Marques Houston has one of the smoothest voices of his generation, a contemporary R&B artist who displays a level of restraint that prioritizes songs over flash. The actor, singer, and producer came up in the early '90s as a founding member of the platinum-selling group Immature (aka IMx). The next decade, he built the foundation of his solo catalog with MH (2003), Naked (2005), and Veteran (2007), a trio of Top 20 albums that yielded some of the era's biggest hits on urban contemporary radio, such as "Clubbin'" (also a Top 40 pop crossover hit), the Top Ten R&B/hip-hop single "Naked," and his seventh solo Hot 100 entry, "Circle." The latter two exemplified Houston's knack for ballads both romantic and reflective in nature, and while the singer continued to refine his strengths with his recordings into the next decade, his sound evolved to incorporate grittier soul and funk inspirations, as heard on Famous (2013). Houston became more deeply involved with assorted film and television pursuits as a writer and producer, and has found time in the 2020s to record the more introspective albums Me (2022) and The Best Worst Year Ever (2024). Born in Los Angeles, Marques Barrett Houston made his singing and acting debut at the age of ten in 1992. He provided the voice of Kahlil in Robin Harris' animated film Bebe's Kids, the soundtrack of which was the platform for his first single with IMx (then known as Immature), "Tear It Up (On Our Worst Behavior)." From 1992 through 2001, IMx released six albums, most notably the platinum Playtyme Is Over, and placed over a dozen singles on the charts, peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Never Lie." In tandem with his continued acting career -- highlighted by five seasons as Roger Evans on the sitcom Sister, Sister -- Houston began his solo career in 2003. MH, his first of three Top 20 albums released through The Ultimate Group (aka TUG Entertainment, operated by IMx manager Chris Stokes), featured four charting singles including one he co-wrote, "Pop That Booty," a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri. Houston starred in the dance drama You Got Served early the following year. After more voice work (as "Dumb" Donald in Fat Albert) and the start of a lead role on the two-season sitcom Cuts, Houston returned in 2005 with Naked. On the strength of "All Because of You," a number 14 R&B/hip-hop hit he co-wrote, and "Naked," a number eight hit made with the Underdogs and Tank, the album went gold. Houston reached a new height with his third album, Veteran, which entered the Billboard 200 at number five and topped the R&B/hip-hop chart immediately after its 2007 release. Houston had a hand in writing almost all of its songs, including the biggest single, "Circle," an aching ballad that reached number 37 on the R&B/hip-hop chart and became the singer's seventh entry on the Hot 100. Although he changed labels, Houston kept to his biannual release schedule in 2009 with Mr. Houston, a Fontana-supported album containing the Jim Jones collaboration "I Love Her." Mattress Music, distributed by EMI, and Famous, recorded for Shanachie, arrived respectively in 2010 and 2013. The former featured guest verses from Rick Ross and Soulja Boy. The latter, Houston's first album made without Chris Stokes, involved new and lasting collaborator Immanuel Jordan Rich (aka I Rich). Although nine years passed between Famous and Houston's next LP, Houston continued to juggle music with acting and at the same time got more involved with writing and producing films, primarily for BET. Immature reunited to perform and record, and in 2017, amid work on small-screen projects, Houston wrote the screenplay for 'Til Death Do Us Part, a Chris Stokes-directed theatrical thriller he also co-produced. In 2022, Houston released his independent eighth solo album, Me, highlighted by the slow jam "Just to Have You." A subsequent deluxe edition dug into his back catalog to add an assortment of previously released tracks, and a supplemental EP entitled Me: Dark Water was out before the end of the year. The Best Worst Year Ever, the ninth album from Houston, arrived in 2024 with songs that dealt with the singer's highs and lows without doing away with the romantic and lighter-hearted material for which he is known. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

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Marques Houston

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