Could Charlie Walk Be the Simon Cowell of ‘The Four’?
The Four: Battle for Stardom debuted on Thursday night (January 4). And while many of you know Diddy, Meghan Trainor and DJ Khaled on the panel, you might have been wondering who that fourth person at the table was. For those who are in music, Charlie Walk is one of the ones to know in the industry. And that could explain why he sometimes needs to play the bad cop on The Four or would spar with Diddy over the difference between a "good artist" and a great one. As he's mentioned, his mission is to find the next big thing and groom a star; so these contestants need to have a thick skin.
If you're still wondering if you've heard anything he has worked on, find out more about Charlie Walk below.
First things first, Walk is the president of Republic Records. Aside from working with pop stars like Taylor Swift and Lorde, he also big musical potential for actress Hailee Steinfeld and also encouraged Julia Michaels to turn her songwriting career into the one in front of the mic. Walk also helped DNCE become a household name. He also helped make The Weeknd's "Starboy" and "Side to Side" by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj hit songs.
Before going to Republic Records, he worked at Columbia Records for more than 15 years. New Kids on the Block was one of his first projects in the 90s. He later helped solidify the careers of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, John Mayer, The Fugees, John Legend and many more. He then moved onto Epic Records where he saw the chart-topping potential in Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie," which is a now triple-platinum record. He also had a hand in making Sean Kingston, The Fray and Sara Bareilles household names.
Walk isn't just a music guy. He also co-founded an advertising agency in New York City called JWalk. And although some record execs aren't always the best at the latest technology, he has admitted to being a regular Snap-er.
"I love and use Snap," he told Billboard. "It's a modern pop culture communication platform where music content should be integrated appropriately."
Tune in to The Four: Battle for Stardom on Thursdays at 8PM EST on FOX to watch Walk and the rest of the gang find the next pop star.
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