| Syracuse,
NY – August 2014 / Newsmaker Alert / Ashanti, whose solo works
and collaborations with other artists have kept her on the top of the charts
for more than a decade, will perform at Chevy Court at the Great
New York State Fair at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 24, Acting State Fair
Director Troy Waffner announced Thursday (August 14).
Ashanti’s smash hit debut
album, self-titled Ashanti, sold over 504,000 units in its first week topping
the charts with multiple singles at once. This gained her access into the
Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest selling female debut artist.
With her hit song, “Foolish,” Ashanti also secured the #1 top spot on SIX
Billboard charts simultaneously, including Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Airplay,
The Billboard 200, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks, Hot 100 Airplay,
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Hot 100! “Foolish” stayed on the Billboard
charts for 11 consecutive weeks. She made Billboard history by having her
first three chart entries land in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at
the same time. She is the first female to accomplish this feat, previously
only attained by the Beatles.
“Ashanti” won the GRAMMY
for Best Contemporary R&B Album, eight Billboard Awards, two American
Music Awards and she was presented with the Soul Train Aretha Franklin
Entertainer of the Year Award. She recorded four more albums, penned a
book of poetry, starred as Dorothy in the Broadway adaption of “The Wiz
“ and launched her own fragrance, Precious Jewel.
She quickly became a sensation,
gracing the covers of magazines, performing on all Morning Shows, Late
Night TV and dominating urban, rhythm and pop radio. Ashanti built her
reputation collaborating with Ja Rule (“Always on Time”), Fat Joe (“What’s
Luv?”), and the Notorious B.I.G. (Foolish/”Unfoolish”) — contrasting the
tough-guy male perspective with her own.
In March, Ashanti released
her latest album, “Braveheart.” on her own Label – Written Entertainment.
It was the #1 Billboard Independent Album in the Country and made the top
10 Billboard 200 Chart. The first single from the album, “I Got It,” features
Rick Ross. Ashanti is currently writing music for the soundtrack and score
of the forthcoming film “Tupac”, to be released in 2015. Late last year,
Ashanti received the 2013 Soul Train Award for Best Independent R&B/Soul
Performance for “Never Should Have,” a single featured on Album “Braveheart.”
Over the last few years,
Ashanti has appeared in a number of films (Coach Carter, John Tucker Must
Die, Resident Evil 4, and Bride & Prejudice a Bollywood movie), and
television shows (the 2013 season of “Army Wives” on Lifetime).
Most recently, Ashanti starred
as Eve in the feature film “Stuck” shot in NYC on a subway, she also starred
as LaTasha Montclair on Lifetime’s “Army Wives”,”Teanna,” a store consultant,
in Lifetime’s holiday movie, “Christmas in the City” where she released
a 5 song digital holiday EP titled “A Wonderful Christmas with Ashanti”.
For Christmas 2014, through her Label – Written Entertainment, Target will
add 5 new Christmas songs to the EP for a physical Christmas Album as a
DELUXE edition for this holiday. She will also star as “Preacher,” an assassin
who kills mutants in the SyFy movie “Mutant World” to air in November 2014
on the SyFy channel.
Sean Kingston’s performance,
announced for Sunday, Aug. 24, will take place Saturday, Aug. 23 at 2:00
p.m.
The 23 free performances
by national artists on the Chevy Court stage are sponsored by Chevrolet.
The complete Chevy Court
lineup is:
-
Kellie Pickler, at 2:00 p.m.,
Thursday, August 21
-
Barenaked Ladies, at 8:00 p.m.,
Thursday, August 21
-
Smash Mouth, at 2:00 p.m., Friday,
August 22
-
Jason Derulo, at 8:00 p.m.,
Friday, August 22
-
Sean Kingston, at 2:00 p.m.,
Saturday, August 23
-
The Bacon Brothers, at 8:00
p.m., Saturday, August 23
-
Ashanti, at 2:00 p.m., Sunday,
August 24
-
Young The Giant, at 8:00 p.m.,
Sunday, August 24
-
Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter
Noone, at 2:00 p.m., Monday, August 25
-
John Kay and Steppenwolf, at
8:00 p.m., Monday, August 25
-
Bowzer’s Rock & Roll Party,
at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 26
-
Night Ranger, at 8:00 p.m.,
Tuesday, August 26
-
Chef Anne Burrell, at 2:00 p.m.,
Wednesday, August 27
-
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts,
at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 27
-
Angie Johnson, at 2:00 p.m.,
Thursday, August 28
-
The Eli Young Band, at 8:00
p.m., Thursday, August 28
-
The Neighbourhood, at 2:00 p.m.,
Friday, August 29
-
Southside Johnny and the Asbury
Jukes, at 8:00 p.m., Friday, August 29
-
Uncle Kracker, at 2:00 p.m.,
Saturday, August 30
-
Bell Biv Devoe, at 8:00 p.m.,
Saturday, August 30
-
MKTO, at 2:00 p.m., Sunday,
August 31
-
Phillip Phillips, at 8:00 p.m.,
Sunday, August 31
-
The Doobie Brothers, at 6:00
p.m., Monday, September 1, followed by fireworks at dusk, sponsored by
National Grid.
At the Grandstand, very limited
tickets remain available for the Saturday, Aug. 30 concert by Jason Aldean
with Florida Georgia Line and Tyler Farr. Tickets remain available for:
-
Brad Paisley with Randy Houser,
Charlie Worsham, and Leah Turner, on Thursday, August 21
-
The Uproar Festival featuring
Godsmack, on Friday, August 22
-
Pitbull, on Saturday, August
23
-
Kid Rock, on Monday, August
25
-
Train with The Wallflowers,
on Tuesday, August 26
-
Carrie Underwood, on Wednesday,
August 27
-
Journey with Cheap Trick, on
Thursday, August 28
The New
York State Fair, operated by the New
York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August
21 – September 1, 2014. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its 2014 theme,
“Summer’s Best in Show,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture
while providing top-quality entertainment. This year’s tagline – “New Attractions,
Old Favorites, Timeless Fun” – highlights the more than two dozen new events
and attractions and the expansion or enhancement of several Fairgoer favorites.
In addition to the annual
New York State Fair, the Fairgrounds host dozens of agricultural events
throughout the year, including some of the Northeast’s most prestigious
horse and livestock shows.
The home of the Great New
York State Fair is a 375-acre exhibit and entertainment complex that operates
all year. A year-round schedule of events is available on the Fair’s
website.
Find The Great
New York State Fair on Facebook, follow @NYSFair
on Twitter, and enjoy photos from the Fair at Flickr.com/photos/NYSFair.
Also, New Yorkers are invited to send their ideas for the Great New York
State Fair at statefairideas@agriculture.ny.gov.
Media Contacts:
Joe
Morrissey
Public Information Officer
NYS Department of Agriculture
& Markets
518-457-0752
Dave
Bullard
Public Relations
New York State Fair
315-487-7711 x 1377 |
