Ashanti is an American singer, songwriter and actress. With hitmaker Irv Gotti at the helm, Ashanti blasted into the urban music scene in 2002, topping the charts with multiple singles at once. She quickly became a sensation, gracing the covers of magazines and dominating urban radio. Ashanti built her reputation with duets, where she would complement an already popular rapper -- Ja Rule ("Always on Time"), Fat Joe ("What's Luv?"), the Notorious B.I.G. ("Unfoolish") -- contrasting the tough-guy male perspective with her own.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Ashanti made her Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut in 2002, hot off the trails of the release of her first studio album, the self-titled Ashanti, which released earlier in the year. For her first Parade appearance, Ashanti joined the colorful candy characters on the M&M's Network falloon, preparing for her close-up in the famed holiday spectacle. She would perform a rendition of "Happy", a song on the aforementioned album.
Ashanti returned to the lineup in the 2008 Macy's Parade, now a well-established singer/songwriter and actress. The marvel of the human voice rode on The New York Daily News' "Big Apple" float, which featured a 30-foot tall inflatable apple among a bustling cityscape complete with iconic NYC landmarks. She would perform "Shine", a track from her recently-released album, The Decloration.
The Grammy Award-winner made her most recent appearance in the 2019 Macy's Parade. Ashanti appeared on the "Fantasy Chocolate Factory" float from Kinder, a steampunk-inspired float that features a sky-high chocolate factory complete with egg gondolas and a chocolate meter. Ashanti served as a replacement for Natasha Bedingfield, whom had to cancel her Parade plans due to a family emergency. Ashanti made spirits bright as she performed a rendition of the holiday classic, "Let It Snow".