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The Swaggernautz

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The Swaggernautz

The Swaggernautz[1][2][3] is a songwriting and production duo based in Los Angeles, composed of Singaporean songwriter-producer Tat Tong and American Idol Season 10 alumnus Jovany Javier.[4] Their combined discography has gone 60× platinum, with over 20 #1 hits out of over 60 Top 20 hits worldwide.[4]

Early life and history

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As a child in Singapore, Tong studied piano and composition at Yamaha Music Foundation.[5] In 2001, he accepted a scholarship from the Singapore Armed Forces to study Computer Science at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and following that, worked in the Republic of Singapore Navy for 6 years[5] before transitioning to a full-time music career in 2011.[6]

Growing up in Harvey, Louisiana,[7] Javier worked as a shipbuilder[8] before auditioning for American Idol Season 10 in 2011.[9] After finishing in the Top 12 male finalists,[10] he proceeded to perform at 27 military installations in 12 countries on an Armed Forces Entertainment World Tour,[11] with stops including Japan,[12] Korea,[13] Guam,[14] Australia, and Hawaii.[15]

Tong and Javier started collaborating as The Swaggernautz in 2013.[16]

Current career

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Since its inception, the duo has had releases with artists across North America, Central/South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including Luis Fonsi, Demi Lovato, Troye Sivan, Monsta X, Kaskade, CNCO, Sebastian Yatra, Juanes, CD9, Alvaro Soler, Aitana, ShiNEE, JJ Lin, Vanness Wu, and Wang Lee Hom.[17][18]

In the Latin music space, they co-produced and co-wrote the Mandarin remix of "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi featuring JJ Lin.[19][20][21][22][23] They also co-wrote "Apaga La Luz"[24] from Fonsi's 2019 album "Vida" which was nominated for Best Latin Pop Album in the 62nd Grammy Awards,[25] reached #1 on Billboard's US Top Latin Albums and US Latin Pop Albums, #18 on the Billboard 200, and was certified 22× platinum in the United States.[26][27] They co-wrote and co-produced "Estoy Enamorado De Ti"[28] from CNCO's self-titled 2018 album which reached #1 on Billboard's US Top Latin Albums, #33 on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum in the United States.[29][30][31][32][33][34]

Their US discography includes Troye Sivan's debut single "Happy Little Pill"[35] from his 2014 TRXYE album and 2015 Blue Neighborhood album, which were certified Gold in Australia,[36] Gold in the United States,[37] charted at #1 on iTunes in 66 countries,[38] and reached #5 on the Billboard 200 chart.[39] They also co-wrote American DJ Elephante's single "Age Of Innocence" featuring Trouze and Damon Sharpe which charted at #18 on the Billboard Dance charts.[40]

Besides producing and writing music, the duo also speaks at and cohosts the Gamechangers Music Seminar series, with events in the United States, Spain, and Singapore.[41][42][43]

Partial Discography

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[17]

