Any artist who dares call himself “Mr. Steal Your Girl” must be confident about his charms. Yet the biggest reason why Trey Songz has enjoyed a long reign as R&B’s preeminent seducer is that he always balances displays of brashness like that nickname—one of many memorable boasts in “Bottoms Up”, his steamy 2010 hit featuring Nicki Minaj—with more tender expressions of vulnerability. That softer side is something he shares with Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross and other inspirations. Born in Virginia in 1984, the future slow-jam master then known as Tremaine Neverson grew up on military bases before his talents landed him a record deal as he was finishing school. While his early albums cast the young artist as a kid brother to Usher and R. Kelly, he came into his own in 2009 with his third, Ready, a showcase for his yearning tenor and his ability to ratchet up the heat whenever necessary. On his hit match-ups with Drake on “Successful” and “I Invented Sex”, Trey Songz further smudged the increasingly blurry line between bedroom-friendly R&B and club-ready hip-hop. His fourth and fifth consecutive albums to hit the Top 3 on the Billboard album charts, 2014’s Trigga and 2017’s Tremaine are further testaments to his growing maturity even if sultry hits like the dancehall-styled “Na Na” prove he’s always ready to play the role of playboy.