With one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in contemporary music, Toni Braxton returned to the international marketplace with her just released Essential CD. Toni came on like a delicious, soulful breeze in the summer of 1993. Her eponymous debut was an instant smash, winning two Grammy Awards and selling more than eight million copies worldwide. Anticipation had been simmering for nearly a year, after urban and pop wrapped their arms around "Love Shoulda Brought You Home" from Eddie Murphy's Boomerang. The soundtrack was the best thing about the movie, Toni was the best thing about the soundtrack, and folks were clamoring for more. Toni's brand of from-the-guy belting was a throwback. She brought the blues back to R&B. Gracefully, elegantly. Smoothed all the way. The Best New Artist of 1993 returned triumphantly with Secrets, a sultrier set that continued her hot streak. For this more carnal collection Toni changed her look. This time out, Toni wasn't rocking the stylish shot 'do, instead, the songstress got herself a fierce honey-brown weave that rained down her back. Toni wanted to play up her sexy side. Her outfits became slinkier; her voice became more revealing. But her aesthetics remained unchanged. Toni demonstrated her universal appeal on Secrets. She was soulful enough to keep her ghetto credential yet polished enough to reach folks out in the 'burbs. "You're Makin' Me High", an across-the-board smash, brought a little steamy funk to the mix. It set up the indelible Super Ballad, "Un-Break My Hear," and "There's No Me Without You" brought her a new kind of divadom. Then on 2000's The Heat, Toni snagged the sophisticated urban club crowed with "He Wasn't Man Enough." While doing promotional work on The Heat, Toni made her silver screen debut in "Kingdom Come," which featured an all-star cast and earned her a BET Black Oscar. In 2000, she was given the coveted Aretha Franklin Soul Train Award for Career Achievements.