| Intro | American musician |
| Is |
Musician Record producer Singer Songwriter |
| From | United States of America |
| Type |
Business Music |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 22 May 1973, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, U.S.A. |
| Age: | 47 years |
| Star sign | Gemini |
Donell Jones (born May 22, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is most notable for the hits “U Know What’s Up,” “Where I Wanna Be,” and his cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet.” Jones broke into the music scene in the late 1990s with the release of his second album, Where I Wanna Be.
Music career
Jones is a son of a gospel singer and was raised in Chicago, IL. He later met DJ Eddie F of Heavy D and The Boyz and signed with Untouchables/LaFace Records, writing hits for Usher and 702. By 1996, he released his debut album, My Heart, which included his hit cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1976 ballad “Knocks Me Off My Feet.”
It wasn’t until 1999, however, that Jones began to establish himself as a true R&B hit maker with his second album, Where I Wanna Be. The album yielded #1 R&B hits such as the title track and “U Know What’s Up” which was produced by Eddie F and Darren Lighty and featured TLC member Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes. Other hits included “Shorty Got Her Eyes on Me” and “This Luv.” The album went on to sell over one million copies and garnered Jones an American Music Award. In 2000, Jones recorded the song “I’ll Go” for the Love and Basketball soundtrack and received a Black Reel Award nomination. Jones released his third album in 2002, the gold-selling Life Goes On album. It featured the hits “You Know That I Love You” (#16 R&B), “Don’t Leave” featuring G-Wise and “Put Me Down” featuring Styles P..
Four years later in 2006 Jones released his fourth album, Journey of a Gemini which included the Tim & Bob produced song “I’m Gonna Be” which had moderate success reaching #40 on Urban AC. “Spend The Night” also received notable airplay. In 2009, he released The Lost Files which was a collection of unreleased songs.
He released the album, Lyrics the following year on September 28, 2010 under E1 Music. His latest album, Forever was released on July 9, 2013 and includes the singles “Forever” and “Beautiful.”
In 2016, he premiered a new single “Never Let Her Go” featuring David Banner. He went on a promo tour during the Spring of 2017 in honor of the single.
Discography
Studio Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | RIAA Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B | |||
| 1996 |
My Heart
|
180 | 15 | |
| 1999 |
Where I Wanna Be
|
35 | 6 | Platinum |
| 2002 |
Life Goes On
|
3 | 2 | Gold |
| 2006 |
Journey of a Gemini
|
15 | 1 | |
| 2009 |
The Lost Files
|
— | — | |
| 2010 |
Lyrics
|
22 | 9 | |
| 2013 |
Forever
|
20 | 8 | |
Compilation albums
- 2007: The Best of Donell Jones
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B | |||
| 1996 | “In the Hood” | 79 | 21 | My Heart |
| “Knocks Me Off My Feet” | 49 | 14 | ||
| 1997 | “You Should Know” | — | — | |
| 1999 | “U Know What’s Up” (featuring Lisa Lopes) | 7 | 1 | Where I Wanna Be |
| “Shorty (Got Her Eyes On Me)” | — | 80 | ||
| 2000 | “This Luv” | — | 48 | |
| “Where I Wanna Be” | 29 | 2 | ||
| “Do What I Gotta Do” | — | 102 | Shaft Soundtrack | |
| 2002 | “You Know That I Love You” | 54 | 16 | Life Goes On |
| “Put Me Down” (featuring Styles P) | 98 | 49 | ||
| “Freakin’ U” (featuring Fat Joe) | — | — | ||
| 2003 | “Do U Wanna” | — | — | |
| 2006 | “Better Start Talking” (featuring Jermaine Dupri) | — | 72 | Journey of a Gemini |
| “I’m Gonna Be” (featuring Clipse) | — | 41 | ||
| “Special Girl” | — | — | ||
| 2007 | “Ooh Na Na” | — | 63 | |
| “Spend the Night” | — | 74 | ||
| 2010 | “Love Like This” | — | 25 | Lyrics |
| 2011 | “All About the Sex” | — | 58 | |
| 2013 | “Forever” | — | — | Forever |
| “Closer I Get To You” (featuring Alja Kamillion) | — | — | ||