time he could spare at it. CeeLo also sang in a local church choir.
Career
CeeLo’s music career started in the early 1990s. He started the hip-hop group Goodie Mob with three friends, T-Mo, Khujo, and Big Gipp. Before releasing its first album Soul Food in 1995, the group appeared on the debut album of OutKast Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.
Green landed a job as a back vocalist on the Waterfalls, a famous TLC smash. He brought something entirely new for that time and era of hip hop – Green was equally good at rapping and singing. Credible critics recognized his soulful singing. Getting a positive review from the Rolling Stone at that time was very hard, and Green managed to do it just like that.
Goodie Mob released another album in 1998. This was the last album the group recorded under the Organized Noize label. After the group decided to switch labels, Green decided it is time to move on in pursuit of a solo career.
CeeLo partnered up with Danger Mouse and formed the Gnarls Barkley duo. Their first single Crazy came out in 2006. The song was an absolute hit both in the US and abroad. It peaked at No. 1 on the UK download chart and managed to stay No. 1 for 11 weeks. Crazy was Rolling Stone’s magazine’s No 100 song of all time, in addition to their No.1 song of the decade.
Their second album, The Odd Couple, came out in 2008. The reviews were mostly positive, but in general, it didn’t perform as the previous one did. The mixed reception didn’t discourage CeeLo to continue down his solo career path.
His debut single F*** You was released on August 10, 2010. The song was a great success; in the first week, it generated 2 million views. The song had to be renamed for the mainstream into Forget You. It peaked at No.1 in the UK and received 5 GRAMMY nominations. CeeLo’s debut album The Lady Killer came out later the same year.
The next album, CeeLo Magic Moment, came out in 2012 and performed well on holiday-music charts as well as R&B charts. In 2013, he recorded a duet Only You with Laurina Mae, reunited with Goodie Mob, and released the album Age Against the Machine.
Green was offered a position of judge by the producers of the popular TV show The Voice. He gladly accepted it and continued to be a judge for three seasons of the show alongside Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Christina Aguilera. After a short break from the show, Green decided to finish this chapter of his life and was replaced by R&B Singer, Usher.
His third solo album, Heart Blanche, was released in 2015, but it was not received well by critics and fans.
Green signed a contract with TBS for a reality show, CeeLo Green’s The Good Life. Unfortunately, TBS canceled the show because of Green being accused of sexual battery. CeeLo’s apology came too late and was unable to help him repair the damage his inflammatory tweets did to his career.
CeeLo Green Relationships: Who Has He Dated
Ceelo Green was in relationships with:
Christina Johnson (m: 2000 – 2005)
Shani Hames (engaged 2015)
According to mainstream media, CeeLo Green is possibly single.
In the News
He made headlines a couple of years ago by commenting on his ongoing sexual battery trial on Twitter and saying that “People who have really been raped REMEMBER!” After the mayhem in the media, CeeLo deleted his tweet and publicly apologized for rape tweets.
If you want to stay tuned to the latest CeeLo Green news, you can do it right here at The Shade Room!
