Biography
Johnta Austin emerged as a key presence in present-day R&B after landing his first substantial crossover success in 1998 on Tyrese's "Sweet Lady." Recognition centers chiefly on his Grammy-winning songwriting for Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" and Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You," which captured Best R&B Song honors in 2005 and 2006. Further singles for Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, and Chris Brown, among others, complemented his work as producer and vocalist, prompting occasional releases under his own name. An earlier RCA agreement gave way to affiliation with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, which yielded the 2006 chart entry "Turn It Up." Though the extended project Ocean Drive remained unreleased, he marked twenty-five years in the business during 2019 by issuing his debut solo album, Love, Sex, & Religion.
As a child Johnta Austin sang in church and aimed for an acting career, appearing nationwide as a pre-teen newscaster on TBS and CNN while growing up in Atlanta. He joined RCA at age thirteen, but the contract ended once his voice changed. After a pair of television roles, he began writing songs. Starting in late 1995, his material appeared on releases by Mona Lisa, Coolio, 702, SWV, and Dave Hollister. Three years later came his first true hit, Tyrese's gliding ballad "Sweet Lady," which reached number nine on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart and nearly entered the Hot 100 Top Ten.
Demand remained steady throughout the following decade. Toni Braxton's "Just Be a Man About It" (number six R&B/hip-hop, Top 40 pop) and Aaliyah's "Miss You" (number one R&B/hip-hop, number three pop), plus additional collaborations across the pop-R&B range, opened doors to higher-profile work with Mariah Carey. Alongside Carey and associates Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, Austin co-wrote the four biggest singles from the 2005 blockbuster The Emancipation of Mimi, including the number one pop tracks "We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About Us." The former held the Hot 100 summit for fourteen weeks and earned Austin his first Grammy for Best R&B Song; Billboard later named it Song of the Decade. Roughly six months into the Mimi campaign, he repeated the achievement with Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You," which topped the R&B/hip-hop chart, reached number three pop, and secured the next year's Grammy for Best R&B Song, placing him among the few writers to win the category consecutively.
While Chris Brown's "Yo [Excuse Me Miss]," Janet Jackson's "Call on Me," Jessica Simpson's "A Public Affair," and Bow Wow's "Shortie Like Mine" placed Austin-assisted singles high on the charts, he readied a solo album, Ocean Drive, for Jermaine Dupri's Virgin-supported So So Def imprint. Three singles appeared, among them the number 48 R&B/hip-hop entry "Turn It Up," yet the project stalled when Dupri and So So Def shifted from Virgin to Island. The new major-label arrangement produced a fourth single, "Video," but Ocean Drive was ultimately shelved. Activity slowed over the next decade, though he added further songwriting credits with Trey Songz' "I Need a Girl" and Mary J. Blige's "I Am," both Top Ten R&B/hip-hop singles in 2009, and Justin Bieber's "Never Let You Go," which came just short of the pop Top 20 the year after. Closing the 2010s, during which he wrote for Ledisi, Luke James, and Monica, Austin delivered his first commercially released solo album. The independently issued Love, Sex, & Religion arrived in 2019 with extensive contributions from longtime studio partners Troy Taylor and Bryan-Michael Cox.
As a child Johnta Austin sang in church and aimed for an acting career, appearing nationwide as a pre-teen newscaster on TBS and CNN while growing up in Atlanta. He joined RCA at age thirteen, but the contract ended once his voice changed. After a pair of television roles, he began writing songs. Starting in late 1995, his material appeared on releases by Mona Lisa, Coolio, 702, SWV, and Dave Hollister. Three years later came his first true hit, Tyrese's gliding ballad "Sweet Lady," which reached number nine on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart and nearly entered the Hot 100 Top Ten.
Demand remained steady throughout the following decade. Toni Braxton's "Just Be a Man About It" (number six R&B/hip-hop, Top 40 pop) and Aaliyah's "Miss You" (number one R&B/hip-hop, number three pop), plus additional collaborations across the pop-R&B range, opened doors to higher-profile work with Mariah Carey. Alongside Carey and associates Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, Austin co-wrote the four biggest singles from the 2005 blockbuster The Emancipation of Mimi, including the number one pop tracks "We Belong Together" and "Don't Forget About Us." The former held the Hot 100 summit for fourteen weeks and earned Austin his first Grammy for Best R&B Song; Billboard later named it Song of the Decade. Roughly six months into the Mimi campaign, he repeated the achievement with Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You," which topped the R&B/hip-hop chart, reached number three pop, and secured the next year's Grammy for Best R&B Song, placing him among the few writers to win the category consecutively.
While Chris Brown's "Yo [Excuse Me Miss]," Janet Jackson's "Call on Me," Jessica Simpson's "A Public Affair," and Bow Wow's "Shortie Like Mine" placed Austin-assisted singles high on the charts, he readied a solo album, Ocean Drive, for Jermaine Dupri's Virgin-supported So So Def imprint. Three singles appeared, among them the number 48 R&B/hip-hop entry "Turn It Up," yet the project stalled when Dupri and So So Def shifted from Virgin to Island. The new major-label arrangement produced a fourth single, "Video," but Ocean Drive was ultimately shelved. Activity slowed over the next decade, though he added further songwriting credits with Trey Songz' "I Need a Girl" and Mary J. Blige's "I Am," both Top Ten R&B/hip-hop singles in 2009, and Justin Bieber's "Never Let You Go," which came just short of the pop Top 20 the year after. Closing the 2010s, during which he wrote for Ledisi, Luke James, and Monica, Austin delivered his first commercially released solo album. The independently issued Love, Sex, & Religion arrived in 2019 with extensive contributions from longtime studio partners Troy Taylor and Bryan-Michael Cox.
Albums
Singles
