Regina Belle

Regina Belle (born July 17, 1963, Englewood, New Jersey) is an American singer-songwriter and vocalist who began her professional career in the mid-1980s. Known for her rich, soulful voice, she built her reputation on a string of R&B hits before crossing into mainstream pop through a series of celebrated duets, most notably with Peabo Bryson.

Early Life

Belle was born in Englewood, New Jersey, to Eugene and Lois Belle, and has one brother, record producer and songwriter Bernard Belle. She began singing publicly at the age of eight at Englewood's Mount Calvary Baptist Church, later performing at Paterson's Friendship Baptist Church, where her uncle, the Reverend Fred Belle, presided. She graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood in 1981, having also attended Saturday preparatory studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. She went on to study opera and jazz at Rutgers University, pursuing a combined major in Africana Studies and Music, and became proficient on trombone, tuba, and steel pans. Belle left Rutgers in 1985, during her senior year, to pursue a professional music career, though she later returned to complete her degree, graduating in May 2015.

Career

Belle's career began when she was introduced to the R&B group the Manhattans by New York radio DJ Vaughn Harper and began working as their opening act, recording the duet "Where Did We Go Wrong" with the group on their album Back to Basics. This exposure led to a recording contract with Columbia Records, and in 1987 she released her debut album, All by Myself, which included the single "Show Me the Way." That same year, she recorded "Without You" with Peabo Bryson, the love theme from the film Leonard Part 6.

Her sophomore album, Stay with Me, followed in 1989 and went gold, led by the number-one R&B single "Baby Come to Me" and the top-five follow-up "What Goes Around." In 1991, she recorded the duet "Better Together" with Johnny Mathis for his album of the same name. Belle's best-known recording came in 1992, when she reunited with Peabo Bryson for "A Whole New World," the main theme from Disney's animated feature Aladdin. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100, went gold, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1993, the same year she released her third album, Passion, which also featured the R&B hit "If I Could." In 1995, she recorded "Far Longer than Forever" with Jeffrey Osborne for the animated film The Swan Princess, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. She released Believe in Me in 1998, a more urban contemporary-leaning record led by the single "I've Had Enough."

Her 2001 cover of "Just the Two of Us," from the tribute album To Grover, With Love, returned her to the Billboard charts and led to a new deal with the jazz-oriented label Peak Records, part of Concord Music. Her 2002 release, This Is Regina, earned a Grammy nomination, and she continued to explore a jazz-informed sound on 2004's Lazy Afternoon. She has since released further studio albums, including The Day Life Began and the holiday collection My Colorful Christmas.

Personal Life

Belle married flutist and former Rutgers professor Horace Alexander Young in 1985; the couple divorced in 1990. In 1991, she married former professional basketball player John Battle, with whom she has four children, including two adopted, alongside two additional children from a previous marriage. In 2009, Belle successfully battled a brain tumour, an experience that left her deaf in her left ear. She is an ordained minister and, alongside her husband, leads worship at New Shield of Faith Worship Center and Spread the Word Church Ministries. Her enduring recordings, particularly "A Whole New World," remain touchstones of early-1990s pop and R&B and continue to introduce her voice to new audiences through the Aladdin soundtrack's ongoing popularity.

Current Activities

Belle continues to perform live across the United States, with concert dates through 2026 including stops in California, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia, and Illinois, often as part of package shows alongside fellow R&B vocalists.