Joe (singer)

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This article is about musician Joseph Lewis Thomas. For other people named Joe,
see Joe (given name).

Joe

Joe performing in 2011

Background information

Birth name Joseph Lewis Thomas[1]

Born July 5, 1972 (age 50)[1]

Columbus, Georgia, U.S.

Origin Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Genres R&B

 Singer
Occupation(s)
 songwriter

 record producer

Years active 1992–present

Labels  Plaid Takeover

 BMG

 Massenburg Media

 Kedar

 563

 Island
  Jive

 PolyGram

 Mercury

Joseph Lewis Thomas (born July 5, 1972), known mononymously as Joe, is an

American R&B singer. Born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, he later relocated
to Atlanta, Georgia, and signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1992. He
rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He
followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I
Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-
certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from
these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the
number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things (Your Man Won't Do)",
"Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations
"Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Since his departure from Jive, Joe has released most of his projects independently
through ventures with Kedar Massenburg and Plaid Takeover Entertainment. In
2016, his twelfth album My Name Is Joe Thomas became his eleventh album to
score a top five-placing on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while lead
single "So I Can Have You Back" became his fourth number-one hit on the Adult
R&B Songs chart over the span of three consecutive decades (1990s, 2000s, and
2010s).[2] In 2010, Billboard listed Joe at 48th on its list of the Top 50 R&B and Hip
Hop Artists of the past 25 years.[3] An ASCAP Award recipient for his song "I Wanna
Know", Joe is a seven-time Grammy Award nominee and has been nominated for
numerous other awards and accolades, including a BET Award, a NAACP Image
Award, and four Soul Train Music Awards.

Contents

 1Early life
 2Career
o 2.11990s
o 2.22000–2007: Rise to success
o 2.32008–present: Independent releases
 3Discography
 4Awards and nominations
 5References
 6External links

Early life[edit]
Joe was born July 5, 1972, in Columbus, Georgia, and was the child of evangelist
preachers.[4] He moved to Opelika, Alabama during his formative years and
graduated from Opelika High School 1990.[5]

