Jeremih Felton (born July 17, 1987) who performs under the mononym
Jeremih (pronounced /'d??r?ma?/), is an American recording artist
and producer. Signed to Def Jam Recordings, Jeremih's debut single, "Birthday
Sex", peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. His
self-titled debut album, Jeremih, debuted at number six on the
Billboard 200, selling 59,000 copies in its first week. On September
28, 2010, he released his second album, All About You.
Jeremih Felton was born in Chicago, Illinois.[1] Born into a musical
family,[2] he began playing instruments at the age of four and taught
himself how to play several, including drums, piano and the saxophone.[1][3][4]
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.[5] He graduated
at the age of 16 and enrolled into the University of Illinois to
pursue a career in engineering.[6] 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.[7] After performing a tribute for
Stevie Wonder 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".[6] In 2007, he enrolled in Columbia College
Chicago to pursue a degree in music business.[8]
Career beginnings and debut album
While attending Columbia College Chicago, Jeremih collaborated with
record producer Mick Schultz.[1] Together, they recorded a song entitled "My
Ride".[3] Jeremih received guidance by his cousin Day26 group
member, Willie Taylor.[9] 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.[3][10] His eponymous debut album, Jeremih,
was released in June 2009 under Def Jam;[4] it debuted at number
six on the Billboard 200 and sold 59,000 copies in its first week.[11]
In promotion of the album, Jeremih took part in America's Most Wanted
Tour, alongside Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy Tell 'Em.[12]
The second single, "Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)", has
peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.[13]
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.[14][15] Community activists protested and demanded
CPS to undo their decision, claiming that Jeremih's music was "not
appropriate for students" and "promotes teen sex".[15][16]
Huberman argued that "school officials would be naive to pretend
students don't listen to Felton's music already".[17] 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".[15] 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.[18]
All About You (Second Album)
On June 1, 2010 Jeremih released the first single off of his second
studio album All About You titled "I Like " featuring Ludacris.
The single is available for purchase on iTunes. "All About You" was
released on September 28th, 2010.
The confirmed second single off the album is "Down On Me" featuring
rapper 50 Cent.[19]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.[20]
Musical style
Jeremih cites Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and R. Kelly as his
biggest influences.[21] He described their music as "timeless",
calling them "true musician-artists".[21] 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".[22] In contrast, Ken Capobianco
of The Boston Globe felt that Jeremih's voice was "thin",
showing "little range".[23] Jody Rosen expressed that Jeremih "has
a way with tunes and hooks".[24] He received comparisons to
The-Dream, R. Kelly and Stevie Wonder.[25]
Discography
Main article: Jeremih discography
Studio albums
* Jeremih (2009)
* All About You (2010)