Garrett Hamler, better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, rapper, and record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

list of producers with the most number one hits. Garrett is the only producer to achieve this measure of success in under a decade, and is also the only active hip hop producer that is mentioned on the Billboard list of producers with the most number one hits.

Early life

Born in south side Atlanta, he moved with his family to Europe when he was four. His father was in the U.S. military and they never stayed long in one place. He transferred between army bases across Germany and England. He performed in talent shows that led to a recording contract with Ariola or BMG when he was 17 ("Sean Garrett - Bio, CDs and Vinyl at Discogs”). A few years later when he returned to the U.S. and began writing and recording songs. Garrett insisted he was an artist, not a songwriter but went back to school, graduated from college with an A.A. degree in business from the University of Maryland

University of Maryland

When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...

’s program in Germany. He then took a job as a mortgage broker in South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

.

Career

Garrett is responsible for a series of chart-topping compositions, most notably Usher

Usher (entertainer)

Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...

's "Yeah!

Yeah! (Usher song)

"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher, released on 3 February 2004 as the lead single from his hit fourth studio album Confessions. The song was written by Lil Jon, Sean Garrett, Patrick J. Que Smith, Ludacris, Robert McDowell, and LRoc. It was produced by Lil Jon, who combined crunk and R&B...

", Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney is an American singer-songwriter, actor and voice actor. McCartney achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career...

's hit "How Do You Sleep?

How Do You Sleep? (Jesse McCartney song)

"How Do You Sleep?" is the third single from pop singer Jesse McCartney's third studio album, Departure. The song was released on January 20, 2009.-Critical reception:...

," which become a chart topper and one of the biggest 2009 songs, as It went on to become the 86th biggest song in the U.S. for 2009. He also released an album with Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...

's single "Crank It Up

Crank It Up

Crank It Up may refer to:* "Crank It Up!" a web show starring Crank * "Crank It Up" the fifth single from Hadouken! album Music For An Accelerated Culture.* "Crank It Up", a song by Cash Camp* NASCAR: Crank It Up, a compilation album...

".

Ciara

Ciara

Ciara Princess Harris , known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer, Jazze Pha...

's breakout track "Goodies

Goodies (song)

"Goodies" is the debut single by American recording artist Ciara. Written by herself, Sean Garrett, LeMarquis Jefferson, and Craig Love, the song is produced by Lil Jon and features label-mate Petey Pablo. It was released worldwide from June 2004 as the lead single from her debut album of the same...

", Teairra Mari

Teairra Marí

Teairra Maria Thomas , better known by her stage name Teairra Marí, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, model, and dancer. At the age of 16, she was signed to Def Jam and released her first album, Teairra Marí. After disappointing sales, she was let go from her recording contract in the...

's debut single "Make Her Feel Good

Make Her Feel Good

"Make Her Feel Good" is the first single from Teairra Mari's debut album Teairra Marí. "Make Her Feel Good" made its way to the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #35. The video got very little play on MTV, but strong play on BET. The single did not debut on TRL after its premiere, but it...

", Mario

Mario

is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...

's single "Break Up

Break Up (song)

He describes the song as, "it’s a little bit of everything on this record. That’s why I love it. Sean is like a brother to me. He knows me. So, when he did this record, he was definitely thinking about me. It’s a club record and every man has experienced this situation before. It’s like why would...

", Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...

's first single "Massive Attack

Massive Attack (song)

"Massive Attack" is a song by Trinidadian recording artist Nicki Minaj. The song features American singer-songwriter and producer Sean Garrett who wrote the song with Minaj and produced the song with Alex da Kid. It served the first single from Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday, with Billboard later...

" and Britney Spears

Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

' "Toy Soldier" are written by Sean Garrett. He is in a production duo with Swizz Beatz

Swizz Beatz

Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...

, and together they produced several Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...

 singles: "Ring the Alarm

Ring the Alarm

"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett...

", "Get Me Bodied

Get Me Bodied

"Get Me Bodied" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song was written by Beyoncé Knowles, Sean Garrett, Solange Knowles, Angela Beyince, Makeba Riddick, and Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and produced by Swizz Beatz, Beyoncé and Sean Garrett, for Knowles' second solo studio...

