Brian McKnight y Gladys Knight

Starting off in church choirs, when McKnight's brothers band Take 6 signed a record deal in 1990 with Warner Brothers, he was encouraged to pursue his own music by getting his demos out there which eventaully led to him signing with Wing Records, a subsidiary of Mercury at the age of 19.

In 1992, McKnight released his self-titled debut album with the top twenty ballad "One Last Cry" showcasing his incredible talent reminiscent of soul stars Luther Vandross and Babyface. His 1997 Grammy nominated album "Anytime" sold over two million copies and won him Best Male Video at MTV VMA's in 1998. Later that year McKnight signed with Motown and soon after released a Christmas album titled “Bethlehem” featuring renditions of classic Christmas carols.

In 1999 McKnight released his most successful release with "Back at One" which sold over three million copies and went triple platinum. The album featured the successful title track and the single “Stay or Let Go”.

McKnight’s sixth studio album “Superhero” released in 2001 featured guest appearances from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Nate Dogg and Fred Hammond and reached number seven in the Billboard charts. Continuing levels of success, the album earned him three Grammy nominations in 2002.

With an abundance of talent, McKnight turned his hand to the stage and made his Broadway debut in 2007 as Billy Flynn in Chicago. As well as hosting his own radio talk show “The Brian McKnight Moring Show” which he did for four years, he took an interest in television as he was given his own late night talk show.

Throughout his career McKnight has received a total 16 Grammy nominations and collaborated with artists like: Josh Groban, Nelly, Jermaine Dupri and Vanessa Williams as he continues to provide inspiration for future generations of R&B artists.

“Empress of Soul”. You can keep your “King of Rock’n’Roll”, “Lord of the Dance”, and “Pop Princess”, is there a nickname in music that sounds as deliciously regal as “Empress of Soul”? I really don’t think there is. It’s the kind of name that’s earned, not bestowed, and when the woman it describes is Gladys Knight, there’s no-one who it fits better.

Her first taste of fame came when she was a mere seven years of age. She won a TV Talent show contest, namely Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour in 1952, the following year she formed a musical group with her brother, sister and cousins who christened themselves The Pips. By the end of the decade they were touring together and they were signed to Motown by 1966.

At this point in time it was rare for a band to be so incredibly experienced live. Even The Beatles, famed for cutting their teeth in their residencies in Hamburg and the Cavern, had only spent three years regularly performing live. Knight and The Pips however, had over a decade’s experience by this point and it showed.

According to her memoirs, she and The Pips were kicked off a tour opening for Diana Ross and The Supremes because they were upstaging Ross night after night and getting a better reception from the crowd. While arguably a second tier Motown act they still had considerable success on the label, with songs like the first released version of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and the Grammy winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)".

Come 1973 however, they left for a better deal at Buddha records, where her first single was the monster hit “Midnight Train to Georgia”. Worked out pretty well for her, eh? It wasn’t just the music world she was conquering, as Knight made her acting debut in the 1976 film Pipe Dreams, that saw her get a Golden Globe nomination for Best New Actress.

Since then she’s recorded with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Elton John, along with recording the theme for the 1989 James Bond film Licence To Kill. While her work today might focus more on her church and philanthropy than that electrifying voice, if anyone’s earned the right to take a break now and again, it’s her. Also, if she does take to the road once more, you can bet that she’s be absolutely peerless.