Sean Kingston

Kisean Paul Anderson, known professionally as Sean Kingston, is an American singer. Born in Miami, Florida, he was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, before returning to the United States. He gained international prominence after signing with J. R. Rotem's Beluga Heights Records in a joint venture with Koch Records and Epic Records in 2007.

Anderson was born on February 3, 1990, as the first of three children born to Janice Turner. When he was six years old, his family relocated to Jamaica, where he attended Ocho Rios High School for three years prior to moving back to the United States. His grandfather was the Jamaican reggae producer Lawrence "Jack Ruby" Lindo.

Kingston was discovered on YouTube by Matt Tobin of Beluga Heights Records, where producer J. R. Rotem worked to develop his musical style from rapping into melodic performance. In May 2007, Kingston released his debut single, "Beautiful Girls," which reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as well as charts in countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom. His self-titled debut album was released in July 2007, peaking at number six on the Billboard 200 and featuring the top-40 single "Take You There." That year, he served as an opening act for Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape Tour and selected dates on Beyoncé's The Beyoncé Experience tour.

In September 2009, Kingston released his second studio album, Tomorrow, which included production from Wyclef Jean, RedOne, and Rotem, as well as the top-five single "Fire Burning" and the single "Face Drop." During this period, he co-wrote Jason Derulo's number-one single "Whatcha Say" and discovered artist Iyaz on MySpace. Kingston also launched his own label, Time Is Money Entertainment, signing singer Tory Lanez in 2010. That same year, he collaborated with Justin Bieber on the hit single "Eenie Meenie" and recorded "Everyone," the official theme song for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, alongside international artists. He released his debut mixtape, King of Kingz, in February 2011.

Kingston released his third studio album, Back 2 Life, in September 2013, which served as his final release on a major label and spawned the hit single "Beat It," featuring Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa. In subsequent years, he released various non-album singles, including "Wait Up" and "Darkest Times" featuring G Herbo, and established the Professional Rapper Boxing League in 2020 alongside hip-hop agent Triple the Mogul. Kingston released his fourth studio album, Road to Deliverance, in September 2022, and co-wrote Chris Brown's single "Sensational" in 2023.

Beyond his music career, Kingston filmed a public service announcement for Do Something and participated in a 2010 PETA campaign. In May 2011, he survived a near-fatal jet skiing accident in Miami. In July 2024, Kingston and his mother were indicted on federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges relating to a high-end luxury purchasing scheme. Both were convicted in March 2025. On August 15, 2025, Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.