Kenneth Karlin or just Karlin (born September 18, 1966) is a Danish songwriter and producer who is best known for his work with Carsten Schack, [1] better known as Soulshock, forming the Los Angeles-based producer duo Soulshock & Karlin . They have worked with artists including Whitney Houston, Backstreet Boys, 2Pac, Mary J. Blige, and JoJo.
Before joining Soulshock, Karlin was already an integral part of Denmark's jazz scene, producing Patti LaBelle's song "All Right Now." A musician in the traditional sense of the word, Karlin says, "I think our different backgrounds are what make our tracks interesting."
Karin and Soulshock made the move to Los Angeles for bigger success. After a few months of struggling, they finally had a breakthrough with CeCe Peniston and the single "I'm In The Mood". Their big commercial success came with Monica's #1 R&B single "Before You Walk Out of My Life", which they jointly wrote and produced. Hits with artists such as Toni Braxton, Brandy, Brownstone, Silk, and 2Pac followed.
In 1999, Soulshock & Karlin enjoyed another #1 single with Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel", which received two Grammy nominations: Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Vocalist. Soulshock & Karlin produced and wrote their first #1 top 40 hit, "Leave (Get Out)", performed by Jojo; [2] the #1 R&B song "Truth Is", performed by American Idol winner Fantasia; and tracks for rap star Nelly. They have recently collaborated with Keyshia Cole, Kelly Rowland, and Samantha Jade. Soulshock & Karlin produced songs for the debut solo albums of Cheryl Cole ( 3 Words ) and Alexandra Burke ( Overcome ).
See Soulshock & Karlin discography.
The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Sheryl Crow, and The Fugees won two awards. Celine Dion for "Best Pop Album" and "Album of the Year" and Toni Braxton for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". The show was hosted by Ellen Degeneres who also performed the opening with Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Rait, and Chaka Khan.
My Love Is Your Love is the fourth studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released worldwide on November 17, 1998. It was Houston's first studio album in eight years, following I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) although she had participated on three movie soundtracks during that period. My Love Is Your Love is composed of mid-tempo R&B, hip hop soul, pop, reggae, and torch songs, produced by musicians such as Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock & Karlin, Missy Elliott, Wyclef Jean, David Foster, Lauryn Hill and Babyface. It is notable for introducing elements of hip hop into Houston's work, only sparingly used in her previous material.
JoJo is the debut studio album by American singer JoJo, released on June 22, 2004, by Da Family Entertainment, Blackground Records, and Universal Records. Incorporating pop and R&B, JoJo was influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Brown, and Aretha Franklin, amongst other of JoJo's idols. A special edition of the album featuring three bonus tracks, was released simultaneously alongside the 14-track standard edition, which was only made available in some European and Oceanian countries. JoJo co-wrote three out of the 17 tracks on the album.
Delia Juanita Warrick, known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, and a first cousin of singers Whitney Houston and Leontyne Price.
"Leave " is the debut single of American singer JoJo from her self-titled debut studio album (2004). It was released as the album's lead single on February 24, 2004. Produced by Danish production duo Soulshock & Karlin, the song became a commercial success, reaching number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and on the European Hot 100 Singles. It also reached the top five in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 25, 2004. When the single reached number one on Billboard's Pop Songs chart, JoJo became, at age 13, the youngest female solo artist to have a number-one single in the United States. The song appears in the 2004 PlayStation 2 karaoke game Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 and Singstar Pop Hits.
Maria Lumiere is a Danish singer and songwriter.
BeBe & CeCe Winans are an American gospel music brother and sister duo. BeBe and CeCe Winans are the seventh and eighth of the Winans family's ten children, most of whom have had gospel music careers. Together, they have received several awards, including three Grammys.
"I Learned from the Best" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. The ballad, written by Diane Warren, was released as the fifth and final single from Houston's fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love (1998). When released, it peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Dance remixes of the song by Hex Hector and Junior Vasquez topped the US dance chart for three weeks. Houston gained another top 20 hit on the UK Singles Chart with this song, where it peaked at number 19. The song also topped the charts in Poland and Romania.
