Brandon Akira(I)

Brandon Akira is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Brandon has been singing, dancing, modeling, and acting since age 9. His career in entertainment all started when he earned an opportunity to begin modeling for clothing companies ranging from DKNY to Tommy Hilfiger. He eventually branched into music, where his natural talent was discovered at a very young age. This was around the time when boy bands like the Backstreet Boys & NSYNC were selling records in the tens of millions and almost overnight, the biggest record companies in the music industry were looking to create "heartthrob sensations" of their own to compete with the rapidly growing trend.

By age 11, Brandon was heavily into singing and acting and eventually had to choose between becoming a "'Mickey Mouse Club Kid' On The Disney Channel," or becoming a member of a new, young male pop group that a few prominent industry A&R Reps were forming.

Ultimately, his heart continued to lead him down a path towards music instead of becoming a Disney kid. Upon meeting, the boys of the group immediately developed a chemistry. Within 6 months of relentless practicing- from singing, dancing and stage entertainment/live performance training- the group had earned a bidding war with record deals on the table from 3 of the biggest record companies in the music industry: LaFace/Arista Records (CEO, LA Reid), Jive Records (CEO, Clive Davis) and WEA, also known as Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Records (CEO, Sylvia Rhone).

Eventually signing with Elektra Records through WEA, the young band went on to record two studio-length albums and garnered a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 while busy with nonstop touring, television performances, music recording and releasing music videos for several years. This also included working with superstars ranging from Beyoncé to Timbaland, and performing in concert with world-renowned artists such as Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys... and the list goes on. Akira also had the opportunity of taking the stage, singing a special set alongside Michael Jackson, TLC, Usher and other artists on MJ's "STOP The Violence Tour."

Academically, Brandon always excelled and his education was consequently fast-tracked while spending his childhood on the road. Inspired by the musical independence and innovations of Michael Jackson, Akira put his experience to the test for the first time when he setup his own studio at age 15 and started writing, producing, and engineering his own music.

Brandon also went on to graduate from high school two years early, and at 17, he enrolled in the Art Institute Of Atlanta. Just three years later he was honored as a Cum Laude graduate at the top of his class, majoring in Multimedia & Graphic Design.

He still continues acting, modeling, and enjoys doing voiceover work for various animated projects. He has been in dozens of commercials, co-hosted the All Access Music Search on ABC, and has done many voice-overs for several popular videos games as well as a hit YouTube series for children where he has done the voices for over 9 characters in that series.

Musically, compared to artists ranging from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Michael Bublé, Usher, Michael Jackson, Kanye West, and even Eminem, his passion of live performance and music recording has taken his stage presence to a very unique level.

Brandon has also enjoyed working with HBO & The Atlanta Film Festival for the highly-acclaimed television series "Game of Thrones" and can soon be seen in the new season of the CW Network's "Vampire Diaries," which films in Atlanta, GA, where he resides.