Major (American musician)

Major Johnson Finley (born March 10, 1984), professionally known by his stage name MAJOR. (all caps with a period), is an American pop soul musician, singer-songwriter, actor, vocal producer, and stage performance coach.

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Early Life

= Born in Denton, Texas and raised in Houston, Texas, in a blended-family household of 10 siblings (13 total), MAJOR. began making music at a young age and performed in various musical venues in his hometown & abroad throughout his childhood. He graduated from the famous High School for the Performing & Visual Arts (notable alums: Beyoncè, Robert Glasper, and WordPress Founder - Matthew Mullenweg), received intensive classical training from Professor Steve Smith of The Juilliard School and Houston Grand Opera High School Voice Studio. He then attended Berklee College of Music (Quincy Jones, Lalah Hathaway, John Mayer, Esperanza Spaulding, Imagine Dragons, Charlie Puth) [serving as Student Body President] and after graduating, moved to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment career.

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Career

= After parting ways with Malibu-based Star Club Entertainment where he generated viral success via YouTube, MAJOR. then entered a production/recording relationship with B.O.E. Music Group in partnership with UK mega-producer Harmony Samuels (Ariana Grande, Nathan Sykes, Fantasia, Fifth Harmony, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Brown) in early 2014. MAJOR. attributes finding his truest sound to his musical partnership with Samuels.

MAJOR., in 2008, sang the national anthem for President Barack Obama's Welcome to New England at the Agganis Arena in Boston, MA. After moving to LA, he secured onscreen and BTS appearances in various tv & film productions including: Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" (asst vocal producer), Showtime's "Masters of Sex" (singer/actor), Norms Commercial (actor), Tyler Perry's "Haves & Have Nots" (singer), Tom Hardy's "Legend" (singer/actor), In 2013, he earned his first motion picture placement as a singer-songwriter in SONY Picture's "Think Like A Man Too". This success led to many more opportunities to date. MAJOR. has landed his first number-one single on the Billboard Dance Club chart as co-writer of Over & Over Again by Nathan Sykes featuring Ariana Grande. The song also broke top 40 on the Billboard100. As a vocal producer, MAJOR.'s discography includes Nathan Sykes, Ariana Grande, JoJo, Avery Wilson, Saara, Amber Riley, and La Porsha Renae (American Idol). MAJOR.'s voice has also been used for the voice of Disney's Sebastian for HASBRO toys.

MAJOR. is highly regarded for his powerful live show experiences including 2 sold-out shows at the historic Troubadour (Santa Monica), World Arts (Culver City), Hotel Cafe (Hollywood), Barclays Arena (Brooklyn).

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Currently

== MAJOR. has released an EP (i am MAJOR.) which features 2 singles and 2 music videos: "Why I Love You" & "Keep On" with over 20 Million Views. Stevie Wonder exclaims, "Why I Love You" is the wedding song of the year!". The song has also reached Top 5 on the Adult R&B Billboard charts.

Veteran music journalist, Billy Johnson, credited MAJOR. as being the "Hope Dealer" of mainstream music in a Yahoo! Music article feature published in 2015.

MAJOR. is known for his inspirational approach in entertainment. He is actively involved in community service and youth development. He and his street team affectionately known as #HOPEdealers are committed to the mission of bringing hope & inspiration to the world & generations to come.