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Eclectic chanteuse Kelis just might have been brought to us from another planet. A planet in the future. Kelis' sounds are so out there you won't know quite what you're hearing, but you'll know you like her year 3000 fusion of hip hop, R&B and rock. The closest comparison would probably be the genre-bending rappers Outkast. But unlike Outkast, Kellis has found greater levels of success on the more adventurous musical charts in Europe and the UK than she has at home. It's easy to see where the striking singer gets her funky sensibility-her father was a jazz musician and a minister while her mother was a cutting-edge fashion designer, and both parents were highly encouraging to her musical ambitions. She befriended Pharrel Williams and Chad Hugo, who would later become in-demand production duo The Neptunes, and they sometimes cite her as their muse. With a soulful, confidant voice, Kellis' first disc Kaleidoscope made a minor splash on the US charts-"Caught Out There" got some MTV play-but the progressive collection of jams was received with raves in Europe, where she toured arenas with U2 and Moby. In 2003, the world was finally ready for Kellis-her single "Milkshake" delighted pop music fans looking for a different flavor. Few people knew quite what she was singing about, but "Milkshake" was impossible to get out of your head. The album was full of The Neptunes' trademark off-kilter beats and spacey sound effects. Kellis' follow-up single "Trick Me Once" saw her purring over a tricked-out reggae beat.

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