Kiely Williams

Kiely Alexis Williams (born July 9, 1986) is an American singer, dancer and actress.

She is known for her membership in the girl groups 3LW, the Cheetah Girls and BluPrint.

In 1999, Williams along with Adrienne Bailon and Naturi Naughton formed the girl group 3LW.

The initial formation of the 3LW was pulled together by Williams' mother, who also managed the group.

3LW was signed to Epic Records and work on their debut album began in 1999.

Their first single, "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)", was released in the fall of 2000.

The group's self-titled debut album, 3LW was released on December 5, 2000.

The album went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA, selling 1.3 million copies in the US.

"No More" was a chart success, and was followed by "Playas Gon' Play" in early 2001.

In the summer of 2001, the group embarked on the MTV Total Request Live tour along with Destiny's Child, Dream, Nelly, Eve, and Jessica Simpson.

In 2001, 3LW recorded a song with various artists including Michael Jackson, Usher, Beyoncé, Luther Vandross, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey in response to the 9/11 attacks called "What More Can I Give".

In late 2001 they collaborated with Lil' Romeo and Nick Cannon for "Parents Just Don't Understand" on the Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius soundtrack.

Also in 2001, Williams appeared on an episode of Taina called "Blue Mascara" by playing her character named Lia where the main titled character (Christina Vidal) is overjoyed to join the most popular all-female singing group at school until they tell her to ditch her best friend named Renee (Khalia Adams).

Williams played herself in an episode of The Jersey called "Speaking of Coleman" where after freaking out at a debate competition, Coleman Galloway (played by Jermaine Williams) gets a lesson in handling stage fright as he uses a magical jersey by jumping into her body backstage during a half-time show.

3LW spent the first half of 2002 in the studio, recording an album tentatively titled Same Game, Different Rules.

The album and its intended lead single "Uh Oh" were presented to the label, who felt it did not have enough urban radio appeal.

The tracks from Same Game, Different Rules were leaked to the Internet in MP3 format, and Epic considered dropping the girls.

A fan support campaign for 3LW named 'Never Let Go of 3LW' after their song "Never Let Go" spread to the radio, and the act was retained, despite the album loss.

Recording a new set of tracks, the group returned in the summer of 2002 with the P. Diddy-produced single "I Do (Wanna Get Close To You)", featuring Loon.

That same summer, the group performed a concert special on Nickelodeon titled Live on Sunset.

By August, the group was set to release its newest LP, A Girl Can Mack, when member Naughton had left the group for good after heated arguments.

The album's release date was pushed back a month, but sales were still disappointing debuting at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 with a disappointing 53,000 copies sold in the first week.

Naughton alleged that she had a number of conflicts and arguments with Bailon, Williams, and their management.

Williams and Bailon continued as a duo while using the "3LW" name, causing the press to jokingly refer to them as "2LW".

According to a cover story for the October 2002 issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine, Kiely & Adrienne said they received death threats and that they had to beef up security.

The departure of Naturi greatly affected the group's popularity and album sales.

After the second single released from the album, "Neva Get Enuf", underperformed, auditions were held across the country for a new third member.

Jessica Benson made the cut and joined 3LW in early 2003.

Without Jessica, the group might have had to split due to "bankruptcy".

Jessica's first performance was on Live with Regis & Kelly, followed by a performance on Soul Train.

In fall 2003, 3LW departed from Epic, signing with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label.

The group then began working on their fourth studio album.

While working on the album, both Bailon and Williams signed on to star in the Disney Channel film The Cheetah Girls.

They starred as two of four members of a female girl group named after the film, with Raven-Symoné and Sabrina Bryan portraying the final two members.

The movie was released in August 2003 and was a ratings success.

The Cheetah Girls soundtrack debuted at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA.

Walt Disney Records soon created a real-life girl group, composed of Adrienne, Kiely, and Sabrina.

Raven was offered a spot in the group but declined, opting to focus on her solo career and her television series That's So Raven.

The trio began working on their first studio album, later revealed to be a Christmas album.

The album, titled Cheetah-licious Christmas, was released that year, and they soon left Walt Disney and signed to Hollywood Records in 2006.