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Urban Pop Profile - Tevin Campbell

Life is full of twists and turns. First of all it's a gift to be cherished. Of course often it's also very cold and matter of fact as well. You live, then you die. You get breaks, you get things taken away. It's never personal, just a fact of life.

A long time ago there was an 11 year old kid with a five octave range who was referred to as the male Whitney Houston (a fairly accurate description). He was adorable and talented and the world fell in love with him. He had several hits and a very nice career until some tabloid crap took him out and the world fell out of love. Growing up and discovering who you are is not easy for any of us, but it has to be horrible when you have a world full of people who think they're perfect judging your every move. Is he gay, is he straight? Is he getting along with his Mother, is he not? That hair is terrible, I'll never buy another CD again. Pathetic to be sure, but that's how the world can be. Can you imagine the world judging your high school and college years? Most of us would end up in an insane assylum if we had to live that way. Tevin lived it and though it took him through alot he seems to have survived. he recently spent time on Broadway doing Hairspray and there's rumors of a new CD soon. No matter what the future holds for him, there will always be his accomplishments.

Tevin Campbell has one of the most beautiful male voices ever! It is powerful when it needs to be, and subtle when the emotion calls for it. It still covers a tremendous range and conveys passion effortlessly. In a world where many lesser male voices have gone on to become superstars, I find myself longing for a time when Tevin Campbell, James Ingram, Jeffrey Osbourne, Will Downing, Johnnie Gill, Babyface and others sang a song with technically perfect delivery and a heavy dose of human emotion and passion. The most we tend to get now is a hot beat, computer enhanced vocal and a six pack. I'm sayin, can we have it all? Can We Talk?

Usher did his thing, Justin has his place, Donell Jones was def chill and Ne-Yo is a very talented cat, but Tevin Campbell will always be the best voice to me in this category of singers.

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Bio

Born in Waxahachie, Texas, Campbell was introduced to the R&B world by Quincy Jones in August 1989 and is widely known for his five octave vocal strength and is often referred to as the male Whitney Houston. Campbell's debut single was "Tomorrow (A Better You Better Me)" which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip hop Singles chart in June 1990. It was the lead single from Quincy Jones' critically acclaimed ensemble LP Back on the Block which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1991. After working with Jones and writers and producers including Siedah Garrett, Campbell worked with producers Narada Michael Walden, Al B. Sure, Babyface, and others to record additional music.

Campbell's first solo hit was "Round and Round", which charted at #3 on R&B charts in November 1991 and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1991 was produced by Prince and was featured in Prince's film Graffiti Bridge. Campbell followed the success of his first two singles by releasing his debut album, T.E.V.I.N., in November 1991 which featured the R&B hit singles and Campbell's only #1 Adult Contemporary hit: "Tell Me What You Want Me To Do" followed by:, "Alone With You", and "Goodbye". His second album, I'm Ready released October 1993, yielded the #1 R&B hit and #9 pop single "Can We Talk" in December 1993, "I'm Ready", "Always in My Heart" which charted at #3 on the R&B chart. He also scored a Top 30 hit with "Don't Say Goodbye Girl" on the R&B charts. In September 1994, Campbell also scored an R&B hit with the single "U Will Know" as part of the R&B supergroup Black Men United, a group that also included singer Usher.

The year 1996 saw the release of his third album, Back to the World (#11 R&B). The title track was a success (hitting the R&B Top 20), but additional singles failed to make an impact on the chart. His early 1999 self-titled album was found Campbell venturing into the neo-soul venue. The project was rushed, and as a result charted below the R&B Top 30, with only one single charting, a Top 30 song called "Another Way".

In May 2008, Rambo House Media released a bootleg internet mixtape of various unreleased Tevin Campbell material, titled 2008, Never Before Heard through iTunes and Amazon. After six months of availability, Campbell decided to no longer allow the unpublished material to be downloaded online[citation needed], and the music can no longer be heard or purchased on these sites. Tevin Campbell however is finally planning to release a new album in early 2009 according to former producer Narada Michael Walden.

From Wikipedia

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Comments

Man, do I love your music blogs! I agree with you whole-heartedly about Tevin being a survivor, and yes, he truly is the dominant voice when it comes to the young male singer "slot".

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