Kevin Rudolf

Kevin Rudolf
Background information
Born	February 17, 1983 (1983-02-17)
Origin	New York, New York, United States
Genres	Rock, Rap rock, Hip hop/Rap
Occupations	Singer, record producer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, bass
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Cash Money, Universal Republic
Associated acts	Lifehouse, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Timbaland, Hollywood Undead, Cash Money, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, Flo Rida
Website	www.kevinrudolf.com

Kevin Rudolf (born February 17, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer signed to Cash Money Records. Rudolf is mostly known for singing and producing Rock music. His breakout moment was his hit single "Let It Rock" featuring Lil Wayne, released in 2008, and his production for various artists such as Lil Wayne, Cobra Starship, Lifehouse, Hollywood Undead, Leona Lewis and many others. Rudolf's debut single, "Let It Rock" featuring Lil Wayne, was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on May 5, 2009. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on the UK Singles Chart, #3 on the Australian Singles Chart, and #2 on the Canadian Hot 100. It is the 35th biggest digital download sale of all time with over 4 million downloads (quadruple platinum) and was chosen as the theme song for the 2009 NBA All Star Game. His second single, "Welcome to the World," reached #58 on the Billboard Hot 100.^{[citation needed]} His second studio album To the Sky features the platinum hit single "I Made It" featuring Lil Wayne, Jay Sean, and Birdman which peaked at 21 on the US Hot 100 and number 11 on the Digital Singles Billboard Chart. Rudolf has won 3 BMI awards.

Career

In 2001, Rudolf got his first break with the release of self-written pop record Binocular by Maverick Records under the pseudonym Binocular. The lead track, "You", was featured on the TV series Smallville. A song not included on the album, a cover of "Maybe You're Gone" by Danny Scherr, played over the end credits of 20th Century Fox movie "The Girl Next Door".

As Rudolf grew older, he relocated to Miami, FL working as a session guitarist for producer Timbaland, playing on the number one hit record “Say It Right” by Nelly Furtado, “The Jump Off” by Lil Kim, “My Style” by The Black Eyed Peas featuring Justin Timberlake, as well as many others. While honing his production skills with Timbaland in Miami, he met Brian “Baby” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams who immediately took an interest in his talents. In the summer of 2008 it was official, Rudolf was the newest edition to Cash Money / Universal Republic, and was the first rock artist signed to the hip-hop oriented team of superstars. His ground breaking first album “In The City” released on November 24, 2008, featured Rick Ross, Nas and Lil Wayne. “Let It Rock” is the second most widely used sports song behind “We Will Rock You”. It is also used as the main theme for the WWE's 2009 Royal Rumble.[11] and featured on the soundtrack for WrestleMania XXV. "NYC" featuring Nas was featured on CSI: NY. On October 5, 2008. "Let It Rock" reached #5 on the Billboard US Hot 100 chart, #5 on the UK Singles Chart, #3 on the Australian ARIA Chart and #2 on the Canadian Hot 100. His second studio album “To the Sky” features the hit single “I Made It” featuring Lil Wayne, Jay Sean, and Birdman. In 2011 it reached #21 on the United States Billboard charts. In Canada, it reached #44 on the Canadian Hot 100 .[1] The song debuted at number four in Australia, marking the second top-five hit for Rudolf on the ARIA Singles Chart.[2]

He has won 3 BMI Awards and have defined his career as a singer, songwriter, producer, opening doors and opportunities to venture in to different genres of music. He has produced and co written records with Cobra Starship, Leona Lewis, Lifehouse, Natasha Beddingfield, Selena Gomez, Weezer, Cher Lloyd, Flo Rida, Ida Marie, Hollywood Undead, Lil Wayne, My Darkest Days, Nas, Rick Ross, Lil Kim, John West, and Timbaland. He has appeared and performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Dancing with the Stars, Miss USA Pageant, and at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. In 2009 Rudolf lead his first US Tour, the “Let It Rock tour”.

