Toni Braxton announces retirement from recording music

London: Singer Toni Braxton has announced that she is retiring as a recording artist.

The 45-year-old singer, who has won eight Grammy Awards, said that she has lost some of her passion for music, reported Daily Mail online. "For what I do I have to love it. I have to feel that excitement and it`s gone. I`m just not going to do any albums anymore; maybe touring occasionally here and there because I love performing, but not as much as I did in the past. But no new projects," she said. Braxton added that she wishes to focus on acting, with her dream role being to play a lesbian on screen. "I would like to play a lesbian. I don`t know why. And do a whole make-out scene and the whole thing; just something completely different than people would expect from me. Not a lipstick lesbian, either," she added. Besides a successful music career, Braxton has become well-known for US reality TV series Braxton Family Values. "That`s just not what I wanted to be when I grew up." Braxton has won five American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 66.7 million records worldwide. Last year, Braxton was admitted to hospital following health complications. PTI