0:06

She's a preacher's daughter with a voice

0:08

drenched in soul. But behind

0:10

Tony Braxton's sultry voice is

0:12

a powerful story of success and

0:15

loss. Tony's career started

0:17

with an impossible choice. She had

0:19

to decide between upholding her family's

0:21

band, The Braxton's, at accepting

0:24

a solo record deal. She

0:26

chose the deal and suffered decades

0:28

of tension with her sisters. Despite

0:31

her torn relationship with her family, Tony's

0:33

career took off and her runaway hit

0:35

un Break My Heart launched her into

0:38

superstartered. But even though

0:40

her records sold hundreds of thousands

0:42

of copies, Tony did not profit

0:44

from her fame and struggled to pay

0:46

her bills. Tony was

0:48

forced to declare bankruptcy and was

0:50

publicly scrutinized. After

0:53

starting a family of her own, Tony

0:55

focused on reviving her music career

0:58

and in the process encountered more or

1:00

personal and financial losses while

1:02

working herself nearly to death. But

1:05

through rekindling her relationship with her

1:07

sisters, Tony was able to find

1:09

a strength to pick herself back up

1:12

and reclaim her spot on the charts. Throughout

1:15

a lifetime of adversity, she

1:17

has proven herself to be the unstoppable

1:20

queen of R and B. This

1:23

is Tony Braxton, The story

1:25

behind the music My

1:36

Sisters, Everybody's My Family. It's September

1:38

two thousand twelve, and Tony Braxton

1:40

is in Vancouver, Canada, giving her

1:42

mother and sisters a tour on the set of her

1:45

new television movie.

1:50

Tony is now balancing acting with

1:52

music. She

1:57

has proven to be the ultimate survivor,

2:00

instantly adapting to overcome career

2:02

obstacles. It's so much

2:04

to hold onto that fame and a glitter when you get

2:06

into the business. It's really easy

2:08

in comparison to how hard it is to

2:10

hold onto it and maintain it and keep it going.

2:12

That's the toughest part of all of it. Can't

2:15

be late on the set. I know that right. If

2:18

you could hung up on all the things that's happened to you,

2:20

that's where you'll be stuck. And I never

2:23

want to be stuck in my life. Okay, I gotta go. I'm so happy,

2:26

mama.

2:33

Tony Michelle Braxton was born in

2:35

nineteen sixty seven and Severne, Maryland,

2:37

a suburban enclave just outside of

2:39

Baltimore. She was the first child

2:42

of devout Christian parents who enforced

2:44

a rigid set of rules on Tony

2:46

and her four sisters and brother.

2:49

I had a very strict upbringing. My dad

2:51

was a minister. We were very religious. We

2:53

were really deep in what we believe in

2:56

our religion, and so that's

2:58

basically what we taught out with kids. It

3:00

was all about church, church, church,

3:03

church. I couldn't listen to secular music

3:05

because that was worldly. I couldn't go

3:07

to the movies. You know, the same

3:09

religious people that live across the street, or

3:11

the girl in your science class is really religious and

3:13

creeps you out. Yeah, I

3:16

was that kid. As an aspiring

3:18

opera singer, Tony's mother filled their

3:20

home with music. We were the kids that

3:22

were singing in the house all the time. Our friends

3:24

was outside playing, we were singing.

3:26

I was a little thing and

3:29

I had to go to the bathroom, and so I was sitting on the come

3:31

and there was some one tilet paper and I just thoughted

3:34

singing. Somebody gave

3:36

me some tolly paper.

3:39

We all said it in harmony, somebody

3:41

give it some totly paper.

3:44

And my mom said, oh my god, my

3:46

kids have talent. I don't know if

3:48

I was shocked or just happy

3:51

that they finally got it

3:53

and may have been over the toilet paper, but

3:55

they got it and right away.

3:57

She began to make a sing together and

4:00

formed a group called the Braxton Family to

4:04

foster her children's talent. Tony's

4:06

mother started coaching them okay, creating

4:10

a demanding vocal boot cap where

4:12

a flat note meant sharp punishment.

4:15

If we didn't sing our notes right, we got a little slap.

4:18

My mom was no joke. She's like, if you're gonna do

4:20

what, you're gonna do it right. She would really slap

4:22

the piss out here. If you try to talk back, what

4:24

are you singing? That's wrong? You know what you're doing,

4:26

what you're doing. I told her not to sing that note. I

4:29

may very sure that they were serious about

4:31

it. We would practice school what all day

4:36

long, from sign up to dinner

4:38

time. But it forced us to be perfectionist.

