| Case | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | R&B, downtempo, hip-hop |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Def Jam (1996–2004) Indigo Blue (2006) Sire Records (2008-) Real Talk (2010-) |
Case Woodard, stage name Case, is an American R&B singer[1] who was born in New York City.
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After stints with R&B group Future and a duo called Black, Case got work co-writing and singing background for artists including Usher, Christopher Williams and Al B. Sure. Case finally felt close to achieving his dream of becoming a solo artist, and he was. Armed with a song written by Faith Evans, Case was discovered by Russell Simmons who signed him to Def Jam Records. “Everything changed with this deal,” says Case, “I was in heaven, on cloud nine.”
Case’s solo career took off in 1996 with the release of "Touch Me, Tease Me" (with rapper Foxy Brown and R&B singer Mary J. Blige) from "The Nutty Professor" soundtrack, going gold and reaching #4 on the R&B charts and #14 on the Hot 100. His self-titled debut Case soon followed along with the minor R&B hit singles "More to Love" and "I Gotcha."
Case followed the success of his first album with the release of Personal Conversation in 1999. The album featured the hits "Happily Ever After" (which reached #3 on the R&B charts and #15 on the Hot 100) and "Faded Pictures," which featured R&B singer Joe and reached #3 on the R&B charts and #10 on the Hot 100. Aside from being a favorite wedding song, "Happily Ever After" notably featured Beyoncé in the video as Case's love interest receiving an elaborate scavenger hunt-type proposal. The album's third single, "Think Of You" failed to do well on the charts, managing to only reach #50 on the R&B charts. “This album was a better representation of me,” says Case. Personal Conversation achieved platinum status.
In 2001, as the first artist on the new Def Soul imprint, Case released his third album Open Letter and topped the charts with the Tim & Bob produced hit song "Missing You." Open Letter, Case's most well-known album went gold. "Missing You" is Case's only #1 single to date as it topped the R&B charts and reached #4 on the Hot 100. Later that year, Case also appeared on rapper Ja Rule's hit "Livin' It Up," as well as releasing one more single from his album, "Not Your Friend."
After the success of Open Letter, Case moved to Atlanta to be closer to his children and later suffered a critical accident. On February 5, 2002, Case was moving his cousin's registered handgun, when it accidentally discharged striking him in the throat nearly missing his spine by a half inch. Case suffered no vocal damage. He remembers looking at his throat in a mirror and trying to sing. The bullet, that went in through his throat, came out the back of his neck and was miraculously less than a centimeter away from paralyzing and killing him. To the shock of everyone around, Case was out of the hospital in four hours with just bandages around his neck.
A great deal of Case's success has been due to his appearance on movie soundtracks. Many of Case's most popular tracks appear on the soundtracks for "Nutty Professor," "Rush Hour," "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" and "The Best Man." These singles were "Touch Me Tease Me" (Nutty Professor), "Faded Pictures" (Rush Hour), "Best Man I Can Be" (The Best Man) and "Missing You" (Nutty Professor II). Case's single, "Shoulda Known Betta (Featuring Ghostface)", reached #87 on the R&B charts in 2004. The single appeared on the "Johnson Family Vacation" soundtrack, and was produced by The Neptunes.
After a few years away from the music industry, Case reappeared in 2008 on the track "Face to Face" (a duet with singer Coko) which was included the soundtrack of "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns (film)." His fourth studio album, The Rose Experience which had undergone various title changes and a label shift (from Def Jam to his own indie imprint, Indigo Blue) was released on March 24, 2009. It was preceded by a single, "Lovely" which reached #72 on the R&B chart.
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B | |||
| 1996 | Case
|
42 | 7 | |
| 1999 | Personal Conversation
|
33 | 5 |
|
| 2001 | Open Letter
|
5 | 2 |
|
| 2009 | The Rose Experience
|
111 | 2 | |
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "More to Love" | - | 36 | Case |
| "Touch Me, Tease Me" (featuring Foxy Brown and Mary J Blige) | 14 | 4 | ||
| 1998 | "Faded Pictures" (with Joe) | 10 | 3 | Personal Conversation |
| 1999 | "Happily Ever After" | 15 | 3 | |
| "Think of You" | - | 50 | ||
| "The Best Man I Can Be" (with Ginuwine, R.L. and Tyrese) | 67 | 15 | The Best Man (soundtrack) | |
| 2001 | "Missing You" | 4 | 1 | Open Letter |
| "Not Your Friend" | - | 65 | ||
| 2004 | "Shoulda Known Betta" (featuring Ghostface) | - | 87 | The Rose Experience |
| 2008 | "Lovely" | - | 72 | |