Sean Kingston | |
|---|---|
 Kingston in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Kisean Paul Anderson (1990-02-03)February 3, 1990 (age 36) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Works | Discography |
| Years active | 2007–2025 |
| Labels |
|
| Website | seankingstonmusic |
Kisean Paul Anderson[3] (born February 3, 1990), known professionally asSean Kingston, is a Jamaican-American former singer. Born inMiami,Florida, and raised inJamaica, he signed withJ. R. Rotem's record labelBeluga Heights Records, in a joint venture withKoch andEpic Records in 2007. The label released his 2007 debut single "Beautiful Girls", which peaked atop theBillboard Hot 100 and served as lead single for hiseponymous debut studio album (2007). It peaked at number six on theBillboard 200 and spawned the top 40-single "Take You There", while his second album,Tomorrow (2009), saw a commercial decline, but spawned the top five-single "Fire Burning". His third album,Back 2 Life (2013), failed to chart and served as his final release on amajor label, but spawned the moderate hit "Beat It" (featuringChris Brown andWiz Khalifa).
After his second album, Kingston launched the record label Time Is Money Entertainment, through which he signed then-unknown Canadian singerTory Lanez in 2010.[4]
In July 2024, Kingston and his mother were indicted on several federalwire fraud charges.[5] They were convicted in March 2025.[6] His mother was sentenced to five years in prison on July 23, 2025.[7] Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on August 15, 2025.[6]
Anderson was born inMiami,Florida, the first of three children of Janice Turner.[8] Anderson's family moved to their nativeKingston, Jamaica, when he was six.[9] Anderson attended Ocho Rios High School inOcho Rios for three years before immigrating back to the United States.[10][11] His grandfather was the noted Jamaican reggae producerLawrence "Jack Ruby" Lindo.[12][13][9][14]
Kingston was discovered onYouTube by Matt Tobin atBeluga Heights Records, and signed to the label in a partnership deal withSony.[15] In an interview withHitQuarters, label head and producerJ. R. Rotem described this process with regard to Kingston:
"Sean Kingston was a rapper when we found him and it was a development process to get him more melodic. At Beluga we essentially refine the talent so that it's more of a marketable product."[15]
In a venture betweenEpic Records andKoch Records, Kingston recorded and released thesingle "Beautiful Girls" in May 2007.[16] "Beautiful Girls" was a major hit internationally, topping the U.S.Billboard Hot 100, and several other charts, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, the song spent four weeks at the summit of theUK Singles Chart.[17]His self-titled debut album was released on July 31, 2007, and has been certified gold by theRIAA for its 500,000 copies sold,[18] while peaking at number 6 on theBillboard 200.
In 2007, Kingston was the opening act forGwen Stefani'sThe Sweet Escape Tour and for select dates onBeyoncé'sThe Beyoncé Experience tour. In 2008, he was one of the opening acts for the Australian leg ofKelly Clarkson'sMy December Tour.[19]
Kingston's second albumTomorrow was released on September 22, 2009. Producers involved in the album includedWyclef Jean; RedOne (of recent Lady Gaga fame); plus, Kingston's original mentor, J. R. Rotem.[20] "Fire Burning" and "Face Drop" were released as singles. Additionally, five promotional digital singles were released leading up to the album. In the meantime, Kingston co-wroteJason Derulo's debut single "Whatcha Say", that topped theBillboard Hot 100. He also discovered the R&B-reggae singerIyaz on MySpace and signed him toJ. R. Rotem's record label.[21] He also recorded the track "Miss Everything" for the UK girl-groupSugababes studio albumSweet 7 which was released March 15, 2010, in the UK. Kingston and DJ Khaled are being featured on Bow Wow's new single "For My Hood", from the movie,The Lottery Ticket.[22] He had a performance in theO2 Arena where he was supported byMumzy Stranger.[23]
His third studio album was announced to featureT-Pain,Nicki Minaj,Kanye West,Flo Rida,Soulja Boy,Wyclef Jean,Cher Lloyd,Akon and Green Eyed Tayla,[24][25] with its lead single being "Eenie Meenie" withJustin Bieber, released on March 23, 2010,[26] which is also included on Bieber'sMy World 2.0 album. The second single from the album was supposed to be "Letting Go (Dutty Love)", which features a verse fromNicki Minaj. It was released oniTunes August 3, while the third, "Dumb Love", co-written byBruno Mars, was released on September 8. A fourth single "Party All Night (Sleep All Day)" was released on December 21, 2010. However, none of the four singles were included on any album by Kingston.
Kingston represented the continents of North and South America to sing the Official Theme Song of theSingapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, "Everyone." He collaborated with four other artists representing their continent, South AfricanJody Williams representing Africa,SingaporeanTabitha Nauser (Asia), BritonSteve Appleton (Europe), and AustralianJessica Mauboy representing Oceania.[27] However, Kingston was unable to attend the Singapore Youth Olympics 2010 opening ceremony due to passport mix-ups.[28] Kingston was invited to be featured withCash Money Records/formerSo So Def memberBow Wow on his single "For My Hood". He performed the song with Bow Wow andDJ Khaled onBET's television program106 & Park the day after release.