4:41

It is what it is. I mean, that's why

4:43

they're so good. Now, practice

4:47

good job. By the time she was

4:49

fifteen, Tony was honing her gospel

4:51

chops, singing with her sisters

4:53

in local churches. But as Tony

4:56

entered her teens, she discovered pop and

4:58

R and B music, and she's secretly

5:00

developed a taste for the forbidden.

5:04

I started sneaking listen to the radio that I remember

5:07

that. I love Ricky's. I loved rick James.

5:09

Oh my god, I remember my mom

5:11

heard me singing I got some shovel. Oh my god. It's

5:13

like, oh, you're gonna go to hell. Listen to that worldly

5:15

music, you know, baby, I love you

5:17

know. They could not sing that at that time.

5:20

I just wanted to sing, but I didn't want to sing

5:22

gospel music. I just wanted to get away from

5:24

it. Because I'm You're a teenager. Parents

5:26

are making you do something, so of course you fight against

5:29

it. In the summer of eighty three, Tony

5:31

graduated high school and left home from Bowie

5:33

State University, just a few miles

5:35

away, against her parents wishes.

5:38

She began to pursue a singing career of her

5:40

own, performing at local

5:42

clubs. I would sing

5:44

all over the city, and that's when I started meeting

5:46

people in My world started open opening

5:49

up a little bit. In nine nine,

5:51

Tony was discovered by aspiring producers

5:53

Ernesto Phillips and Bill pett Away,

5:56

who had worked with Milly Vanilly, and

5:58

she agreed to record some demos. Her

6:01

voice just had something

6:04

very special, she said. People used

6:06

to tell me I sound like the man.

6:09

I said, well, you know, it's gonna work to your

6:11

favor. During the sessions, Tony

6:13

suggested having her sisters sing back up

6:16

on one of the tracks, and he was like

6:18

wow. And I said, Jackson

6:20

five, Braxton five, that's how

6:22

we're gonna do it. And he said, I

6:24

can get you a deal much fast with all your sisters. Within

6:27

a few months, the Braxton sisters were

6:29

offered a deal with Arista Records. The

6:32

Braxton Clan we was jumping up and down.

6:34

We were excited, you know. We were like, oh my goodness,

6:36

We're gonna be singing superstars. We're gonna

6:38

be a singing sensation. In

6:41

Good Life was released as the Braxton's

6:44

first major label single, but it

6:46

wasn't the hit they were hoping for. It

6:49

did absolutely nothing. It's

6:51

all three copies mom my dad, and my

6:53

grandma. The label

6:55

was considering dropping them, so

6:58

they passed the Braxton's onto the up and I mean

7:00

production team of l. A. Reid and Baby

7:02

Face, who had just founded a boutique off

7:04

shoot of Arista called La Face Records.

7:07

The group was talented. I just had

7:09

a particular fascination for Tony.

7:12

She felt more like a solo artists supposed

7:14

to being a girl that Japan a girl group.

7:17

A few days later, Tony received a phone

7:19

call that would force her to make a painful choice

7:22

between family and career. Manager

7:24

called me one day and he said, good news, l

7:27

A and baby Face loved you guys. You think you guys

7:29

are super talented. Um.

7:32

The bad news is he didn't want to sign your sisters.

7:35

Steve wants to sign your shoe and

7:38

I remember going, what do you mean he just wants to sign me?

7:40

I remember thinking, what are my sisters going to think?

7:42

How are they going to feel? How are my parents going to feel? I

7:45

remember feeling devastated. There

7:49

was some sulking going on, there was some tears.

7:52

I remember my mom saying, the devil

7:54

is raging, the devil is trying to break

7:56

up our family. She had tough decisions to

7:58

make because of sisters, and

8:01

she wasn't so keen on moving away from them.

8:03

I remember that I caught my manager and told him no, tell

8:06

baby Face and then I said no. But Tony's

8:09

sister Tracy tearfully pushed

8:11

her to reconsider. She was crying,

8:13

bawling. I'm bawling, and she said, you know what, maybe

8:15

you can go put out a record and

8:18

then you can come back and get us. I was like, Tony,

8:20

go ahead, do it. I

8:22

want you to. I said, but I know you, I

8:25

know you, Tony. You're not going to leave us behind. And

8:27

I said, okay, Tracy, maybe I can do that. And

8:30

I made that my vow that I would do that. Twenty

8:34

three year old Tony reluctantly signed

8:36

the contract with LaFace and relocated

8:38

from Baltimore to Atlanta to work

8:40

with l A. Reid and baby Face. We

8:43

kind of always thought she He's the younger Anita Baker.

