Redfoo

Early life

Redfoo was born on September 3, 1975 to Berry Gordy, Jr., founder of the Motown record label, and writer-producer Nancy Leiviska. His maternal grandfather was Finnish. He attended junior high school with will.i.am and GoonRock. Redfoo graduated from Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California in 1995.

1994–2005: Balance Beam

In 1994, Redfoo scored his first major production credit for the song "Back in the Day" by Los Angeles rapper Ahmad and co-produced seven other tracks on Ahmad's self-titled debut album. In 1996 he signed with Bubonic Records, and he worked in collaboration with the rapper Dre' Kroon for an album together. The album, Balance Beam, was released on October 10, 1997. Redfoo and Kroon released two singles: "Life Is a Game Of Chess" and "The Freshest". In 1999 he collaborated on "Duet" with The Black Eyed Peas, from their album Behind the Front. He also produced Focused Daily for Defari. In 2004 Figgkidd released "I Gotta Know" as single which featured vocals from Redfoo and Tech N9ne. The song peaked at number 50 in Australia.

2006–12: Breakthrough with LMFAO

He formed the electro-pop band LMFAO with his nephew Sky Blu in 2006. The duo started building a local buzz through their shows and radio play. Once they had recorded some demos, Redfoo's friend will.i.am introduced them to Interscope head Jimmy Iovine, who gave the green light for them to be signed to Interscope/will.i.am Music. Interscope A&R and will.i.am manager Neil Jacobson told HitQuarters that the demos sounded like "finished records", and that so little artist development work was needed it was essentially a "turnkey operation" for the label. LMFAO released the debut album, Party Rock on July 7, 2009. The album charted at number 33 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Billboard Dance Chart. Their first single was "I'm in Miami Bitch", which was released in December 2008, and peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 37 in Canada. In early 2009, a little known DJ/producer 'DJ Inphinity' created a bootleg using the Silvio Ecomo remix of DJ Chuckie's 2008 hit "Let the Bass Kick" and the a cappella of LMFAO, creating "Bass Kick in Miami". That same year, LMFAO was featured in The Crystal Method's song "Sine Language".

In 2010, they were featured in David Guetta's song "Gettin' Over You", which was an international hit, peaking in the top ten in eleven countries and at number one in three of them, including in the United Kingdom. It also peaked at number 31 on the U.S. Hot 100 and at number 12 in Canada. The duo then recorded their second album, Sorry for Party Rocking, late in 2010 and released it on June 17, 2011 in the U.S. The first single taken from the album, "Party Rock Anthem", was released on January 1, 2011. It features British singer Lauren Bennett formerly of the girl pop group Paradiso Girls and producer GoonRock, and showcases the Melbourne Shuffle dance style in its popular video. The song is so far the most successful of their career, peaking at number one in the United States, Canada, the UK and over ten other countries, as well as being in the top ten in many others. The second single from Sorry for Party Rocking, "Champagne Showers", was released on May 27, 2011 and features English singer-songwriter Natalia Kills. The third single, "Sexy and I Know It", was released on October 3, 2011 and reached number one on the iTunes charts worldwide and number one on the Australian and Canadian Hot 100.

Also in 2011, LMFAO embarked on the world tour Sorry for Party Rocking Tour. They were also the opening acts for American singer Kesha's "Get Sleazy Tour". After they released "Sexy and I Know It" as single and became the duo's second number one in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. On February 5, 2012, the group appeared with Madonna at the Super Bowl XLVI during the Bridgestone Halftime Show. They performed during her song "Music", which contained a mash-up with "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It". Also in 2012, Redfoo was sued by a previous management company for $7 million, claiming breach of contract. On September 21, 2012, the duo released a statement announcing their hiatus. Redfoo said, "I feel like we've been doing this for so long, five or six years", and that he and Sky Blu would not be performing together anytime soon as they would be taking their careers in different directions.

