Major R. Johnson Finley (born March 10, 1984), professionally known by his stage name Major (stylized: MAJOR.), is an American pop soul musician, singer-songwriter, actor, vocal producer, and stage performance coach.

Early life

Born in Denton, Texas and raised in Houston, Texas, in a blended-family household of 10 siblings (13 total), MAJOR. began making music at a young age and performed in various musical venues in his hometown and abroad throughout his childhood. He graduated from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, received intensive classical training from Professor Steve Smith of The Juilliard School and Houston Grand Opera High School Voice Studio. He then attended the Berklee College of Music,[1] serving as Student Body President, and after graduating, moved to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment career.

Career

After parting ways with Malibu-based Star Club Entertainment where he generated viral success via YouTube, MAJOR. then entered a production/recording relationship with B.O.E. Music Group in partnership with UK producer Harmony Samuels in early 2014. MAJOR. attributes finding his truest sound to his musical partnership with Samuels.[2]

MAJOR. is highly regarded for his powerful live show experiences including 2 sold-out shows at the historic Troubadour (Santa Monica), World Arts (Culver City), Hotel Cafe (Hollywood), Barclays Arena (Brooklyn).[3]

MAJOR. has released an EP (i am MAJOR.) which features 2 singles and 2 music videos: "Why I Love You"[4] and "Keep On",[2] with over 20 million combined views on YouTube.[5] Stevie Wonder described "Why I Love You" as "the wedding song of the year".[6] The song has also reached Top 5 on the Adult R&B Billboard charts.[7]

Freelance journalist, Billy Johnson, Jr., credited MAJOR. as being the "Hope-Dealer" of mainstream music in a Yahoo! Music article feature published in 2015.[1]

References ^ a b Johnson, Jr., Billy (13 April 2015). "Hear It First: Hope-Dealer MAJOR. Tells Trouble to 'Hit the Road'". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 3 August 2017.  ^ a b Samuels, Keithan (25 May 2016). "Producer Harmony Samuels' New Artist MAJOR. Drops Two New Singles". Rated R&B. Retrieved 3 August 2017.  ^ Carson, Dominique (17 May 2017). "Mother's Day is Celebrated at the Barclays Center – R&B News". Singersroom.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017.  ^ Mitchell, Gail (14 November 2016). "MAJOR. Talks Hit 'Why I Love You' and Being Co-Signed by Patti LaBelle, Releases New 'Spend Christmas With You'". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2017.  ^ YouTube views for "MAJOR. – Why I Love You" and "MAJOR. – Keep On" on MAJOR.VEVO, MAJOR.'s official YouTube channel. Retrieved 3 August 2017. ^ Cohen, Sari (31 January 2017). "The 48th NAACP Image Awards: AXS chats with this year's nominees". AXS. Retrieved 3 August 2017. His song 'Why I love You,' has been sweeping the nation and was dubbed 'the wedding song of the year' by Stevie Wonder.  ^ Song overview on Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2017.