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Robin Thicke Information
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'Robin Thicke', born in Los Angeles, California, is the son of soap-opera actress/vocalist Gloria Loring and Canadian actor, songwriter and game show host, Alan Thicke. Robin clearly follows in his parents footsteps and is an actor/singer/songwriter in his own right.
Robin performed solely using his surname, Thicke, until 2005.
The Actor
At the ages of 12 and 13, Robin was a guest actor in a string of The Wonder Years episodes and Growing Pains. He decided acting wasn't the right choice and began to concentrate more fully on his musical abilities.
The Songwriter
At the age of sixteen, Robin became friends with the president of Bad Boy Entertainment, Andre Harrell, and struck a writers deal with Interscope. Thicke penned a wide range of hits, from pop artists such as Christina Aguilera and Mya to R&B singer Brandy and latin Marc Anthony. It wasn't until 2000 that Thicke finally got a chance to write for himself and create his own album.
The Singer/Songwriter - Cherry Blue Skies
Initially entitled "Cherry Blue Skies"; Thicke's debut album focused more on blue-eyed soul, sometimes latin and even hip hop than his pop-offerings for other artists. Mixing in influences from British funk outfit Jamiroquai and sounding like his blue-eyed contemporary, Canadian neo-soul singer, Remy Shand, the album was tipped for huge things and to be released in the fall of 2002
Later on that year, 2002 Thicke released the video and lead single "When I Get You Alone". The track was very distinctive, sampling Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven", which itself sampled Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
The video was quite unlike anything around at that time. It featured an unshaven Thicke, with long, grungy hair; as a courier, on a bike, racing through the streets of Manhattan. The received some rotation on MTV 2 and BET's "Rated Next" and was spun moderately on urban radio. On the Hot 100, it reached #29 quite quickly, before falling out the chart just as fast.
Globally, the song was quite popular, peaking at #17 in Australia, #15 in Belgium, #15 in Italy, #8 in New Zealand and #5 in the Netherlands.
The moderate success was enough to signal the release of the album, except its name had been changed to "A Beautiful World", with a few extra songs. It received very little promotion, despite the release of a second single "Brand New Jones". The album debuted at #152 in the US and barely made it into the Billboard Top 100 albums.
The Evolution of Robin Thicke
In 2005, Thicke guested on the remix of Will Smith's international hit, "Switch" and began work on his sophomore album, called "The Evolution of Robin Thicke".
Robin was signed to Star-trak, Pharrell Williams's label, in 2005, apparently after persuasion from Bono of U2. So far, the first single to be dropped, "Wanna Love U Girl" (feat. Pharrell) has done very well on urban radio in the UKhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/urban/tracklistings/nelson/nelson_tracklistings_live.shtml, hitting #5 on Trevor Nelson's BBC Radio 1 "Soul Nation" chart. Now sounding more like Justin Timberlake than Remy Shand, Robin cut off his trademark long hair, in his second attempt to crack the market, for his Hype Williams directed video.
The video was personally added to TRL, by Thicke himself, on 7 November, 2005. The album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke, is scheduled to be released on Feb. 14, 2006.
Discography
Singles
* "When I Get You Alone" (2003) #29 US, #5 NL, #17 Australia
* "Brand New Jones" (2003)
* "Switch" (as guest on remix) (2005) #7 US, #4 UK, #1 Australia
* "Wanna Love U Girl" (feat Pharrell Williams) (2005)
Albums
* Cherry Blue Skies (2002)
* A Beautiful World (2003) [same album as above with extra songs]
* ''The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006)
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