1994–2005 In 1994, Stewart produced the single "
Treat U Right" for
Blackgirl. He also met record producer
L.A. Reid, who offered him a deal to move his first production company to Atlanta. In 1995, with the support of Reid, he launched the company
RedZone Entertainment and recording studio, Triangle Sound. Both were operated in partnership with his brother Mark Stewart and sister-in-law Judi Stewart. RedZone Entertainment is based in Atlanta, but also has a recording studio in Los Angeles. Stewart saw his first major breakthrough in 1999 when he co-produced the single "
Who Dat" for
JT Money. The song peaked at number five on the
Billboard Hot 100, received
platinum certification by the
Recording Industry Association of America and won
ASCAP's "Song of the Year". In addition to producing and writing, Stewart executive produced albums for
Solé and
Blu Cantrell. In 2000, Tricky co-wrote and produced
Interscope Records artist
Mýa's breakthrough single "
Case of the Ex". It peaked at number two on the
Billboard Hot 100 in December 2000, and remained in the chart's top ten for three months. In 2003, Blu Cantrell's second album,
Bittersweet, was released; it features three songs produced by Stewart, "Unhappy", "Holding on to Love" and "Let Her Go". He also co-wrote and produced a number of songs for
Britney Spears's fourth album,
In the Zone (2003), including two of its singles, "
Me Against the Music" and "
Outrageous", as well as "Early Mornin and "The Hook Up".
2006–present 2007 was a breakthrough year for Stewart and RedZone Entertainment. Rihanna's single "
Umbrella", co-written with
The-Dream, garnered two Grammy nominations—for
Record of the Year and
Song of the Year—and won the award for
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. In an interview with MTV, Stewart said Released in March 2007, "Umbrella" topped the
Billboard Hot 100 chart by May, rising 40 spots in one week to spend seven consecutive weeks at number one. The song also broke the iTunes music store's record for biggest debut. Its success brought Rihanna to a mainstream prominence; co-writer and business partner The-Dream ultimately signed with
Def Jam Recordings to release his own singles. Stewart was credited on his follow-up singles "
Falsetto" and "
I Luv Your Girl". In late 2007, Stewart was working with notable artists as
Janet Jackson,
Celine Dion, and
Usher ("
Moving Mountains" and "This Ain't Sex" of his album
Here I Stand). Stewart was also nominated in 2007 for a Grammy for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" on Mary J. Blige's "
Just Fine"; that same year, Stewart also co-wrote and produced on the album
Growing Pains, as well as the vocals were produced by his production team. Composed of Tricky, The-Dream, and Kuk Harrell, it proved to be a successful tandem. Stewart won his first Grammy Awardfor his work on
Growing Pains in 2009. The single "
Touch My Body" off Mariah Carey's album in 2008
E=MC², produced by Stewart and Carey was described as "...a No. 1 just waiting to pounce the Billboard Hot 100" by Chuck Taylor of Billboard Magazine. On April 2, 2008, it was announced that "
Touch My Body" became Carey's 18th No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, pushing her to second place among artists with the most No. 1 singles in the rock era and first place as a solo artist in the same category, surpassing Elvis Presley. The achievement was attributed to a record-breaking digital sales debut, as 286,000 copies were sold in its first week of availability. Also in 2008, he produced the songs, "
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" for
Beyoncé as well as the ballad "Smash into You". "Single Ladies" would later become a pop culture phenomenon due to its female empowerment lyrics, catchy melody and much parodied music video. The song won multiple Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards, and remains Stewart's best-selling single. For
Ciara's 2009 album,
Fantasy Ride, he produced the song "
High Price", which features
Ludacris. That same year, he also worked with Japanese-American singer-songwriter
Utada on her third English studio album
This Is The One, on which he produced four songs. Tricky and The-Dream collaborated with Mariah Carey on her 2009 album,
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, for which they co-produced each song, and co-wrote all but one of the songs. Tricky and The-Dream executive-produced
Ciara's fourth studio album,
Basic Instinct, which was released on December 10, 2010. The lead single from the album, "
Ride" was produced by the duo and released in April 2010; it went on to become Ciara's 12th top ten hit on the
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Stewart contributed to the
Christina Aguilera album
Bionic, released in June 2010, and produced the score for her debut film,
Burlesque, released in November 2010. Stewart produced
Katy Perry's second studio album,
Teenage Dream which was released in 2010. Its second promotional single, "Circle the Drain", was produced by Stewart and released on iTunes in August of that year. Stewart co-produced three songs and one bonus track from
Jennifer Lopez's eighth studio album
Love?, which was released in April 2011. The album marked her first release through
Island Records after completing her 10-year contract with
Epic Records in February 2010. Stewart also contributed to
Big Time Rush's song "No Idea" from their sophomore album
Elevate, released in November 2011. In October 2016, he was a producer and songwriter for
BTS's song "
BTS Cypher 4". In July of 2023, Stewart wrote
Tyla's single "
Water". In November 2023, Stewart co-produced
P1Harmony's single "
Fall in Love Again". ==Discography==