UpFront Records | |
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Parent company | Warner Music Group |
Founded | 2005 |
Founder | DeVyne Stephens |
Distributor(s) | Atlantic Records |
Genre | Hip hop, R&B |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
Official website | www |
UpFront Records is a record label owned and founded by DeVyne Stephens. Stephens began his career in the early 1990s with Devyne featuring 90 Miles an Hour. "I was one of the first artists L.A. [Reid] and Babyface signed to LaFace Records," he says. But the group broke up before it could release an album.
Undaunted, Stephens found his niche as a choreographer and imaging expert for LaFace Records. He worked with everyone from Pebbles, Toni Braxton and Pink to TLC, Usher and Boyz II Men. He says that people in Atlanta have their own individual style. "Being I'm a native from Atlanta, I cultivate that style and put it on different artists," he says.
Stephens discovered Senegalese R&B singer Akon, who just moved to Atlanta from New Jersey. He signed Akon to his own UpFront Records and secured a distribution deal with SRC/Universal. "I always believed that Akon was special," he says. Akon went on to sell over a million copies of his 2004 debut, Trouble, and score hit singles like "Locked Up" and "Lonely".
UpFront Records' roster includes Akon, R&B quartet Red Dirt, and the rap group FA (Free Agents). He says there isn't much difference between his former job at LaFace and his current duties as a record executive. He teaches his artists, "The first thing people look for is individuality. You gotta[sic] have that in the music industry. Style is definitely important."
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [1] | US R&B [2] | AUS [3] | CAN [4] | GER [5] | IRL [6] | NZ [7] | SWE [8] | SWI [9] | UK [10] | ||||
Trouble | 18 | 3 | 12 | — | 24 | 3 | 2 | 49 | 31 | 1 | |||
Konvicted |
| 2 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 75 | 10 | 1 | 41 | 23 | 16 |
| |
Freedom |
| 7 | 3 | 20 | 4 | 82 | 10 | 29 | — | 22 | 6 |
|
Trouble is the debut album by Senegalese-American singer-songwriter Akon, released in on June 29, 2004. The album contains Akon's worldwide hit single, "Lonely", which was his commercial breakthrough. However, the release of "Locked Up" propelled Akon to sign a record deal. "Gunshot " was released as promotional single on May 11, 2004. The album performed well in the United Kingdom where it peaked at No. 1 on the UK Album Chart. Trouble sold 25,000 copies in the first week, and certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA in the United States and has sold 1.6 million copies.
American rock band No Doubt has released six studio albums, five compilation albums, three video albums, 22 singles, five promotional singles, and 21 music videos. The band was formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. After many line-up changes, it released its self-titled debut album in 1992, but its ska-pop sound was overshadowed by the popularity of the grunge movement. Following the self-released The Beacon Street Collection, Tragic Kingdom was released in 1995 and rode the surge of ska punk to become one of the best-selling albums, largely due to the international success of its third single "Don't Speak".
The American rapper and record producer Timbaland has released 3 studio albums, 2 mixtapes, 18 singles, and 14 music videos.
The discography of the British-Australian musical group Bee Gees consists of 39 albums, 83 singles and 37 music videos. In a career spanning more than 50 years, the Gibb brothers have already sold over 120 million records worldwide, becoming among the best-selling music artists in history. Billboard ranked them as the 28th Greatest Artist[s] of All Time. According to RIAA, the Bee Gees have sold 28 million certified albums in the United States.
The following is the complete discography of British singer Rod Stewart. Throughout his career, Stewart has sold 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists in history. According to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), he has sold 46.6 million albums and singles in the US. Billboard ranked him as the 15th Greatest Artist of all time. He is also the 20th Greatest Hot 100 artist of all time and the 13th Greatest Billboard 200 Artist of all time.
Konvicted is the second studio album by Senegalese-American singer-songwriter Akon. It was released on November 14, 2006. The album features collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Styles P and T-Pain.
The discography of Audioslave, an American hard rock band, consists of three studio albums, two extended plays (EPs), fourteen singles, two video albums and ten music videos. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 2001, Audioslave was a supergroup featuring vocalist Chris Cornell alongside three former members of Rage Against the Machine: guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. Signed to Epic and Interscope Records, the band released its self-titled debut album in November 2002, which peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard 200. Supported by five singles, all of which reached the top ten of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart, Audioslave was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The band's first video album, also self-titled, was released in 2003 and reached number 5 on the Billboard Top Music Videos chart, receiving a gold certification from the RIAA.
As of March 2014, American pop and R&B singer Ashanti has released six studio albums, twenty-four singles, and twenty-one music videos on her record labels Murder Inc., Def Jam, and Motown.
