Mark Althavan Andrews (born November 9, 1978), known professionally as Sisqó (stylized as SisQó), is an American R&B singer. Following his tenure as lead performer of the R&B group

Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B boy band, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 by Tamir "Nokio the N-Tity" Ruffin, and as of 2023, is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven top 40 ...

, he quickly reached success as a solo act with the release of his debut studio album '' Unleash the Dragon'' (1999), which peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200. It spawned the singles " Incomplete" and "

Thong Song "Thong Song" is a song recorded by American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer Sisqó. It was released on February 15, 2000, as the second single from his solo debut studio album, ''Unleash the Dragon'' (1999). "Thong Song" garnered four Grammy nomina ...

", which peaked at numbers one and three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, respectively. His second album, ''

Return of Dragon ''Return of Dragon'' is the second solo studio album by American R&B music, R&B recording artist Sisqó of the group Dru Hill. It was released on June 19, 2001 on Def Soul, Def Soul Recordings. The album did very well on the charts but its single ...

'' (2001) failed commercially, as did his subsequent releases. He received 12th place on the eleventh season of '' The Masked Singer'' as Lizard.

Early life

As a teen, Andrews worked at The Fudgery in

Harborplace Harborplace is a shopping and dining complex on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. Description The property consists of two pavilions, each two stories in height; one along Pratt Street, the other on Light Street. The pavilions house a ...

at Baltimore's Inner Harbor with Larry "Jazz" Anthony, James "Woody" Green, and Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin. The quartet would be signed as the group

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

in 1996. He lived in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood at 908 Newington Avenue near Druid Hill Park, which is where the group got their name.

Career

After Woody departed Dru Hill in 1999 to pursue a solo career, it was decided that the other members would follow suit and issue their own solo albums. 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, the novelty "

". A runaway hit, "Thong Song" and its follow-up, " Incomplete", were major hits on the ''

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 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

, with "Thong Song" making it to number three, and " Incomplete" going to #1. This success resulted in Play Along Toys manufacturing a Sisqó

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

in 2001. Formed by Sisqó in 1999, LovHer was the first female

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

on the

Def Soul Def Soul Records was an R&B-based division of American multinational record label Def Jam Recordings. It was formed in 1996 by Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles to expand R&B and soul music through Def Jam's said genre-related roster following the ...

label. Their single "How It's Gonna Be" was featured on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack in 2001. Conflicts within Dru Hill prevented the group from reuniting as planned in 2000. This is usually attributed to time conflicts during the recording of Sisqó's second solo LP. During this period, Sisqó branched out into hosting the dance competition program ''Sisqós Shakedown'' on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, and into

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, taking on supporting roles in the films '' Get Over It'' (2001) with

Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989) and has since starred in several film and television productions. She has received several awar ...

and '' Snow Dogs'' (2002) with Cuba Gooding, Jr. He also starred as a vampire in ''

Sabrina the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...

'' (Season 6 Episode 1). Although his second LP, ''

'', released in June 2001, eventually went platinum, its singles "Can I Live" and "Dance for Me" performed far below expectations (apart from in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where "Dance for Me" became his third top ten hit). By 2002, Sisqó reunited with Dru Hill, which released its third LP in late 2002. The LP underperformed, and the group was subsequently released from their

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

. In January 2008, Sisqó was a contestant on a reality show called "Gone Country." In 2010, Sisqó was a contestant on the British reality television show '' Celebrity Big Brother 7'', which he placed 8th. He was the fifth contestant to be evicted, lasting 20 days. Dru Hill released its third album, '' InDRUpendence Day'', in 2010 as an independent release through Kedar Entertainment. The group also appeared at this time in the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

''Keith Sweat's Platinum House'' on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

's sister station Centric. Sisqó continued to tour through the 2010s, both as a member of Dru Hill, and as a solo act. His third solo album, ''Last Dragon'', was released on February 10, 2015. The singles, "A-List" and "L.I.P.s" were released ahead of the album, with the latter reaching number 23 on the US Adult R&B charts, becoming Sisqó's first charting US single since 2001's "Can I Live". , Sisqó, along with the other members of Dru Hill, claimed that their record label botched a record deal, costing them millions in the process. In 2016, Sisqó provided a rap counterpoint in a duet with

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...