2012–15: Television and solo releases

In December 2012, he released his first solo single "Bring Out the Bottles" and appeared in the film Last Vegas. On April 21, 2013, Redfoo was confirmed as Guy Sebastian's replacement for the fifth season of the Australian version of The X Factor, a singing talent television show, joining Ronan Keating, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and fellow debuting judge Dannii Minogue, who replaced Mel B. Because of commitments to The X Factor, he relocated to Sydney, Australia in 2013. In September, Redfoo released a new hit single titled "Let's Get Ridiculous", which he premiered on The X Factor Australia, performing live during the third live show. The single debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified four times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. On October 19, 2013, Redfoo released the pilot episode of his new comedy web series, Behind the Speedo. A second episode was released on March 25, 2014. In 2014, Redfoo returned for the sixth season of The X Factor Australia. In June 2014, he released a new single titled "Where The Baes At" with Eric D-lux and Rio. In August 2014, Redfoo released a new single titled "New Thang" and peaked at number three in Australia.

The promotional single "Like Ya Just Don't Care" was released on September 2. The single is part of his solo debut album, Party Rock Mansion, but under the title "Keep Shining", the first single from the album. In October 2014, Redfoo was featured on Play-N-Skillz song and video "Literally I Can't" along with Lil Jon and Enertia McFly. The song attracted widespread criticism for being misogynistic. On February 24, 2015, Redfoo was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with professional dancer Emma Slater. He had been a guest judge on the 18th season of the show, and is the first guest judge ever to return as a contestant. He and Slater were the first couple eliminated from the competition on March 23, 2015. On May 1, 2015, Redfoo announced that he would not be returning for the seventh season of The X Factor Australia.

2016–present: Party Rock Mansion

Redfoo announced his second album near the end of December, and submitted it for pre-order. He released a promotional single titled "Lights Out" on January 15, 2016, about seeing someone so beautiful/handsome that you are stunned with love (Lights Out). The album was officially released on March 18, 2016, and includes songs which have already been released, like "Party Train", Meet Her at Tomorrow (feat. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike), and "Keep Shining", which is one of Redfoo's singles "Like Ya Just Don't Care" with his own vocals, verses, & lyrics put over it. On the album is also an acoustic ballad titled, "Maybe" where Redfoo sings and plays the piano, whilst Dave Boyles plays guitar and Jason Heerah is playing the drums. On February 19, Redfoo released another single from his album, the song being called, "Party Train." The song, just like "Meet Her at Tomorrow (feat. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike)" and "Keep Shining", has been in production before Redfoo moved into the mansion. Booty Man resembles Nelly's Grillz and "Too Much" resembles The Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight. So Lit is a Dance-Pop love song about seeing a beautiful girl and having a need to get out of the friend-zone immediately. "Beach Cruisin'" is referred to as "I'm In Miami Bitch 2.0", having similar story-telling verses. Keep Shining is referred to as the follow up to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem, and is essentially the party starter. "Keep Shining" and "Party Rock Anthem" have almost no differences, hence giving it the name (Party Rock Anthem 2.0) with only minor differences. One difference is that "Keep Shining" starts off much faster than "Party Rock Anthem" and "Keep Shining" is in the key of A-flat major and "Party Rock Anthem" is in F minor.

Personal life

Foo began dating former #1 ranked tennis player Victoria Azarenka in 2012, but the couple split in 2014. He attended the 2012 US Open, 2013 Australian Open, 2013 Wimbledon Championships and 2014 Australian Open as a member of Azarenka's player box. As a tennis player, he attempted to qualify for the 2013 US Open as a wild-card entry. He entered the USTA Northern California Sectional qualifying tournament in June and was knocked out 6-1, 6-2 in his first match.

Redfoo, through his line of Party Rock clothing, sponsors the Party Rock Open, an ITF Women's Circuit tournament held in Las Vegas since 2009. Tyler Weeks, a tennis pro at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, mentioned to Foo that his tournament needed a new sponsor after giving him a lesson, and Foo agreed for Party Rock clothing to be the new sponsor. The event is usually held at the end of September.

In 2016, Redfoo did a fan interaction on the app Kwickie.

One of the most notable interactions was when a fan talked to Redfoo about how to have a good party on his personal perspectives.

It resulted in Redfoo saying "Nathan is that a question?"

Discography