Jon B. (18 and Over)

About this event

Born in Rhode Island, Jonathan Buck was raised primarily in Pasadena, Calif. During his childhood, he spent many afternoons in the record store owned by his grandparents. "I literally listened to records all day long," he attests. "I had a very large collection, and I didn't even understand the cultural impact of the music I was listening to; I just knew I liked certain records, everything by The Bee Gees, Earth, Wind & Fire, Diana Ross … I didn't know anything about genre or style; I just knew good music."Good music quickly became an addiction - and a life path... "The summer after I graduated from high school, I told my dad I was going to pursue music and not go to college. He just looked at me and said, 'Well, you better get a record deal!'" Jon recalls with a laugh... But the young artist's commitment was no laughing matter. That very summer he wrote, produced and recorded 40 incredible songs and began making his rounds to all major record labels. Within a few months, he'd met Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife, Tracy Edmonds, who were interested in signing Jon to their label imprint, Edmonds Record Group (formerly Yab Yum).He continued his mission with Pleasures U Like, which rose to 3 on the R&B charts in 2001. The first single, the hit love-at-first-club-sighting anthem "Don't Talk" single-handedly pushed the album past 470,000 units sold and now yet another certified Gold album... His fourth album "Stronger Everyday" reaffirmed this fine tradition. Although the album was never promoted correctly and very limited funds backing the album, Stronger Everyday still managed to sell over 120,000 units. "It's a shame that Sanctuary did not push the album the way they should have, the label had financial problems and stopped spending money on their artists. I was one of the unfortunate ones who got caught up in the Sanctuary nightmare, but I still give thanks to Matthew Knowles for giving me another album for my fans. I sold 120,000 albums based on fan base…