8:45

We knew it. You know, there was something that

8:48

was there. Tony's first single, love should

8:50

Have Brought You Home, was included in the Boomerang

8:52

soundtrack, and it rose to number

8:55

two on the R and B charts. From

8:57

there, my career went from zero to sixty and

9:00

six months it completely changed. In

9:02

July of Tony released

9:04

her self titled debut album.

9:07

She did every single thing we asked

9:09

her to do, every promotion, every little

9:11

club, every little bar, and the result

9:14

was that she became hugely successful.

9:17

The album rose all the way to the top

9:19

of the charts and went on to sell an

9:21

incredible ten million copies worldwide.

9:24

It was an incredible roller coaster throughout. I remember

9:27

the feeling is sometimes I look back on it and I

9:29

can't believe that that actually happened to me. That

9:31

was that fortunate and blessed. We called

9:33

her the first Lady of La Face. She

9:37

was our diva, that was our girl.

9:40

Clive had Whitney, Tommy

9:42

and I had Mariah, and we had

9:44

Tony and we were proud. In

9:47

March of Tony won her

9:49

first three Grammys, including

9:51

one for Best New Artist. But

9:56

as Tony's career took off, she

9:58

was filled with guilt for leaving her sisters

10:01

behind. I could never enjoy my career.

10:03

Was always guilt. When I wanted my first Grammy

10:05

American Music Awards, all those moments, I always

10:07

felt guilty. My mom would say, yeah,

10:09

that's great, but don't forget about your sisters.

10:11

So it made me feel that I could never be

10:14

happy, and that guilt I took with

10:16

me for the rest of my career. Coming

10:19

up, Tony nearly passes on her

10:21

signature song, and then Tony

10:24

faces off against Oprah. When

10:26

behind the music continues, I

10:36

could never accept it and feel comfortable and

10:38

happy with myself because

10:40

I hear I am all the success. How can

10:42

I not help my sisters? So Tony

10:45

hired her sisters as background singers,

10:47

put them on payroll, and brought them

10:49

along on tour. She's gonna make

10:51

sure we're in the same hotel she's in, and

10:53

the best of hotels and the best of cars and the best

10:56

of everything. Tony was definitely spoiling

10:58

us. We was living a life. Tony

11:01

even pushed La Face Records to sign

11:03

her sisters to a deal. We

11:05

signed to the Face Records because Tony was

11:07

signed to the Face Records, and I was so

11:09

happy I got signs gonna happen

11:11

for them, But it never did happen. The

11:13

Braxton's one and only album peaked

11:15

at one and thirteen on the charts.

11:19

Next thing I knew was to want to move back to Maryland.

11:21

Trina's pregnant with her son. I'm

11:24

like, what happened to us being superstars?

11:27

It was a mass? Just a

11:29

mass. Doesn't good. They

11:32

made me feel more ill. Maybe I should have helped

11:34

them more. I always felt like whatever I gave wasn't

11:37

enough, and I often wonder if

11:39

I had stayed, could I have changed it.

11:42

Meanwhile, Tony's career was in

11:44

the stratosphere. In June,

11:47

she released her second album, Secrets.

11:49

It quickly went platinum,

11:51

fueled by the hit single You're Making Me

11:53

High, which featured a much

11:56

sexier image for Tony. It

11:58

just gave her a different kind of swagger

12:00

that was a part of who she is when people just hadn't seen

12:02

it. I'm five to nothing about

12:05

me I think is sexy meeting. I don't

12:07

have long legs, I don't have week boobies.

12:10

But I always wanted to be sexy, always felt

12:12

sexy, keep down inside. So I said,

12:14

I'm just gonna do what it was gonna be who I am. How high

12:16

is that split? I'll take it. You're

12:20

Making Me High became Tony's first number

12:23

one single, but her next hit would

12:25

take her to heights she could never imagine.

