Justin Garner

We all know Timberlake, and of course we know Bieber, but now it's time to know the next Justin on the pop scene, Baton Rouge's own Justin Garner

The vibrant, Plaquemine-born professional pop star-in-the-making has been crafting his talent since 2004. Armed with a set of pipes, polished pop tracks in the vein of Usher via David Guetta and a marketing degree from Southern University, Garner has been able to launch himself into career-changing opportunities with MTV and other musical powerhouses.

In April 2010, Garner was a featured artist on Myspace.com and from there was tapped by Sony/BMG/Japan to perform shows in Japan and the UK. While that may be a major feat for any independent artist, for Garner, it was only the beginning.

This past May, iTunes Japan promoted the single “We Rule the Night” from Garner's I Am album (released in July), which prompted Amazon.com to name him one of the nine artists in its monthly Artists on the Rise spotlight—he was one of only two unsigned artists selected.

His online presence has proven crucial as his single “Runaway” charted No. 8 on iTunes Japan's Pop/R&B and the album charted at No. 11 on Amazon.com's Pop/R&B charts.


“I couldn't believe it when it happened, but it came as no surprise to my distributors as they strongly believed in the success of my product and me as an artist,” Garner says.

But, while making waves online and overseas, Garner is no stranger to grassroots campaigning and local touring. His single “Cherry Bomb” is in rotation on New Orleans's B-97, and he was one of the finalists in that station's “B The One” contest this summer. Garner has cut his teeth opening for acts such as Trey Songz, Keri Hilson, Fantasia, Monica and Big Sean.

Most recently, Garner was included on the MTV.com/Artists database, which allows artists to share their content on the website for promotional purposes.

“The great thing is that only viable and notable artists even have MTV artist pages anyway, given that you can't just create one freely. One had to be established by either the artist's label or representative,” Garner says. - 225 Magazine

TOURING WITH TREY SONGZ AND outselling Beyoncé are just two accomplishments that are pushing pop singer Justin Garner to the forefront of the music industry. His ability to wrap so many genres inside his R&B and pop melodies even have people around world taking notice.

In 2011 Garner released his sophomore album I am, and in February a re-mastered version with new songs debuted on Japan’s iTunes R&B charts at #19. In just mere hours it had surpassed Beyonce’s self-tilted album for the #1 spot.

“I got on iTunes and looked for myself in Japan and found a big banner saying Justin Garner that was right next to a Beyoncé ad. I was number one and she was number 12,” Garner said.

While his music has been released in the United States, Garner said he believes that a big reason that it has received so much attention in Japan is that the Japanese approach new artists differently than Americans. Justin Japan itunes

“Overseas in Japan they love great singers and vocals. There, it’s more about the searching for music from abroad, but in America it’s more about the politics and marketing side.”

In an age where social media networks have become the standard way to communicate, Garner has

used the popularity of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to ensure that his music gets to his fans, which he refers to as the “JG Army”.

Garner said touring and social media have been great ways to gain exposure, but as an independent artist, without the support of a label, the biggest asset to his arsenal of marketing strategies has been his education. He has a marketing degree from Southern University that he uses as one of the biggest tools in the promotion of his music.

“Music is great but you have to have some level of marketing behind you to help you get music out. You can be the best singer, but you have to have the knowledge and know- how, and I feel that that degree gave me that.”

Garner refers to Michael Jackson and Usher as his inspirations, but said he developed his passion for music growing up in church. Yet while he acknowledges those things, he said he has been told that his talent comes from his father, Ernest “Oldie” Garner, who died when he was two. Earnest was a member of the Plaquemine-based band The Rockin’ Imperials who also saw international success.

Garner said he is going to continue his career and the trail started by his father as he prepares to release his newest E.P., 7. Inspired by a recent trip to

California, 7 is a project containing seven tracks recorded in seven days. It will be released at the beginning of April.

justin garner two copy“So many great things happened on that [California] trip and I came back on such an emotional high. I was inspired to write these seven songs”.

He is planning a summer tour in the United States and Japan to promote 7 and celebrate the success of I Am. But before then, Garner said he is also setting aside time to give back to Louisiana and will be working with the Baton Rouge Chapter of the American Red Cross.

“The people at the Red Cross are just like us, except instead of getting up to go to work, they’re getting up to volunteer to be

there for their community.”
Last year Garner helped the organization start the “Give Back Campaign” where portions of the proceeds from a concert hosted by Garner were donated the American Red Cross. He will be doing the

concert again this year.
With all of his recent success

and the success expected to come Garner, he said he has a goal that goes deeper than just to entertain the masses.

“I enjoy seeing someone else’s expression to music, more than the spotlight, giving someone peace of mind for a just a few minutes is what I enjoy.”

In the future, Garner said he would like to be signed to major record label. His ideal music contract would be with a label supportive enough to invest in a singer who writes, co-produces and has independently released material. So far he has yet to be offered that non-controlling type of contract, but he’s hopeful. Until then, he plans to continue pursuing his independent career and making himself undeniable. - The Drum News

Is there any singer alive who can make romance sound as epic as Justin Garner? On the title track off his last project, featured on our pages in October 2013, the unsigned crooner cast himself as a Warrior marching into battle for a woman’s love, and the image seemed utterly believable thanks to his passionate vocals and the cut’s martially-tinged production. EP single Cross the Line shares that cut’s high-stakes,”do or die,” vibe, but its sound calls to mind the peace following a pitched battle, rather than the melee itself. Over Shaun Andrew‘s stirring, string-driven beat, Garner describes his fight to win a special girl back, after losing her once. Do I even need to specify that his vocal performance is impeccable? I thought not. - DJ Booth

Huge congratulations to Justin Garner for winning MTV's Copycat! Justin embodied his music idol, Usher, to garner the win. Justin was awarded the $5,000 cash prize and title of Ultimate Copycat. Watch the full episode at http://justingarner.com/copycat - MTV

Baton Rouge-area native Justin Garner can honestly say he knocked Beyonce out of a No. 1 spot on iTunes music charts. That spot was, however, was based in Japan and he remains a relative unknown in his own home state, according to a feature about Garner in Dig magazine's May 14 edition.

The international success of Garner's album, "I Am," has afforded him a number of opportunities to find an audience closer to home, like a spot on MTV's upcoming competitive singing show, "Copycat." He's also opened for several nationally touring acts in the states, including Trey Songz and Fantasia, according to his website.

In the last several months, Garner has received offers to be in a number of movies and music execs came knocking. He's also working on a new EP, entitled "7," which he crafted over a week of writing with the goal to produce exactly one song per day as organically as possible.

First, according to the report, he'll have to head out on a tour of Japan, but he has every intention of making a name for himself back home and helping others do the same through workshops and mentorship.

"The labels are calling now. Now everybody is like, 'Who is Justin Garner?' So now I know it's time for me to go and venture out into the music world. And I deserve it," he told Dig. "After having the number one album in Japan, it's time for me to basically claim that success here in the United States."

Read the whole report here: http://www.nola.com/music/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2014/05/baton_rouge-area_native_knocke.html - NOLA.com/Times Picayune