Career[edit]
1990s[edit]
After his graduation from Opelika High School, Joe continued to sing and write music
while working at occasional temporary jobs.[6] In New Jersey, while working at a
gospel record store and continuing his music education through a local church, he
met producer Vincent Herbert and recorded a three-song demo tape.[citation needed] In
1992, he signed to PolyGram Records and released his debut album Everything the
next year. Produced by Joe along with Keith Mille, J. Dibbs, and Dave "Jam" Hall, it
peaked at number 105 on the US Billboard 200 and number 16 on Billboard's Top
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Everything spawned three singles, including I'm in Luv" and
"The One for Me" the former of which became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
Songs chart and peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1996, Joe contributed the song "All the Things (Your Man Won't Do)" to
the soundtrack to the crime comedy parody film Don't Be a Menace to South Central
While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996). Released as a single, it reached
number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was later included as the opening track
on his second studio album All That I Am (1997) after signing with Jive Records.
Marking his commercial breakthrough, the album reached number 13 on the
US Billboard 200 and number 4 on Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Another hit single from the album "Don't Wanna Be a Player", was also featured on
the Booty Call soundtrack. All That I Am eventually went platinum in the US.
A songwriter and producer, Joe became a frequent collaborator on other artist's
projects in the mid-1990s. He remixed a duet by Barry White and Tina Turner called
"In Your Wildest Dreams" as well as a remix of Turner's single "Something Beautiful
Remains" from Turner's album Wildest Dreams (1996) and wrote and produced on
albums by R&B groups Ideal, Xscape and Hi-Five. In addition, Joe sang on the remix
of Big Punisher's "Still Not a Player", produced by Knobody, which interpolated his
own song "Don't Wanna Be a Player" and appeared as a backing vocalist
on Brandy's track "Angel in Disguise" from her second album, Never Say
Never (1998). In 1999, singer Mariah Carey asked him to sing on her track "Thank
God I Found You" which appeared on her album Rainbow (1999).[7] Released as the
album's second single, it became Joe's first number-one single on the
US Billboard Hot 100 and was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA). Aside from its peak of number two in Canada, the
song achieved moderate international charting, reaching the top ten in the United
Kingdom and peaking within the top thirty in Australia, Belgium (Wallonia), France,
Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.[8]
2000–2007: Rise to success[edit]
In April 2000, Joe released his third album, My Name Is Joe. Produced by Joe and
several other record producers such as Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Teddy
Riley and Tim & Bob, it received favorable reviews from critics and peaked at
number two on the Billboard 200, while topping the Top R&B/Hip-Hop
Albums chart.[9] It charted internationally as well, peaking within the top 10
in Netherlands and Canada. My Name Is Joe produced three singles, including "I
Wanna Know", "Treat Her Like a Lady", and "Stutter", the first and last of which
reached the top five of the US Billboard Hot 100. The biggest seller of his
discography, My Name Is Joe was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA), and earned platinum and silver certifications
from Music Canada, Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP), and
the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In 2001, the album and "I Wanna Know"
received Grammy Award nominations in the Best R&B Album and Best Male R&B
Vocal Performance categories.
The following year, Better Days, Joe's fourth album, was released. Significantly less
successful, it reached number 32 on the Billboard 200 but peaked at number four on
the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, reaching gold status in the US. The album
spawned two singles, "Let's Stay Home Tonight", which reached number 18 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and the Adult R&B Songs chart-topper "What If a
Woman". A critical success, Better Days became his second album to receive a
Grammy nomination in the Best R&B Album category, while "Let's Stay Home
Tonight" was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. In 2002, Joe did
another collaboration with Mariah Carey on the remix version of "Through the Rain",
the first single from her album Charmbracelet (2002).[10]
Joe recruited a diverse roster of high-profile musicians to work with him on his fifth
studio album, including Carvin & Ivan, Dre & Vidal, R. Kelly, and The Underdogs.
Released in late 2003, And Then... reached number 26 on the US Billboard 200.
While Kelly-penned lead single "More & More" became a top 20 R&B in the US, it
was released on double A-side with "Ride Wit U", a collaboration with rap group G-
Unit, elsewhere. A moderate success, the single entered Australia's top 40 in July
2004, and peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one if his
biggest hits there.[11] A steady seller, And Then... was eventually certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Joe's sixth album Ain't Nothin' Like Me, released in April 2007, was produced
by Stargate, Tank, Cool & Dre, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Sean Garrett and featured
guest appearances by rappers Nas, Fabolous, Papoose, Young Buck and Tony
Yayo. It received generally positive reviews from music critics and debuted at
number two on the US Billboard 200 and on top of the Top R&B/Hip Hop
Albums chart, selling about 98,000 copies in its first week, while marking his highest-
charting album since My Name Is Joe. While lead single "Where You At" charted in
the United Kingdom only, follow-up "If I Was Your Man" reached number three
on Billboard's Adult R&B Songs. Ain't Nothin' Like Me marked Joe's final album with
Jive Records following a fallout with label surrounding rumors of his dissatisfaction
with the promotion of his material.[12] Also in 2007, Joe performed a cover version of
"Before He Cheats", a Carrie Underwood hit, as a Pepsi Smash exclusive on Yahoo!
Music.[13]
2008–present: Independent releases[edit]
Following his departure from Jive Records, Joe released his seventh album Joe
Thomas, New Man independently on record label executive Kedar
Massenburg's Kedar Entertainment company in September 2008. Production on the
album was helmed by Bryan-Michael Cox, Stereotypes, and D'Mile among
others.[14] Upon release, it debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200, selling
56,733 copies in its first week. Lead single "E.R. (Emergency Room)" became the
only single to reach the top forty on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[15] Only
ten months later, Signature, his second album with Kedar, was released.[16] An album
composed of ballads written, produced, and arranged by Joe, it debuted at number
seven on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop
Albums chart.[17] The same year, Joe released the holidays EP Make Sure You're
Home for Christmas, which was released exclusively through Target and features
two original songs and four cover versions of Christmas standards and carols. A top
twenty success on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, the standalone EP was
worked into a full-length album, entitled Home Is the Essence of Christmas, released
the following year.[18]
In 2010, Joe collaborated with label mate Keith Sweat on the song "Test Drive",
written for Sweat's album Ridin' Solo. Also in 2010, he released his ninth studio The
Good, the Bad, the Sexy. The singer worked with Brandon "B.A.M." Alexander,
Gragston, The Ambassadorz, and Gerald Issac on most of the record which debuted
at number eight on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop
albums chart.[19] Following a short hiatus, Joe's next effort, his tenth studio
album Doubleback: Evolution of R&B, was released in July 2013, marking his first
release on Massenburg's newly formed company Massenburg Media after the
dissolution of his Kedar Entertainment.[20] It debuted at number six on
the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B/Hip Hop chart, selling 31,500 copies
in its first week.[21] The singer worked with a small group of musicians on the album,
including San Francisco-based producer D.O.A., who contributed "I'd Rather Have a
Love" and the duet "Love & Sex", featuring singer Fantasia.[22] Rapper Too Short also
appears on the album.[23]
In March 2014, Joe signed a distribution deal with BMG Rights Management.[24] His
eleventh album, Bridges, marked his first album under Plaid Takeover
Entertainment, a venture of regular co-executive producer Gerald Isaac, after
severing business ties with Massenburg.[25] After a decade of consecutive top ten
entries on the Billboard 200, it debuted and peaked at number 17, with first-week
sales of 15,126 copies in the United States.[26] The first single released from the
album was "Love & Sex, Pt. 2", a duet with singer Kelly Rowland serving as sequel
to his 2013 collaboration with Fantasia. It became a top five hit on the Adult R&B
Songs chart.[27] Joe's twelfth album, My Name Is Joe Thomas, an homage to his third
effort My Name Is Joe (2000), was released on November 11, 2016. The album
debuted at number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with 17,000 copies
sold the first week, and spawned the single "So I Can Have You Back", his fourth
number-one hit on the Adult R&B Songs chart.[2] In support of the album, Joe co-
headlined a European concert tour alongside Ashanti from February to March
2017.[28]

