He soon realized, however, that the uncreative environment wasn’t for him. He began writing songs again, recorded a few, and friendly radio program directors played them. Impressed, music industry folks said he should write for other performers. But Garrett insisted he was an artist, not a songwriter.
After moving back to Atlanta, his mother Rita, who had encouraged his music career, passed away. “Deep inside, I found the strength that I always knew I had but never used. I had a choice: I could give up, or keep moving and make something of myself.” He started shopping for a publishing deal.
In 2003, L.A. Reid signed him as a songwriter and Garrett’s ballad “I Don’t Want To Hurt You” was placed with Motown crooner Latif. Then came “Yeah!” from Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. “Yeah!” hit #1 R&B/Hip-Hop, remained at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, and was named BMI’s 2005 Urban Song Of The Year. An avalanche of other #1s has followed, among them “Goodies” from Ciara featuring Petey Pablo (#1 Pop and R&B/Hip-Hop), “Ring The Alarm” from Beyoncé (#1 Dance), “Like This” from Kelly Rowland featuring Eve (#1 Dance), “Buttons” from The Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg (#1 Dance), “Dimelo” from Enrique Iglesias (#1 Latin), “London Bridge” from Fergie (#1 Pop), and the Dance #1s “Lose My Breath” and “Soldier” from Destiny’s Child.
In early 2006, Garrett notched a phenomenal feat when for two straight weeks his name was on each of the top three songs on the Billboard Hot 100: “Grillz” by Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp (also #1 Rap); “Check On It” by Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug (also #1 Dance), and “Run It!” by Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana (also #1 R&B/Hip-Hop), respectively. Not surprisingly, Garrett was ranked the #1 Pop and #2 R&B Songwriter Of The Year by Billboard, and honored as co-Songwriter Of The Year by BMI.
“I’m so fortunate and blessed, and I appreciate my success,” he says. “I had to earn my stripes. If you’re not legit, you don’t stay around for long. I still learn from people who were in this business before me, people like Lionel Richie. I don’t negate them because they’re Old School. I take notes, put them in my back pocket, and use them to understand what’s going on. The bottom line is that you can have the finest chicks and a billion dollars but what matters most is what’s in your heart.”
Garrett has had tracks recorded by artists as varied as Richie and Gwen Stefani, Janet Jackson and Santana, DMX and Jennifer Holliday, Britney Spears and Jay–Z, Puffy and The Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger, plus LL Cool J, Keyshia Cole, Joe, Monica, Fantasia, and many others. He has also collaborated on Top 10s for Mary J. Blige, Ricky Martin, Jamie Foxx, and 112. In 2008 alone, he has been linked to current or forthcoming projects from Whitney Houston, Raven-Symoné, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Ashlee Simpson, Michelle Williams, and Vanessa Hudgens.
Musically innovative and unpredictable, Garrett often is asked about any new record that hits, “Did you do that?” “That’s great even if I didn’t,” he says. “It means they know I’m liable to do anything. ‘Yeah!’ was out of the box for Usher, ‘Ring The Alarm’ was very risky for Beyoncé, and at the same time I did Nelly’s ‘Grillz.’ Now I’m doing for myself what I do for other artists. Turbo 919 is just as diverse: ‘Grippin’’ is street Atlanta but the title track is mainstream American pop. I want people to say, ‘I don’t know where he’s taking me but I want to get in that car.’”
Garrett is firmly at the wheel. Like any artist worth listening to, he has a definite point of view. “I love life and I love people; I don’t like dark spirits or negative vibes. I’m all positive, all love, all happiness, because that’s what is in my heart. When someone hears my songs, whether they’re in a club or getting up in the morning to go to work, I want them to feel good about life. To me, songs are messages; they are energy, feelings, and emotions.” Unafraid of stretching the musical boundaries of pop and urban, Garrett is equally fearless of lyrical limits, as he proves on the album’s “Come On In.” “I can get away with saying almost anything because with my voice it still comes off sweet. The point is that you can be a real man and still be passionate and sensitive. You may look like an action figure but sometimes you should talk to a woman like she wants. My point is that a man can be romantic and emotional and still be tough as nails.”
With Turbo 919 as his vehicle, the famously prolific and hard-working Garrett is a man on the go.
“I have this saying: ‘While your guns are raising, my guns are blazing.’ Some people think I’m too focused, too serious. But I know that in the blink of an eye it can all be taken away. I don’t want to be 10 years down the road saying, ‘Damn, I should have done an album.’ You only go through life once; you might as well do it the best you can.” For Sean Garrett, the song is everything--and life is about finally having an album to call