As the leading voice of the Braxton family, Toni has always been a trailblazer, setting the stage for her sisters with her signature contralto and daring sense of style. From her early days topping the charts in the ’90s, with hits such as “Love Shoulda Brought You Home,” “I Love Me Some Him” and the unforgettable “Un-Break My Heart,” she became the quintessential R&B diva; but it was her fearless fashion choices that cemented her status as a style icon. From her red-carpet moments to her infamous pixie cut, Braxton’s showstopping panache has always been as memorable as her voice. Her iconic look has been widely emulated and celebrated—my own pixie cut was inspired by the legendary songstress.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00You know when I think of how long I've been doing this I feel so blessed and so fortunate
00:03But I also think about those who helped me along the way
00:05I think of the late great Whitney Houston who I miss all the time and we all wanted to be like her
00:10I couldn't sing like her or anything like that
00:12But her style how she was so gracious and how she connected to the crowd and her audiences
00:17I wanted to be like her but my version of her and her fashion her sense that she would wear Mark Bauer
00:23And I want to wear Bauer because I need a Baker's wearing her and because Whitney Houston was wearing her
00:27So it kind of fit out felt like I was always kind of in between the two of them
00:31But I've always felt blessed that I'm still here in the business. I'm still here
00:35So all the ups and downs that I've been through I used to beat myself up about it when I was younger
00:40But the older Tony is I'm embracing it because it's part of the career
00:44You
00:54Know what? I like to express through my music
00:56Baby face always says my voice narrates sad love song
01:00So we know that about me what I found that I'm now I'm getting a little older in my career
01:05I want to branch out a little bit and do things that's a little different, but it still has to be indigenous of me
01:11You know, you still have to hear that's Tony Braxton
01:13So I don't want to be who I'm not
01:14But I think it's okay to try on new things and try a different sound occasionally if I could collaborate with anyone
01:21I have a whole list. Let me try to condense it. Um
01:23Gosh, so many Jesus. Okay, it would now it would be Bruno Bruno Mars because I love him everything about him when he first came
01:30Up. I thought he was special. His voice was unique
01:34Dad, I hate to say that should say resting those resting
01:38Baby Eartha Kitt or I don't think people know that Diane Carroll could sing. I love Diane Carroll and everything about her. So
01:46Those would probably be my two with Sammy Davis jr. I love him. I think the old classics that's important
01:51But also if I think of something that they may be Drake
01:53Rap, you know hip-hop because I love Drake, you know, I'm a Drake II
01:56It's an eclectic list there as you can see one album for the rest of my life. Oh, that's such a good question
02:04What a complex question gosh one album maybe
02:08If I'm honest, maybe someone like Michael McDonald something like that like the classic. I love his voice
02:14we did we were fortunate enough to do a song together and
02:17We had to work really hard on changing the key because you couldn't tell who was singing. I love everything about his song
02:23I think his voice is like an instrument. That's old-school if I thought new school, maybe usher because I love us
02:29She's my baby brother in the business and we could just sing all day
02:32I had to describe each of my sisters in one word. Let's say I would say to Wanda
02:39responsible
02:40Trina
02:41Ditsy, but smart. I know there's two words
02:45Tamar why?
02:47And myself I would say
02:51Know everything even though I really do but I don't and my sister Tracy is funny and I miss her every day
03:00Oh
03:01Yeah, I'm a chef. I'm chef Tomas. I'd like to say my sisters would disagree
03:06My favorite thing it what would it be? I don't know what something fancy like something with
03:13juice truffles
03:15Any kind of protein you want? I mean, I mean I can really really cook although people don't appreciate it in my family
03:21They don't appreciate it, but I can pretty much cook anything. I've roasted chicken with an orange sauce or
03:28Anything like that hearty food if I was not a singer
03:33Before I became a singer. I'm gonna explain this to you. I would have been a school teacher
03:36I would have been miss Braxton teaching musical instruments or something and singing to the kids
03:41Tony Braxton as I know me today if I wasn't a singer, I would probably be a decorator an interior decorator. That's kind of my thing
03:47My favorite way to relax and decompress after working hard would be watching my favorite TV show. I'm a huge Bridgerton girl
03:55I love everything about Bridgerton Shonda is my girl every production. She's ever done. I find myself going towards her productions
04:01So probably Bridgerton and I'm watch them over and over and over again or like Pride and Prejudice those old things because they had the Bennett
04:07Sisters identify having sisters. So those kind of sister shows my drink of choice when I'm in the studio
04:14I don't really drink. I mean, I may drink of my girlfriend sometimes but tea which I'm really boring
04:19I don't think it's a good thing for me to drink anything other than that because I can't hold my alcohol and it'd be girls
04:24Gone wild and that would not be a good thing, you know
04:30Excuse me, sorry
04:33That's not a good look so we would not want to do that. So I'm not your drinking pal. I will embarrass you and myself. I
04:40Always try to be true to myself because when I go home at night
04:44I have to look at myself and I have to hold myself accountable
04:47I think my family security has always helped me in my business having my family with me
04:54We're family, but sometimes we get along sometimes we don't but in the end we love each other and that's what it's about and
05:00Having the opportunity to do what I do and having an opportunity ups and downs in my life having lupus having bankruptcies
05:07everything that I've been through I
05:09Talk about it. I'm not ashamed anymore
05:12I used to be ashamed even of being ill, but now I'm embracing it and knowing that that's a part of me
05:17That's who I am. So the scars on your body. It makes you remember like but I got through that I survived it
05:22So I don't beat myself up anymore. That's I keep saying that because that's so important