New Year’s Eve is super hot at Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center with R&B icon Charlie Wilson set to take to the stage ringing in 2018 on Sunday, December 31st at 8 p.m. Charlie Wilson has been recording hits for decades and was just nominated for 3 2018 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Male Artist, Outstanding Duo/Group for “I’m Blessed” (ft. T.I.) and Outstanding Album, “In It To Win It.” There is no stopping Charlie Wilson! Tickets are available a NJPAC.org or888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722)
Charlie Wilson is no stranger to success, having had eight Billboard No. 1 singles and four Top 10 Billboard albums including three No. 1 R&B albums, 11 Grammy nominations, and a New York Times and Washington Post best-selling memoir, “I Am Charlie Wilson.” His newest album, “In It To Win It,” was released in February 2017 and the album’s lead single, “I’m Blessed,” featuring T.I. was one of the fastest rising singles on the Billboard Adult R&B chart this year.
“I am excited about the response to my new album,” stated Wilson. “I wanted the first single, “I’m Blessed,” to set the tone for where I am in my life. Having T.I., Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke, Lalah Hathaway, Pitbull and Wiz Khalifa join me added a new flavor which I knew my fans would appreciate.”
Wilson, who executive produced the 13-track album along with long time manager Michael Paran, reunited once again with The Cartoons (Emile Ghantous, Steve Daly and Keith Hetrick, Gregg Pagani and Wirlie Morris). New to the mix are fellow songwriter/producers J.R. Rotem (Jason Derulo, Gwen Stefani, Empire), Eric Hudson (Kanye West, John Legend) and Rob Knox (Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, T.I.).
Before launching his solo career in 2000, Wilson racked up a string of hits in the late ‘70s and ‘80s as lead singer for the iconic Gap Band. The pioneering R&B/funk group charted such frequently sampled classics as “Outstanding,” “Yearning for Your Love,” “Burn Rubber on Me,” “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” and “Early in the Morning.”
Wilson signed to Jive (now RCA) in 2004 after landing his first No. 1 Billboard Adult R&B hit, “Without You,” in 2000. Since then, he’s released six solo albums and become a consistent chart presence with seven more Adult R&B No. 1s, including “My Love Is All I Have,” “You Are” and “There Goes My Baby.” Wilson has garnered 11 Grammy nominations and other industry accolades, including BET’s 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award.
In the years between the Gap Band’s heyday and his solo success, Wilson survived drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness and prostate cancer. He chronicled his odds-defying life and career in his 2015 best-selling autobiography, “I Am Charlie Wilson.”
Sober now for 22 years, the singer says, “I wouldn’t have believed I’d be where I am right now. That’s why I shout every night because I thank God for allowing me to be here.”
