Happy Birthday, Avant!
Veteran R&B crooner Avant has the distinctive honor of being everyone's favorite singer. The Cleveland native spent the better part of the last decade sweeping women off their feet with his charming presence. The muscular Lothario celebrates his 37th birthday today (April 26).
Avant, whose real name is Myron Avant, cites R. Kelly as one of his main influences, and it's clear in his songs. Avant has been making women sway their hips since his debut single "Separated" in 2000, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "My First Love," his duet with songbird Keke Wyatt, didn't have the same chart success, but it's arguably Avant's signature tune.
By the middle of the decade, Avant's popularity grew large enough for odd-at-first glance collaborations with such artists like Bone Thugs-n-Harmony ("Making Good Love" [Remix]) and the Pussycat Dolls ("Stickwitu").
Unfortunately, like many R&B stars of the millennium, Avant's popularity waned near the end of the decade. However, the singer is still making great music. In 2013, he dropped his independent album Face the Music, which features another classy duet with Keke Wyatt called "You and I."
Avant went on Twitter to thank his fans for their birthday wishes. He tweeted: