Jeremih Biography

Jeremih Felton (July 17, 1987), who performs under the mononym Jeremih , is an American recording artist and producer signed to Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's debut single, "Birthday Sex" (which was also recorded in French), peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. His first and self-titled album, Jeremih, debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, selling 59,000 copies in its first week. On September 28, 2010, he released his second album, All About You.

Life and career

Early life

Born into a musical family, in Chicago, Illinois, he began playing instruments at the age of three and taught himself how to play several, including drums, piano and the saxophone. Jeremih attended Morgan Park High School, where he was part of the marching band as well as a Latin jazz band, where he learned to play percussion instruments like congas and timbales. He graduated at the age of 16 and enrolled into the University of Illinois to pursue a career in engineering. Having graduated from high school at an early age, he said in an interview that he found himself "getting in a lot of trouble" while attending the university and plans on returning to earn his degree. After performing a tribute for Ray Charles at one of the campus's talent shows, he received positive feedback and realized his vocal ability, saying that the "music was just taking over". In 2007, he enrolled in Columbia College Chicago to pursue a degree in music business.

2009: Career beginnings and debut album

While attending Columbia College Chicago, Jeremih collaborated with record producer Mick Schultz. Together, they recorded a song entitled "My Ride". Jeremih received guidance from his cousin Day26 group member, Willie Taylor. In February 2009, Jeremih met with Island Def Jam chairman L. A. Reid and executive vice president of A&R Karen Kwak. After performing for the two, Jeremih was signed to Def Jam Recordings that same day. it debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and sold 59,000 copies in its first week. In promotion of the album, Jeremih took part in America's Most Wanted Tour, alongside Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy Tell 'Em. The second single, "Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)", has peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In August 2009, Jeremih was selected by Ron Huberman and Mayor Richard Daley of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to campaign children to return to school. Community activists protested and demanded CPS to undo their decision, claiming that Jeremih's music was "not appropriate for students" and "promotes teen sex". Huberman argued that "school officials would be naive to pretend students don't listen to Felton's music already". Daley also argued that recording artists have the freedom of speech, noting that Jeremih was "a young man, [with a] back-to-school message, a young man who has had great success recording, producer, going to school, went to public school". In September 2009, Jeremih performed on ABC Daytime's soap opera One Life to Live, alongside recording artist Lionel Richie. The two performed "Just Go", a song from Richie's album with the same title.

2010–11: All About You

On June 1, 2010 Jeremih released the first single from his second studio album All About You titled "I Like" featuring Ludacris. The single is available for purchase on iTunes. The confirmed second single from the album is "Down on Me" featuring rapper 50 Cent. Down on me charted #1 for 8 weeks total on Rhythmic Billboard Chart . A video was shot in 3D for this but it has been confirmed that it's not the official music video, which has since been shot and released on December 17, 2010. All About You was released on September 28, 2010.

2012–present: Late Nights with Jeremih and Late Nights

Jeremih has been featured in a song off the "Self Made Vol. 1" collaboration studio album titled "That Way" which has Wale and Rick Ross in the song. In December 2011, Jeremih confirmed he was working on his third studio album. He said it would release Summer 2012 under Def Jam. However, the album did not release in Summer and has an unknown release date. On August 7, 2012, Jeremih released his first mixtape titled "Late Nights with Jeremih" which received relatively good reviews.

In October 2012, Jeremih confirmed that he was still working on his third studio album and that it will be released in early 2013. He also stated that 50 Cent, T.I., Busta Rhymes and French Montana will be featured on the album. Jeremih also mentioned the possibility of working with Diddy. He wants to work with Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott or Adele on a duet someday too.

The first song in promotion of his album is "All the Time" which originally appeared on "Late Nights with Jeremih" but was re-released and rapper Lil Wayne added a verse to the song. The song was released on April 16, 2013 for a digital download.

A second single, "Let Loose" featuring The Game was released for digital download in May 2013.

On December 19, 2013 a promo video surfaced announcing a collaborative EP from Jeremih with electronic producer Shlohmo set to be released in February 2014, under Wedidit and Def Jam Recordings. Both artists have previously worked together in a track titled "Bo Deep (Do U Right)" which was part of Yours Truly x adidas originals Songs from Scratch Series. On July 17, 2014, Jeremih formally released his collaborative EP "No More" with Shlohmo via his Twitter account.

On June 6, 2014, Jeremih released the lead single "Don't Tell 'Em", off his upcoming album Late Nights. The song has since peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

Musical style

Jeremih cited Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and R. Kelly as his biggest influences. He described their music as "timeless", calling them "true musician-artists". With the release of his debut album, Andy Kellman of Allmusic compared Jeremih's vocals to Slim of 112 and Raphael Saadiq, noting that his "charmingly sly voice...is hard to not like". In contrast, Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe felt that Jeremih's voice was "thin", showing "little range". Jody Rosen expressed that Jeremih "has a way with tunes and hooks". He received comparisons to The-Dream, R. Kelly and Stevie Wonder.

Discography

• Jeremih (2009)
• All About You (2010)
• Late Nights (2014)

Awards and nominations

MOBO Awards

The Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO Awards) is an awards ceremony established in 1995 by Kanya King.

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2009 |Jeremih |Best R&B/Soul Act | | style="text-align:center;"| |-

American Music Awards

The American Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Dick Clark in 1973.

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2009 |Jeremih |T-Mobile Soul/R&B Breakthrough Artist | | style="text-align:center;"| |-

NAACP Awards

An NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature.

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2010 |Jeremih |Outstanding New Artist | | style="text-align:center;"| |-

Chicago Music Awards

The Chicago Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony for music artist professionals to get recognized for their talents and hard work. Ephraim Martin, CMA President, is the founder.

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2010 |Jeremih |Best New Entertainer Of The Year | | style="text-align:center;"| |-

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2010 |Jeremih |Songwriter Of The Year | | style="text-align:center;"| |-

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2010 |Jeremih |R&B Entertainer Of The Year | | style="text-align:center;"| |-

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2011 |Jeremih |Best Male Vocalist Of The Year | | style="text-align:center;"| |-

Billboard Music Awards 2012

The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011. By Billboard Music Award.

!Source |- | style="text-align:center;"|2012 |Jeremih Ft.50 Cent-Down On Me |Top R&B Song | | style="text-align:center;"| |-