MAJOR.

Known as MAJOR., Major Johnson Finley is a contemporary R&B singer and songwriter whose work is rooted in classic soul with a pop touch. Along with song-based albums like 2016's I Am MAJOR. and 2018's Even More, the singer also released projects centered around motivational messaging and pep talks set to music. In 2023, he returned to singing with the EP The Hope of my Soul.

Born in Denton, Texas, he was raised in Houston, graduated from the city's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (following the likes of Robert Glasper and Beyoncé), and subsequently attended and graduated from Berklee College of Music. Finley's career kicked into high gear after he signed with Harmony Samuels' B.O.E. Music Group. He released his debut album for the label, I Am MAJOR., in 2016. A single taken from it, "Why I Love You," earned the admiration of Stevie Wonder and Patti LaBelle (the latter of whom performed it in concert) and peaked at number five on Billboard's Adult R&B Songs chart. This success was followed in 2017 with another number five Adult R&B Songs placement in the form of "Honest," a remix of "Why I Love You" featuring Shaggy and Rock City, and the artist's third charting single, "Spend Christmas with You." In 2018, second proper album Even More featured guest spots from KAS, NSTASIA, and old-school powerhouse Andre Troutman. For the next few years, MAJOR. focused on stand-alone singles and non-traditional releases. Among these were 2019's The Lyrical Breakdown: Readings by MAJOR. & friends (a collection of metered, spoken-word renditions of normally belted-out tunes), 2021's MAJOR.HOPE Motivations (sermon-like spoken messages of perseverance and strength set to gentle musical backdrops), and 2022's MAJOR.HOPE Pep Talks (themed pep talks with unobtrusive beats behind them). In 2023, MAJOR. released The Hope of My Soul, a six-song EP of mellow, gospel-tinged soul-pop that occasionally hit on a country twang. ~ Andy Kellman