R&B singer Noel Gourdin was born on March 14, 1981, in Brockton, Massachusetts. Raised in a religious household, he grew up listening to everything from classic and contemporary R&B to Southern soul and gospel music. He began writing and performing at a very young age and, by the time he finished high school, he had plenty of experience in the studio. Produced by Naughty by Nature's Keir "Kay Gee" Gist, his first single "Family Reunion" appeared in the soundtrack of the 2004 film The Cookout. After a series of issues with his label and a subsequent move to Epic, Noel Gourdin released the single "The River" (2008) which ended up reaching Number 1 on the US Adult R&B chart and Number 21 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Later that year, his studio debut After My Time reached Number 36 on the Billboard 200. The album represented a major milestone in his career and featured cameos by other R&B luminaries such as Raphael Saadiq, Salaam Remi, and Dre & Vidal. Preceded by the single "Beautiful," his second album Fresh: The Definition was issued by Mass Appeal in 2011 but failed to enter the charts in the United States. His third full-length, 2014's City Heart, Southern Soul, saw the light in 2014 via Shanachie and was followed by a series of scattered non-album singles such as "Chase Currensy" (2017) with John Pina, "If I Was Santa Claus" (2018), "Lovin' Up (You)" (2020), and "Get to You" (2022), which marked his return to the charts by peaking at Number 30 on the Adult R&B Songs chart.
