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Jody Watley: the FIRST to Crossover R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop and Dance in Billboard Top 10 “Friends” Receives HUGE Honor in Atlanta!
“The Grammy-Winning & Trendsetting Icon Celebrated with Jody Watley Day & Prestigious 2022 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award at Georgia State Capitol.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – UNITED STATES (June 5, 2022) Jody Watley,the ‘first” to crossover R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop and Dance in Billboard Top 10 “Friends” was showered with affection in Atlanta for “Jody Watley Day.”
She was publicly celebrated for her time, effort, and dedication to humanity in the form of the prestigious Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award at the formal ceremony, held at the Georgia State Capitol, Thursday June 2, 2022. Click here to watch
“To be honored and recognized in this way with your own day and the presidential lifetime achievement award is absolutely surreal, and I’m truly grateful to everyone who has supported me throughout my journey,” said the Grammy winning trendsetting icon in music, video, fashion and style.
Jody Watley’s self-titled massive blockbuster solo debut album celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.
The legendary singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman is one of the architects of 21st century pop who continues to be a solid and stellar fixture in entertainment. Her enchantingly smooth voice and memorable favorites can be heard all over the world.
From her groundbreaking marriage of rap & R&B (1989’s “Friends,” a collaboration with hip-hop legends Eric B. & Rakim pairing that is the first to crossover R&B/Hip-Hop, Pop and Dance into the Billboard Top 10 “Friends,” to her vision-forward marriage of high fashion, street fashion and music in the ‘80s (long before it became the norm), to her fusion of jazz and underground club culture with keen pop instincts, and the ease with which she crossed and still crosses genre, Ms. Watley forged the template that is now everybody’s playbook.
As a solo artist, the pop and R&B singer has 6 Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten Singles, 13 Number 1 Dance Singles, 2 R&B Number 1’s, 15 Top 40 Singles, Gold and Platinum albums, 2007 Billboard Dance Lifetime Achievement, 2017 recipient of the Black Music Honors Crossover Music Icon Award and nominations from the American Music Awards, MTV Awards, NAACP Awards and Soul Train Awards. In 2018, Billboard Magazine included Jody Watley in the Top 60 Hot 100 Female Artists of All Time and Top 25 Top Female Dance Artists of All Time. Her timeless series of hit songs such as “Looking for a New Love,” “Real Love,” “Still A Thrill,” “Some Kind of Love,” “Everything,” and “Friends ft. Eric B & Rakim,” are favorite classics still today played on the airwaves. Ms. Watley was also named as First Ambassador in 2021 to the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville and in 2022, she received her first Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business.
You can follow Jody Watley on her social media @jodywatley