, in her song "Give me a Good Song", which was featured on '' Music Is Medicine'', released on April 15, 2016. In 2017, Sisqó, sang on a remake of his "Thong Song" produced by JCY. In 2018, Sisqo released a holiday book for children, titled "Sisqo's Perfect Christmas", with creative partner, Tilesha Brown. He represented Maryland in the

American Song Contest The ''American Song Contest'' is an American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest. The sole season of the series was hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson; it consisted of eight episodes airing be ...

, which began on March 21, 2022, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. In 2024, Sisqó competed on season eleven of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Lizard". He was eliminated on "Shower Anthems Night" and did an encore performance of "Thong Song".

Personal life

Sisqó has a daughter, Shaione Andrews, born in 1995. He resides in

Maple Grove, Minnesota Maple Grove is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 70,253 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. making it Minnesota's 11th most populous city. Maple Grove serves as a retail, cultural and me ...

, with his wife Elizabeth Pham, with whom he has been romantically involved since 2003. They have two children: a son named Ryu Andrews born in June 2012, and a daughter named Kimiqo Star, aka QoQo born in September 2014. In July 2013, Sisqó appeared on the reality show '' Celebrity Wife Swap'', where Elizabeth was "swapped" with the wife of 1990s pop singer Gerardo Mejía. He previously dated R&B singer Samantha Mumba from 2004 to 2005.

Discography

with Dru Hill * ''

'' (1996) * '' Enter the Dru'' (1998) * '' Dru World Order'' (2002) * '' InDRUpendence Day'' (2010) * '' Christmas in Baltimore'' (2017) Solo albums * '' Unleash the Dragon'' (1999) * ''

'' (2001) * '' Last Dragon'' (2015)

Filmography

Film

Television

Commercials

Tours

;As supporting act *

No Strings Attached Tour The No Strings Attached Tour was the third concert tour by American boy band, NSYNC. Primarily visiting North America, the tour supported the band's third album '' No Strings Attached''. Beginning in May 2000, the tour sold out all dates within t ...

(supporting

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

) * Black & Blue World Tour (supporting

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

) ;Featured act * Roc Tha Block * Hammer's House Party Tour * RNB Fridays Live

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2, 2001 , , ''Sisqó'' , Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist , , - , , ''Unleash the Dragon'' , Favorite R&B/Soul Album , , - *

Billboard Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=6, 2000 , rowspan=6, ''Sisqó'' , Male Artist of the Year , , - , Male Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year , , - , R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year , , - , New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year , , - , R&B/Hip-Hop Male Artist of the Year , , - , R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year , , - *

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=4, 2001 , , ''Sisqó'' , Best New Artist , , - , rowspan=2, ''Thong Song'' , Best R&B Male Vocal Performance , , - , Best R&B Song , , - , , ''Unleash the Dragon'' , Best R&B Album , , - *

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

, - , style="text-align:center;", 2001 , , ''Sisqó'' , Best R&B Act , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2, 2000 , , ''Thong Song'' , Best Video , , - , , ''Sisqó'' , Best R&B Act , , - *

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2, 2000 , rowspan=3, ''Sisqó'' , Best Male , , - , Best R&B , , - *

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=5, 2000 , rowspan=3, ''Thong Song'' , Best Hip-Hop Video , , - , Best New Artist , , - , Best Dance Video , , - , , ''Thong Song (Remix)'' w/ Foxy Brown , Best Video from a Film , , - , , ''Thong Song'' , Viewer's Choice , , - *

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony which honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the production company of '' Soul Train'', the program from which it takes its name, and ...

, - , style="text-align:center;", 2001 , rowspan=3, ''Unleash the Dragon'' , Favorite Male R&B/Soul Album , , - *

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=4, 2000 , , ''Sisqó'' , Choice Male Artist , , - , , ''Thong Song'' , Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Track , , - , , ''Sisqó'' , Choice Breakout Artist , , - , , ''Incomplete'' , Choice Song of the Summer , , -

Books

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sisqo 1978 births Living people 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male dancers African-American dancers American male dancers American male film actors 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers African-American television personalities American contemporary R&B singers American male pop singers Def Jam Recordings artists Singers from Baltimore Participants in American reality television series World Music Awards winners Male actors from Baltimore American male television actors 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers