Joshua Elia Williams (born 3 September 1986), known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

J. Williams, is a New Zealand R&B recording artist and professional hip-hop dancer. He made his musical debut in 2008 with " Blow Your Mind" which peaked at number 13 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

. In early 2009 his debut album '' Young Love'' was released with the single "

You Got Me You Got Me or U Got Me may refer to: Film * ''You Got Me!'' (film), a 2007 Filipino comedy Music Songs * "You Got Me" (The Roots song), 1999 * "You Got Me" (J.Williams song), 2010 * "You Got Me" (Ivy Quainoo song), 2012 * "You Got Me" (Mýa song), ...

" featuring

Scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

. It was certified platinum and became the #1 selling single of 2010 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Biography

Joshua Elia Williams was born on 3 September 1986. His father is of Samoan descent and his mother of Fijian descent. He attended Weymouth Intermediate School in Weymouth,

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

and attended James Cook High School in Manurewa. He compares his upbringing to that of the Jackson 5 family, as his father was very strict regarding religion and music. Williams' has two younger sisters, Keziah and Ezra, and two older sisters, Emily and

Lavinia In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Stor ...

, who have both appeared on ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...

''. Williams was a member of the hip hop street dance group originally called Dziah (now known as Prestige). In 2006 Dziah represented

at the

World Hip Hop Dance Championships The World Hip Hop Dance Championship is an international hip-hop dance competition created in 2002 by Hip Hop International. Countries that have participated in the past include Dominican Republic, India, Greece, Cyprus, Chile, Italy, Mexico, Franc ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. They came second to the current champions, the Philippine All Stars. In 2008 at the same competition, this time as Prestige, they came fourth. Williams and his partner Larissa Brown separated shortly before the birth of their child Ryder, and abuse caused and fueled by alcohol. Williams stepped down from his post as Rugby World Cup ambassador. Williams has since undergone counselling, and in 2012 rekindled a relationship with his high school sweetheart, Renee Marriot.

Music career

Funding

From 2008 to March 2011 Williams received over $100,000 dollars in funding from the taxpayer-funded

New Zealand On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...

. This included $50,000 to produce the album, and multiple grants to make music videos.

2008 – 2010: ''Young Love''

In September 2008 " Blow Your Mind" was released as the lead single from Williams' debut album. It peaked at number 13 on the

. Second single "Set it Off", was released to commercial radio stations in early 2009 and charted at number thirty six. In March 2009, Williams released his third single, " Ghetto Flower", which peaked at number 5 on the same chart. The song was certified Gold in New Zealand on 9 June 2009, selling over 7,500 copies. and was written by his sister,

Emily Williams Emily Williams (born 8 October 1984) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in 2005 on the third season of ''Australian Idol'' and became the runner-up of the competition. After ''Idol'', Williams signed with Sony BM ...

. The fourth single, " Stand with You", was released in June 2009, and peaked at number 6 in New Zealand, becoming his second consecutive top-10 single. It featured his sister, Lavina Williams. The song was certified Gold in New Zealand on 13 September 2009, selling over 7,500 copies. On 13 July 2009 Williams released his debut album, '' Young Love''. The album debuted at number five on the New Zealand Top 40 Albums Chart and was certified gold. On 9 November 2009 Williams released his fifth single from the album, " Your Style" which featured New Zealand singer, Erakah. The single peaked at number 16 on the

. In February 2010, Williams released sixth single "

", featuring New Zealand rapper

. The single peaked at number one on the

, and was certified Platinum. In December 2010, it was declared that "You Got Me" was the #1 selling single of 2010 in

2010 – present

On 25 May 2010 Williams released "

Takes Me Higher "Takes Me Higher" is a single by New Zealand R&B and hip-hop singer J. Williams, released in May 2010. It features pop singer Dane Rumble. Writing and release "Takes Me Higher" was co-written by Williams, Rumble and I. Finau. The single was ...

", which features pop singer

Dane Rumble Dane Aaron Rumble (born 9 February 1982) is a New Zealand recording artist. He is a former member of New Zealand hip hop group, Fast Crew. Background Rumble was born in Kirwee, Canterbury, and received his secondary education at St Peter's Colle ...

. The single only had a

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

release. It peaked at number two on the

. In December 2010, "Takes Me Higher" was declared the #19 best seller of 2010 in New Zealand. " Night of Your Life" was released on 11 October 2010 and received a gold certification. in 2010 J toured Germany having visited 13 cities and being part of one of their biggest TV music shows which NZ artist friend Dane Rumble joined him with. In 2012, Williams was the supporting act for New Zealand

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

Titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

on their Come On Home Tour.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As featured artist

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Bebo siteRecord Label siteFeature profile on Television New Zealand's Close Up programme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, J. 1986 births Living people New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand male singer-songwriters New Zealand contemporary R&B singers New Zealand pop singers New Zealand hip hop musicians New Zealand people of I-Taukei Fijian descent 21st-century New Zealand male singers