Jeremih | |
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 Jeremih in 2015 | |
| Born | Jeremy Phillip Felton (1987-07-17)July 17, 1987 (age 38) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia College Chicago (BS) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Works | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Willie Taylor (cousin) |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels |
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| Member of | MihTy |
| Producer(s) | Mick Schultz |
| Website | jeremih |
Musical artist | |
Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987),[2][3] known professionally asJeremih (/ˈdʒɛrəmaɪ/JERR-əm-eye),[4] is an AmericanR&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producerMick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract withDef Jam Recordings the following year.
Jeremih's 2009 debut single, "Birthday Sex" peaked at number four on theBillboard Hot 100 chart; it preceded the release of hisself-titled debut studio album in June that year, which peaked at number six on theBillboard 200. His 2010 single, "Down on Me" (featuring50 Cent) saw continued commercial success and matched the chart position of "Birthday Sex", also receivingsextuple platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It preceded the release of his second albumAll About You (2010), which was met with a critical and commercial decline. His 2014 single, "Don't Tell 'Em" (featuringYG) became his third top-ten hit on theBillboard Hot 100. The song and its follow-up singles, "Oui" and "Planez" (featuringJ. Cole), each receivedquintuple platinum certifications by the RIAA and preceded the release of his third album,Late Nights: The Album (2015). He formed the duoMihTy with singerTy Dolla Sign in 2018, with whom he has released aneponymous collaborative album (2018).
Born inChicago, Illinois, Felton began playing drums at the age of three and is able to play the saxophone, several percussion instruments, and piano/keyboards.[5] He attendedMorgan Park High School, where he was part of themarching band as well as aLatin jazz band. He also learned to play percussion instruments likecongas andtimbales.[6] Felton was a good student and earned academic honors at Morgan Park High School, allowing him to graduate a year early.[7][8] He enrolled at theUniversity of Illinois andParkland College in Urbana-Champaign.[9][10][11] After spending a semester at the university studying engineering, he wanted to change his education to something related to music. He transferred toColumbia College Chicago in 2007 to pursue a degree in music business.[12][13] After performing a tribute toRay Charles 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".[13]
While attendingColumbia College Chicago, Jeremih collaborated withrecord producerMick Schultz.[14] Together, they recorded a song, titled "My Ride".[15] Jeremih received guidance from his cousin,Day26 group member,Willie Taylor.[16] In February 2009, Jeremih met withDef Jam's CEORussell Simmons, and executivevice president ofA&R Karen Kwak. After performing for the two, Jeremih signed arecording contract with Def Jam that same day.[15] In 2009, Jeremih released his debut single, "Birthday Sex". The song later peaked at number 4 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[17] In June 2009, Jeremih released his eponymous self-titled debutstudio album,Jeremih.[18] The album debuted at number 6 on the USBillboard 200, selling 59,000 copies in its first week.[19] In promotion of the album, Jeremih took part inAmerica's Most Wanted Tour, alongsideLil Wayne,Young Jeezy, andSoulja Boy Tell 'Em.[20] The second single, "Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)", peaked at number 51 on theBillboard Hot 100.[21]
In August 2009, Jeremih was selected byRon Huberman and MayorRichard M. Daley of theChicago Public Schools (CPS) to campaign children to return to school.[22][23] Community activists protested and demanded CPS to undo their decision, claiming that Jeremih's music was "not appropriate for students" and "promotes teen sex".[23][24] Huberman argued that "school officials would be naive to pretend students don't listen to Felton's music already".[25] Daley also argued that recording artists have thefreedom 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".[23] In September 2009, Jeremih performed onABC Daytime's soap operaOne Life to Live, alongside recording artistLionel Richie. The two performed "Just Go", a song from Richie's album withthe same title.[26]
On June 1, 2010, Jeremih released the first single for his second studio albumAll About You, titled "I Like" featuringLudacris. "Down on Me" featuring rapper50 Cent was confirmed to be the second single from the album. "Down on Me" charted on the number-one position for eight weeks total onRhythmicBillboard chart.[27]All About You was released on September 28, 2010. The following year, Jeremih andRick Ross were featured on the song, which was performed byWale, titled "That Way" from the compilation albumSelf Made Vol. 1.