12:28

Unbreak my Heart was a mournful ballad

12:30

about love lost written

12:32

by legendary hit maker Diane

12:34

Warren. I remember sitting at the

12:36

piano and went to the key change from the verse of

12:38

the chorus. It was like, well, this is pretty

12:40

cool. When I heard it, I went

12:43

crazy and so, oh my god, this is

12:45

a monster that's a monster

12:47

record. But when Tony first

12:49

listened to the song, she wasn't feeling

12:52

it. Hated it, did

12:54

not like it. I just didn't get it.

12:56

So it's okay, it's a little Disney. I'm

12:58

good. L A calls me, you have to do this

13:01

song. Do this song. I promise

13:03

you would be the biggest song of your career. It

13:06

was right. Unbreak my Heart

13:08

topped the pop charts in December of nine

13:10

six and became the second highest

13:12

selling single by a female artist in

13:15

history. No one had a song better

13:17

than Unbreak my Heart at that moment, I

13:19

mean no one. Eleven weeks at number

13:21

one. It was like just lightning

13:23

on the bottle. I was so glad.

13:25

I was wrong. I'm so glad. By

13:28

the end of Tony

13:30

had become one of the most successful female

13:32

artists of the decade, selling more

13:34

than twenty million records, but

13:37

she was still waiting on her financial rewards.

13:40

She just felt as though she just just working

13:42

and just working and working and

13:44

no money. I knew I was due to

13:47

get this great, wonderful royalty

13:50

statement because I knew what I had sold, but

13:52

it was less than two thousand dollars. Excuse

13:55

me, I didn't understand what the hell that meant.

13:58

I immediately called my business as just said, what does

14:00

this mean? Was this about hard

14:02

deal? Was the beginner's deal? HI

14:05

call it? I hate to say this a

14:07

slave contract, not

14:10

intentionally, but that's what they do. As

14:13

she delved into her finances, Tony

14:15

says she learned that heavy promotion and overhead

14:17

costs included in her contract.

14:20

We're making it impossible for her to turn

14:22

a profit. When they put you in those limitals

14:24

and give you those wonderful dresses and the great budgets,

14:26

so beautiful, it's all recouped, meaning

14:29

they get their money back for all those things

14:31

they purchased for you to look like a star, and you

14:34

get what's left over after you've paid

14:36

them back. Just normal. This is how

14:38

the record business is. This is the norm. That's

14:40

what I was too. In December of Tony

14:43

sued Arista and La Face Records,

14:46

demanding a larger portion of her album

14:48

profits. But when the label refused

14:50

to budge, Tony found herself

14:52

broke and in career limbo. I

14:55

have no money. This isn't good. How am I to pay

14:57

my own personal bills? My business manager

15:00

said, we're gonna have to file bankruptcy. And I

15:02

don't think I've ever seen her

15:04

cry so hard. It

15:07

was the pain that people

15:09

she trusted would do this to her.

15:12

Tony was now at odds with the mentors

15:14

who had signed her l A. Reid

15:16

and Baby Face. There were other people who

15:18

were saying that, you know, you can't trust

15:20

us and you can't talk to them, And I

15:23

remember just sort

15:25

of being a very strange relationship and

15:27

and sad about it, very sad about it. There

15:30

was bad management. Someone wasn't watching closely,

15:32

and we were being blamed for it, Like you said,

15:34

just your fault and you did a bad deal. And

15:37

I can only say that as a joint venture,

15:39

our hands were tied. If

15:42

we could, we would give me the check immediately,

15:44

but we weren't in a position to. When

15:47

news of her bankruptcy reached the press,

15:49

Tony was vilified and portrayed as

15:51

a star who had overspent on her lavish

15:53

lifestyle. It wasn't like she was

15:56

spending and spending, and yes

15:58

she was taking care of her sisters, but we wasn't

16:00

getting cars and homes

16:03

and things like that, Tony

16:06

says. The backlash came to a head during

16:08

an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in

16:10

March of She was

16:12

so freaking mean to me. I

16:16

was in shock. I couldn't

16:18

believe because I loved her so much. I admired

16:20

her and looked up to her, and she pretty much

16:22

reprimanded me. She says to me,

16:25

I hear you have Gucci flatwear. I'm

16:27

a Winfrey and I don't have Gucci flatwear.

