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Brit Smith

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Brit Smith
Birth nameBrittany Smith
Also known asMatisse (2009–2012)
Born (1985-12-03) December 3, 1985 (age 39)[1]
OriginWilton, Connecticut, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Years active1991–2013, 2024–present
Labels
Formerly ofBrit & Alex

Brittany "Brit" Smith[2] (born December 3, 1985), formerly known as Matisse, is an American singer. She gained prominence from a young age as one half of a modeling duo with her identical twin sister Alex, appearing in various commercials. They later went on to pursue a music career and form the pop duo Brit & Alex, who were active from 2002 until their 2009 disbandment.

As a solo artist, Smith released her debut single "Better Than Her" in 2010, which topped the US Dance Airplay charts. She later signed with Interscope Records to release her 2013 single, "Provocative (hiDhi)" (featuring will.i.am). Due to the song underperforming, she briefly retired from her recording career. Following the release of JoJo Siwa's single "Karma" in April 2024, a version of the song recorded by Smith titled "Karma's a Bitch" went viral across social media platforms; she subsequently announced plans to return to the music industry.

Career

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Smith began appearing on TV at six months of age on One Life to Live. By the age of 15, she was a spokesmodel for the haircare brand John Frieda and signed to The Ford Agency.[3][4][5] During this tenure she and identical twin sister Alexia formed the pop duo Brit & Alex, where they became famous for appearing in TV commercials for John Freida's Sheer Blonde line (where they would be known to fans as "The Sheer Blonde Twins") and later signed with Interscope Records. They also went to England in the hopes of establishing a musical career there, but would achieve little success,[6] having reached number 75 on the UK Singles Chart with "Let It Go" in 2008.

After the duo broke up in 2009 due to Alex's decision to go to college, Brittany continued with her singing and acting career, signing with Jive Records and recording under the name Matisse, naming herself after the French painter. In 2010, Smith released her first single "Better Than Her" featuring Akon under Matisse. It was written and produced by Kevin Rudolf and Jacob Kasher and reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart. She was working on a self-titled full-length LP (Matisse) that was to be released in 2011. Smith was signed to Jive Records. On October 7, 2011, labels such as J Records and Arista were sold to Sony's Flagship Label, and all artists were merged to sign to RCA Records and other affiliated Sony Music Labels. Therefore, Smith was merged to sign to RCA in 2011; she signed with Interscope.

In July 2011, Smith, as Matisse, released a medley of Rihanna songs on YouTube.[7] The video was produced by Kurt Hugo Schneider.

In 2013, Smith released "Provocative" featuring will.i.am. Betty White appears in the music video.

"Karma's a Bitch"

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In April 2024, American singer JoJo Siwa released a song titled "Karma". The song went viral and received negative feedback. This then led to a re-uploading of an unreleased version recorded by Smith in 2012. The little-seen video featured animations by Super77 and had been uploaded to Vimeo for their portfolio since March 20, 2013. Smith's version of the song was praised online, which led to Smith officially releasing the song across all streaming platforms on April 13.[8] In an interview with Page Six, Smith revealed that the song was originally intended to be her debut single; however, her label changed plans last minute.[9]

Shortly after "Karma's a Bitch" out-charted Siwa's version on iTunes in the United States in April 2024,[10][11] Smith shared that she is returning to the music industry via an announcement of her upcoming EP, scheduled to debut on May 17, 2024.[12] On April 30, 2024, it was announced that Smith had signed the "Karma's a Bitch" single to the independent record label and music distributor Broke Records.[13] On May 17, 2024, Smith announced that the release of her EP was delayed, but is expected to release soon. She also revealed that she would be releasing the single "Chocolates and Lies" that same day. The single "Chocolates and Lies" was released the next day on May 18, 2024.[14]

Discography

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Singles

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List of singles, showing year released, chart positions and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Digital

[15]
US
Dance

[16]
US Dance Airplay
[17]
US Dance/
Club

[18]
UK Digital
[19]
"Better Than Her"[20][A]
(solo or remix featuring Akon)
2010 1 9[21] Non-album singles
"Provocative (hiDhi)"[22]
(featuring will.i.am)
2013
"Karma's a Bitch"[23] 2024 12 18 * 40
"Chocolates and Lies"[24]
"—" denotes songs which did not chart in that country.
"*" denotes the chart did not exist at that time.

Filmography

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Film roles
Year Title Role Note
1995 A Goofy Movie Photo Studio Girl Voice role
1996 Pinocchio's Revenge Zoe Garrick
1997 Just in Time Lily Bedford
1999 Treasure of Pirate's Point Flame
1999 Fly Boy Janey
Television roles
Year Title Role Note
1991 Dynasty: The Reunion Lauren Colby TV miniseries
1994, 1997 Renegade Amelia / Charlie Philips 2 episodes
1994-95 Empty Nest Shanna 2 episodes
1996 Something So Right Girl / Goblin 2 episodes
1997 Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Alice 1 episode
1997 Night Man Maddie Farrell 1 episode
1997 Chicago Hope Jessica Walters 1 episode
1999 V.I.P. Amelia Zane 1 episode

Notes

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  1. ^ Released as Matisse

References

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  1. ^ "Brit Smith Discography - Download Albums in Hi-Res". Qobuz. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  2. ^ Malis, Carolina (April 25, 2024). "Who is Brit Smith, and does she have beef with JoJo Siwa? The unknown singer gave up on music after making songs with Akon and Will.i.am – now her 12-year-old version of 'Karma' has overtaken Siwa's". South China Morning Post. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Tien, Ellen (April 1, 2001). "PULSE: WHAT I'M WEARING NOW; The Sheer Blonde Twins". New York Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  4. ^ "Blonde and beyond: the Sheer Blonde Twins are out to prove there's more to them than golden locks". W magazine. September 2002. Archived from the original on May 24, 2005.
  5. ^ Interview from J-14 Magazine
  6. ^ "Brit & Alex". YoungHollywood.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008.
  7. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Rihanna Medley!! (ft. Matisse). YouTube.
  8. ^ Karma's a Bitch - Single by Brit Smith on Apple Music, April 13, 2024, retrieved August 29, 2024
  9. ^ "Brit Smith shares how she originally recorded Jojo Siwa's 'Karma' back in 2012 (Video) | Page Six". April 12, 2024. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  10. ^ Conor Murray (April 15, 2024). "Brit Smith Out Charts Jojo Siwa with Karma". Forbes. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Amaris Encinas (April 18, 2024). "Karma driving Brit Smith up the charts as Jojo Siwa Falls". USA Today. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  12. ^ "setting the record straight... #karma / Brit Smith (@britrosesmith)". TikTok. April 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "NEW SIGNING". Instagram. Broke Records. April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "New music coming tonight! Chocolates and Lies! / Brit Smith (@britrosesmith)". TikTok. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "Digital Song Sales: Week of April 27, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs: Week of April 27, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  17. ^ "Dance/Mix Show Airplay". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard.
  19. ^ "Brit Smith UK Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "Better Than Her (feat. Akon) – Single by Matisse". Apple. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  21. ^ "Matisse, "Better Than Her"". Billboard.
  22. ^ "Provocative (feat. will.i.am) [hiDhi] – Single by Brit Smith". iTunes Store. Apple. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  23. ^ "Karma's a Bitch – Single by Brit Smith". Apple Music. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  24. ^ "Chocolates and Lies – Single by Brit Smith". Apple Music. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
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