Career
Sean Kingston’s career began when he was discovered by Tommy Rotem on ‘MySpace.’ He was signed by ‘Beluga Heights,’ in a partnership deal with ‘Sony.’ The label owner, JR Rotem, remembered Kingston as a raw singer who eventually developed into a melodious singer.
In May 2007, Kingston recorded and released the single ‘Beautiful Girls.’ The song became a huge hit internationally and topped the music charts of countries such as Australia, Canada, Spain, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand.
‘Beautiful Girls’ was on the top of the ‘Billboard Hot 100.’ The song spent four weeks at the top of the ‘UK Singles Chart.’
2007 saw Kingston perform as an opening act for Gwen Stefani’s ‘The Sweet Escape Tour’ and for Beyoncé’s ‘The Beyoncé Experience Tour.’ The following year, he did the opening act for Kelly Clarkson’s ‘My December Tour.’
On September 22, 2009, his album ‘Tomorrow’ was released. A number of producers were involved in the making of the album, including his mentor, JR Rotem. The songs ‘Fire Burning’ and ‘Face Drop’ were released as singles. Furthermore, five more digital singles were released for promotional purpose.
Kingston co-wrote Jason Derulo’s single ‘Whatcha Say.’ R&B –reggae singer Iyaz was discovered by Kingston on ‘MySpace.’ Iyaz was offered a contract with Kingston’s label. On March 15, 2010, Kingston’s track ‘Miss Everything’ for the studio album ‘Sweet 7’ by UK girl-band ‘Sugababes’ was released in the UK. He was also seen with DJ Khaled in Bow Wow’s new single ‘For My Hood.’
On March 23, 2010, the first single of his new album ‘Eenie Meenie’ was released. It featured Justin Bieber. The second single of the album, ‘Letting Go’ (Dutty Love), had a verse by Nicki Minaj. It was released on ‘iTunes’ on August 3. ‘Dumb Love’ was the third single of the album and was released on ‘iTunes’ on September 8.
The fourth single of the album, ‘Party All Night (Sleep All Day),’ was released on December 21, 2010. Sean also performed the song ‘She Moves’ for the film ‘Flashdance.’ The song, which sampled Irena Cara’s ‘What a Feeling,’ was not released as a single.
Kingston recorded the official theme song of the 2010 ‘Youth Olympic Games,’ ‘Everyone.’ This performance required him to collaborate with four other artists: Australian Jessica Mauboy, representing Oceania; Jody Williams, representing Africa; Briton Stevie Appleton, representing Europe; and Tabitha Nauser, representing Asia. Kingston represented both North and South America. Unfortunately, Kingston failed to attend the opening ceremony of the ‘Youth Olympics’ because of passport issues.
Continue Reading Below
Kingston collaborated with ‘Cash Money Records’ and Bow Wow on the single ‘For My Hood.’ Kingston also made plans to release a mixtape, titled ‘Our World,’ with the teenage singing sensation Justin Bieber. The tape was supposed to feature 12 to14 songs, including their versions of songs such as ‘Billionaire’ and ‘Pretty Boy Swag.’ The album was never released, but Kingston shared its preview with his fans on ‘uStream’ on August 19, 2010.
His first mixtape, ‘King of Kingz,’ was released on February 3, 2011, and was available for free download. The mixtape featured some of the biggest names of the industry, such as Justin Bieber, B.o.B, Tory Lanez, Akon, Flo Rida, and Soulja Boy.
Later, Kingston announced that he was working on his next album, ‘Back 2 Life.’ He had told the media that he would not repeat his previous singles on it. He also shot a video with TI, also known as Tip, and comedian Mike Epps.
In 2012, he performed with Jason Derulo and Bow Wow at the ‘Dubai Caribbean Carnival’ at ‘Downtown Dubai.’ On April 13, 2013, ‘Back 2 Life’ was made available for “pre-order” on ‘iTunes,’ while it was officially released on September 10, 2013.
In March 2014, it was announced that he was working on his fourth studio album, which was to feature pop star Zendaya. A few months later, he played a cameo in the Bob Marley episode of ‘Black Dynamite’ on the ‘Cartoon Network’ adult program ‘Adult Swim.’ He guest-starred on the show, along with Mel B, Rochelle Jordan, David Alan Grier, Christopher “Kid” Reid’, ‘Debra Wilson’, and ‘Chance the Rapper.’
In March 2015, his social media posts claimed that he was working with Swedish record producer RedOne. A few months later, he released a single ‘Wait Up,’ which was the lead single of his upcoming album.
In January and March 2016, he released the music videos of ‘One Away’ and ‘All I Got,’ respectively. In March 2017, he announced that he would release the mixtape ‘Made in Jamaica.’
