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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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===Early life and career=== |
===Early life and career=== |
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An accomplished singer of smooth and sultry [[R&B]] productions with occasional [[Hip-Hop]] beats, Joe's extensive background in gospel music has allowed him to produce his albums as well as sing on them. A native of Georgia, Joe later moved to Opelika, AL; since he was the son of two preachers, |
An accomplished singer of smooth and sultry [[R&B]] productions with occasional [[Hip-Hop]] beats, Joe's extensive background in gospel music has allowed him to produce his albums as well as sing on them. A native of Georgia, Joe later moved to Opelika, AL; since he was the son of two preachers, he spent much time in church singing, playing guitar, and even directing the choir. Influenced early on by gospel stars like [[the Winans]], [[Commissioned]], and [[Vanessa Bell Armstrong]], Joe grew to love soul legends [[Stevie Wonder]] and [[Marvin Gaye]] plus contemporary stars [[Bobby Brown]] and [[Keith Sweat]]. |
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===1990s=== |
===1990s=== |
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Revision as of 17:49, 3 September 2008
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Joe Lewis Thomas (born July 5, 1973), usually credited simply as Joe, is a seven-time Grammy Award-nominated American R&B singer and record producer.
Biography
Early life and career
An accomplished singer of smooth and sultry R&B productions with occasional Hip-Hop beats, Joe's extensive background in gospel music has allowed him to produce his albums as well as sing on them. A native of Georgia, Joe later moved to Opelika, AL; since he was the son of two preachers, he spent much time in church singing, playing guitar, and even directing the choir. Influenced early on by gospel stars like the Winans, Commissioned, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Joe grew to love soul legends Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye plus contemporary stars Bobby Brown and Keith Sweat.
1990s
Joe graduated from high school and continued to sing and write music while working at occasional temporary jobs. Finally, he traveled to New Jersey, hoping to make connections in the music industry. While working at a gospel record store and continuing his music education through a local church, he met producer Vincent Herbert and recorded a three-song demo tape. He signed to Polygram and in 1993 released his album debut, Everything. Joe also appeared on the soundtrack to Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. Joe signed to Jive Records for his 1997 album, All That I Am. This proved to be his breakthrough album, reaching #13 on the. Billboard 200 album charts and number 4 on the R&B charts. The hit singles from this album included the Top 5 R&B/Top 20 pop hit "All the Things Your Man Won't Do", the Top 5 R&B/Top 40 pop hit "Don't Wanna Be a Player", produced by Rodney Jerkins, and "The Love Scene". "Don't Wanna Be a Player", produced by Rodney Jerkins, was also featured on the Booty Call soundtrack, helping its success. All That I Am eventually went platinum in the US.[citation needed] Joe remixed a duet by Barry White and Tina Turner called "Never in Your Dreams" and wrote and produced debut albums by Ideal and Déjà Groove in the late 1990s. Joe also sang on the remix of Big Punisher's "Still Not a Player", produced by Knobody, which interpolated Joe's "Don't Wanna Be a Player".
Joe appeared on the track "Thank God I Found You" with Mariah Carey which appeared on her Rainbow album. This song was released as the second single and came a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. This track also became a hit internationally, helping to raise Joe's profile in other parts of the world.
2000s
Joe released his third album, My Name Is Joe, in 2000, which became his most successful album, reaching the top of the R&B album charts and #2 on the Billboard 200, eventually selling more than three million copies.[citation needed] This album was also his first to make an impression outside the US. It featured the Top 5 R&B (#2) and pop (#4) hit lead single "I Wanna Know", which also reached the top 40 in the UK and Australia. The second single released was "Treat Her Like A Lady", which enjoyed moderate success. The third single, the Roy "Royalty" Hamilton & Teddy Riley-produced "Stutter", was #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart, and part of the Top 10 in the UK and top 20 in Australia. Mystikal appeared on the remix of the single, which sampled The Pharcyde's 1992 hit "Passin' Me By", which in turn samples Quincy Jones' Summer in the City.
The Better Days album was released in 2001, reaching #32 on the Billboard 200 and #4 on the R&B chart. It featured two singles, "Lets Stay Home Tonight", which reached #18 on the US R&B chart, and "What If A Woman".
