Robin Thicke

Robin Charles Thicke is an American singer-songwriter, producer and actor from Los Angeles, California. He works in pop, R&B and blue-eyed soul, and is signed to Pharrell Williams’ Star Trak label. He is also the son of performer Alan Thicke.

Early life and background

Thicke is born in Los Angeles on 10 March 1977. He grows up in a musical household, with his father working as a singer, co-composer for television theme songs and an actor in film and television. His parents are Alan Thicke and actress Gloria Loring, and he has brothers Brennan and Carter Thicke. He teaches himself piano at the age of twelve and, by fourteen, says he can play most things he hears on the radio.

Songwriting and production

Before recording his own material, Thicke writes songs for other artists. His credits include work for 3T, Brownstone and Color Me Badd, and he collaborates with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on songs for Jordan Knight’s 1999 self-titled album. He also writes and produces for artists such as Brandy and Brian McKnight, and later accumulates gold and platinum records through work with Usher, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson and Christina Aguilera.

Recording career

Thicke’s debut album, A Beautiful World, is released in 2003 after he begins work on it in 2000. Its sound leans towards blue-eyed soul, with funk and neo-soul influences. The album includes “When I Get You Alone” and “Brand New Jones”. “When I Get You Alone” uses a sample of Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven”, and becomes an international chart success, reaching the top 30 in the United States and charting strongly in Australia, Belgium, Italy, New Zealand and the Netherlands. A Beautiful World is reissued with additional songs after its original release, but it receives little promotion and sells modestly.

In 2005, after Pharrell Williams asks what is happening with him, Thicke records “Wanna Love You Girl” with Pharrell in Miami and joins Star Trak Records. His second album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke, arrives in 2006 and reaches number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It is later certified platinum by the RIAA and includes “Got 2 Be Down”, “Lost Without U” and “Can U Believe”. The album also features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Faith Evans and Pharrell.

He continues with Something Else in 2008, Sex Therapy in 2009, Love After War in 2011, Blurred Lines in 2013 and Paula in 2014.

Personal life

Thicke is married to actress Paula Patton until their divorce in 2014, and they have a son, Julian Fuego, born in April 2010.