Editing Brandy Norwood (section)

===1997–2001: ''Never Say Never'' and film career===
[[File:Brandy Essence Awards.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Norwood at the [[Essence (magazine)|Essence Award]]s in 1997]]
In 1997, Norwood was hand-picked by producer [[Whitney Houston]] to play the title character in [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]'s television version of ''[[Cinderella (1997 film)|Cinderella]]'' featuring a multiracial cast that also included [[Jason Alexander]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], and Houston.<ref name="FindArticles3">{{cite news|first=Lynn|last=Norment|title=Brandy: On Her New Movie, Growing Pains and Dating In The Spotlight|work=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]|date=2008-05-06}}</ref> The two-hour ''[[Wonderful World of Disney]]'' special garnered an estimated 60 million viewers, giving the network its highest ratings in the time period in 16 years, and won an [[Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program the following year.<ref name="FindArticles4">{{cite news|title=''Cinderella'' TV Movie Special Produces Spectacular Rating For ABC|work=Jet|date=1997-11-24}}</ref>

Fledgling producer [[Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins]] was consulted to contribute to Norwood's second album ''[[Never Say Never (Brandy album)|Never Say Never]]''. Norwood co-wrote and produced six songs for the record, including her first number-one song on the U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]], "[[The Boy Is Mine (Brandy and Monica song)|The Boy Is Mine]]", a duet with singer [[Monica (singer)|Monica]] that has become the most successful song by a female duo in the music industry. Exploiting the media's presumption of a rivalry between the two young singers, the song was one of the most successful records in the United States of all time,<ref name="sixty-one">{{cite news|title=At age 21, the N.J.-based producer is king of his world |author=Jim Farber |date=2002-02-06 |work=[[New York Daily News]] |publisher=NYDailyNews.com |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2000/02/06/2000-02-06_r___b_rodney_at_age_21__the_.html |access-date=2008-04-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010151245/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2000/02/06/2000-02-06_r___b_rodney_at_age_21__the_.html |archive-date=October 10, 2008 }}</ref> spending a record-breaking thirteen weeks atop the ''Billboard'' charts, and eventually garnering the pair a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal]].  ''Never Say Never'' was released in June 1998 and became Norwood's biggest-selling album, selling over 16 million copies worldwide and reaching number two on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref name="billboard200">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/brandy/chart-history/tlp/|title=Brandy – Billboard|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=February 15, 2021}}</ref> Critics rated the album highly, with AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praising Norwood and her team for wisely finding "a middle ground between [[Mariah Carey]] and [[Mary J. Blige]]—it's adult contemporary with a slight streetwise edge."<ref name="one">{{cite web|title=''Never Say Never'' (1998) review|work=[[AllMusic]]|publisher=Allmusic.com|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r351851|pure_url=yes}}|access-date=2006-11-10}}</ref> Altogether, the album spawned seven singles, including Norwood's second number-one song, the [[Diane Warren]]-penned "[[Have You Ever?]]"<ref name="billalbums"/> To promote the album she went on the [[Never Say Never World Tour]] in 1999, consisting of shows in Europe, Asia, and the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1426526/brandy-sets-dates-for-summer-tour-with-tyrese-c-note/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807063358/http://www.mtv.com/news/1426526/brandy-sets-dates-for-summer-tour-with-tyrese-c-note/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 7, 2018|title=Brandy Sets Dates For Summer Tour With Tyrese, C-note|date=April 27, 1999|work=[[MTV News]]|access-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1426522/brandy-cuts-short-american-tour-to-make-tv-return/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625035745/http://www.mtv.com/news/1426522/brandy-cuts-short-american-tour-to-make-tv-return/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 25, 2016|title=Brandy Cuts Short American Tour To Make TV Return|date=June 15, 1999|work=[[MTV News]]|access-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref>

After backing out of a role in [[F. Gary Gray]]'s 1996 film ''[[Set It Off (film)|Set It Off]]'',<ref name="nydn">{{cite news|first=Denene|last=Millner|title=Brandy Pours It On A Veteran Superstar At 19|work=[[New York Daily News]]|publisher=NYDailyNews.com|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/brandy-pours-veteran-superstar-19-record-article-1.804507|date=1998-07-05|access-date=2010-03-04}}</ref> Norwood made her [[big screen]] debut in the supporting role of Karla Wilson in the [[slasher film]], ''[[I Still Know What You Did Last Summer]]''.<ref name="nydn"/> The movie outperformed [[I Know What You Did Last Summer|the original]] with a total of $16.5 million at its opening weekend, but critical reaction to the film was largely disappointing, with the film review site [[Rotten Tomatoes]] calculating a poor rating of 7% based on 46 reviews.<ref name="rottento">{{cite web |title=Review of ''I Still Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1998)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|date=November 13, 1998 |publisher=Rottentomatoes.com|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_still_know_what_you_did_last_summer/|access-date=2007-05-14}}</ref> Norwood, however, earned positive reviews for her "bouncy" performance,<ref name="dinarticles11">{{cite news|last=Steyn|first=Mark|date=1999-05-08|title=Here's What I Know|work=[[The Spectator]]}}</ref> which garnered her both a [[Blockbuster Entertainment Award]] and an [[MTV Movie Award]] nomination for [[MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance|Best Breakthrough Female Performance]].<ref name="afbn"/> In 1999, she co-starred with [[Diana Ross]] in the [[telefilm]] [[drama]] ''[[Double Platinum (film)|Double Platinum]]'' about an intense, strained relationship between a mother and daughter.<ref name="FindArticles9">{{cite news|title=Brandy And Diana Ross Team Up In TV Movie ''Double Platinum''|work=Jet|date=1999-05-10}}</ref> Shot in only twenty days in [[New York City]], both Norwood and Ross served as executive producers of the movie which features original songs from their respective albums ''Never Say Never'' (1998) and ''[[Every Day Is a New Day]]'' (1999), as well as previously unreleased duets. The same year, Norwood headlined [[VH1 Divas|VH-1's Divas Live '99]], alongside Whitney Houston, [[Tina Turner]], and [[Cher]].<ref name="FindArticles9"/>

After a lengthy hiatus following the end of ''[[Moesha]]'', and a number of tabloid headlines discussing her long-term battle with [[dehydration]], Norwood returned to music in 2001, when she and brother [[Ray J]] were asked to record a [[cover version]] of [[Phil Collins]]' 1990 hit "[[Another Day in Paradise]]" for the [[tribute album]] ''[[Urban Renewal (tribute album)|Urban Renewal: A Tribute to Phil Collins]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459391/20030106/ja_rule.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030108200022/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459391/20030106/ja_rule.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 8, 2003|title=For The Record: Quick News On Ja Rule, B2K, Aimee Osbourne, Brandy, Guns N' Roses, Yardbirds & More|work=[[MTV News]]|publisher=MTV.com|date=2003-01-06|author=MTV Staff|access-date=2009-06-06}}</ref> Released as the album's first single in Europe and Oceania, the song became an instant international success overseas, scoring top-ten entries on the majority of all charts it appeared on.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Brandy+and+Ray+J&titel=Another+Day+In+Paradise&cat=s|title='Another Day in Paradise' Chart History|work=Hitparade|publisher=Swisscharts.com|access-date=2009-06-06}}</ref> Norwood also contributed the Mike City track “Open” to the soundtrack from ''Osmosis Jones''. The track remained unavailable on digital download and streaming sites until its rerelease twenty years later on October 8, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://music.apple.com/gb/album/open-from-osmosis-jones-single/1586317361|title=Brandy Open|date=October 8, 2021|access-date=October 9, 2021|website=Apple Music}}</ref>