库克·哈勒尔

Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( KOOK hə-REL) (born December 30, 1964) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, music arranger and audio engineer. He is known for his vocal production credits on several hit songs throughout the 2000s, often on productions by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Harrell and Stewart joined the ranks of Fox's American Idol along with music mogul Jimmy Iovine, producing many of the songs performed by its contestants.

Harrell's vocal production credits include three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)" and her Grammy Award-winning "Umbrella", as well as Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)". He vocal produced Mary J. Blige's album Growing Pains, which won the Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Its lead single, "Just Fine", was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Early years

Harrell's music career began in his native Chicago, where he performed as a drummer and a vocalist before becoming a session musician. He soon became a commercial writer and producer, working for Joy Art Music, contributing to major ad campaigns for McDonald's, Kraft, Coca-Cola and many others. After relocating to Los Angeles with his cousin, writing and production partner Laney Stewart in 1992, Harrell then added worship leader to his repertoire, and became a touring vocalist and choir director for Promise Keepers as well. During this time, he sang on tracks written and produced by Diane Warren and David Foster.

Musical career

RedZone Entertainment

2004 brought Harrell to Atlanta, where he joined his cousins Tricky Stewart and Mark Stewart at RedZone Entertainment as a writer, producer, and engineer. RedZone Entertainment is an Atlanta-based, music-production entity, whose discography includes collaborations with many artists, producers, and composers of note, and is responsible for over 25 million records sold.

In a 2008 Billboard interview, Mark Stewart describes Kuk Harrell as "...the secret weapon."

He produces all the vocals as well as writes and produces. He's the silent partner and a major part of what we do on a creative basis.

2007 was a pivotal year for Harrell. Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" and Mary J. Blige's "Growing Pains" were released this year, both featuring his composition and vocal production skills. The single "Umbrella" off of "Good Girl Gone Bad" and "Just Fine" off of "Growing Pains" were both nominated for Grammys in 2007. This was also the year that Harrell established his own music production company, Suga Wuga Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope.

Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad / "Umbrella"

On March 29, 2007, the first single from Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad, "Umbrella", was released. Harrell co-wrote and produced the vocals on the track, which subsequently had one of the highest digital debuts in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003. The song, which featured an introductory rap verse from rapper Jay-Z, won Harrell a Grammy for Best Rap/Song Collaboration, a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year, and a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

The song won ASCAP's Pop Music Award which honored "Umbrella" as one of the most performed pop songs of 2007, and was also nominated at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Music: Single. Time magazine named "Umbrella" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 3. Writer for Time magazine, Josh Tyrandiel, cited Rihanna's vocal performance and special talent for vocal innuendo as the reason he declared it "The Sexiest Song of 2007." Umbrella was set at No. 2 at the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, behind Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable".

In the United Kingdom, "Umbrella" broke a record on the UK Singles Chart by debuting at number one on the chart based on digital sales alone, becoming Rihanna's first chart-topper in the country. During the single's fourth week on the chart, both the single and album topped the UK Singles Chart and UK Albums Chart. "Umbrella" eventually reached a total of ten weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the country's longest-running number-one single of the 21st century since 1994. Rihanna has become the seventh artist in the history of the UK Singles Chart to top the chart for ten straight weeks. By the end of 2007, "Umbrella" had sold 512,730 units, making it her biggest-selling single to date and the second biggest-selling single of 2007 in the United Kingdom. It has since been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry on July 20, 2007.

"Umbrella" had a similar success throughout Europe, reaching number one in Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Germany and Spain.