Brandy signs new deal with Epic

Brandy smiles at the panel for the NBC television show ''America's Got Talent'' at the ''Television Critics Association'' summer 2006 media tour in Pasadena, California, July 21, 2006.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - R&B singer Brandy has signed with Epic Records, which will release her label debut later this year, a company official said, declining further comment.

Brandy, born Brandy Norwood, was previously signed to Atlantic. Her final release for the label, 2004's "Afrodisiac," has sold 416,000 copies to date in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Brandy has not been far from the news since then. Last December, she was cleared of all charges stemming from a fatal car crash the year before, including a recommended misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge, which carries a penalty of up to a year in jail.

She had rear-ended another car while traveling on an L.A. freeway. The driver of the car, a 38-year-old mother of two, died the following day from injuries she had sustained.

Just last month, Brandy was hit with a lawsuit by a landscaping company, which alleged the singer owed her gardener $3,576 in expenses for work carried out at her property between July 2007 and February 2008. Brandy's publicist claimed the bills were sent to the wrong address.

Reuters/Billboard