Fri, 10/29/2010 – 21:05 — Sonya E
TV One extended this season of “Unsung” to make sure Miki Howard had time to tell her story.
“Girl get the tissue,” R&B singer Miki Howard warned about her episode of TV One’s “Unsung”.
Miki had a slew of hits in the ’80’s and ’90s and dabbled in some acting. But what’s Ms. Howard doing now? That’s what the gang at TV One asked when Miki’s friend walked into their office pitching a reality show following the crooner and her family. The network was so excited to hear from her that it added a special ninth episode to their lineup, which airs November 1.
“It’s giving a lot of artists a platform and we deserve to be recognized for our contributions. It also shows the dedication many of us have. We’re so overlooked in a lot of ways,” Miki said of the series. She also told S2S, “They asked me things I forgot had happened. When I was married to this guy we used to have horrible fights and they reminded me that he tried to hang me”.
Miki suffered a great loss with the death of her ex boo Gerald Levert with whom she had a very close relationship.
“He gave me more life with his death,” Miki told us. “He always wanted me to stay in the game and it just made me want to be better and not disappoint him.” Miki and Gerald wrote and recorded a duet and their subsequent love affair spawned one of her biggest hits, “Love Under New Management.”
The songstress was further devastated with the death of Gerald’s brother and fellow LeVert group member Sean LeVert. “I think Sean’s death messed me up more than Gerald’s. I was really hurt because Sean and I were like brother and sister,” she said.
This singer, actress and author just celebrated her 50th birthday, and yet it seems like just yesterday she was dancing on “Soul Train” with Jeffery Daniels and Jody Watley.
Miki still tours periodically with jazz great Roy Ayers and recently penned her autobiography I Have Always Had Shoes. She is also working on a show, currently in development, based around her relationship with her sisters played by Kelita Smith and Bernadette Stanis.
— Stephanie Dayton
