Jared Lincoln Cotter (born June 17, 1981) is an American pop/ R&B singer, songwriter and model. He has hosted a number of TV shows, and he co-wrote the number 1 song " Down" by
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reache ...
.Jared Cotter interview
Biography
Born and raised on Long Island, Cotter grew up in a family of musicians. Cotter's great grandfather,
James Reese Europe
James Reese Europe (February 22, 1881 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African Americans music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake called hi ...
, was the first African American jazz player to perform at Carnegie Hall.Idol: Meet The Top 24! Cotter's father, Robert Cotter, played in the late 1970s with Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards of the Big Apple Band, later known as
Chic
Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick.
Etymology
'' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...
.JL Cotter: Real Feelings /ref>Singersroom /ref> Cotter listed as his influence artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and
Brian McKnight
Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma.
McKnight is known for h ...
.JLCotter MySpace
Cotter's recording career began when he was 15. He performed and released music as JL Cotter, and co-wrote songs such as "Make U Cry", "My Girl", "She Likes It" and the Notorious B.I.G inspired "Somebody's Gotta Go". He has worked with Joshua Thompson,
Rob Fusari
Rob Fusari, also known as 8Bit, is an American record producer and songwriter. He has worked with Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Will Smith, Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga.
Early life
Rob Fusari was born between 1967 and 1968. And raised in Livings ...
and Jeremy Skaller, and has also collaborated with other songwriters including Andre Deyo, Teron Beal and worked with producer and songwriter, Quincy Patrick.
Cotter has performed on BET's
106 & Park
''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...
, and opened for platinum-selling artist Avant. He has also performed at BB King's in Times Square, Village Underground, Soul Café and SOB's. In 2005, he independently released "The Album Before the Album".
Personal life
Cotter began dating Canadian singer-songwriter
Melanie Fiona
Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. On March 14, 2016, their first child was born. On Valentine's Day 2018, the couple became engaged. Originally they planned to marry on
Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast.
Celebrated worldw ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
; but the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
forced them to postpone their wedding three times. The couple eloped on December 12, 2020 in Los Angeles.
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' and reached the semi-final stage of the competition. He sang Stevie Wonder's " Lately" for his audition.Jared Cotter: American Idol Season 6 /ref>
''American Idol'' performances
Post-''Idol'' career
Television
Immediately after ''American Idol'', in June 2007, Cotter joined as co-host for a daily show ''The Sauce'' on the television network
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multi ...
. After ''The Sauce'' was cancelled in 2008, he hosted ''You Rock, Lets Roll'', a dating game show, in the same time slot. He also hosted Fuse's ''No. 1 Countdown: Pop'' where he presented videos and conducted interviews. He has also worked for
Fox TV
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
’s
Good Day New York
''Good Day New York'' is a morning show airing on WNYW Fox 5 (channel 5), hosted by Rosanna Scotto and Bianca Peters. It is a Fox owned-and-operated television station in New York City, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox C ...
as a weekly correspondent during later seasons of ''American Idol''. He was the host of ''The Challenge'', a
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...
high school
student quiz show
A student quiz show (sometimes academic quiz show) is a television or radio quiz show featuring contestants who represent the schools they attend. NBC4's ''It's Academic'' in the Washington, DC metropolitan area is the longest running student quiz ...
on MSG Varsity internet service. From 2014 to 2015 Cotter was the co-anchor for the syndicated '' The Daily Buzz'' program of Florida's
Full Sail University
Full Sail University is a private for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts. The school moved to Florida in 1980 and began ...
.
Music
Before he appeared on ''Idol,'' Cotter released an album, "The Album Before the Album," independently as JL Cotter in 2005. The album was re-released after he appeared on ''Idol.'' He released a single "Good Morning" in October 2008.
Cotter has written songs for other popular artists such as Carl Thomas,
Joe
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
, and in particular
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reache ...
with whom he has considerable success. He co-wrote a number of songs on Jay Sean's album '' All or Nothing'', including the number one song, "Down", which was the seventh-best selling single of 2009, and for which he received an ASCAP award as a writer for one of the "Most Performed Songs" of the year. He signed a worldwide deal with EMI Music Publishing in 2009.Jared Cotter Twitter /ref> He has been nominated for Best Male R&B Vocalist at the Underground Hip Hop Music Awards..
Cotter released a five-song EP ''You Me Forever'' on July 1, 2014.