Mark Althavean Andrews[1] (born November 9, 1978)[2]
better known by his stage name Sisqó is an American R&B
singer and actor. He is best known for being the lead singer of R&B
group Dru Hill, and also for "Thong Song", a song from his
first solo LP, Unleash the Dragon, that became an international hit.
Sisqó was born as Mark Althaean Andrews on November 9, 1978.
Sisqó attended Mervo and later transferred out to Baltimore
City College.[citation needed]
Sisqo has a daughter Shaione, who was born in 1995.[3]
On September 13, 2003, Sisqo was charged with assault, reckless
endangerment and resisting arrest in relation to an incident in which
he allegedly shot at a car from the front porch of his home in Randallstown,
Maryland.[4]
[edit] Solo career, acting, and Dru Hill reunion
After Green left Dru Hill in 1999 to pursue a solo career, it was
decided that the other three members would do the same. Sisqó's
solo debut, Unleash the Dragon, was released on Def Soul Records
in November 1999. Unleash the Dragon sold moderately at first, until
the February 2000 release of its second single, a novelty "Thong
Song". A runaway hit, "Thong Song" and its follow-up, "Incomplete",
were major hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with "Thong
Song" making it to number three, and "Incomplete" going
to #1. The success later got Sisqó a doll made of himself
by Play Along Toys in 2001.[citation needed]
Conflicts within the group prevented Dru Hill from reuniting as
planned in late 2000, and Sisqó set about recording a second
solo LP. During this period, Sisqó branched out into hosting
the dance competition program Sisqó's Shakedown on MTV, and
film, taking on supporting roles in the films Get Over It (2001)
with Kirsten Dunst and Snow Dogs (2002) with Cuba Gooding, Jr.. Although
his second LP, Return of Dragon, released in June 2001, eventually
went platinum, its singles "Can I Live" and "Dance
for Me" performed far below expectations (apart from in the
UK, where "Dance for Me" became his third top 10 hit),
and by 2002, Sisqó was back with Dru Hill, who released their
third LP in late 2002. The LP underperformed, and the group was eventually
released from their recording contract.
Sisqó's visual trademarks are his eclectic hair styles and
his flamboyant stage costumes, which were regularly flashier than
those of his group mates. Over his career as a recording artist,
both with and without Dru Hill, Sisqó's hairstyles have included
a bleached blond Caesar, a platinum-colored Caesar (colored with
silver spray-paint), blond cornrows, a neon-red dyed Caesar, and
a blond Mohawk.
[edit] Current work
Now working as an independent recording artist, Sisqó has
finished his third solo album, titled Last Dragon (to complete the
trilogy), for release in 2008, but was never released. The first
single, "Who's Ur Daddy" featuring the new artist E-money,
has been released online, and a music video especially formatted
for iPods, cell phones, and other digital devices has been released
on YouTube.[5]
Sisqó appeared on CMT's Gone Country, a reality show about "non-country" artists
vying to win a country music recording contract.
In early 2008, the original quartet version of Dru Hill began touring
alongside fellow 1990s R&B acts Tony! Toni! Toné!, Bell
Biv Devoe, and their former producer Keith Sweat. On March 6, the
group appeared on WERQ, a Baltimore radio station, to promote their
reunion. In the midst of their interview, however, Woody announced
he was quitting the group again to dedicate himself to his gospel
ministry. A YouTube video shows Sisqó walking out on the interview
as a result, and Woody and Nokio fighting while Jazz and the manager
Kevin Peck tries to break it up.[6][7] The group held a contest in
their native Baltimore for a replacement for Woody, settling upon
a new singer known as Antwuan "Tao" Simpson. The group
never said why they did not keep Scola in the group, although it
was later stated by Nokio that "five people [mess] up the money." Before
then, Scola however came out and said the reason is that Woody didn't
want him in the group anymore because they had a falling out over
money issues.[8][9]
Dru Hill's first song leaked from their new album InDRUpendence
Day and was heard in the summer of 2008 called Loose. It is also
the first of his songs to feature extensive gravity blasts and double
bass. The groups first two singles will be a ballad called Away again
with Sisqó on lead vocals and "If You Fall" produced
by an upcoming producer named J-Hott who is a part of group member's
Nokio production crew. If You Fall is a R&B, Hip-Hop,Dance and
Rock laced track with all four members on lead and Nokio on the talking
ad-libs. The producers on the album include Dru Hill member Nokio,
Bryan Michael Cox, Darryl Pearson, J-Hott, Wyrlie Morris, and Keith
Sweat who is also producing a reality show for the group. The group
has also toured with Keith Sweat and Sweat's protege's Silk, Jodeci,
H-Town, Tank, Ginuwine, SWV, Changing Faces, and members of the legendary
New Edition. They toured with the whole group as well as their solo
acts Bell Biv DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, and Johnny Gill
who formed their own New Edition spinoff group called Heads Of State
consisting of Bobby, Ralph, and Johnny.
In January 2010, he entered the UK's reality TV show Celebrity Big
Brother as a participant in the competition, being the 5th to be
evicted in a double eviction with 29% of the public vote against
Stephen Baldwin and Ivana Trump.