16:30

You ain't got Gucci flatwear because you didn't want to buy it. It's

16:32

not because you couldn't afford it. What do you

16:34

mean? And immediately

16:37

she made me feel this

16:41

big, this big. That

16:43

moment completely changed my career. It

16:46

made people look down on me, and

16:51

things only got worse. Within

16:55

weeks of declaring bankruptcy, Tony's

16:57

home and most prized possessions were

16:59

she used by creditors. They

17:01

come and assess your property and everything

17:03

has a value, and I learned that Grammys have a value,

17:06

America Music Awards all those things, and

17:09

they came and put a price tag on them to be

17:11

auctioned. I remember

17:14

feeling humiliated, like I've never been humiliated

17:16

in my life, like I was standing there completely

17:19

naked and everyone was looking at me. After

17:22

being one of the most successful artists of

17:24

the decade, Tony was left

17:26

with nothing. I called my mom, and

17:29

my mom wanted me to come home. You can always come

17:31

home to worry about. It's gonna be okay in God's

17:33

hands. And I just remember

17:35

crying and crying. M hm.

17:39

Coming up. Tony finds love

17:42

in the midst of turmoil. When

17:44

Behind the Music continues in

18:03

Tony Braxton was in the midst of a bitter

18:06

contract dispute with her record label. Despite

18:09

being one of the top selling female artists

18:11

of the nineties, she was forced to

18:13

file for bankruptcy. I didn't

18:15

know where my career stood at that moment. I had

18:17

no idea what I was going to do next. She

18:19

was so down and depressed

18:21

and embarrassed. Tony found support

18:24

from her family and an old friend.

18:27

She had met Carry Lewis years earlier when

18:29

his group Mint Condition was the opening

18:31

act on her tour, and the two

18:33

had remained close. Kerry was definitely

18:36

my rock. Coming from the music business. He understood,

18:39

so he would give me encouragement

18:41

to get through it. He kept me positive.

18:44

We would really close friends for a while, and

18:46

then eventually one day

18:48

we both kind of realized that we

18:51

want a little bit more in each other than just being

18:53

friends. He didn't care about what I had

18:55

and what I didn't have. He just wanted to get

18:57

near me and spend time with me, and

19:00

that was great. After a two year

19:02

courtship, Tony and Carry were married

19:04

in April of two thousand one, and

19:07

on their wedding day, Tony shared

19:09

a huge surprise. We had

19:11

just walked down the aisle. She

19:13

gave me her wedding gift, and it was a

19:16

rattle, a baby's rattle. What

19:19

was this? Myself pregnantly gonna be a dad.

19:21

He was so excited and I was like, oh my god,

19:23

I was the happiest person i earth. Seven

19:26

months later, Tony and Carry had their

19:28

first son, Denim. The best feeling

19:31

was was my son got here. But still

19:33

I'm pretty much the principal breadwinner,

19:35

so I have to figure out a plan for my family. Tony's

19:38

contract dispute with LaFace and Arista

19:40

had finally been settled and she signed

19:43

a new twenty million dollar contract.

19:45

The judge pretty much made them pay me

19:48

and I was able to resume my

19:50

loan from my condo and I backed

19:52

my Grammys and my other awards and my

19:54

clothes, so that was

19:56

good. Tony tried to

19:58

put the bitterness behind as she reunited

20:01

with l A. Reid and Babyface to record

20:03

her third album, The Heat, but

20:05

their relationship would never be the same.

20:08

It was a little challenging doing that album because

20:10

the relationship has been pooed upon a bit.

20:13

So are we completely comfortable?

20:15

There's a little bit of animosity on both sides.

20:18

But the album put Tony back on top.

20:22

The first single, he Wasn't Man Enough,

20:24

hit number two on the pop charts. It

20:26

made me know that people were in my corner

20:28

and they loved me and they love my music. In

20:30

early two thousand two, thirty four year

20:32

old Tony began work on her fourth album,

20:35

More Than a Woman, hoping to build

20:37

on her career comeback. But a few

20:39

months before the album scheduled release,

20:41

Tony learned that she was expecting her second

20:44

child. Now, the label was definitely a little bit

20:46

upset. Now here we are. We worked through the bankruptcy,

20:48

We've paid this chick all this money and now she's

20:50

pregnant. Okay,

20:53

Tony fought with the label over how to

20:55

deal with her pregnancy, and as a result,

20:57

the album got little promotion. It

21:00

ended up selling less than five hundred thousand

21:02

copies. More than a Woman was

21:04

a flop flop. It was a flop

21:07

like I've never seen a flop. In April

21:09

two thousand three, Tony decided she wanted

21:11

out of her contract with Arista and LaFace.

