Trey Songz

Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz signed to his record label, Songbook Entertainment, in a joint venture with Atlantic Records during that same year. His debut album, I Gotta Make It (2005), entered at number 20 on the Billboard 200, while his second album, Trey Day (2007), peaked at number 11. The latter was supported by the single, "Can't Help but Wait", which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. His third album, Ready (2009), peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top ten single, "Say Aah" (featuring Fabolous), and was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Neverson's fourth album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure (2010), peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Bottoms Up" (featuring Nicki Minaj), which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Supported by the Grammy Award-nominated single "Heart Attack", his fifth album, Chapter V (2012), became his first to debut atop the Billboard 200. His sixth album, Trigga (2014), became his second to do so, and spawned a commercial re-issue following the success of his 2015 single, "Slow Motion". He has since released the albums Tremaine (2017) and Back Home (2020). Trey Songz has sold over 25 million records worldwide in singles and albums.

Early life

Tremaine Aldon Neverson was born on November 28, 1984, in Petersburg, Virginia. He is the son of Claude Neverson Jr. and April (Gholson) Tucker, who was 17 when he was born. Raised as a military brat by his mother and stepfather, Neverson did not have aspirations for a musical career as a child due to his shyness, saying, "Singing wasn't a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good." He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14.
 

Career

2003–2006: Early career and I Gotta Make It

After graduating from Petersburg High School in 2002, Trey Songz moved to New Jersey to begin recording his debut studio album, though recording did not begin until 2003. Also in 2003, Troy Taylor signed Songz to his label, called Songbook Entertainment, which soon led to a joint venture with Atlantic Records. While recording his then-upcoming and untitled debut album in 2004, Songz released multiple mixtapes under the alias Prince of Virginia. There was one of his mixtapes that features an "answer track" to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet", titled "Open the Closet", which granted Songz some regional attention. Songz's debut single, "Gotta Make It" (featuring Twista), released in March 2005, reached number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It garnered success in the R&B/urban community, but failed to make a mark in mainstream music. His debut studio album, I Gotta Make It, was released on July 26, 2005. Upon its release, the album debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week of sales. After the album had sold 300,000 records in the United States, the album's second and final single, "Gotta Go", was released in July 2005, reaching number 67 on the Hot 100 and number 11 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming even more successful than his debut single in the R&B/urban community and in the mainstream community. After promotion for his debut concluded, he was featured on the lead single from Twista's fifth album, The Day After. The single, "Girl Tonite", reached number 14 on the Hot 100 and number 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming a huge hit.
 

2006–2008: Trey Day

In mid-2006, Songz began working on a follow-up album to his debut record with longtime collaborator Troy Taylor and also employed successful Bryan-Michael Cox, Danja, Stargate, and R. Kelly to help him create the album. Trey aimed for the album to be more mainstream-oriented than his debut album. His then-upcoming and untitled second album would be preceded by the lead single, "Wonder Woman", which was released in February 2007. It reached number 54 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but failed to impact the Hot 100. The album was going to be released on May 8, 2007, but was continually delayed in order for a successful single to precede the album, as the lead single failed to impact charts. However, because of the single's failure, his second album was delayed from May 2007 to October 2007. The album's second single, "Can't Help but Wait", was released as a promotional single not only towards his second album, but to its soundtrack of the film Step Up 2 the Streets, in August 2007.

His second studio album, titled Trey Day, was released on October 2, 2007. The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200, selling 73,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold 400,000 records in the United States, becoming his second album not to be certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After the album release, the single, "Can't Help but Wait", reached number 14 on the Hot 100 and number 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It became Songz's first Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, helping the song boost his second album's first-week sales. The single was also nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards. The third single from the album, "Last Time", was released in January 2008 and reached number 69 on the Hot 100 and number 9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fourth and final single from the album, "Missin' You", was released in May 2008, but failed to chart completely. In mid-2008, Songz was nominated for a BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist, but did not win the award.
 

2008–2010: Ready

In 2008, Trey began working on his then-upcoming and untitled third studio album with Bryan-Michael Cox, Sean Garrett, Stargate, and Taylor, while aiming for a more mature record than his first two full-length albums. The lead single from the album, "I Need a Girl", was released in April 2009 and reached #5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart and #59 on the Hot 100, becoming an R&B/urban hit but not a mainstream hit. A promotional single, "Successful", featuring rapper Drake, was released in June 2009 and reached #17 on the Hot 100, becoming Songz's third Top 20 hit. The single also served as the second and final single from Drake's extended play (EP), So Far Gone. Before releasing his third album, Songz released a mixtape, titled Anticipation, through his blog in June 2009, which features some of these songs that would be included on his third album. Trey's other mixtape, called Genesis, was released in the summer of 2009. Genesis was a collection of Trey Songz's first recordings to show his fans the dedication that he was making when he was fifteen years old. The second official single from his third album, "LOL Smiley Face" (featuring Soulja Boy and Gucci Mane), was released in August 2009, and reached number 51 on the Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On August 31, 2009, Trey released his third studio album, titled Ready. Upon its release, the album reached number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 131,000 copies in its first week. These are his best first-week sales to date, making the album his first record to ever reach the top of the Billboard 200. To date, the album has sold over 1,000,000 records in the United States, earning a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 2014, becoming his first Platinum album.

