Brianna Taylor (born May 30, 1987 [1]) is a reality show personality, singer and songwriter, having appeared on both the fifth season of American Idol and The Real World: Hollywood , the twentieth season of MTV's long-running reality television series, The Real World . In 2008, she released her debut, self-titled EP, Brianna Taylor , [2] [3] on Chamberlain Records; according to that label's website, she is now signed to Universal Music. [4] [5]

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Early life

Taylor is of African American, German, and Puerto Rican descent. ^[6] Her mother, Yvonne, raised Brianna and her sister, Victoria, as a single mother. They lived first in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia before moving to Warrington Township. ^[7]

Taylor attended Central Bucks High School East in Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, graduating in 2005. ^[8] She also attended Golden Slipper Camp for Boys and Girls. There is where she found her love for singing.

Career

Taylor never took singing lessons; her grandmother acted as her vocal coach. After gaining experience singing at weddings and shopping malls, ^[9] she auditioned for the popular singing competition, American Idol during that show's fifth season and reached the Top 44 before eventually being eliminated. ^[10]

Before auditioning for The Real World and eventually being cast in its 20th anniversary season, Taylor was an exotic dancer for two years at Double Visions in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. ^[11] While living in Philadelphia, Taylor maintained a volatile relationship with an ex-boyfriend ,and at one point, a violent argument resulted in Taylor's arrest and eventual guilty plea to a reduced charge of harassment. The aftermath of the episode can be seen on her season of The Real World . In the second episode of that season, she reveals that she had battled an addiction to crystal meth and cocaine as early as two months prior to being cast on the show. ^{[12] [13]}

During the show, Brianna develops a mutual attraction for fellow roommate Joey Kovar, but is later disturbed by how he behaves while intoxicated. She also returns to Philadelphia to resolve her legal troubles during the run of her season, and is picked up to record several songs of her own as well as perform live with Alex Band, formerly of the band The Calling. In the show, she is also offered a song by Matthew Bair of the powerpop band Bandcamp. ^[14]

Taylor's debut self-titled EP, Brianna Taylor , was co-produced by Tomas Costanza, of the band Diffuser, and Matthew Bair, who is now a guitarist with Eve 6. The first single, "Summertime," was released in 2008. As of July 22, 2008, Brianna's self-titled EP was the 16th most-purchased album on iTunes and sold over 60,000 copies. ^{[15] [16]}

Taylor returned to MTV in order to participate in the latest season of the show's long-running The Real World/Road Rules Challenge , which premieres September 30, 2009.

Television work

• The Real World: Hollywood (MTV; 2008) Herself
• American Idol (Fox; 2005) Herself
• Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins (MTV; 2009) Herself

Discography

• Brianna Taylor (EP) (Chamberlain Records; 2008)

References

1. "Take Five With Real World Hollywood’s Brianna on Reality Roll Call" Reality Roll Call; October 10, 2008
2. Rachel Sokol. "The Real Worlds Brianna Taylor" ''Beyond Race Magazine''
3. "Brianna Taylor’s EP Out Now" Reality Roll Call; June 25, 2008
4. Exotic dancer gets 'Real'
5. The Real World's Brianna Taylor
6. "MTV's Real World: Hollywood video preview"; monstersandcritics.com; April 24, 2008
7. A Real World opportunity that was almost passed by
8. Bucks 'Idol' hopeful fails to make finalist cut: Warwick Township native says she will continue to pursue her singing career
9. Could Bucks County have another 'American Idol' finalist this season?
10. Bucks woman vies for top 24 'Idol' spot
11. Fierce
12. Summary page for Episode 2 of ''The Real World: Hollywood'' ("Let's Not Get Ghetto") at mtv.com
13. Video of ''The Real World: Hollywood'', Episode 2 at mtv.com
14. The Long Island Sound: Bandcamp calls it quits
15. "'Real World' alum Brianna Taylor gets hit with Long Island help"; newsday.com; July 22, 2008
16. Martin, Michael; "Brianna Taylor of Real World Hollywood in the Top 20 of iTunes"; mm-agency.com; July 24, 2008