What Is Adina Howard’s Net Worth?
Adina Howard is an American R&B singer who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Adina Howard burst onto the music scene in the mid-1990s with the hit album “Do You Wanna Ride?” and the single “Freak Like Me.” Her second album, “Welcome to Fantasy Land” was shelved, but promotional copies are considered rare collector’s items, and the first single from the album, “(Freak) And U Know It,” was a minor hit. In the late 1990s, she also launched her acting career and has appeared in the films “Freakquency” (1998), “Casanova’s Demise” (2002), “Relaxer” (2018), and “False Profits” (2025). After switching labels, Adina released the album “Second Coming” in 2004. Howard later released the albums “Private Show” (2007) and “Resurrection” (2017) and the EP “Freaky” (2017). In 2012, she earned an Associates in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu, and in 2023, she collaborated with Ramona Ranch Winery, releasing a wine called Indelible.
Early Life
Adina Howard was born Adina Marie Howard on November 14, 1973, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She grew up in Grand Rapids and Phoenix, Arizona, with her mother and three younger sisters. During her youth, one of Adina’s role models was Madonna, who was born and raised in Michigan. In the mid-1990s, Howard caught the attention of producer/manager Livio Harris, who helped her record demos and land a record deal with Mecca Don/EastWest Records.
Career
Howard released her debut album, “Do You Wanna Ride?,” in February 1995, and it reached #39 on the “Billboard” 200 chart and #7 on the “Billboard” Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The Gold album featured the Platinum single “Freak like Me,” which reached #2 on the “Billboard” Hot 100 chart and “Billboard” Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In 2023, “Billboard” included “Freak Like Me” on its list of the “500 Best Pop Songs of All Time.” In 1996, Adina collaborated with Warren G on the song “What’s Love Got to Do with It” for the “Police Story 3: Super Cop” soundtrack. The single was a top 10 hit in more than a dozen countries and went Platinum in Australia and New Zealand and Gold in Germany and Norway. That year Howard also teamed up with Somethin’ for the People for the song “Damned If I Do” for the “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” soundtrack. In 1997, she had a moderate hit with the single “(Freak) And U Know It,” which reached #70 on the “Billboard” Hot 100 chart and #32 on the “Billboard” Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single was meant to be included on the album “Welcome to Fantasy Island,” but it was shelved by Adina’s new record label, Elektra Records. A few years later, “Welcome to Fantasy Island,” was leaked on the internet, and promotional copies of the album have sold for hundreds of dollars. One of the album’s tracks, a collaboration with Jamie Foxx called “T-Shirt & Panties,” ended up on the “Woo” soundtrack in 1998. That year Howard made her film debut in “High Freakquency” alongside John Witherspoon and Deon Richmond.
(Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Adina’s third album, “The Second Coming,” was released on Rufftown Records in 2004, and it peaked at #61 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Due to lack of promotion, the album didn’t sell well, and the record label later sued Howard. She teamed up with Play-n-Skillz and Krayzie Bone for the 2004 single “Freaks,” which sampled “Freak Like Me” and reached #24 on the “Billboard” Hot Rap Songs chart. In 2005, Adina released the mixtape “Let You Hit” on SoundJewelz.com, and she followed it with her fourth album, “Private Show,” in 2007. The album was released on Arsenal Records after several delays, and it included the singles “L.O.V.A.” and “Hips.”
Next, Howard appeared in the 2008 short film “Poke the Sleeping Bear,” which earned the Grand Jury Award at the Solstice Film Festival. Adina didn’t release another album until 2017’s “Resurrection,” but she did release several singles, such as 2012’s “Ooh Wee” and “2 Close,” 2013’s “Switch,” and 2015’s “Bad 4 Me.” She also released the mixtapes “Welcome to Fantasy Island” (2013) and “The Official “Resurrection” Mixtape Starring Adina Howard” (2016) and the EP “Freaky” (2017). Howard starred in the stage productions “Do You Trust Your Best Friend?” (2014) and “For All My Girls” (2016), and the documentary “Adina Howard 20: A Story of Sexual Liberation” was released in 2015. In 2018, she appeared in the film “Relaxer,” and in 2021, her shelved second album, “Welcome to Fantasy Island,” was released on digital platforms. In 2025, Adina starred in the film “False Profits” and contributed the song “Time Will Tell” to the soundtrack.
Adina Howard on 24.04.1995 in München / Munich. (Photo by Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Personal Life
Adina married Sherman Jordan on October 3, 2011. The couple divorced in 2017. In a 2019 episode of the TV One series “Unsung,” Howard revealed that she had an affair with Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men while he was in a relationship with singer Brandy. Sylvia Rhone, an executive at Atlantic Records, suggested that Adina focus on her career, but in an interview with DJ Wendy Williams, Howard insulted Brandy and Rhone (her boss). Rhone subsequently stalled the release of Howard’s second album indefinitely.
Awards and Nominations
In 2013, Howard won a UB Honor for Best Dance/Club Single of the Year for “Switch,” and in 2016, she earned a Black Reel Award nomination for Outstanding Independent Documentary for “Adina Howard 20: A Story of Sexual Liberation.” In 2017, she received UB Honor nominations for Best Artist Return Single for “Blasphemy” (shared with King Gas) and Best Independent R&B Album Release for “Resurrection,” and she earned MCP Music Award nominations for Deep Cut of the Year for “Radiation” (shared with Tech N9ne) and Comeback of the Year for “Blasphemy” (shared with King Gas). In 2020, Adina earned a UB Honor nomination for Best Dance/Club Single of the Year for “Mind Reader” (shared with Opolopo).
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