Trey Songz

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Trey Songz
Image:Treysongz.jpg
Trey Songz
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Background information
Birth name Tremaine Aldon Neverson
Born November 28, 1984
Origin Petersburg, Virginia , USA
Genre(s) R&B/Rap/Hip Hop
Years active 2005–present
Label(s) Atlantic Records

Trey Songz (born Tremaine Aldon Neverson in Petersburg, Virginia on November 28, 1984) is an American contemporary R&B singer and songwriter. His debut album was Gotta Make It, released by Atlantic Records in 2005. Inspired musically by R&B artists from the 1960s and 1970s such as Smokey Robinson and Aretha Franklin as well as contemporary artists such as Luther Vandross and R. Kelly, the young star debuted in 2005.

Contents

[edit] Biography and Music Career

[edit] Early Life and Discovery

Growing up in the city of Petersburg, Virginia,Trey Songz did not always have a musical career in mind. When he was a child he did not receive any rigorous voice or piano lessons but instead was engaged in the normal activities for a child of his age. His mother, however, seeing his ability, encouraged him to develop his singing talent by entering local talent shows, many of which he won. With these victories he began to make a name for himself. By age 16, Songz’s notoriety enabled him to meet his producer and mentor Troy Taylor, a veteran music producer who has worked with artists such as Patti Labelle, Lionel Richie, & Whitney Houston. Impressed by the tenor's voice, Taylor encouraged him to focus on a career in popular music. During the summer Troy and Trey would go to New York and New Jersey to work on songs and recordings.

Trey Songz moved to Teaneck, New Jersey after graduating from Petersburg High School to focus solely on music. Taylor, in turn, focused on teaching his protégé music history. "We would go to the New York studio every day, and during the drive, he’d play me all sorts of stuff, like Steely Dan," recalls Trey. "When it came time to learn about falsetto, he’d play me Prince. When it came time to learn about soul, he’d play me Motown." Trey eventually became Taylor’s vocal production assistant. Working with other artists in the studio gave Trey invaluable technical experience, and prepared the young singer for his own career.

In 2004 Songz inked a deal with Atlantic Records, whose rich R&B history made it the ideal home for his unique blend of contemporary R&B and classic soul. Atlantic founding chairman Ahmet Ertegun, who co-founded the label in 1947, hailed the young singer as one of the most promising stars to ever sign with the label and an heir to the legacy of such Atlantic greats as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding.

[edit] Road To Stardom

The first single from the album was "I Gotta Make It", which peaked at #87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and only number 21 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs tally. More recently, Songz has garnered greater notoriety and increased album sales due to his collaboration with Twista on "Girl Tonite", a song from Twista's album The Day After which reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs tally.

He wrote and co-produced music for soca artist Kevin Lyttle’s self-titled debut in 2004 and was featured on the Soundtrack to "Coach Carter" and albums by Trick Daddy, Gerald Levert, and Juvenile. Trey Songz was also featured on Twista’s 2005 album The Day After.

Trey Songz is also very good friends with up-and-coming teenage R&B star Chris Brown. Trey can be seen in the music video for Chris' second single "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)". Likewise Chris Brown can be seen in the music video for Trey's second single "Gotta Go"

In April 2006, Trey collaborated with bilingual Japanese R&B/Hip-Hop artist AI on her single Believe, with the track Beautiful feat. Trey Songz. The duo even performed this track live at the MTV Awards in Japan, where AI won the award for 'Best R&B Music Video' for her ballad-single, Story. [1] The song was later remixed and appeared on AI's album What's goin' on A.I., released September 2006. Trey can also be heard on Why You Wanna Remix by T.I..

Trey recently began work on his upcoming album Trey Day with producers Bryan-Michael Cox and Troy Taylor. It is set to be released sometime in Jan. 2007. The first single is " Performer".

Trey also appeared on Obie Trice's second album, Second Round's on Me on two songs called "Ghetto" and "Mama." He is also expected to appear on Young Buck's new album Buck The World. Because of the new connections with such Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit associated artists, it is possible Trey will be featured on future projects from these artists too. Trey is also featured on Lil Eazy-E's upcoming single "This Ain't a Game", along with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, where he sings the hook. He's is good friend with rapper Raptile and will help him to succsess in America after four successful albums in Germany.[citation needed]

[edit] Trivia

  • Collaborates with rapper Saigon for his first single, "Pain In My Life"
  • Has two younger brothers, Forrest and Alex and a younger sister, Niki.
  • He can be seen for a few seconds in Chris Brown's "Yo" Video when Chris is dancing outside the shop.
  • Trey said that he got his stage name "Trey Songz" from when he was first recording his album and the producers labeled the demos and tapes "Trey Songs" and the name stuck ever since.
  • His father's name is Claude Neverson, Jr.
  • Trey's mom's name is April Tucker.
  • Trey is very good friends with singer Tyra, they attended Petersburg High School together.
  • Will be featured on Nina Sky's upcoming album "The Musical"
  • Trey is currently working on "Trey Day", his sophomore album.
  • Trey has worked with numerous artists, including T.I., Jim Jones, Twista and Dem Franchize Boyz.
  • He is 6'1"
  • He has also worked with rappers from Houston, including Paul Wall ("Ridin' Dirty"), Bun B ("Hold U Down"), Trick Daddy ("Aint A Thug"), Young Joc & Marques Houston (1st Time), and Mike Jones (also on "Hold U Down")
  • He will be on Young Buck's album Buck The World on a track with Lyfe Jennings
  • Also he will be appearing on Young Qui frist album Bluff Town Nig' on a track with D-Giff & Young Mike & on Raptile's new album "Hero Muzik" on a track called "Missin' Ur Kisses" and will also be released as a single in Germany.
  • He released two freestyles in which he raps.
  • His favorite rapper is: Jay-Z.
  • Has stated that the only R&B that he could get into as a child was R. Kelly and ironically has a voice similar to Kelly, himself.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK singles Album
2005 "Gotta Make It" #87 #21 - - I Gotta Make It
2005 "Gotta Go" #67 #11 - - I Gotta Make It
2007 "Performer" - - - - Trey Day

[edit] References

  1. ^ MTV Japan Official Website

[edit] External links

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