"How Do U Want It" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his fourth studio album, All Eyez on Me (1996). It was released on June 4, 1996 as a double a-sided single with "California Love" from the same album and was his final single to be released during his lifetime. The song features R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo, who at the time were best known as the lead singers of the group Jodeci. The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number seventeen in the UK in 1996. The song received a Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy nomination in 1997.
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song by American singer Whitney Houston. Originally written for inclusion on TLC's third studio album FanMail, it was later recorded by Houston after TLC rejected the song. It was released as the second single from Houston's 1998 album My Love Is Your Love. The song prominently features R&B singers Faith Evans and Kelly Price during the choruses and bridge.
"Before You Walk Out of My Life" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written by Andrea Martin, Carsten Schack, and Kenneth Karlin, with production helmed by Schack and Karlin under their production moniker Soulshock & Karlin. Initially helmed for fellow R&B singer Toni Braxton's Secrets (1996) album, it was left unused and later re-recorded by Monica for her debut album Miss Thang (1995). Built around drum machine-backed rhythms and a saxophone-laced beat, the mid-tempo R&B ballad was released as the album's second single on August 3, 1995, with "Like This and Like That" serving as its other half on a double A-side stateside.
"Do for Love" was the second posthumously released single by Tupac Shakur from his second posthumous album R U Still Down? . The vocal sample is from "What You Won't Do for Love" by Bobby Caldwell. The song was produced by Soulshock & Karlin. It charted at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and #12 in the UK.
"Brokenhearted" is a song by American recording artist Brandy Norwood. It was written and produced by Kipper Jones and Keith Crouch for her self-titled debut studio album, Brandy (1994). Requested by then Atlantic Records head Sylvia Rhone, the song was developed late into the production of the album. Pressured to meet Rhone's deadline for Brandy, Kipper suffered from a case of writer's block during the early writing process but eventually came up with the idea for a sweet, morose R&B ballad that deals with the aches of a teenager's first heartbreak.
Soulshock & Karlin is a duo of Danish record producers and songwriters, Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin. They have produced many successful songs, including Monica's "Before You Walk out of My Life", Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel", JoJo's "Leave ", and Toni Braxton's "I Love Me Some Him". In a reference to a famous commercial, Arena Magazine called the team, "Probably the best R&B producers in the world".
3 Words is the debut studio album by English singer Cheryl Cole released on 23 October 2009 by Fascination Records. Cole's first solo performance was on American rapper will.i.am's "Heartbreaker" (2008), on which she sang additional vocals. Following this, it was announced that Cole's band Girls Aloud would take a break from releasing material, having enjoyed five successful albums and twenty consecutive top-ten singles. In April 2009, Cole started working on solo material in Los Angeles and London, mainly collaborating with will.i.am, who served as executive producer of the album.
Thought 'Ya Knew is the second solo studio album by American singer CeCe Peniston, released on January 10, 1994 by A&M Records, and on February 10, 1994 in Japan. For this album, Peniston once again collaborated with Chicago-based producer Steve "Silk" Hurley, along with other producers Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin from Denmark, David Morales, Sir Jinx, and on one track also with the multiple Grammy Award-nominee Brian McKnight.
The Entertainer is the third studio album by English singer Alesha Dixon. It was first released by Asylum Records on 29 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. A tougher album with lots of different layers, Dixon worked with a variety of musicians on the album, including a larger number of American producers such as Jim Beanz, Busbee, Toby Gad, Rodney Jerkins and The Stereotypes, as well as British DJ Naughty Boy and frequent collaboratots such as the Danish duo Soulshock & Karlin. Originally planned to be named Unleashed, The Entertainer was decided upon instead.
Carsten Schack and better known by his stage name Soulshock is a Danish record producer and songwriter.
Soulshock & Cutfather was a Danish production duo active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, made up of Carsten Schack, better known as Soulshock, and Mich Hedin Hansen, better known as Cutfather.
Charmayne Maxena Maxwell, professionally known as Maxee, was a Guyana-born singer–songwriter. In the mid 1990s, Maxwell came to prominence as a member of the female R&B trio Brownstone.