Javier Colon

Javier Colon fronted the Derek Trucks Band for two years before stepping out on his own. Fresh from the University of Hartford—where he had sung with a local funk group and played solo sets in coffeehouses—he landed the role after impressing guitarist Eric Krasno during a Soulive opening slot. Krasno urged him to audition for Derek Trucks, and Colon succeeded during his final semester, joining the road in August 2000. When he exited the lineup two years later, privately recorded demos helped secure a solo deal with Capitol Records.

Under the mononym Javier he issued two albums for the label. The 2003 debut mixed retro and adult contemporary R&B and registered modest chart gains. Left of Center arrived in 2006, performed far more quietly, and led to his prompt dismissal. He then self-released The Truth: Acoustic EP in 2010 on his own imprint.

Colon joined the NBC series The Voice in 2011, facing judges that included Christina Aguilera and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine. With Levine as mentor, several of his performances reached the Hot 100. He won the competition that summer and, as a result, signed with Universal Republic Records. Later in 2011 he delivered Come Through for You, a straightforward contemporary pop/rock album whose title track and “As Long As We Got Love” were issued as singles. December brought the holiday EP A Very Acoustic Christmas, and 2012 saw the release of a third single, “A Drop in the Ocean,” before Colon parted ways with the label midway through the year.

In 2013 he launched the weekly Back9Network series Inside The Voice with Javier Colon.

After remaining quiet for two years, he signed with Concord in 2015. Early the following year the label rolled out the digital singles “Gravity,” “Never Know,” “Say,” and “Close To You” across three consecutive months, then issued the full-length Gravity in April.