Trey Songz

Trey Songz entered the music scene as a contemporary R&B singer, songwriter, and producer in the mid-2000s, launching with the R&B/hip-hop Top Ten hit I Gotta Make It (2005) and promptly building on its artistic and sales momentum. Across his initial 13 years, the artist placed seven albums inside the Billboard 200 Top 20, among them the number-one entries Chapter V (2012) and Trigga (2014), while 15 additional lead singles reached the R&B/hip-hop Top Ten. As one of the few post-millennial R&B acts to maintain broad commercial visibility, he earned multiple Grammy nominations that began with Best Male R&B Vocal Performance recognition for the Stargate-produced ballad "Can't Help But Wait." Songz has been recruited for joint work with prominent R&B and rap figures including Scarface, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton, and he has collaborated with formative influences R. Kelly and Teddy Riley. Riley contributed to 11 (2018), one of two mixtapes issued at the same time. The most enduring alliance, however, has been with producer Troy Taylor, who remained involved through Back Home (2020), Songz's eighth album.

As a Petersburg, Virginia native, Tremaine Aldon Neverson grew up favoring hip-hop while limiting his R&B listening primarily to R. Kelly. Once friends recognized the strength of his tenor voice, they urged him to abandon rap and focus on singing. Trey collected victories at numerous talent shows and eventually connected, via his stepfather, with Troy Taylor, whose prior behind-the-scenes work included Patti LaBelle, SWV, and B2K. Taylor advised Trey to complete high school before pursuing any recording path.

After earning his diploma, Trey relocated straight to New Jersey to begin working with Taylor. The vocalist soon appeared as a featured performer on Kevin Lyttle's self-titled debut and Trick Daddy's Thug Matrimony, then issued his first solo track, "About the Game," for the Coach Carter soundtrack. While preparing his debut album and adding guest spots alongside Lil' Kim, Trina, and Snoop Dogg, he circulated underground mixtapes under the alias the Prince of Virginia. Atlantic released his proper debut, the accomplished and promising I Gotta Make It, in July 2005. The project opened with an introduction from Aretha Franklin and included productions from Taylor, Organized Noize, and Warryn Campbell; it entered the Billboard 200 at number 20. Trey Day followed in October 2007, lifting his profile through contributions from R. Kelly, Danja, Stargate, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, among others. It debuted at number 11, and the single "Can't Help But Wait," his strongest at the time, received a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

Ready, released in August 2009 and supported by four Top Ten R&B/hip-hop singles, became Trey's first RIAA gold-certified album. Tracks such as "I Invented Sex" and the platinum "Say Aah" stood among its boldest statements, while the artist's persona and delivery grew distinct enough to lessen earlier comparisons to R. Kelly and Usher. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Passion, Pain & Pleasure arrived in September 2010; featuring the Nicki Minaj collaboration "Bottoms Up," it also received RIAA certification. The five-track EP Inevitable appeared in November 2011 as a bridge to the singer's fifth album. Chapter V, released in August 2012, debuted at number one, included verses from T.I., Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross, and was led by "Heart Attack," Songz's third Grammy-nominated recording, this time for Best R&B Song. By then, his own featured appearances, ranging from Twista's "Girls Tonite" to J. Cole's gold "Can't Get Enough," could have formed a substantial collection. In 2013 he added another gold single, Juicy J's "Bounce It," which appeared in the films Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3-D and Baggage Claim, while readying his sixth studio album. The Top Ten R&B hit "Na Na" and "Smartphones" preceded June's Trigga, which entered the Billboard 200 at number one.

Further releases followed through 2015, among them Intermission I & II and a reloaded edition of Trigga that ultimately became the artist's third platinum album. An informal EP with Fabolous, Trappy New Years, appeared independently at the end of 2016. Tremaine arrived in March 2017 as Songz's seventh proper full-length. The next year he released the single "How Dat Sound," used as the theme for the film Blood Brother in which he starred. In November he marked his birthday with the simultaneous commercial mixtapes 11 and 28, featuring Teddy Riley, Ty Dolla $ign, and Jeremih among the contributors. "How Dat Sound" appeared on the latter project. "Back Home," featuring Summer Walker, surfaced in April 2020; six months later it served as the title track for Trey's eighth proper full-length. Along with the earlier protest song "2020 Riots: How Many Times," Back Home extended the singer's run of Top 20 albums.