In 2002, Joe did another collaboration with Mariah Carey, which Joe join the vocals from Kelly Price and Mariah Carey which is the remix of the first single "Through the Rain" from Carey's album Charmbracelet. He also recorded a track called God's Work which was not released but appeared on a sampler on Jive Records
Joe recruited high profile guests for the And Then ... album released in late 2003. R. Kelly wrote the track "More and More", which was supposed to be on his Loveland album. G-Unit features on "Ride Wit U". The singles from the And Then ... album included the Top 20 R&B hit "More and More", "Ride Wit U", and "Priceless". A Double A-sided single "More and More" and "Ride Wit U" made the Australian top 40 in July 2004, as well as #12 in the UK Singles Chart. And Then ... reached #26 on the US album charts and #4 on the R&B charts.
Joe's new album, Ain't Nothin' Like Me, is produced by Tim & Bob, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, The Underdogs, Cool & Dre, Timbaland, Bryan Michael Cox, The Smith Brothers (aka the BEATSMITHz), and Sean Garrett. The album will feature guest appearances by Nas, Fabolous, Chamillionaire, Papoose, Young Buck and Tony Yayo. The album is to be released on 24 April 2007 according to Joe's official website. The first single will be "Where You At", written by Sean Garrett and produced by Chrisclusive featuring rapper Papoose. The video for the single has already been shot by music video director Billie Woodruff. The video for "If I Was Your Man", Joe's second single, has been shot and premiered across the Internet and television.
And as of 2007, he will be on the new season of Making the Band (4) which he is going to be a current judge.
Pepsi Smash exclusive
Joe performed a cover version of "Before He Cheats", a Carrie Underwood hit, as a Pepsi Smash exclusive on Yahoo! Music. He changed the lyrics to fit a male's perspective and titled his version "Before I Cheat".[1]
Sabotage and Departure From Jive Records
After recording for 11 years on Jive Records, Joe discovered a pattern of stalled promotions and adjusted radio play all linking to one man, R.Kelly.
In a surprising interview with EURweb’s Lee Bailey this week, the R&B star talked about his shocking discovery after leaving Jive Records earlier this year, which is also home to R.Kelly. Calling the singer/songwriter out as the man behind stalled records and promotion, Joe says “R. Kelly was very instrumental in making a lot of decisions when it came to my records being played on the radio, He would make a call to the radio station or to the label and say, 'Hey, this Joe record is too hot right now. Ya’ll need to pull that back.' And they would oblige.”
Joe is not the first R&B crooner to address R. Kelly, Ne-Yo who was booted from R. Kelly’s tour last year, sued the ‘Pied Piper’ in January as a result of a highly publicized “feud” that R. Kelly allegedly had with the “Miss Independent” singer. Kelly was reported to have had a problem with the attention Ne-Yo was receiving as an opening act and promptly removed him from the tour shortly after it started.
Since his 1993 debut “Everything,” Joe and R. Kelly have released albums and singles under Jive around the same time including 2003's “And Then” and “Chocolate Factory” respectively. Ironically, R.Kelly produced Joe’s hit single “More & More” which reached #15 on the R&B charts that year followed by the G-Unit collaboration “Ride Wit You.”
Despite their work together in 2003, Joe says R. Kelly put pressure on Jive executives and radio stations to pull back on promoting his records when the singles appeared to be getting to much attention. “He did try to make some decisions when it came down to my records being on fire, and climbing up the charts and on the radio stations” says Joe.
Now that Joe has a new home with Kedar Entertainment/Universal, where he will release two new albums, he says “It's incredible that now I get the opportunity to, I don't know, maybe pay [R. Kelly] back in some sort of side bar kind of thing." He does stress however, that he did not know what was truly going on until after he left Jive six months ago.
Joe’s highly anticipated album “Joe Thomas, New Man”, the follow up to his 2007 effort “Ain't Nothin' Like Me”, is due for release September 22nd. Another album, titled Signature, is due out in February of 2009.
