Matt Cusson is a pop and R&B singer.

Biography

Born and raised in

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

, Massachusetts to a classical piano teacher and choir director, music of all different genres was introduced to Cusson at an early age. He attended

St. Joseph High School St. Joseph's School, St. Joseph's Catholic School, St Joseph's School, St Joseph's Catholic School, and variants are frequently used school names, and may refer to: Africa * St Joseph's School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Asia * St Joseph Higher Secon ...

and

Berkshire Community College Berkshire Community College is a public community college in Berkshire County, Massachusetts with its primary campus in Pittsfield. It also has a satellite campus in Great Barrington and classroom spaces in the city of Pittsfield. Established i ...

. He studied at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston where he played with

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

and

Ryan Leslie Anthony Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur from Washington, D.C. He has produced singles for a number of prominent artists in a variety of genres, ranging from R&B, hip hop ...

Career

In 2000, Cusson was discovered by

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 ...

, who a day after hearing him perform flew him to Los Angeles to collaborate. In 2004, he was chosen as the only male singer to perform with Christina Aguilera on her summer tour Exposed. He has performed on ''The Daily Beat'' with Allure, ''BET Live'' with Avant, ''Bobby Jones Gospel'', and the 2003 U.S. Open Tennis Tour with Here II Praise. In 2009, while on tour with his mentor McKnight, Cusson was awarded the Maxell Song of the Year and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Best Jazz Song for his composition "One of Those Nights", while his single "Every Step" performed in the top three in the R&B category. In that same year, his self-titled album was a pick for top 10 albums of 2009 in the Japanese magazine ''BMR''. He has performed live on '' The View'' and ''

Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

''. He was one of the 12 people chosen out of hundreds to perform at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre in New York City and went on to win the competition three times. Cusson signed with Spectra Jazz in 2010 to release his single "One Of Those Nights". He performed as a member of the international

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Man in the Mirro tribute tour. Soon after, Cusson received a 2011 Song of the Year nomination from the Oasis Contemporary Jazz Award committee for his composition of "One Of Those Nights".

References

External links

Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusson, Matt Living people Berkshire Community College alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Berklee College of Music alumni