J. R. Rotem
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J.R. Rotem | |
|---|---|
 Rotem in 2007 at Hollywood Life Magazine’s 7th Annual Breakthrough Awards | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathan Reuven Rotem |
| Born | September 1, 1975 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Origin | Moraga, California |
| Genres | Pop, hip hop, R&B, Reggae fusion |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, songwriter, music publisher |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, Keyboards, Pro Tools, synthesizer |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Beluga Heights |
| Website | belugaheights |
Jonathan Reuven Rotem (born September 1, 1975) better known by his stage name J.R. Rotem, is a Israli American record producer, songwriter and music publisher.
Biography
Early life
Rotem, who is Jewish,[1] was born in South Africa to Israeli immigrant parents in 1975.[2] He moved to Toronto at the age of two and finally to Moraga, California at the age of twelve.[3][4][5]
Rotem's entry point into music was in receiving classical piano instruction at a young age.[6] When he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston it was initially with the intention of studying film scoring, but he ended up majoring in jazz composition.[4][6]
Career
As his first major label placement, the Destiny's Child song "Fancy", from their 2001 album Survivor, is cited by Rotem as being his first 'big break', and the song that convinced the young producer that it was worth pursuing this career path.[6] Nevertheless, further success was not forthcoming and for years Rotem struggled to make further headway in the industry.[6]
A significant breakthrough came when, through mutual friend Evan Bogart, he attracted the attention of former manager Zach Katz, a former music attorney who had previously represented rapper Rakim as well as various producers and songwriters in the Aftermath/Shady/G-Unit camp.[7] Rotem says, "One of my biggest goals for years was meeting a manager with a good reputation and with connections to get my music to people."[6] When asked in an interview with HitQuarters what made Katz decide to take the producer on, he said,
"This was a time where most of the people were beat makers, they didn't really play instruments. JR on the other hand, had a vast musical background ... So musically there were no limitations as far as what he could bring. Number two J.R he was very, very focused. He really wanted to win. And number three he was humble. If I gave him any suggestions about his tracks he would literally sit there and take notes. Then he would come back the next day with the changes I had suggested."[7]
Rotem's next major cut was 50 Cent's "Position of Power" in 2005. In 2006, together with Katz and his brother Tommy, Rotem started his own record label, Beluga Heights, inking a joint venture partnership with Epic. Sean Kingston, a young Miami-based artist, was the labels first signing. Kingston's self-titled debut album went on to sell over 2 million albums and 10 million singles worldwide. Rotem also started a publishing company under the Beluga Heights umbrella, signing "SOS" co-writer Evan "Kidd" Bogart.[8] Under a newly formed joint venture with Warner Bros. Records, the label signed pop sensation Jason Derülo, whose debut album went on to sell 14 million singles and over 1 million albums worldwide.
In 2009, Rotem was honored as BMI Producer of the Year. In 2011 he was again honored by BMI as Songwriter of the Year alongside Lady Gaga and Derülo. His trademark is a horn that follows with a stylised "J-J-J-J-J-R" and/or "Beluga Heights" at the start or end of records with which he has been affiliated.
J.R. Rotem is managed by Pulse Management, a division of Pulse Recording. In 2015, Rotem worked alongside Neyo and Timbaland on the music for Season 2 of Fox's Empire. On October 17, 2015, Gwen Stefani premiered "Used to Love You", co-written and produced by Rotem at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City which was Gwen's first single. Rotem has ten songs on Stefani's album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like which was released on March 18, 2016.