21:14

I allowed people to put things in my ear

21:17

to say, oh, they're not feeling you anymore, they

21:19

want to drop you. I wasn't having a lot of

21:21

communication with Tony and it was a very,

21:23

very tough time. I

21:26

should have taken the time to call l A and

21:28

Kenny and talk about it, and I didn't do

21:30

that.

21:33

That was not good. I ruined my

21:35

relationship with them. My professional

21:37

family disintegrated. I

21:40

felt that I had a point to prove because I wanted to show

21:42

my record label that I can do things

21:44

other than you. Approaching

21:46

forty with two children to support, Tony

21:49

decided she needed to shake up her career.

21:52

Her husband, carry Lewis, became more

21:54

involved in her management, and

21:56

she made a bold move to Las Vegas

21:58

to do a nightly show at the Lamingo Hotel

22:01

with her sisters, singing back up Vegas

22:03

was a wonderful experience, and it was supposed to

22:05

be a six week run, end up being a little short of

22:08

two years. Well, sew it out just about

22:10

every single night, and it was stability

22:12

for Tony. It enabled me to spend time with

22:14

my kids, and that was a great part. It

22:16

allowed me to be a parent and a performer. While

22:19

she was in Vegas, Tony began to worry

22:21

about her youngest son, Diesel, who

22:24

was having developmental difficulties. I

22:27

knew something was wrong as a mom. You can tell.

22:29

She noticed that Diesel didn't

22:31

have a lot of eye contact and she was

22:34

like, something's not right. He

22:37

was eventually diagnosed with autism.

22:40

The first thought was, okay, please, I know what

22:42

it is. Then afterwards this, oh

22:45

my god, my kid has autism. Because I knew

22:47

nothing about it. There were times when we

22:49

were on stage and she would be singing

22:51

a song and she would start talking about her son and she would

22:53

just break down and cry. She's

22:56

just cried

22:58

in front of her audience.

23:00

You know, we just felt so helpless to

23:03

make matters worse. Tony was soon facing

23:05

health issues of her own. On stage

23:08

in April of two thousand eight, she started

23:10

experiencing heart palpitations.

23:12

One day, I'm on stage and I thought

23:14

my heart was going to pounce out of my body. It's

23:17

like stopped beating for a second. She says

23:19

she felt an incredible pressure on her chest,

23:21

like an elephant was on her chest, and I

23:23

tell my husband, carry, I have to go to the emergency room

23:25

right now. It took me in immediately, did

23:28

all these tests and said she's having

23:30

a heart attack. It was the scariest what what do you mean, I'm

23:32

having a heart set? What do you mean I'm having a heart attack. They

23:34

were like, oh, yeah, dude, this is this

23:36

is very serious. It took a lot

23:38

of time and a lot of tests and

23:41

a lot of doctors to figure out what was going

23:43

on. Once she was stabilized, Tony

23:45

received a shocking diagnosis to

23:47

blood work and all this stuff and came back and said she

23:50

has lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune

23:52

disorder that slowly attacks the body's

23:54

internal organs, including the heart,

23:57

and it can be fatal. It was extremely

24:01

scary. We had no idea what was going

24:03

to happen. Tony was confined to bed

24:05

rest for several months, forcing the

24:07

cancelation of her Vega show. When

24:09

the insurance company refused to cover the

24:11

losses, Tony was left on the

24:13

hook for all of the show's expenses.

24:16

Tony got sued from the lighting

24:18

company to floring company and everyone

24:20

else. Ailing

24:22

and bedridden, Tony found herself

24:25

facing yet another financial disaster.

24:27

I had to file

24:30

bankruptcy. I couldn't pay all those creditors for the show.

24:32

I got tied up here in the bankruptcy.

24:35

That bankrupty shut up.

24:37

What would you do if you were in

24:39

her play? What would you do? I felt like

24:41

everyone was saying, I told you so, I told you so. Say she

24:43

spent the money the first time, she spend in it the second time.