The third single from the album, "I Invented Sex" (featuring Drake), was released in October 2009, and reached number 42 on the Hot 100, but reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top that chart. Like the first two singles from the album, it achieved success in the R&B/urban community, but only some mainstream success. Charted within the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the R&B chart. Songz was also the opening act for Jay-Z on his Jay-Z Fall Tour towards the end of 2009. The fourth single from the album, "Say Aah" (featuring Fabolous), was released in January 2010, and reached number 9 on the Hot 100 and number 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single has become Trey's highest-charting single on the Hot 100 and one of his most successful singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He also collaborated with R&B singer Amerie on her song "Pretty Brown", the third single from her fourth album, In Love & War. The fifth and final single from the album, "Neighbors Know My Name", was released in February 2010, and reached number 43 on the Hot 100 and number 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The sixth single, "Yo Side of the Bed", was going to be released in June 2010, but its release was cancelled for unknown reasons. The music video, featuring singer Keri Hilson, was filmed and released, however. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010, but lost to Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce. On April 1, 2010, he recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged, which aired on April 26, 2010. The documentary series, Trey Songz: My Moment, which began in June 2010, received positive reviews and high ratings. The 10-part series, which follows Trey during his time as opening act on the Jay-Z Fall Tour towards the end of 2009, ended in August 2010.
 

2010–2012: Passion, Pain & Pleasure and Chapter V

In early 2010, Trey began working on the album with Sean Garrett, Troy Taylor, and Stargate, who have stated that the album will be his most personal to date and was completed in July 2010. The album's lead single, "Bottoms Up" (featuring Nicki Minaj), was released on July 27, 2010, and reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming his biggest hit to date. The single has since been certified 3× Platinum. "Can't Be Friends" was released as the album's second single in August 2010. Songz embarked on the Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour on August 6, 2010, with singer Monica. The tour is his first headlining tour to date and consists of shows in venues that seat 3,000 to 5,000 people. Songz also contributed the song "Already Taken" to the Step Up 3D soundtrack, which was released on July 27, 2010. He filmed a video for the song, which was released in July 2010. The leading lady in the video is former girlfriend and professional dancer Helen Gedlu. Songz appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. Songz's fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010. Songz also performed at the BET Awards 2011, which was broadcast on June 26, 2011.

On August 18, 2011, it was announced that Songz will be working on his fifth studio album, titled Chapter V. In an interview, Trey said the album, which would act as the follow-up to Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was nearing completion. He also said, "It's my sixth year in the game, so I've been here for a while now. You can expect the best me you've ever heard. I don't have any release dates in mind right now, but I'm just making music and enjoying myself in the studio and having fun. I have a few dream collaborations on that album that I want, but they say if you blow out your candle and make a wish, you can't tell people what you ask for, or it won't come true".

On November 28, 2011, his 27th birthday, Songz released his Inevitable EP to prepare for the release of his album. The EP opened with first-week sales of 27,000, landing it at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on Billboard's Top Hip-Hop R&B Albums chart. As of October 18, 2012, the EP has sold 91,000 copies in the United States. In February 2012, Songz will embark on his Anticipation 2our to promote his mixtape Anticipation 2 and to raise awareness of his new album. In July 2011, he was cast in Texas Chainsaw 3D as Ryan, the male lead role. The film was released on January 4, 2013.

Chapter V was released on August 21, 2012, by Atlantic Records, and on August 17 as a digital download. Trey Songz toured in promotion of the album on his Anticipation 2our, a tour spanning from February 9 to March 11, 2012, in North America. Rapper Big Sean was the tour's supporting act. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 135,000 copies. It was Songz's first album to top the chart. Chapter V was also Songz's first album to chart in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. As of October 3, 2012, the album has sold 238,400 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album's lead single, "Heart Attack", was released as a digital download on March 26, 2012. It charted at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. Its music video was released on May 4 and featured then-girlfriend Kelly Rowland playing Songz's love interest. The second single, "2 Reasons" was released on June 12. Its video premiered on June 12 on BET's 106 & Park. "Simply Amazing" was released in the United Kingdom on August 12. It charted at number eight in the UK. Its music video, directed by Justin Francis, was released on July 23. "Never Again" was released as a single in the UK in November. Its music video was released on November 21.

2013–2018: Trigga and Tremaine the Album

On June 20, 2013, in a radio interview with KS 107.5, Songz confirmed that he had already recorded about eight songs for his sixth studio album. On Christmas Day, Songz released the song titled "Na Na" on The Angel Network. In February 2014, Songz released another track featuring Young Jeezy called "Ordinary", and he was also featured on the remix to Mariah Carey's single, "You're Mine (Eternal)". In March 2014, Songz released the second single of his album called "SmartPhones". On April 1, 2014, 50 Cent released a single featuring Songz, titled "Smoke", from his fifth studio album Animal Ambition. On July 1, 2014, Trey Songz released his sixth album, Trigga, and it debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 105,000 copies.

On May 18, 2015, Songz digitally released the full-length album Intermission I & II. Half of the tracks on the album were previously available on the Intermission EP, which was released on April 14, 2015. Tremaine The Album was released on March 24, 2017, three years after his last LP. This album is based on his given name, Tremaine Aldon Neverson. The LP is made up of 15 songs, and the lone feature comes from fellow Virginia artist and frequent collaborator MIKExANGEL on "Games We Play."

2020–present: Back Home and upcoming ninth studio album

On April 29, 2020, Songz released "Back Home" featuring Summer Walker. The song was produced by Hitmaka and samples Rose Royce's "I'm Going Down". On June 5, in response to the uprising following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Songz released "2020 Riots: How Many Times". He also released an accompanying video. On August 14, Songz released the second single "Circles", which was produced by his longtime collaborator Troy Taylor. The official video was directed by Mahaneela and is said to have been inspired by Black love. Songz's eighth album, Back Home, was released on October 9, 2020.

In 2025, Songz released seven singles in advance of his upcoming ninth studio album, whose release date has yet to be announced.

Personal life

In April 2019, Songz announced the birth of his first child, a son, with Caro Colon.
 

Artistry

Songz possesses a tenor vocal range. His music is generally R&B and hip hop. Songz's musical influences include Luther Vandross, Prince, R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, and Usher.