Mike Posner

For other people named Michael Posner, see Michael Posner (disambiguation).
Mike Posner

Posner at B96 Summerbash on June 16, 2012
Background information
Birth name Michael Robert Posner
Born (1988-02-12) February 12, 1988
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Origin Southfield, Michigan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active 2009–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website mikeposner.com

Michael Robert Henrion "Mike" Posner (born February 12, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.[2] Posner released his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, on August 10, 2010. The album includes the US Billboard Hot 100 top 10 single "Cooler than Me", his second single, "Please Don't Go", as well as his third single, "Bow Chicka Wow Wow". He is also known for writing "Sugar" by Maroon 5, "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber, "Beneath Your Beautiful" by Labrinth, as well as songs for Talib Kweli, Pharrell Williams, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, Nelly, TI, Snoop Dogg, Nick Jonas, Avicii, Austin Mahone, and more.

Early life

Mike Posner was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was raised in Southfield, Michigan,[3][4] the son of Roberta Henrion, a pharmacist,[5] and Jon Posner, a criminal defense attorney.[6] He has a sister who is six years older than him.[7] His father is Jewish and his mother is Catholic.[8][9] Posner attended and graduated from Groves High School, where he ran varsity track and cross-country, and went on to attend Duke University. There Posner became a member of Sigma Nu[10] fraternity and graduated in 2010 with a degree in sociology, with an overall GPA of 3.59.[3][4][11]

Career

2008–10: 31 Minutes to Takeoff

Posner got his start producing his hometown friend Big Sean.[7] Posner produced and was featured on Big Sean's first mixtape on a song entitled, "Smoke & Drive." Posner's second mixtape, A Matter of Time (the first mixtape being Reflections of a Lost Teen) started attracting industry attention in 2009.[12] Working with Don Cannon and DJ Benzi, the mixtape was recorded and released through Small Town Records[13] at Duke University in March 2009 under the name, "Mike Posner & the Brain Trust," the Brain Trust referring to Posner's supporters.[14][15] The release was unusual for being distributed for free through iTunes U, a channel designed for educational audio content. Although Posner was not the only artist to take advantage of this loophole, his release was the most organised and high profile, and attracted the largest response, immediately reaching the number one position on the iTunes U chart.[12] Posner signed a record deal with J Records (RCA/Sony) in July 2009, after his Junior year at Duke University.[16] He chose to return to Duke after signing, and toured on the weekends while at the same time recording for his debut album.[17][18][19]

Posner in 2010.

Posner's third mixtape One Foot Out the Door was released in October. The mixtape was accompanied by a web series of the same name which aired bi-weekly from September to December. Posner's debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff was released in August 2010. The first single, "Cooler Than Me" reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100. He performed at music festival Bonnaroo and on the 2010 Warped Tour. The second and third singles, "Please Don't Go" and "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" reached the top 20 and 30 on the Hot 100 respectively. The latter was released with an added verse by rapper Lil Wayne. Posner won a 2011 ASCAP Award from the publishing organization for "Cooler Than Me". On October 7, 2011, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Posner (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release his future material on the RCA Records brand.[20][21]

2011–14: Canceled projects and The Layover

After the release of his debut album, he began work on his second studio album under the title Sky High and released a single "Looks Like Sex" to digital outlets on December 2, 2011.[22][23] To prelude the release of the album, Posner released his third mixtape, The Layover. However, with the success of his first album, Posner began to feel uncomfortable with being in the spotlight and struggled with depression. He took a break from making music to write and produce songs for other artists.[7] Posner later announced via Twitter that his next upcoming album would be titled Pages and would be released in late Summer or early June 2013.[24] His single "The Way It Used To Be" premiered on digital outlets on June 11, 2013.[25] In September, it was announced that he had filmed a music video for his new single "Top of the World" which would appear on his upcoming Page 1 EP set for release in October.[26] The song was originally used for a Reebok campaign, and made available as a free download under the title "Tapada World" as a special remix.[27] The song was released on December 17, 2013, featuring Big Sean, and the music video was released on December 19, 2013.

