The Evolution of Kem
From the streets of Detroit to chart-topping success.
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Hard Times - R&B/Soul star Kem Owens might have been born in Nashville but growing up in Detroit surely helped influence and inspire him as a musician. Before he was KEM, the singer, he was a 19-year-old high school graduate who struggled in and out of drug rehabilitation centers and homeless shelters. Playing keyboard since he was four years old, music was his meditation and every night he would sit and play the shelter’s piano. (Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images
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Recovery - Exploring his spiritual side by joining the Renaissance Unity Church in Detroit, KEM started to pull his life together around 1990. While waiting tables, he also joined a band with whom he would perform top 40 cover tunes as well as his own original music. Around 1993, the band succeeded in winning the opportunity to open for MeShell Ndegeocello at the Royal Oak Music Theater near Detroit. (Photo: JLN Photography/WENN.com)
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Charge It to the Game - Claiming music as his rite of passage, KEM hunkered down and wrote, produced and self-financed, with his American Express card, his 2001 debut album Kemistry. There was no turning back after he surprisingly sold close to 15,000 copies independently. (Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
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Golden Kemistry - Impressed by KEM’s self-made success, Motown Records signed the singer/songwriter to a major deal in November 2001 and re-released his debut album under their banner on February 25, 2003. There was no doubt of his star power after he effortlessly sold more than 500,000 copies nationwide. (Photo: Paul Warner/WireImage)
Photo By Photo: Paul Warner/WireImage
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A Motown Classic - "Love Calls," the first single released from his debut, Kemistry, became an urban adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio hit. USA Today even dubbed it a "Motown classic." (Photo: Johnny Louis/WENN.com)
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R&B Single of the Year - On May 17, 2005, KEM released his sophomore effort, Kem: Album II. With a hungry and dedicated fanbase, the singer sold more than 500,000 copies in two weeks. That same year, he won his first Billboard Music Award for Top Adult R&B Single of the Year for the No. 1 urban adult contemporary radio song "I Can't Stop Loving You." (Photo: Quantrell Colbert/Getty Images)
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Outstanding Talent - With “I Can’t Stop Loving You” continuing to reach new heights as a great soul song, KEM's momentum kept going when he received two NAACP nominations in 2006 for Outstanding Male Artist and Outstanding Song. (Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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An Award Favorite - Taking a five year break, KEM struck gold again in 2010 with his third album Intimacy: Album III, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. That same year, he was nominated for a Soul Train Award for Best Male R&B/Soul Artist, two Grammy Awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song (“Why Would You Stay”) and a BET Centric Award. (Photo: Paul Abell/PictureGroup)
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Grammy Nominations - After the release of Intimacy, KEM headlined his sold-out national Intimacy Tour with special guests Musiq Soulchild and Ledisi. In 2011, the soul singer earned two Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Male Performance and Best R&B Song for "Why Would You Stay.” (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Hoodie Awards)
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Sparkle - The father of two made his acting debut in the 2012 remake of the iconic black musical Sparkle, alongside Jordin Sparks and the late legend Whitney Houston. In the film he plays the role of club owner Buddy. (Photo: REUTERS/Jason Reed /Landov)