The discography of American singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer consists of eight studio albums, seven live albums, three compilation albums, two video albums, four extended plays, twenty-five singles and seventeen music videos. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer moved to Atlanta, Georgia and began playing in local clubs in 1998. He released the extended play Inside Wants Out in September of the following year. Inside Wants Out, as well as continued performances, brought Mayer to the attention of independent record label Aware Records. Aware later signed Mayer and released his full-length debut studio album, Room for Squares, in June 2001. When Columbia Records acquired Aware, the album was re-released in September and promoted as a major label release. Following its re-release, Room for Squares peaked at number eight on the United States Billboard 200. The album has since sold over five million copies in the United States, and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Three singles were released from Room for Squares, two of which became top 40 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100: "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland". Heavier Things, Mayer's second studio album, was released in September 2003. It topped the Billboard 200 and attained a double platinum certification from the RIAA. Heavier Things produced three singles: "Bigger Than My Body", "Clarity" and "Daughters". "Daughters" later won the award for Song of the Year at the 47th Grammy Awards.
The discography of Akon, a Senegalese American singer, songwriter and music producer, consists of five studio albums, four mixtapes, one extended play, thirty eight singles, eight promotional singles and ninety-two music videos. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Akon lived in Senegal with his family until the age of seven, when they returned to the United States to live in New Jersey. A three-year prison sentence inspired Akon to begin recording songs in his home studio: Universal Records signed him after becoming aware of his music, and his debut album Trouble was released in June 2004. Two of its singles – "Locked Up" and "Lonely" – reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100, with the latter topping numerous singles charts worldwide and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Trouble also included the singles "Gunshot ", "Ghetto", "Belly Dancer (Bananza)" and "Pot of Gold", and was eventually certified Platinum by the RIAA and by the British Phonographic Industry in the United Kingdom, where it reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.
The discography of Rage Against the Machine, an American rock band, consists of four studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, one demo album, 17 singles, four video albums and 15 music videos. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991 by vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk, the band signed to Epic Records and released its self-titled debut album in 1992. The album reached number 45 on the United States Billboard 200 and was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of three million units. Rage Against the Machine singles "Killing in the Name", "Bullet in the Head" and "Bombtrack" charted in the United Kingdom and several other regions.
The discography of American rock group Bloodhound Gang consists of five studio albums, two compilation albums, one video album, two extended plays, 15 singles and 15 music videos.
The American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake has released six studio albums, two compilation albums, three extended plays, and 51 singles. Timberlake started his music career in 1995, as a member of boy band NSYNC. Following the group's hiatus in 2002, he released his solo debut studio album, Justified, in November that same year. The album was a commercial success and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and additionally topped the charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Justified earned multiple multi-platinum certifications, including a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and a sextuple platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It produced four singles: "Like I Love You", "Cry Me a River", "Rock Your Body" and "Señorita"; all performed well commercially, with two of them becoming top 5 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and top two hits on the UK Singles Chart. "Rock Your Body" also reached number one in Australia.
The discography of Pharrell Williams, an American musician and record producer, consists of two studio albums, two extended plays (EPs), three mixtapes, 30 singles.
British big beat duo The Chemical Brothers have released ten studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums, two remix albums, five mix albums, one soundtrack album, two video albums, six extended plays, thirty-seven singles, fifteen promotional singles and thirty-two music videos.
American singer Demi Lovato has released eight studio albums, two soundtrack albums, one remix album, five extended plays (EPs), 55 singles, and 17 promotional singles. According to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Lovato has achieved 51 million certified units. As of August 2023, she has sold 9.7 million albums and 23.9 million song downloads and her songs have registered 7.7 billion on-demand streams in the United States. Each of Lovato's studio albums debuted in the top-ten on the US Billboard 200, and four of which have received platinum or higher certifications and two gold certifications in the U.S. She has a total of 36 chart entries on the US Billboard Hot 100, including four top-ten songs.
Irish pop rock band the Script has released seven studio albums, four EPs, 25 singles and 23 music videos.
The Fray, an American rock band from Colorado, has released four studio albums, three live albums, one compilation album, five extended plays, 13 singles, one promotional single and ten music videos. The members of the group met in a music store in Denver – independently, positive coverage from many local media outlets brought them to the attention of Epic Records, who signed them in 2004. The Fray's debut studio album, How to Save a Life, was released in 2005. Five singles were released from the album in total: the first two, "Over My Head " and the album's title track, both reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 and were certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the latter also topped the Irish singles chart and reached number 4 in the United Kingdom.
American rapper Flo Rida has released four studio albums, four extended plays, 41 singles as a lead artist, twelve promotional singles, and 24 music videos. Growing up in Florida, the state from which his name was derived, he was involved in a hip hop group in his teenage years. A solo demo recording initially met rejection from several label companies, but was eventually accepted by Poe Boy Entertainment, with whom Flo Rida signed in 2006.
The discography of Roc Nation, an American company and record label, consists of five singles, four collaborative singles and eight charted songs by Jay-Z, four by J. Cole, three by Alexis Jordan, ten by Willow Smith and three by Rita Ora.