Javier Colon

Before launching a solo career, Javier Colon logged two years as lead vocalist of the Derek Trucks Band. He joined the group several weeks after graduating from the University of Hartford, where he performed with a local funk band and played coffeehouse gigs as a solo act. While opening a show for the band Soulive, he impressed guitarist Eric Krasno, who suggested Colon try out for Derek Trucks’ group. Colon auditioned for Trucks during his final semester of college, got the gig, and hit the road in August 2000. When he left the lineup two years later, he’d already recorded some demos on his own, which helped him score a solo contract with Capitol Records.

Colon recorded two albums for Capitol, both of which were released under his first name only. Javier, his self-titled debut, enjoyed moderate chart success in 2003 with its mix of retro and adult contemporary R&B. Left of Center followed in 2006 but didn’t fare nearly as well, and Colon was dismissed from Capitol’s roster soon after its release. He issued his next recording, The Truth: Acoustic EP, on his own label in 2010. One year later, Colon began competing in The Voice, an NBC singing competition whose judges included Christina Aguilera and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine. With Levine serving as his mentor, Colon began making his way back onto the charts, with several of his Voice performances becoming genuine hits on the Hot 100. He won the competition later that summer, earning a major-label deal with Universal Republic Records in the process. He released Come Through for You, a set of straightforward contemporary pop/rock, in 2011.