", "Upgrade U

Upgrade U

"Upgrade U" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . The song features additional vocals from Knowles' then-boyfriend and now-husband, hip hop artist Jay-Z. It was composed by Swizz Beatz, Cameron Wallace, Knowles, MK, Makeba, Sean Garrett,...

", "Check on It

Check on It

"Check on It" is a song performed by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles, featuring American rapper Slim Thug. It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Sean Garrett, Angela Beyincé and Stayve Thomas. The song was supposed to be featured on the soundtrack album for 2006 film The Pink...

", "Diva

Diva (song)

"Diva" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 performed in Hebrew by Dana International representing Israel. The music was composed by Tzvika Pick, and the lyrics by Yoav Ginai. It totalled 172 points in the polling.The song became the last entry entirely in a language other than...

" and "Video Phone". He also writes often over productions by Polow da Don

Polow Da Don

Polow-Freache Jamal Fincher Jones , better known by known by professional name Polow da Don or Awesome Jones, is an American record producer, songwriter, rapper, and singer. His cousin is Atlanta singer Monica. He has produced for a variety of artists including Usher, Nelly, Christina Aguilera, T.I...

. Garrett is currently working on a new album by Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

 and Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney is an American singer-songwriter, actor and voice actor. McCartney achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career...

 . Garrett is also working on a single with upcoming artist Charice.

Garrett also embarked on a career as a performer,. His debut album, Turbo 919

Turbo 919

-Release history:-Charts:...

, was released June 24, 2008 on his Bet I Penned It Music imprint, through Interscope Records

Interscope Records

Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

. (Garrett's catch-phrase, which is featured in multiple songs he has produced, is "Smash on the radio, bet I penned it".)

Ludacris appeared on Garrett's debut single, "Grippin'". In return, Garrett was featured on Ludacris's "What Them Girls Like

What Them Girls Like

"What Them Girls Like" is the first single from Ludacris's sixth studio album Theater of the Mind. The single features Chris Brown and Sean Garrett and is produced by Darkchild.-Release:...

", alongside Chris Brown. He also wrote and produced a song called "I Did It for Love

I Did It for Love

"I Did It for Love" is a song by Korean pop singer BoA featuring American singer-songwriter and record producer Sean Garrett. The song is her second single for her debut eponymous English album, BoA. The track was written and produced by Garrett, Melvin K. Watson Jr. and Matthew I. Irby...

" for Korean pop star BoA

BoA

Boa Kwon , commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, which is a backronym for Beat of Angel, is a Korean singer, active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States and sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Korean Pop Music"....

 for her first eponymous English album. Garrett is featured and appears in the music video. In March 2010, Garrett released the first single off of his mixtape The Inkwell (mixtape), "Get It All

Get It All

"Get It All" is a song performed by American R&B singer, Sean Garrett and features Trinidadian rapper, Nicki Minaj. The song was released as the lead single from Garrett's debut mixtape The Inkwell.-Background:...

", which features Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...

. The lead single for Garrett's 2011 album previously titled Courtesy Of, was released February 4, 2011, featuring J. Cole entitled "Feel Love

Feel Love

"Feel Love" is a song performed by American R&B singer, Sean Garrett and features American rapper, J. Cole. The song was released as the first single from Garrett's upcoming studio album, Courtesy Of...

". In an early April 2011 interview Garrett announced his second single and why he changed the album title saying, "We’re changing the title of it because the dynamics of the album is coming along in a different way. It’s definitely bigger than Courtesy Of. It’s definitely coming late summer. I’m excited about it. My next single is fitna be a problem in the club and it’s a brand new record featuring Rick Ross

Rick Ross (rapper)

William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...

. It’ll be a movie." The single featuring Rick Ross

Rick Ross

Rick, Ricky or Richard Ross may also refer to:* Rick Ross , American rapper* Richard J. Ross, a Massachusetts State Senator* Richard Ross , an American photographer...

 entitled "In da Box" was released on April 27.

Discography

Studio albums

• 2008: Turbo 919
  Turbo 919
  -Release history:-Charts:...
  
  
• 2011: Courtesy Of

Official mixtapes

• 2010: The Inkwell

Awards/nominations

• Soul Train Awards
  • 2009, Best Collaboration "Break Up" (nominated)

External links