In December 2011, Jeremih confirmed he had been working on his third studio album, originally titledThumpy Johnson. He announced plans from a summer 2012 release underDef Jam. However, the album was not released. Instead, Jeremih released his first mixtape titledLate Nights with Jeremih on August 7, 2012.[28]
On November 5, 2014, Jeremih and members of his crew were involved in an incident at aFuddruckers restaurant inBillings, MT in which Jeremih's associates allegedly "hassled"[1] a young female restaurant employee and a manager for discriminating against them. Members of Jeremih's crew responded to the alleged racism by taking over the restaurant's microphone, throwing beer onto employees, and allegedly throwing a glass beer bottle into the kitchen, getting broken glass into the fryer and forcing the restaurant to close temporarily.[2] The Billings Police Department sought but never issued arrest warrants in response to the incident.[3] Surveillance footage of the altercation was published by TMZ, and the concert promoter for Jeremih's Billings performance offered refunds to audience members and renounced the actions taken by Jeremih and his crew.[4][permanent dead link]
"All the Time" is a song which originally appeared on his mixtapeLate Nights with Jeremih but was re-released with an additional verse by rapperLil Wayne as a single. The song was released on April 16, 2013, as adigital download.[29] On July 17, 2014, Jeremih formally released his collaborative EP "No More" withShlohmo through his Twitter account.[30]
The first single off Jeremih's third studio album (retitledLate Nights: The Album), "Don't Tell 'Em" featuringYG, was released on June 6, 2014.[31] On September 26, 2014, Jeremih released promotional single "Nobody But U" produced byCashmere Cat, but it did not make the album.[32] The second single, "Planez" featuringJ. Cole was released on January 22, 2015.[33] The first promotional single "Tonight Belongs to U!" featuringFlo Rida was released on April 21, 2015.[34] The third single, "Oui" was released on October 30, 2015.[35] The second promotional single, "Royalty" featuringBig Sean andFuture, was released October 29, 2015.[36] The third promotional single "Peace Sign" featuringFabolous andRed Cafe was released November 18, 2015.[37] The fourth single, "Pass Dat" was released December 1, 2015.[38] On December 4, Jeremih finally released the album to critical acclaim.[39] To promote the album, Jeremih embarked on his Late Nights Uncut Tour.
In 2016, Jeremih co-wrote "Woo" fromRihanna's eighth albumAnti alongsideThe Weeknd andTravis Scott.
On February 7, 2016, Jeremih revealed his fourth studio album will be called,Later That Night in an interview withBillboard.[40] In the same interview, he mentioned he had been recently writing songs forKanye West andNicki Minaj.[41] In the summer of 2016, Jeremih headlined his first European concert tour.[42] In July 2016, Jeremih released his second mixtape calledLate Nights: Europe, which he recorded while on tour overseas.[43] He stated that he was 90% done with his upcoming albumLater That Night that would complete his "Late Night" series.[43]
In June 2016, Jeremih announced a joint album withPartyNextDoor titledLate Night Party, which he said would be released beforeLater That Night.[44][45] Following this announcement, the two artists headlined a joint tour called Summer's Over Tour scheduled for November and December 2016.[46] In the last week of the tour, it was announced that Jeremih would removed from the tour.[47] The decision came after Jeremih left the stage mid-performance in Chicago, sent a body-double to perform in Houston, and criticized PartyNextDoor on stage in Dallas.[48][49] A few months later, Jeremih stated that there were arguments between the two artists' teams, but he had no ill will towards PartyNextDoor.[50]
OnCinco de Mayo 2017, Jeremih released an EP,Cinco De MihYo, which he had written and recorded in 24 hours.[51] In March 2018, Jeremih released an EP titledThe Chocolate Box.[52]Pitchfork stated, "When his projects are well-considered, or made with hyper-focused collaborators, he can be the most enchanting man in the room," but called one of the four tracks awkward and bored.[53]
