Brittany Smith (born December 3, 1985), formerly known as Matisse, is an American singer. She gained prominence from a young age as one half of a modeling duo with her identical twin sister Alex, appearing in various commercials. They later went on to pursue a music career and form the pop duo Brit & Alex, who were active from 2002 until their 2009 disbandment. As a solo artist, Smith released her debut single "Better Than Her" in 2010, which topped the US Dance Airplay charts. She later signed with

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

to release her 2013 single, "Provocative (hiDhi)" (featuring

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

). Due to the song underperforming, Smith decided to leave the music industry. Following the release of

JoJo Siwa Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa ( ; born May 19, 2003) is an American singer, dancer, actress, and media personality. From 2015 to 2016, she appeared as a dancer on two seasons of the reality television show '' Dance Moms'' alongside her mother, Jess ...

's single "

Karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

" in April 2024, a version of the song recorded by Smith titled " Karma's a Bitch" went viral across social media platforms; she subsequently announced plans to return to the music industry.

Career

Smith began appearing on TV at six months of age on ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

''. By the age of 15, she was a spokesmodel for the haircare brand John Frieda and signed to The Ford Agency. During this tenure she and identical twin sister Alexia formed the pop duo Brit & Alex, where they became famous for appearing in TV commercials for John Freida's ''Sheer Blonde'' line (where they would be known to fans as "The Sheer Blonde Twins") and later signed with

. They also went to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the hopes of establishing a musical career there, but would achieve little success, having reached number 75 on the UK Singles Chart with "

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film '' Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The song was performed in its original show ...

" in 2008. After the duo broke up in 2009 due to Alex's decision to go to college, Brittany continued with her singing and acting career, signing with

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

and recording under the name Matisse, naming herself after the French painter. In 2010, Smith released her first single "Better Than Her" featuring

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

under Matisse. It was written and produced by Kevin Rudolf and Jacob Kasher and reached number one on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...

chart. She was working on a self-titled full-length LP (''Matisse'') that was to be released in 2011. Smith was signed to

. On October 7, 2011, labels such as

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG's record labels in late 2008 at the end of their merger. It was distribut ...

and Arista were sold to Sony's Flagship Label, and all artists were merged to sign to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

and other affiliated Sony Music Labels. Therefore, Smith was merged to sign to RCA in 2011; she signed with

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. In July 2011, Smith, as Matisse, released a medley of

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

songs on YouTube. The video was produced by Kurt Hugo Schneider. In 2013, Smith released "Provocative" featuring

Betty White Betty Marion Ludden ( White; January 17, 1922December 31, 2021), known professionally as Betty White, was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vas ...

appears in the music video.

"Karma's a Bitch"

In April 2024, American singer

released a song titled "

". The song went viral and received negative feedback. This then led to a re-uploading of an unreleased version recorded by Smith in 2012. The little-seen video featured animations by Super77 and had been uploaded to Vimeo for their portfolio since March 20, 2013. Smith's version of the song was praised online, which led to Smith officially releasing the song across all streaming platforms on April 13. In an interview with ''Page Six'', Smith revealed that the song was originally intended to be her debut single; however, her label changed plans last minute. Shortly after " Karma's a Bitch" out-charted Siwa's version on iTunes in the United States in April 2024, Smith shared that she is returning to the music industry via an announcement of her upcoming EP, scheduled to debut on May 17, 2024. On April 30, 2024, it was announced that Smith had signed the "Karma's a Bitch" single to the independent record label and music distributor Broke Records. On May 17, 2024, Smith announced that the release of her EP was delayed, but is expected to release soon. She also revealed that she would be releasing the single "Chocolates and Lies" that same day. The single "Chocolates and Lies" was released the next day on May 18, 2024.

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brit 1985 births American women pop singers American dance musicians American child actresses American television actresses Living people People from Wilton, Connecticut Actresses from Connecticut Singers from Connecticut 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Identical twin females Twin musicians American twins American expatriate actresses American expatriates in England