Discography
Songs and singles produced by J.R. Rotem
| Year | Artist | Song | Chart position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | GER | AUS | |||
| 2006 | Rihanna | "SOS" | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Lil' Kim | "Whoa" | 104 | 43 | – | – | |
| Rick Ross | "Push It" | 57 | – | – | – | |
| Paris Hilton | "I Want You" | – | – | – | – | |
| Sean Kingston | "Beautiful Girls" | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | |
| "Me Love" | 14 | 32 | 48 | 11 | ||
| "Take You There" | 7 | 47 | – | 34 | ||
| Ashley Tisdale | "He Said She Said" | 58 | 155 | 17 | – | |
| JoJo | "The High Road" | – | – | – | – | |
| Kevin Federline | "America's Most Hated" | – | – | – | – | |
| 2007 | Chamillionaire feat. Slick Rick | "Hip Hop Police" | 101 | 50 | – | – |
| The Cheetah Girls | "Fuego" | – | – | – | – | |
| Britney Spears | "Everybody" | – | – | – | – | |
| Lil Scrappy | "Livin' in the Projects" | – | – | – | – | |
| Jada feat. Sean Kingston | "I'm that Chick" | – | – | – | – | |
| Nicole Scherzinger feat. will.i.am | "Baby Love (Remix)" | 108 | 14 | 5 | 58 | |
| Baby Bash feat. Sean Kingston | "What Is It" | 57 | – | – | – | |
| Plies | "1 Mo Time" | – | – | – | – | |
| "I Am the Club" | – | – | – | – | ||
| Fabolous | "Can You Hear Me" | – | – | – | – | |
| Mýa feat. Snoop Dogg | "Walka Not A Talka" | – | – | – | – | |
| 2008 | The D.E.Y. | "Give You the World" | 119 | – | – | – |
| Rick Ross feat. T-Pain | "The Boss" | 17 | – | – | – | |
| Flo Rida feat. Sean Kingston | "Roll" | 59 | – | – | – | |
| Plies feat. Ne-Yo | "Bust It Baby Pt. 2" | 7 | 93[9] | – | – | |
| Bun B feat. Sean Kingston | "That's Gangsta" | 122 | – | – | – | |
| Mann feat. Sean Kingston | "Ghetto Girl" | – | – | – | – | |
| Leona Lewis | "Better in Time" | 11 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| Vanessa Hudgens | "Sneakernight" | 88 | 164 | 98 | 94 | |
| Jesse McCartney | "My Baby" | – | – | – | – | |
| James Fauntleroy | "Strength" | – | – | – | – | |
| E-40 feat. The Game & Snoop Dogg | "Pain No More" | 111 | – | – | – | |
| Cory Gunz feat. Jason Derulo | "Gamble on Me" | 125 | – | – | – | |
| Plies feat. Ashanti | "Want It, Need It" | 96 | – | – | – | |
| Mike Jones feat. Nae Nae | "Next to You" | 63 | – | – | – | |
| 2009 | Anastacia | "Defeated" | – | – | – | – |
| Maino | "However Do U Want It" | 124 | – | – | – | |
| Piles | "Becky" | 104 | – | – | – | |
| Iyaz | "Replay" | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| "Solo" | 32 | 3 | 25 | 48 | ||
| "So Big" | – | 40 | – | – | ||
| Mann feat. Jason Derülo | "Text" | – | – | – | – | |
| Tynisha Keli | "Lights Out" | – | – | – | – | |
| Auburn | "Superman" | – | – | – | – | |
| "I'm at War" | Sean Kingston feat. Lil Wayne | – | – | – | – | |
| 2010 | Dima Bilan | "Changes" | – | – | – | – |
| Jason Derulo | "Whatcha Say" | 1 | 3 | 7 | 5 | |
| "In My Head" | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 | ||
| "Ridin' Solo" | 9 | 2 | 24 | 4 | ||
| "What If" | 76 | 12 | – | 32 | ||
| "The Sky's the Limit" | – | 68 | – | 22 | ||
| JLS | "Everybody in Love" | – | 1 | – | – | |
| Lindsay Lohan | "Too Young To Die" | – | – | – | – | |
| The Ready Set | "Love Like Woe" | 27 | – | – | – | |
| B.o.B feat. T.I. | "Not Lost" | – | – | – | – | |
| Sean Kingston | "Secret" | – | – | – | – | |
| "She Moves" | – | – | – | – | ||
| Auburn feat. Iyaz | "La La La" | 51 | – | – | – | |
| Romance on a Rocketship | "Skin & Bones" | – | – | – | – | |
| Sarah Connor | "Fall Apart" | – | – | – | – | |
| Fefe Dobson | "Stuttering" | – | – | – | – | |
| Ilya | "Preapproved" | – | – | – | – | |
| Cheryl Cole | "Better to Lie" | – | – | – | – | |
| 2011 | Kat Graham | "I Want It All" | – | – | – | – |
| Mann feat. 50 Cent | "Buzzin'" | 73 | 6 | – | – | |
| "Fly" | Nicki Minaj feat. Rihanna | 19 | 16 | – | 18 | |
| Nicki Minaj | "Girls Fall Like Dominoes'" | – | 24 | – | 99 | |
| Mann feat. Snoop Dogg and Iyaz | "The Mack" | – | 28 | – | 68 | |
| Iyaz feat. Travie McCoy | "Pretty Girls" | 43 | – | – | – | |
| Cover Drive | "Lick Ya Down" | – | 9 | – | – | |
| Big Time Rush | "Invisible" | – | – | – | – | |
| Jason Derulo | "Pick Up the Pieces" | – | – | – | 37 | |