References

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  1. ^ Orozco, Gisela. "Wapea fusiona sus ritmos y culturas". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  2. ^ "Little Red Book: Home-grown passions taken beyond borders". The Straits Times. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  3. ^ Villegas, Ginayra Alvarado. "WAPEA, el dúo que fusiona culturas y lo refleja en su música". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  4. ^ a b Tan, Dylan (July 1, 2016). "Playing to a global beat". The Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings.
  5. ^ a b Tan, Jeanette. "S'porean Navy scholar with computer science degree makes mark in international pop music and EDM". Mothership.sg. Mothership.sg.
  6. ^ Mathews, Kevin (February 26, 2016). "Local music producer-songwriter Tat Tong and DJ Declan Ee find success in US". TODAYOnline. Singapore Press Holdings.
  7. ^ Bouton, Amy. "Even Idols Have Heroes". Jefferson Life. Issuu. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  8. ^ Meizel, Katherine (21 January 2011). "American Idol: Season 10 - Steven Tyler's delightful bleeps; Brett Loewenstern learns to love himself". Slate. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Jovany Javier". IMDb. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  10. ^ Caramanica, Jon (2011-03-02). "'American Idol': The Top 12 Guys". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  11. ^ "Jovany Barreto". BandsInTown.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  12. ^ Okubo, Grant (11 August 2011). "'American Idol' singers delight Yokota audience". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  13. ^ Hurwitz, David (1 August 2012). "Idols to bring bit of home to ROK". Stripes Korea. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  14. ^ "American Idol World Tour For U.S. Armed Forces Ends On Guam". Pacific News Center News First. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  15. ^ "American Idols make a stopover at joint base April 15". Ho'okele: Pearl Harbor-Hickham News. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Songwriting 101 with The Swaggernautz". MIC at UCLA. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  17. ^ a b "Repertoire Search". BMI.com. BMI.com.
  18. ^ "Wapea, el dúo multicultural que busca su inspiración en la diversidad". www.laconexionusa.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  19. ^ Fonseca, Selma (November 20, 2017). "Luis Fonsi and JJ Lin Team Up for 'Despacito' In Mandarin and Spanish: Exclusive". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Listen to Luis Fonsi's 'Despacito' Spanish-Mandarin Version with JJ Lin". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  21. ^ "Dance hit 'Despacito' now remixed as a Mandarin-Spanish song". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  22. ^ 台灣英文新聞. "林俊傑與馮西合作推出洗腦神曲《Despacito》中文版《緩緩》正式上線". 台灣英文新聞. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  23. ^ Comercial, Rádio. "Luis Fonsi canta 'Despacito' em mandarim". Rádio Comercial (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  24. ^ "Apaga la Luz - Luis Fonsi | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  25. ^ "Luis Fonsi". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  26. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  27. ^ "Luis Fonsi Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  28. ^ "Estoy Enamorado De Ti - CNCO | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  29. ^ "CNCO Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  30. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  31. ^ "CNCO compone nuevo álbum". Diario La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  32. ^ Tecnólogicas, Data Page-Soluções (2018-04-07). "CNCO estreia novo álbum". DM Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  33. ^ Ecuador, Metro. "CNCO lanza hoy su nuevo álbum a nivel mundial". Metro Ecuador (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  34. ^ Brasil, Redação LatinPop (2018-03-22). "CNCO e Luan Santana anunciam lançamento de Mamita". LatinPop Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  35. ^ Malinda-White, Kyle. "Troye Sivan's Debut Single Is Composed By A Singaporean". PopSpoken. PopSpoken.
  36. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2014 Singles". ARIA. Australia Recording Industry Association.
  37. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  38. ^ Stern, Bradley. "Troye Sivan Shoots To #1 On iTunes (In 55 Countries!) With Debut EP, 'TRXYE'". Idolator.com. Idolator.
  39. ^ Benjamin, Jeff. "Troye Sivan's 'Youth' soars into Top 40". FUSE. fuse.tv.
  40. ^ Tan, Dylan (December 4, 2015). "Making the Cut". The Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings.
  41. ^ "BMI Writers Talk Business at Gamechangers Music Seminar in Beverly Hills". BMI. BMI.
  42. ^ "Could Singapore be the new Sweden of pop songwriting?". Could Singapore be the new Sweden of pop songwriting? | Editorial | Bandwagon - Live music, bands and concert guide for Singapore, Manila and Jakarta. 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  43. ^ "The Embassy Commemorates World Intellectual Property Day Through Music". U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain and Andorra. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  44. ^ ""行走的CD"再上线 林俊杰携JFJ团队亮相《天生是优我》 _音乐要闻_娱乐频道". ent.rednet.cn. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  45. ^ "Kings For A Day". KKBox.com. KKBox. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  46. ^ Notimex (2016-08-03). "CD9 cantará en Boca del Río, Veracruz, como parte de "Evolution Tour"". HoyTamaulipas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  47. ^ México, LOS40 (2016-04-11). "¡CD9 el fenómeno!". LOS40MX (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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