{"id":139213,"date":"2025-03-04T12:11:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T17:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/03\/04\/chartbreaker-how-leon-thomas-fetched-a-mainstream-hit-with-mutt\/"},"modified":"2025-03-04T12:11:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T17:11:28","slug":"chartbreaker-how-leon-thomas-fetched-a-mainstream-hit-with-mutt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/03\/04\/chartbreaker-how-leon-thomas-fetched-a-mainstream-hit-with-mutt\/","title":{"rendered":"Chartbreaker: How Leon Thomas Fetched a Mainstream Hit With \u2018Mutt\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\u201cIt was an uncomfortable song to play my mom,\u201d Leon Thomas admits of \u201cMutt,\u201d a flirtatious track that mentions the urge to \u201cpop a shroom to re-create the feeling.\u201d \u201cMutt\u201d marked the Grammy-winning songwriter\u2019s first Billboard Hot 100<\/a> entry as a recording artist, following years of behind-the-scenes work that includes hits for Ariana Grande, SZA and more. And his mother loved it, too. \u201cShe told me this is going to be one of my biggest records. She spoke into existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Thomas, 31 \u2014 the Brooklyn-bred son of Black Rock Coalition parents, and the grandson of the late opera singer John Anthony \u2014 music and family have always been intertwined. His parents, who frequented CBGB, laid the musical foundation for the rock-infused soul he explores on Mutt<\/em>, his sophomore album released last September. <\/p>\n

\n\tSince then, he supported Blxst on tour and embarked on his own headlining trek \u2014 but February in particular solidified Thomas\u2019 turn from songwriting savant to front-facing R&B star. \u201cMutt\u201d entered the Hot 100 on the Feb. 8 chart (and reaches a new No. 67 peak on the March 8-dated list); he made his live-TV debut with the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert<\/em> the same week; and then performed on NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk<\/em> later that month, where he dedicated 2022 single \u201cBreaking Point\u201d to his recently deceased grandfather (Thomas attended his funeral directly after the taping). \u201cHe was the anchor to my journey,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cI can tell he was with me musically.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tLeon Thomas Brings the Soul to Groovy Tiny Desk Concert Debut:\u00a0Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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Leon Thomas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tWhile his past month looks like a whirlwind of success, Thomas\u2019 breakthrough has been nearly two decades in the making. At 13, with Broadway runs in The Lion King<\/em>, The Color Purple<\/em> and Caroline, Or Change<\/em> under his belt, Thomas signed his first deal with Columbia Records. \u201cI was walking into the boardroom playing Stevie Wonder covers and in-depth love songs,\u201d he reflects with a laugh. \u201cThey were like, \u2018What we gon\u2019 do with this? Did you even hit puberty?\u2019\u201d Around that time, he made his theatrical debut in the 2007 film August Rush<\/em>, which led to a Nickelodeon development deal that landed him roles on shows from The Backyardigans<\/em> to Victorious<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the deal was nearing its end and Victorious <\/em>approached its 2013 series finale, Thomas explored his options, and received advice from Republic Records\u2019 Wendy Goldstein, who was the label\u2019s senior vp of A&R at the time. \u201cJourneying through your twenties is you becoming everything that you need from everybody else,\u201d she told him. \u201cThose words stuck with me on some Spider-Man s\u2013t,\u201d he says today.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe spent the better part of the next decade learning the independent scene, studying under Babyface and Boi-1da (and by extension, Drake\u2019s camp), and was briefly signed to Alex da Kid\u2019s KIDinaKORNER. He met manager Jonathan Azu in 2019 and became the first act on his Culture Collective roster. Two years later, he landed a record deal with Ty Dolla $ign and Motown Records\u2019 joint venture, EZMNY, after running into A&R Shawn Barron on a grocery run.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was kind of scared because signing under an artist can be either heaven or hell,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cLuckily, I\u2019m stomping around in heaven right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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