On March 4, 2014, Posner announced his new Unplugged tour. Running seven dates in major U.S. markets, the tour will highlight music new and old from the songwriter and producer's discography, including new material from upcoming album "Pages," while also giving fans a shot at learning new information from him with stories and Q&A sessions breaking up the tunes. The unplugged sets will feature little more than Posner on predominantly acoustic instruments, save for the potential live production on "a song or two"—much like, he says, how much of his music starts. Posner will begin the tour March 31 at the World Cafe in Philadelphia, before wrapping up April 10 at Los Angeles' The Mint. The string of dates also includes a hometown show in Posner's native Detroit—his first such show, he says, in around two years. In an interview with Billboard, Mike revealed that he had signed with Island Records and that Pages would be replaced with another project. However he also stated that he would like to let the world hear his recordings from Sky High and Pages.[28]

2015–present: The Truth

On April 15, Mike Posner released a more stripped down single, "I Took a Pill in Ibiza", on his Vevo account.[29] Mike Posner shared an exclusive EP with his fans titled The Truth through his email sign up list. Mike later confirmed that the EP would be made available to purchase from online retailers on June 22. In addition, Posner stated that his second studio album will be released after his EP. "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" was then remixed by duo SeeB, whose version of the song garnered 50 million streams on Spotify and a charting position of #13 on the Global Top 50 Chart.[30]

Discography

Concert tours

Headlining
Promotional
Opening act

References

  1. ↑ "‹ ISLAND RECORDS LAUNCHES ISLAND LIFE ! ‹ Austin Fusion Magazine". austinfusionmagazine.com. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  2. ↑ For Posner's full name, see "Rapid Fire Questions". Vevo. September 10, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Leahey, Andrew. "Mike Posner Overview - Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  4. 1 2 McCollum, Brian (July 29, 2010). "Groves graduate and was very good friends with me (later mentioned in one of his and pop star Mike Posner heads to the D for the Warped Tour)". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  5. ↑ Lester, Paul (16 June 2010). "New band of the week - Mike Posner (No 809)". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ McCollum, Brian (29 July 2010). "Bringing it all back home". Detroit Free Press.
  7. 1 2 3 Posner, Mike (19 February 2014). "Draw My Life". Youtube.
  8. ↑ Z (February 16, 2010). "Mike Posner Interview". DJBooth.net.
  9. ↑ Copeland, Rod (December 6, 2006). "Fly for a White Guy". The Chronicle (Duke).
  10. ↑ "3 Questions with Rising Music Star Mike Posner". Coed. December 8, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  11. ↑ Williams, Nick (April 22, 2010). "Mike Posner’s meteoric rise to stardom". Vox. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  12. 1 2 "Interview With Daniel Weisman (part 2)". HitQuarters. November 28, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Assembling a Small Town". Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  14. ↑ "Mike Posner & The Braintrust Drop "A Matter of Time" Mixtape". DJ Booth. 1 March 2009.
  15. ↑ "Mike Posner and The Brain Trust". Mike Posner Hits. 2009.
  16. ↑ "The Music Industry's Leading A&R Site". Crazed Hits. 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  17. ↑ Creswell, Julie (August 23, 2000). "Turning Music Into Dollars at Sony/ATV". The New York Times.
  18. ↑ "Watch now: Get to know Mike Posne". Time Out New York. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  19. ↑ "The Brain Child? Mike Posner". The Chronicle. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  20. ↑ Christman, Ed (August 23, 2011). "RCA's New Executive Team Named Under CEO Peter Edge Amid Layoffs (Update)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Unveiling The New Look RCA Records". FMQB. August 23, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  22. ↑ Brain, Becky (29 November 2011). "Mike Posner Drops New Single "Looks Like Sex" From New Album ‘Sky High’". Idolator.
  23. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Looks Like Sex - Single by Mike Posner". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  24. ↑ Posner, Mike (5 June 2013). "MIKE POSNER -- PAGES". Youtube.
  25. ↑ "The Way It Used To Be - Mike Posner". iTunes. 11 June 2013.
  26. ↑ Inocencio, Marc (19 December 2013). "Mike Posner, Big Sean Pay Homage to Detroit in ‘Top of the World’ Video". RyanSeacrest.com.
  27. ↑ "Mike Posner for Reebok Classic RealFlex Foot Locker Exclusive Launch". MikePosnerHits.com. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  28. ↑ http://m.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6509677/mike-posner-new-album-writing-for-maroon-5
  29. ↑ "Mike Posner Gets Honest About The Downside Of Fame In Sad Single, "I Took A Pill In Ibiza": Listen". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  30. ↑ ""I TOOK A PILL IN IBIZA" REMIX SURPASSES 50 MILLION STREAMS ON SPOTIFY". Island Records. Retrieved January 30, 2016.

External links

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