Robin Thicke
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| Robin Thicke | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Robin Charles Thicke | |
| Born | March 10, 1977 (age 30) | |
| Origin |  Los Angeles, California,United States |
|
| Genre(s) | R&B, neo soul, pop | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actor | |
| Years active | 2002–present (musician) | |
| Label(s) | Nu America/Interscope (2002-2005) Star Trak/Interscope (2005-present) |
|
Robin Charles Thicke (born March 10, 1977 in Los Angeles, California) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and occasional actor.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years
Thicke was born to vocalist Gloria Loring and Canadian entertainer Alan Thicke (best known for his role on the sitcom Growing Pains). At a young age, Thicke showed an interest in music and has often cited classic soul singers like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder as his influences.
At the ages of 12 and 13, Thicke was a guest actor on several episodes of The Wonder Years and in an episode of Growing Pains. He decided to pursue a music career; at the age of sixteen, Thicke become a friend to the president of Uptown Records, Andre Harrell, and struck a deal with the fledgling Nu America Records, a subsidiary of Interscope Records. He also penned a wide range of hits for pop artists such as Jordan Knight, writing and co-producing an extensive share of his self-titled album, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Mya, Brandy, and Marc Anthony. He is married to actress Paula Patton, who is pictured on the cover of his A Beautiful World album.
As an artist, he recorded and performed solely under his surname, Thicke. He would continue to do so until 2005-2006.
[edit] 2002–2004: Early commercial success
In 2000, Robin, who simply went by his last name Thicke, went to work on material for his debut album, initially entitled Cherry Blue Skies. The album focused more on blue-eyed soul, than his pop-offerings for other artists.
In 2002, Thicke released his debut single "When I Get You Alone". The track sampled Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven", which itself sampled Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The music video for the song featured an unshaven Thicke, with long, grungy hair, as a night courier racing through the streets of Manhattan on a bicycle. It received some rotation on MTV2 and BET's Rated Next and was spun moderately on urban radio. Globally, however, "When I Get You Alone" became a chart success when it peaked within the top 20 in Australia, Belgium, and Italy, and reached the top ten of the singles charts in New Zealand and the Netherlands.
The moderate success was enough to signal the release of the album, with its name changed to A Beautiful World. Despite the release of a second single, "Brand New Jones", the album received very little promotion, and debuted at a low number 152 on the Billboard 200, eventually selling 59,000 copies domestically.[1] However, the album generally attracted a positive reception from music critics, with some comparing it to Jamiroquai, and Lenny Kravitz.
[edit] 2005–present: The Evolution of Robin Thicke
In 2005, Thicke performed as a guest on the remix of Will Smith's international hit, "Switch". After being signed to The Neptunes label, Star Trak, he began working on his sophomore album entitled The Evolution of Robin Thicke. The first single, "Wanna Love U Girl", featured producer Pharrell and experienced chart success on urban radio in the United Kingdom. For the video, Thicke changed his appearance, cutting off his trademark long hair. In 2006, a remix version of the song was filmed with rapper Busta Rhymes.
Nearly a year after the single was released, the album was released on October 3, 2006. The Evolution of Robin Thicke includes songs with Lil Wayne and Faith Evans (on "Got 2 Be Down"), as well as Pharrell. To promote the album Thicke toured with India.Arie, and then opened for John Legend in late 2006.
His second single, the ballad "Lost Without U" began getting a lot of radio airplay in Urban & Rhythmic stations towards the end of 2006 and early 2007. With the assistance of radio airplay the song has reached as high as number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[2] "Lost Without U" became Thicke's first number one hit on the R&B singles chart and he became the first white male artist since George Michael to top the chart. He appears in the music video of this single with his wife, actress Paula Patton. The video is currently on Big Ten rotation on MTV, where it is also a Discover and Download artist.
With album sales at 853,000 copies sold domestically after the re-release as a Deluxe Edition (with three new bonus tracks) on February 13, 2007, The Evolution of Robin Thicke has become a commercial success in the United States. The album has currently peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart [1], garnering Thicke his first R&B number one album of his career. From February 24, 2007 to March 3, 2007 the single "Lost Without U" and album The Evolution of Robin Thicke simultaneously spent two consecutive weeks at number one on the R&B singles and albums charts respectively. On the March 3, 2007 issue of Billboard magazine, Thicke simultaneously topped four Billboard charts; Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and Hot Adult R&B Airplay.
Thicke and his record label Interscope are currently considering what track should be released as the album's next single. It's unlikely "Got 2 Be Down" will be a single as Faith Evans is pregnant. Thicke's current preference is the track "Can U Believe".[3]
In April 2007, Thicke co-wrote a song with Mexican-American singer Angela Via called "Wrong For You", a single from Via's upcoming album Ready To Fly.
It's also been announced that Thicke will be the opening act along with Chris Brown for Beyonce's North American tour.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
 |
Cherry Blue Skies
|
 |
A Beautiful World
|
 |
The Evolution of Robin Thicke
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. R&B Airplay | U.S. Adult R&B | UK | NZ | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "When I Get You Alone" | 49 | - | - | - | 17 | 8 | Cherry Blue Skies/A Beautiful World |
| "Brand New Jones" | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2005 | "Switch (Remix)" (with Will Smith) | 7 | - | - | 4 | 1 | - | Lost and Found |
| 2006 | "Wanna Love U Girl" (featuring Pharrell) | - | - | - | - | - | - | The Evolution of Robin Thicke |
| "Shooter" (with Lil Wayne) | - | 97 | - | - | - | - | Tha Carter II/The Evolution of Robin Thicke | |
| "Lost Without U" | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | The Evolution of Robin Thicke |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Artist Chart History - Robin Thicke Albums. Billboard. Retrieved on September 29, 2006.
- ^ Artist Chart History - Lost Without U. Billboard.com. Retrieved on February 27, 2007.
- ^ Thicke Penning New Songs As Current Set Sizzles. Billboard.com. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Robin Thicke at TV.com
- Robin Thicke at the Internet Movie Database
- Chart Data: Robin Thicke
- Interview: Robin Thicke - The Evolution of Robin Thicke
- Thicke-Ness
- Review at Prefix: 'The Evolution of Robin Thicke'
- Robin Thicke Interview
- Robin Thicke French Fans Blog
- iVillage Behind the Scenes with Robin Thicke