Awards/Nominations
- BET Awards
- 2001, Best R&B Male Artist (Nominated)
- Grammy Awards
- 2002, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Let's Stay Home Tonight" (Nominated)
- 2002, Best R&B Album: Better Days (Nominated)
- 2002, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: "More Than a Woman" w/ Angie Stone (Nominated)
- 2000, Best Pop Collaboration w/ Vocals: "Thank God I Found You" w/ 98 Degrees & Mariah Carey (Nominated)
- 2000, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "I Wanna Know" (Nominated)
- 2000, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: "Coming Home" w/ Brian McKnight & BeBe Winans (Nominated)
- 2000, Best R&B Album: My Name Is Joe (Nominated)
- Image Awards
- 2001, Outstanding Music Album: My Name Is Joe (Nominated)
- Soul Train Awards
- 1999, Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video: "Still Not a Player" w/ Big Pun (Nominated)
Discography
Albums
- 1993: Everything #105 US
- 1997: All That I Am #13 US (Platinum)[2]
- 2000: My Name Is Joe #2 US (3x Platinum)[3]
- 2001: Better Days #32 US (Gold)[4]
- 2003: And Then... #26 US (Gold)[5]
- 2007: Ain't Nothin' Like Me #2 US (U.S. Sales: 348,000 copies sold; Worldwide: 374,100
- 2008: Joe Thomas, New Man
- 2009: Signature
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. | U.S. R&B | UK | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "I'm In Love" | 64 | 10 | 22 | Everything |
| 1993 | "All Or Nothing" | - | 33 | 56 | Everything |
| 1993 | "The One For Me" | - | 39 | 34 | Everything |
| 1996 | "All the Things (Your Man Won't Do)" | 11 | 2 | 34 | All That I Am |
| 1997 | "Don't Wanna Be a Player" | 25 | 5 | 16 | All That I Am |
| 1998 | "The Love Scene" | - | 38 | 22 | All That I Am |
| 1998 | "Good Girls" | - | - | 29 | All That I Am |
| 1998 | "Still Not a Player" (Big Pun featuring Joe) | 24 | 3 | - | Capital Punishment |
| 1999 | "Thank God I Found You" (Mariah Carey feat. Joe & 98 Degrees) | 1 | 1 | 10 | Rainbow |
| 2000 | "I Wanna Know" | 4 | 2 | 37 | My Name Is Joe |
| 2000 | "Treat Her Like a Lady" | 63 | 15 | 60 | My Name Is Joe |
| 2000 | "Stutter (Remix)" | 1 | 1 | 7 | My Name Is Joe |
| 2001 | "Let's Stay Home Tonight" | - | 18 | 29 | Better Days |
| 2001 | "It Won't End" | - | - | - | Better Days [Australia Bonus Track] |
| 2002 | "What If a Woman" | 63 | 21 | 53 | Better Days |
| 2003 | "More & More" | 48 | 15 | 12 | And Then ... |
| 2004 | "Ride Wit U" (featuring G-Unit) | 2 | 7 | 12 | And Then ... |
| 2004 | "Priceless" | - | 72 | - | And Then ... |
| 2004 | "I Wanna Get to Know Ya" (G-Unit featuring Joe) | 15 | 10 | 27 | Beg For Mercy |
| 2005 | "Curious" (Tony Yayo featuring Joe) | 87 | 18 | - | Thoughts of a Predicate Felon |
| 2006 | "Where You At?" (featuring Papoose) | 29 | - | - | Ain't Nothin' Like Me |
| 2007 | "If I Was Your Man" | 84 | 19 | 93 | Ain't Nothin' Like Me |
| 2007 | "My Love" | - | 35 | - | Ain't Nothin' Like Me |
| 2008 | "We Are Family" | - | - | - | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins [OST] |
| 2008 | "E.R. (Emergency Room)" | TBR | 48 | TBR | Joe Thomas, New Man |
| 2008 | "Why Just be Friends?" | TBR | TBR | TBR | Joe Thomas, New Man |
References
Joe is featured on the remix of Chico Debarge's hit "No Guarantee" that was released on BET's R&B compilation, "Planet Groove" in March of 1999.