Quick Facts
Biography
Major R. Johnson Finley (born March 10, 1984), professionally known by his stage name Major (stylized: MAJOR.), is an American pop soul musician, singer-songwriter, actor, vocal producer, and stage performance coach.
Early life
Born in Denton, Texas and raised in Houston, Texas, in a blended-family household of 10 siblings (13 total), MAJOR. began making music at a young age and performed in various musical venues in his hometown and abroad throughout his childhood. He graduated from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, received intensive classical training from Professor Steve Smith of The Juilliard School and Houston Grand Opera High School Voice Studio. He then attended the Berklee College of Music, serving as Student Body President, and after graduating, moved to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment career.
Career
After parting ways with Malibu-based Star Club Entertainment where he generated viral success via YouTube, MAJOR. then entered a production/recording relationship with B.O.E. Music Group in partnership with UK producer Harmony Samuels in early 2014. MAJOR. attributes finding his truest sound to his musical partnership with Samuels.
MAJOR., in 2008, sang the national anthem for President Barack Obama's Welcome to New England at the Agganis Arena in Boston, MA. After moving to LA, he secured onscreen and BTS appearances in various television and film productions including: Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" (asst vocal producer), Showtime's "Masters of Sex" (singer/actor), Norms Commercial (actor), Tyler Perry's "Haves & Have Nots" (singer), Tom Hardy's "Legend" (singer/actor), In 2013, he earned his first motion picture placement as a singer-songwriter in SONY Picture's "Think Like A Man Too". This success led to many more opportunities to date. MAJOR. has landed his first number-one single on the Billboard Dance Club chart as co-writer of "Over & Over Again" by Nathan Sykes featuring Ariana Grande. The song also broke top 40 on the Billboard100. As a vocal producer, MAJOR.'s discography includes Nathan Sykes, Ariana Grande, JoJo, Avery Wilson, Saara, Amber Riley, and La Porsha Renae (American Idol). MAJOR.'s voice has also been used for the voice of Disney's Sebastian for HASBRO toys.
MAJOR. is highly regarded for his powerful live show experiences including 2 sold-out shows at the historic Troubadour (Santa Monica), World Arts (Culver City), Hotel Cafe (Hollywood), Barclays Arena (Brooklyn).
MAJOR. has released an EP (i am MAJOR.) which features 2 singles and 2 music videos: "Why I Love You" and "Keep On", with over 20 million combined views on YouTube. Stevie Wonder described "Why I Love You" as "the wedding song of the year". The song has also reached Top 5 on the Adult R&B Billboard charts.
Freelance journalist, Billy Johnson, Jr., credited MAJOR. as being the "Hope-Dealer" of mainstream music in a Yahoo! Music article feature published in 2015.