24:47

Oh god. I was disappointed

24:50

that I had to file it, and actually I was angry at myself. I can't

24:52

believe him back in the situation, facing

24:54

the burden of health issues and financial

24:56

insecurity, Tony's marriage

24:58

to carry Lewis began and to suffer. I

25:02

think when you work together in

25:04

the same business, it's very hard

25:06

on a on a relationship. It's so very

25:08

difficult to turn

25:11

on the husband at and

25:13

turn off the manager and

25:15

differentiate between the two. There

25:18

was not a lot of differentiate

25:21

and it needed to be grown in

25:23

different paths. And

25:25

that started happening before I got ill, and once

25:27

I got ill, it just presented itself

25:29

as Okay, look, it's we need to work

25:32

on ending this. We still love each other, but we had

25:34

to except that that's not working for

25:36

the sake of their children. Tony and Kerry

25:38

decided not to file for divorce,

25:40

but their marriage was over, and Tony

25:43

was heartbroken about it. I

25:45

had to figure out a plan for my

25:47

life. It had nothing to do with him. I was just angry

25:50

at everybody. I couldn't believe

25:52

that this was happening to me, and I felt

25:54

that I was a person who was dealing with a lot of

25:56

struggles and here comes another one. Lucas

25:59

for me is a little bit of a challenge. Some days, there are good

26:01

days and bad days. I get chronic fatigue

26:04

episode Sometimes I find it most

26:06

difficult trying to perform. I can do show

26:08

spot dates here and there, but I haven't tested it consecutively.

26:11

During the tour. In

26:15

two thousand, Level and Tony made another

26:17

bold career move, agreeing

26:19

to appear in a reality TV series.

26:22

Braxton Family Values quickly became

26:25

a huge success. There

26:27

would be no Braxton Family values without Tony

26:29

Braxton. I take my hat off to her

26:31

for giving us this gift because it's

26:33

a precious gift that she gave us.

26:36

It was Tony's way of making good on the

26:38

promise she made years earlier to help

26:40

her sisters build their own careers.

26:43

She put us on this platform to make

26:45

sure that we can follow

26:47

out dreams, that we can

26:49

have our own identity. Now you

26:52

get to be ourselves and enjoy

26:55

each other and get pay for isn't it

26:57

the best job ever? Definitely makes me feel

26:59

like, Okay, I'm uping my family. But

27:01

then I discovered that they really didn't need any help

27:03

because they were still super talented. Tony's

27:05

biggest priority is being the mother of her

27:08

two boys. Her son, Diesel,

27:10

has made great strides dealing with autism,

27:12

and Tony has become an advocate for early

27:15

diagnosis and treatment. I became

27:17

heavily involved in autism, and I learned

27:19

that early diagnosis changes everything. Diesel

27:22

is nine years old. Now he's in regular school.

27:24

The typical peers. If you walk to this

27:26

room, you never know. In early two thousand

27:28

and twelve, Tony returned to the studio

27:31

to record new music for the first time

27:33

in three years. Her single

27:35

I Heart You reached number one on the Dance

27:37

charts, proving that Tony's fans

27:40

are still with her. Tony is a

27:42

star. Both ATLA and I am very proud

27:44

of Tony and what she has

27:46

accomplished in her career. I'm

27:48

not sure where I'm headed, but i

27:50

know I'm going forward. She's a strong

27:54

extremely a strong woman. Tony

27:57

is just an eagle. She's she's

28:00

going to sore and just spread her

28:02

wings and just fly. She's

28:04

still one of today's Army

28:07

superstars fine blank at a period,

28:09

and there's nobody or nothing that could take that away

28:11

from her. She's still Tony Braxton

28:13

bitch. In the past, I

28:15

used to dream about my future of my career,

28:17

but now I've decided I'm going to live in the moment

28:19

and enjoy it. I forgot to enjoy the moments. I

28:22

feel that God bless me with this talent and

28:24

I want to sing and enjoy my life. And I

28:26

understand I may not be able to do it the way I did it to

28:29

twenty years ago, but I can still do it. Tony

28:33

Braxton's career comeback is one of the

28:35

most moving stories in music history,

28:39

Tony was able to repair the falling out

28:42

that defined her early career by

28:44

releasing an album with her former producer

28:46

baby Face. The collaborative

28:48

project, titled Love, Marriage

28:50

and Divorce, won the Grammy Award

28:52

for Best R and B Album.

28:55

Tony has continued to support and guide

28:57

her sister's ventures, including producer

29:00

her sister's reality TV show, Tamar

29:02

and Vince. Even while

29:04

encouraging her family's successes, Tony

29:07

is still growing her personal legacy as

29:09

an acclaimed R and B legend. Despite

29:12

decades of challenges, Tony has

29:14

proven to be a fighter and her powerful

29:16

voice will inspire artists for

29:18

years to come. Listen

29:23

to Behind the Music on the I Heart Radio app,

29:25

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

29:27

favorite podcasts. Want more

29:29

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29:34

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