Discography[edit]
Main article: Joe discography
Studio albums

 Everything (1993)
 All That I Am (1997)
 My Name Is Joe (2000)
 Better Days (2001)
 And Then... (2003)
 Ain't Nothin' Like Me (2007)
 Joe Thomas, New Man (2008)
 Signature (2009)
 Home Is the Essence of Christmas (2010)
 The Good, the Bad, the Sexy (2011)
 Doubleback: Evolution of R&B (2013)
 Bridges (2014)
 My Name Is Joe Thomas (2016)

Awards and nominations[edit]

List of awards and nominations

Award Year Category Recipients and nominees Result[citation

needed]

Most Performed Songs from Motion

ASCAP Awards 2001 "I Wanna Know" Won
Pictures

BET Awards 2001 Best R&B Male Artist Joe Nominated

"Thank God I Found

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals Nominated
You"

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance "I Wanna Know" Nominated

2001

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or

"Coming Home" Nominated
Group with Vocals

Grammy Awards Best R&B Album My Name Is Joe Nominated

"Let's Stay Home

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Nominated
Tonight"

2003 Best R&B Performance by a Duo or

"More Than a Woman" Nominated
Group with Vocals

Best R&B Album Better Days Nominated

NAACP Image
2001 Outstanding Album My Name Is Joe Nominated
Awards
 "All the Things (Your
1997 Best R&B/Soul Single – Male Nominated
Man Won't Do)"

Best R&B/Soul Album – Male All That I Am Nominated

Soul Train Music
Awards 1998
"Don't Wanna Be a
Best R&B/Soul Single – Male Nominated
Player"

1999 Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video "Still Not a Player" Nominated