Trey Songz

• Genre: Contemporary R&B
• Hometown: Petersburg
• Trey Songz Website

About

Bridging the gap between teen R&B and a classic Motown soul, Songz is as talented as he is cuddly. Talent runs in the family, apparently, and the Petersburg, VA native was initially introduced to soul music while listening to his grandmother sing in her church choir. By the age of 15, Trey had won over 20 local talent shows, yet his real break didn't come until he met Troy Taylor. The SWV producer was impressed with Trey's original composition, "All The Things I Do," and after Trey graduated from high school, Taylor took the young singer under his wing and helped him secure guest work on Trick Daddy's "Ain't a Thug" as well as on the debut album from Caribbean Soca artist Kevin Lyttle. Trey's smooth tenor proved to be the perfect foil for these gravely voiced urban music icons and paved the way for the 2005 release of Trey's top-40 debut, I Gotta Make It . Though no one would mistake that album for anything other than a pop record, Trey was able to inject the smoother melodies and lush rhythms of old-school soul into the songs. Aretha Franklin was featured on album's intro, and the remix for "Gotta Make It" even included an unlikely duet between the legendary diva and former Hot Boyz emcee Juvenile.

- Sam Chennault