Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Timothy Bloom counts Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, Bill Withers, and Jeff Buckley among his inspirations.

The son of pastors, he grew up with music surrounding him. He debuted not as a solo artist, but as a collaborative songwriter, and he got his foot in the door in a major way; the North Carolina native co-wrote a pair of songs with Smokey Robinson, “My World” and “Fallin’,” both of which were included on Robinson’s 2005-released My World: The Definitive Collection. In 2009, he played a major role in Quite Like Me, an independently released album by vocalist Dionyza, and he provided background vocals on Usher’s Raymond V. Raymond, issued the following year. He finally broke through as a solo artist in 2011 with The Budding Rose, an EP led by the stunning ballad “‘Til the End of Time,” a duet with Veronika Bozeman promoted with an equally striking video. The song impacted Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart just before the release of Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E., an album highlighted by Bloom’s “All Back.” Bloom’s debut album was scheduled for release later in the year through Polow da Don’s Zone 4 and Timbaland’s Mosley Music via Interscope. ~ Andy Kellman