| "Dumb" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Be Careful" | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2012 | Mann feat. T-Pain | "Get It Girl" | – | – | – | – |
| Chris Rene | "Young Homie" | 101 | – | – | – | |
| Nicki Minaj | "Marilyn Monroe" | 104 | 121 | – | – | |
| Machine Gun Kelly feat. Cassie | "Warning Shot" | – | – | – | – | |
| Maroon 5 | "Wipe Your Eyes" | 80 | – | – | – | |
| 2013 | Jessica Sanchez | "Don't Come Around" | – | – | – | – |
| Sean Kingston feat. T.I. | "Back 2 Life (Live It Up)" | 109 | – | 70 | – | |
| Sean Kingston | "Bomba" | – | – | – | – | |
| "Ordinary Girl" | – | – | – | – | ||
| Sean Kingston feat. Busta Rhymes | "How We Survive" | – | – | – | – | |
| 2014 | Mike Jay feat. YG & Too $hort | "For a Week" | – | – | – | – |
| Fall Out Boy | "Centuries" | 10 | 22 | 71 | 55 | |
| 2015 | "No Good for You" | Meghan Trainor | – | – | – | – |
| Fifth Harmony | "Like Mariah" | – | – | – | – | |
| Empire | "Born To Love U" | – | – | – | – | |
| "Do It" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Mimosa" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Runnin" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Powerful (feat. Jussie Smollett and Alicia Keys)" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Miracles" | – | – | – | – | ||
| Gwen Stefani | "Used to Love You" | 52 | 157 | – | 57 | |
| Who Is Fancy feat. Ariana Grande & Meghan Trainor | "Boys Like You" | 118 | – | – | – | |
| 2016 | Panic! at the Disco | "Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time" | – | – | – | – |
| "Crown" | Empire | – | – | – | – | |
| "Freedom" | – | – | – | – | ||
| Rick Ross | "Can't Say No" feat. Mariah Carey | – | – | – | – | |
| Charlie Puth | "Dangerously" | – | – | – | – | |
| Gwen Stefani | "Naughty" | – | – | – | – | |
| "Red Flag" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Getting Warmer" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Rocketship" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "War Paint" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Me Without You" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Splash" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Obsessed" | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Loveable" | – | – | – | – | ||
References
- ^ "A 'good Jewish boy' seeks the spotlight in LA". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com.
- ^ Lamb, Bill. "Jonathan "J.R." Rotem". About.com: Top40/Pop. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ de Silverio, Victoria (July 2007), "Pimpin' Ain't Easy", Blender, no. 60, pp. 100–104
- ^ a b Small, Mark (Summer 2006). "Jonathan Rotem: A Piano Man Finds His Beat". Berklee Today. 18 (1).
- ^ "J.R. Rotem". Beluga Heights. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Interview With JR Rotem". HitQuarters. April 4, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
- ^ a b "Interview With Zach Katz". HitQuarters. May 3, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^ "'Awkward pop' singer signs deal – Bristol Evening Post". Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending 23 August 2008". ChartsPlus (365). Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd: 1–4.
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External links
- The DJBooth: Jonathan 'JR' Rotem Interview (Mar '07)
- SOHH June 2007 Feature
- Interview, HitQuarters Apr 2010
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
- 1975 births
- Living people
- American hip hop record producers
- American music industry executives
- American music publishers (people)
- American people of Jewish descent
- American people of Israeli descent
- American people of South African-Jewish descent
- American pop keyboardists
- American pop pianists
- American rhythm and blues keyboardists
- Berklee College of Music alumni
- Businesspeople from Los Angeles
- Canadian emigrants to the United States
- Canadian people of Israeli descent
- Jewish American musicians
- Jewish American songwriters
- Jewish Canadian musicians
- Musicians from Los Angeles
- Musicians from Toronto
- People from Moraga, California
- People from Johannesburg
- Songwriters from California
- South African emigrants to Canada
- South African emigrants to the United States
- South African Jews
- South African people of Israeli descent
- White South African people