Kevinthecity Publishing

Rudolf publishes the works of songwriter Jacob Kasher Hindlin (J Kash), and producer Jeff Halatrax. Kash has written records for various artists such as Leona Lewis, Cobra Starship, Britney Spears, Lil Wayne as well as "We Are Who We Are" by Kesha and has received an ASCAP award in 2011 for the song "Halfway Gone" by Lifehouse. Halatrax has written and produced records for artists such as Selena Gomez, Jesse McCartney, Hollywood Undead, Jason Derulo and Christian TV.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US	CAN
2008	In the City Release date: November 24, 2008 Label: Cash Money, Universal Republic	94	74
2010	To the Sky Release date: June 15, 2010 Label: Cash Money, Universal Republic	78	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
		US	US Pop	AUS	CAN	NZ	UK
2008	"Let It Rock" (featuring Lil Wayne)	5	6	3	2	15	5	AUS: Platinum US: 4× Platinum	In the City
2009	"Welcome to the World" (featuring Kid Cudi or Rick Ross)	58	26	42	56	—	77	US: Gold
2010	"I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)" (featuring Birdman, Jay Sean, and Lil Wayne)	21	17	4	44	4	37	AUS: Platinum US: Platinum	To the Sky
	"You Make the Rain Fall" (featuring Flo Rida)	—	—	—	59	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Featured singles

Year	Single	Artist(s)	Peak chart positions		Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
			AUS	CAN
2008	"Shooting Star"	David Rush (also featuring LMFAO and Pitbull)	—	66		Feel the Rush Vol. 1
2010	"Just Say So"	Brian McFadden	1	—	AUS: Platinum	Wall Of Soundz
2009	"I Want It All"	Birdman		—		"Pricele$$"

Music videos

Year	Title	Director
2008	"Let It Rock"	Justin Francis
2009	"Welcome to the World"	Jeff Panzer/Bill Yukich
2010	"I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)"	Jeff Panzer/David Rousseau
2010	"You Make the Rain Fall"	Jeff Panzer

BMI Pop Awards

Year	Title	Artist (s)
2010	"Let It Rock"	Kevin Rudolf Ft. Lil Wayne
2011	"Halfway Gone"	Lifehouse
2011	"Good Girls Go Bad"	Cobra Starship Ft. Leighton Meester

Production credits

• 2005

• "Thinking of You" (David Banner)

• 2006

• "Say It Right" (Nelly Furtado)
• "Scream" (Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson and Nicole Scherzinger)
• "Release" (Timbaland feat. Justin Timberlake)
• "My Style" (The Black Eyed Peas feat. Justin Timberlake)

• 2008

• "Let It Rock" (Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil Wayne)
• "Something About You" (Kevin Lyttle)

• 2009

• "Good Girls Go Bad" (Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester)
• "Love Letter" (Leona Lewis)
• "Beat Me Up" (Allison Iraheta)
• "Halfway Gone" (Lifehouse)
• "Falling In" (Lifehouse)
• "Late Night Automatic" (Three-6-Mafia)
• "Hot Mess" (Cobra Starship)
• "One Way Trip" (Lil Wayne feat. Kevin Rudolf)
• "I Want It All" (Birdman feat. Lil Wayne & Kevin Rudolf)
• "Better Than Her" (Matisse)
• "Paradice" (Lil Wayne)
• "Faraway" (Gala)

• 2010

• "I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)" (Kevin Rudolf feat. Jay Sean, Lil Wayne & Birdman)
• "Just Say So" (Brian McFadden feat. Kevin Rudolf)
• "Ghost" (Fefe Dobson)
• "Round & Round" (Selena Gomez & The Scene)
• "Turn Off The Lights" (Lights Over Paris)
• "Oh Yeah" (B.T.R.)
• "City Is Ours" (B.T.R.)
• "On and On" (Flo Rida feat. Kevin Rudolf)
• "All I Need" (Natasha Bedingfield feat. Kevin Rudolf)
• "The World Belongs To Me" (My Darkest Days)
• "Get Away" (Mitchel Musso)

• 2011

• "One Night" (Jesse McCartney)
• "I Think She Likes Me" (Jesse McCartney)
• "Coming Back Down" (Hollywood Undead)
• "Levitate" (Hollywood Undead)
• "Don't Cry Now" (Makeba Riddick)
• "Love2Baby" (Christian TV)
• "Always Rain" (Jared Evan feat. Kevin Rudolf)
• "Grow Up" (Cher Lloyd feat. Busta Rhymes)

Musician credits

Instrument	Year	Title	Album	Artist(s)
Guitar, Bass	2005	"Thinking of You"	Certified	David Banner (feat. Case)
Guitar	2006	"Say It Right"	Loose	Nelly Furtado
		"Scream"	Timbaland Presents Shock Value	Timbaland (feat. Keri Hilson and Nicole Scherzinger)
		"Release"		Timbaland (feat. Justin Timberlake)
		"My Style"	Monkey Business	The Black Eyed Peas (feat. Justin Timberlake)

See also

• Let It Rock Tour

External links

• Official site
• Kevin Rudolf at MySpace
• Kevin Rudolf's Virtual Wasteland