Kingston planned to release a mixtape with pop starJustin Bieber, calledOur World. It featured about 12–14 songs and included their versions of songs like "Pretty Boy Swag", Eagles hit single, "Lyin Eyes" and "Billionaire". The mixtape was completed and Kingston showed his fans a preview onuStream on August 19, 2010.[citation needed] However, the album was never released. Kingston also went on to perform on the first leg of Bieber's tour. Kingston released his first mixtape,King of Kingz, as a free download only, on February 3, 2011. The mixtape includes guest appearances byAkon,Flo Rida,Soulja Boy,Justin Bieber,B.o.B, andTory Lanez. Kingston announced that his new album would be calledBack 2 Life.[29] He also said in an interview with MTV that he would be completely re-doing the album and that the previous singles would not be on it. Kingston linked up withT.I. on the set of the video for "Back 2 Life", the street single off his then-upcoming album of the same name. The two shot the video inLos Angeles with comedianMike Epps. In November 2012, Kingston performed in the Dubai Caribbean Carnival at Downtown Dubai withJason Derulo andBow Wow. On April 13, 2013,iTunes put up the preorder ofBack 2 Life, its cover art and track listing as well as a release date of September 10, 2013.[30] The album failed to chart on the U.S.Billboard 200, but spawned the hit single "Beat It", featuringChris Brown andWiz Khalifa.
In March 2013, Kingston announced plans for his upcoming fourth studio album while stating that he would be recording with Disney and pop starZendaya. At the same time, he said that they were both recording a song titled "Heart on Empty", which Kingston described as "a soulful ballad that you all will be sure to remember". In November, Kingston also guest starred as Dexter and Saint in an episode ofBlack Dynamite onCartoon Network'sAdult Swim. In March 2015, Kingston posted on Instagram a picture with Swedish record producerRedOne, confirming that they were working on the album.[citation needed] In May 2015, Kingston posted a snippet of the then-upcoming lead single from his fourth studio album.[31][32] On September 14, 2015, Kingston premiered his first single in two years, titled "Wait Up", the lead single off his upcoming fourth studio album. However the song ended up not included on any album. In December 2015, he released "sina see song" with Sri Lankan music producerIraj Weeraratne, Indian singerSonu Kakkar, and Kaizer Kaiz (Sri Lankan rapper).[33] Music videos were released for "One Away" and "All I Got" in January and March 2016, respectively. In March 2017, he announced the release of theMade in Jamaica mixtape, preceded by the single "Chance" that featuredVybz Kartel.[34] However the mixtape was scrapped. In 2018, he participated with Italian singerGiusy Ferreri on the vocal part of the single "Amore e capoeira", by Italian record producersTakagi & Ketra.[35] In 2019, he released his single "Peace of Mind" with Canadian singerTory Lanez and Nigerian singerDavido. In June 2020, he announced the creation of the "Professional Rapper Boxing League" with hip hop super-agent, Triple the Mogul.[36][37] On May 21, 2021, Kingston returned with the single, "Darkest Times" (featuringG Herbo), while also announcing his upcoming fourth studio album.[38] On December 31, 2021, Kingston participated with Japanese rapperTomoro on the single "Let Me Hold You".[39]
On September 30, 2022,Road to Deliverance was released as Kingston's fourth studio album.[40] In 2023, Kingston co-wroteChris Brown's single "Sensational".[41]
In May 2011, Kingston was involved in a near-fatal jet skiing accident in Miami and was immediately rushed to the hospital.[42] Kingston was required to pay a $180 fine for careless operation in the accident.[43] By 2018, he had begun to ride jet skis again.[44]
Kingston filmed a public service announcement withDo Something to encourage teens to become active in their communities by forming a Do Something club.[45] In 2010, he appeared with one of his dogs in an ad forPETA, encouraging people not to chain their dogs outside.[46]
On May 23, 2024, Kingston's rentedSouthwest Ranches, Florida, mansion was raided by a policeSWAT team and his mother was arrested.[47][48] The federal arrest warrant was issued on several instances of allegedfraud and theft.[49] Kingston was arrested a few hours later in California after a concert inFort Irwin, and he was booked into jail inSan Bernardino County.[50] Kingston waived his right to fightextradition and was sent toBroward County jail in Florida.[51][52] A week later, Kingston was released from police custody after posting bail of $100,000.[53]
On July 19, 2024, a federal grand jury indicted Kingston and his mother on one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts each ofwire fraud. The charges stem from their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry, and other goods purchased through fraudulent documents and wire transfers.[54] It was reported that Kingston and his mother had $1 million worth of items they obtained fraudulently and did not pay for.[5] For each count, Kingston and his mother faced up to 20 years in prison.[54][55]
The charges follow a February lawsuit filed against Kingston by Ver Ver Entertainment, which claims Kingston did not pay for items such as luxury watches that he purchased. The lawsuit also alleges that Kingston claimed to have a "current and ongoing working relationship" withJustin Bieber and would be able to get Bieber to work on promotional videos on behalf of the company, even though the two had not made a song together since releasing "Eenie Meenie" in 2010.[48]
On March 28, 2025, a jury convicted them on all charges. The judge put Kingston on house arrest withelectronic monitoring. He is required to post a surety bond consisting of his $500,000 home plus $200,000 in cash. Turner was remanded to federal custody. Sentencing was originally set for July 11, 2025, but it was later moved to August 15 to allow Kingston more time to find an attorney.[6] He was held at theFederal Detention Center, Miami after being unable to complete the bond.[56]
His mother, Janice Turner, was sentenced to five years in prison on July 23, 2025.[7] Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on August 15, 2025, followed by three years of supervised release.[57]
Studio albums
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