[edit] Solo discography
[edit] Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US
[10] US R&B
[10] CAN
[10] UK
[11] AUS
[12] NZ
[12] NOR
[12] SWE
[12] FRA
[12] SWI
[12]
1999 Unleash the Dragon
* First studio album
* Release date: November 30, 1999
* Label: Def Soul Recordings
2 2 8 15 28 23 19 45 27 36
* US: 5× Platinum[13]
* CAN: 2× Platinum[14]
* UK: Gold[15]
2001 Return of Dragon
* Second studio album
* Release date: June 19, 2001
* Label: Def Soul Recordings
7 3 — 22 — — — — — —
* US: Platinum[13]
* UK: Silver[15]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
[edit] Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US R&B CAN UK AUS NZ NOR SWE FRA SWI
1999 "Got to Get It" (featuring Make It Hot) 39 12 — 14
28 50 — — — — Unleash the Dragon
2000 "Thong Song" 3 2 2 3 2 1 3 8 15 8
"
Unleash the Dragon" (featuring Beanie Sigel) — — — 6
18 — — — 41 47
"
Incomplete" 1 1 — 13 — — — — — —
2001 "Can I Live" (featuring The Dragon Family) — 72 — — — — — — — — Return
of Dragon
"
Dance for Me" — — — 6 40 — — 31
91 10
"—"
denotes releases that did not chart
[edit] Other singles
* 2007: "Who's Ur Daddy"
* 2007: "Perfect Christmas"
[edit] Featured singles
Year Song Chart positions[16] Album
U.S. DE
1998 "It's All About Me" (Mýa featuring Sisqó)
6 — Mýa
2000 "What These Bitches Want" 2 (DMX featuring Sisqó)
49 — ...And Then There Was X
2000 "How Many Licks?" (Lil' Kim featuring Sisqó)
75 58 The Notorious K.I.M.
[edit] Notes
* 1 A remix, "Thong Song Uncensored", features Foxy Brown
and is included on the soundtrack LP for Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps
* 2 Edited version titled "What You Want"
[edit] DVDs
* 2000: Sisqó: The Thong Song Uncensored
* 2001: Sisqó: 24 Hours with Sisqó
* 2005: Dru Hill Hits: The Videos (includes videos for "Thong Song" and "Incomplete")
[edit] Mixtape songs
* 2001: "This is the Heart"
* 2003: "In da Club"
* 2004: "One Love"
* 2004: "Really Real"
* 2004: "So Seductive"
* 2005: "One Finger"
* 2005: "I Got It" (Sypha featuring Sisqó)
* 2006: "Go Dumb" (Sisqó featuring Mikel C.)
* 2008: "Champagne and Hennessy"
* 2008: "Let Me Hump On You" (Busta Rhymes featuring Sisqó)
* 2009: "Set It Off"
* 2009: "Higher"
* 2009: "Put Me On"
* 2009: "Girl You Can Get It" (Sisqó featuring Petey Pablo)
* 2009: "So Bad"
* 2009: "Caught Up"
[edit] Other songs
* 2007: "I Miss U"
* 2008: "Pop That" (Produced by Timbaland)
* 2009: "Club On Fire"
* 2009: "Already Know"
* 2009: "Club 2 Tha Bedroom"
* 2009: "Act A Donkey"
* 2009: "Back Away"
* 2009: "Huff&Puff"
* 2010: "Billie Jean(Dragon Remix)"
* 2010: "Boy Shorts"
* 2010: "Bounce"
* 2010: "O"
* 2010: "Sexual"
* 2010: "Star"
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Film appearances
* 2001: Get Over It!
* 2002: Snow Dogs
* 2003: Pieces of April
* 2006: Surf School
[edit] Television appearances
* 2000: Sisqó's Shakedown (MTV)
* 2001: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (episode "Really Big Season Opener",
October 5, 2001)
* 2008: Gone Country (CMT)
* 2008: I Love the New Millennium, 7 episodes (VH1)
* 2009: Keith Sweat's Platinum House (Peachtree TV) premiere on February 23
* 2010: Celebrity Big Brother 2010 (UK)
[edit] Awards/nominations
* American Music Awards
o 2001, Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist: (Nominated)
o 2001, Favorite R&B/Soul Album: Unleash the Dragon (Nominated)
* Billboard Music Awards
o 2000, Male Artist of the Year (Won)
o 2000, Male Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year (Won)
o 2000, R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year (Won)
o 2000, New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year (Won)
o 2000, R&B/Hip-Hop Male Artist of the Year (Won)
o 2000, R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year (Won)
* Grammy Awards
o 2001, Best New Artist (Nominated)
o 2001, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance: "Thong Song" (Nominated)
o 2001, Best R&B Song: "Thong Song" (Nominated)
o 2001, Best R&B Album: Unleash the Dragon (Nominated)
* MOBO Awards
o 2001, Best R&B Act: (Nominated)
o 2000, Best Video: "Thong Song" (Nominated)
o 2000, Best R&B Act: (Nominated)
* MTV Video Music Awards
o 2000, Best Hip-Hop Video: "Thong Song" (Won)
o 2000, Best New Artist: "Thong Song" (Nominated)
o 2000, Best Dance Video: "Thong Song" (Nominated)
o 2000, Best Video from a Film: "Thong Song (remix)" w/ Foxy Brown
(Nominated)
o 2000, Viewer's Choice: "Thong Song" (Nominated)
* Soul Train Music Awards
o 2001, Favorite Male R&B/Soul Album: Unleash the Dragon (Nominated)