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Other
Hits Penned By Sean Garrett
Beyonce "Upgrade
U"
Jay-Z "Dig A Hole"
Chris Brown "Wall To Wall"
Ciara "Goodies"
Kelly Rowland "Like This"
Mary J. Blige "Work That"
Destiny's Child "Lose My Breath"
Kelis "Bossy"
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Performing in talent shows (“I thought I was Michael Jackson,” he says
with a smile) led to a recording contract with Ariola/BMG at age 17. A few years later, having returned to the States, he
was about to sign with Warner Bros. but its black music department was axed, killing the deal. Frustrated, Garrett stepped
off the roller coaster, graduated from college (an A.A. degree in business from the University of Maryland’s program
in Germany), and took a lucrative job as a mortgage broker in South Carolina. He soon realized, however, that the uncreative environment wasn’t for him. He began writing songs again,
recorded a few, and friendly radio program directors played them. Impressed, music industry folks said he should write for
other performers. But Garrett insisted he was an artist, not a songwriter. After moving
back to Atlanta, his mother Rita, who had encouraged his music career, passed away. “Deep inside, I found the strength
that I always knew I had but never used. I had a choice: I could give up, or keep moving and make something of myself.”
He started shopping for a publishing deal.
In 2003, L.A. Reid signed him as a songwriter and Garrett’s ballad
“I Don’t Want To Hurt You” was placed with Motown crooner Latif. Then came “Yeah!” from Usher
featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. “Yeah!” hit #1 R&B/Hip-Hop,
remained at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, and was named BMI’s 2005 Urban Song Of The
Year.
An avalanche of other #1s has followed, among them “Goodies” from
Ciara featuring Petey Pablo (#1 Pop and R&B/Hip-Hop), “Ring The Alarm” from Beyoncé (#1 Dance), “Like
This” from Kelly Rowland featuring Eve (#1 Dance), “Buttons” from The Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg
(#1 Dance), “Dimelo” from Enrique Iglesias (#1 Latin), “London Bridge” from Fergie (#1 Pop), and the
Dance #1s “Lose My Breath” and “Soldier” from Destiny’s Child.
In early 2006, Garrett notched a phenomenal feat when for two straight weeks his name
was on each of the top three songs on the Billboard Hot 100: “Grillz” by Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp
(also #1 Rap); “Check On It” by Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug (also #1 Dance), and “Run
It!” by Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana (also #1 R&B/Hip-Hop), respectively. Not surprisingly, Garrett was ranked
the #1 Pop and #2 R&B Songwriter Of The Year by Billboard, and honored as co-Songwriter Of The Year by BMI.
“I’m so fortunate and
blessed, and I appreciate my success,” he says. “I had to earn my stripes. If you’re not legit, you don’t
stay around for long. I still learn from people who were in this business before me, people like Lionel Richie. I don’t
negate them because they’re Old School. I take notes, put them in my back pocket, and use them to understand what’s
going on. The bottom line is that you can have the finest chicks and a billion dollars but what matters most is what’s
in your heart.” Garrett has had tracks recorded by artists as varied as Richie and
Gwen Stefani, Janet Jackson and Santana, DMX and Jennifer Holliday, Britney Spears and Jay–Z, Puffy and The Pussycat
Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger, plus LL Cool J, Keyshia Cole, Joe, Monica, Fantasia, and many others. He has also collaborated
on Top 10s for Mary J. Blige, Ricky Martin, Jamie Foxx, and 112. In 2008 alone, he has been linked to current or forthcoming
projects from Whitney Houston, Raven-Symoné, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Ashlee Simpson, Michelle Williams, and Vanessa
Hudgens. Musically innovative and unpredictable, Garrett often is asked about any new record
that hits, “Did you do that?” “That’s great even if I didn’t,” he says. “It means
they know I’m liable to do anything. ‘Yeah!’ was out of the box for Usher, ‘Ring The Alarm’
was very risky for Beyoncé, and at the same time I did Nelly’s ‘Grillz.’ Now I’m doing for
myself what I do for other artists. Turbo 919 is just as diverse: ‘Grippin’’ is street Atlanta but the title
track is mainstream American pop. I want people to say, ‘I don’t know where he’s taking me but I want to
get in that car.’” Garrett is firmly at the wheel. Like any artist worth listening
to, he has a definite point of view. “I love life and I love people; I don’t like dark spirits or negative vibes.
I’m all positive, all love, all happiness, because that’s what is in my heart. When someone hears my songs, whether
they’re in a club or getting up in the morning to go to work, I want them to feel good about life. To me, songs are
messages; they are energy, feelings, and emotions.”
Unafraid of stretching the musical
boundaries of pop and urban, Garrett is equally fearless of lyrical limits, as he proves on the album’s “Come
On In.” “I can get away with saying almost anything because with my voice it still comes off sweet. The point
is that you can be a real man and still be passionate and sensitive. You may look like an action figure but sometimes you
should talk to a woman like she wants. My point is that a man can be romantic and emotional and still be tough as nails.” With Turbo 919 as his vehicle, the famously prolific and hard-working Garrett is a man on
the go. “I have this saying: ‘While your guns are raising, my guns are blazing.’ Some
people think I’m too focused, too serious. But I know that in the blink of an eye it can all be taken away. I don’t
want to be 10 years down the road saying, ‘Damn, I should have done an album.’ You only go through life once;
you might as well do it the best you can.” For Sean Garrett, the song is everything--and life is
about finally having an album to call
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