Robin Thicke signed a record deal at 16, years before Blurred Lines
Long before Blurred Lines topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013, Robin Thicke was a teenage songwriter crafting R&B tracks for other artists. A demo paid for by jazz singer Al Jarreau reached Brian McKnight, who took him into the studio and set him on the road to his first contract.
Thicke's Los Angeles birth date is March 10, 1977, and he grew up in a show-business household. His mother, Gloria Loring, acted on Days of Our Lives, and his Canadian father, Alan Thicke, starred in Growing Pains; together they also wrote theme tunes for Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. They divorced when he was seven. His older brother Brennan voiced Dennis the Menace in the cartoon series, and Robin himself appeared briefly in shows such as The Wonder Years.
His father helped shape his first songs but refused to fund a professional demo for his teenage vocal group, As One, wanting him to finish school first. Al Jarreau, uncle of a group member, paid instead. McKnight was impressed, signed him to his production company and co-wrote a song with him for his album I Remember You; friends teased Thicke with the nickname Brian McWhite. Through McKnight he met Jimmy Iovine and signed to Interscope at 16, and at 17 he moved out to support himself as a producer and writer for acts including Brandy.
Success as a performer took time. His 2002 debut, A Beautiful World, flopped. After joining Pharrell Williams's Star Trak label he released The Evolution of Robin Thicke in 2006, which entered the Billboard 200 at number five and produced Lost Without U. Something Else reached number three in 2008, and later albums charted with varying success.
Then came Blurred Lines, featuring T.I. and Pharrell. The single hit number one in the US, went diamond and ranks among the best-selling singles ever, earning Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and pop duo or group performance. The album of the same name topped both the American and British charts despite mixed reviews. Since 2019 he has sat on the judging panel of Fox's The Masked Singer.
Source: Robin Thicke
