V.V. Brown

Vanessa Brown, alternately known as V.V. Brown, is an English songwriter and performer who stepped out in 2005 with a co-writing credit on the Pussycat Dolls' PCD ("I Don't Need a Man," a collaboration with Rich Harrison, Kara DioGuardi, and Nicole Scherzinger) and her debut single, a bouncy, contemporary pop/R&B hybrid titled "Whipped," which appeared on the soundtrack for the television series Las Vegas. After co-writing the Sugababes' Top 20 U.K. single "Denial," Brown underwent a slight makeover as a solo artist -- fusing early R&B with new wave energy -- and changed her performing alias to V.V. Brown. On the Island label in the U.K., she released the 2008 single "Crying Blood," a preface to July 2009's Travelling Like the Light. The album was issued in the States via Capitol the following year. ~ Andy Kellman