Kevin Michael Seward (born October 22, 1985) is an American singer from Chester, Pennsylvania. He signed with Downtown Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records to release his self-titled debut studio album (2008).
Early life Born in Chester, Pennsylvania, Michael grew up in a mixed-race family. His father is African-American and his mother is biracial. This had quite an effect on him as a child growing up and would serve as one of his main messages in later musical work. He is a self-taught vocalist with a five octave range. Kevin cites artists like Prince, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder as some of his biggest musical influences. At the age of 16 he wrote his first song, and has continued writing his own material throughout the years. Kevin says he loves writing music just as much as singing it.
Career Michael received attention from Virgin Records and Columbia Records while still a teenager, but ultimately signed with Atlantic Records and their Downtown Records imprint.
His first EP Ya Dig? was featured only on iTunes and the buzz single "We All Want The Same Thing" was highlighted on iTunes Store as the Single of the Week for May 8, 2007. "We All Want The Same Thing" featured rapper Lupe Fiasco and was featured in a Verizon Wireless V CAST Song ID commercial.Modern Guitars article
Kevin Michael's first official single from his full-length LP was "It Don't Make Any Difference", both produced by and featuring Wyclef Jean. In the song Kevin talks about interracial relationships and the product of being a bi-racial adult himself. A video for the song was shot in Brooklyn, NY in May 2007 directed by video collective Syndrome (James Larese). The video and song was received well by both MTV and VH1 Soul.
Michael's performance was favorably reviewed on day two of the August 2007 Lollapalooza concert in Chicago, describing Kevin as a "young singer with the towering afro and a voice that mixes the soulful side of Michael Jackson with a hip-hop edge." He has also performed at MTV's 2007 Video Music Awards at The Palms Casino Pool in Las Vegas.
The debut album Kevin Michael was released on October 2, 2007. He was on separate tours with Lily Allen, and then Maroon 5 in 2007. In 2008, he toured with John Legend on the Pepsi Smash Tour.
He appeared in the 2009 romantic-comedy (500) Days of Summer as the wedding singer. His cover of Etta James' "At Last" was included on the movie's soundtrack.
On June 10, 2010, Michael resurfaced under the alias KofTHEY (K being the initial for his name, and THEY being a group acronym standing for THE Youth) and released THEY's first single, "Areola" on their YouTube channel, KofTHEY.
On March 14, 2011, Michael opened Twitter and Facebook accounts as KofTHEY.
On March 16, 2011, he released the follow-up album International for a limited release in Japan.
On April 5, 2011, he launched the TeamTHEY website and released two new songs under KofTHEY.TeamTHEY Official Site
On July 1, 2011, Michael released Covers For You, a nine-song cover album. The album also includes one track from his International album.
In 2019, he published a new single "Sidenixxa".
In popular culture Song Title Details We All Want The Same Thing Step Up 2: The Streets We All Want The Same Thing Prom Night We All Want The Same Thing Lincoln Heights (TV series) Season 2: Episode 4 Weekend Jumpoff Entourage (U.S. TV series) Season 3: Episode 16 Philadelphia Dance! Online Stone Cold Killa Dance! Online It Don't Make Any Difference EA Sports: NBA Live 08 Weekend Jumpoff Just Wright At Last (Etta James Cover) (500) Days of Summer
Discography
Studio albums Year Album details Peak chart positions SalesUSUS R&BUS HeatFRASWI2007Kevin Michael Released: October 2, 2007 Label: Atlantic Formats: CD, digital download—902481812011International Released: March 22, 2011 Label: JVC – Japan Formats: CD, digital download—————2011Covers For You Released: July 1, 2011 Label: Independent Formats: digital download—————2012LISA Released: January 20, 2012 Label: Independent Formats: digital download—————2013b r a i n w a $ h Released: January 21, 2013 Label: Independent Formats: digital download—————
EPs Year Album details2007Ya Dig? Released: April 10, 2007 Formats: digital download
Singles Single Year Peak chart positionsAlbumUSUS R&BAUTFINGERSWESWI"We All Want The Same Thing"(featuring Lupe Fiasco)2007———————Kevin Michael"It Don't Make Any Difference To Me (1 Love)" (featuring Wyclef Jean)———17—19—"Ain't Got You"2008——64—43—74 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
Soundtrack appearances SongYearOther performer(s)Film"We All Want The Same Thing" 2008Lupe FiascoStep Up 2: The Streets"At Last"2009(500) Days of Summer"Weekend Jumpoff" 2010Just Wright
References
External links Official website Official Myspace page