On June 8, 2018, Jeremih andTy Dolla Sign released "The Light" as the lead single from their collaboration albumMihTy.[54][55] The 11-track album was released on October 26, 2018, and features guest appearances fromChris Brown,French Montana, andWiz Khalifa.[56]
In July 2018, Jeremih announced a joint tour with singerTeyana Taylor called Later That Night. The tour dates were from August 3 through September 8 in the United States.[57] On August 15, Teyana tweeted that she would be leaving the tour due to mistreatment from Jeremih.[58]
In 2019, Jeremih was featured inChantel Jeffries' song and music video "Chase the Summer".[59] In March 2020, Jeremih was featured on the remix for "Baby Girl" byBryce Vine.[60] On May 3, 2021,DJ Khaled released a music video for his song "Thankful" from his albumKhaled Khaled featuring Jeremih andLil Wayne.[61]
After a long hiatus from recording, Jeremih released his comeback single, "Changes", on October 21, 2022.[62]
In April 2023, he introduced his first protégé, Illinois singer Murf Dilly, to the music scene with his debut single "2 C's". The song featured Jeremih as a guest vocalist and was released on his newly established Late Nightz Records.[63]
In February 2024, Jeremih was released from Def Jam Recordings after fifteen years under the imprint.[64] On June 28, 2024, he released his first independent single, "Wait on It", featuringBryson Tiller and Chris Brown.[65]
Jeremih has citedMichael Jackson,Stevie Wonder, andR. Kelly as his biggest influences.[66] He described their music as "timeless", calling them "true musician-artists".[66] With the release of his debut album, Andy Kellman ofAllmusic compared Jeremih's vocals toSlim of R&B group112 andRaphael Saadiq, noting that his "charmingly sly voice...is hard to not like".[14] In contrast, Ken Capobianco ofThe Boston Globe felt that Jeremih's voice was "thin", showing "little range".[67] Jody Rosen expressed that Jeremih "has a way with tunes and hooks".[68] He received comparisons toThe-Dream, R. Kelly, and Stevie Wonder.[69]
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Jeremih has two sons.[70]
In November 2020, Jeremih was hospitalized inChicago after testing positive forCOVID-19. By November 14, he was reported to be on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.[71] He was taken off the ventilator on November 19 but remained in critical condition.[72] His spokesman said Jeremih has no underlying conditions.[73] Jeremih was transferred out of intensive care on November 21, into a general hospital to make a full recovery.[70] He was released from the hospital on December 4.[74]
Collaborative albums
TheMusic of Black Origin Awards (MOBO Awards) is an awards ceremony established in 1995 byKanya King.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Jeremih | Best R&B/Soul Act | Nominated | [75] |
TheAmerican Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created byDick Clark in 1973.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Jeremih | T-Mobile Soul/R&B Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | [76] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Planez"(withJ. Cole) | Best R&B Performance | Nominated | [77] |
An NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jeremih | Outstanding New Artist | Nominated | [78] |
The Chicago Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony for music artist professionals to get recognized for their talents and hard work. Ephraim Martin, CMA President, is the founder.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jeremih | Best New Entertainer Of The Year | Won | [79] |
| 2010 | Jeremih | Songwriter Of The Year | Won | [79] |
| 2010 | Jeremih | R&B Entertainer Of The Year | Won | [79] |
| 2011 | Jeremih | Best Male Vocalist Of The Year | Won | [80] |
The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011. ByBillboard Music Award.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Jeremih Ft.50 Cent-Down On Me | Top R&B Song | Nominated | [81] |
| 2015 | Jeremih Ft.YG-Don't Tell Em | Top R&B Song | Nominated | [82] |
The iheartRadio award honors the biggest Artists and Songs of the year.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Jeremih Ft YG-Don't Tell Em | Hip Hop/R&B Song of the Year | Won | [83] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| International | |
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