Music industry heavyweight Max Gousse, (born Brooklyn, NY) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American record executive, producer, and A&R extraordinaire. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President/A&R of Island Def Jam Music Group. Gousse has been an A&R executive for nearly twenty years. Based in Los Angeles, Gousse works with artists in several genres, including Pop, R&B, and Hip-Hop. He is perhaps best known for handling A&R/Production for two of Beyonce Knowles' biggest albums (I Am...Sasha Fierce and B'Day), for discovering and developing the platinum R&B group B2K, and for his A&R work on the multi-platinum Dreamgirls soundtrack album.
Gousse has actively participated in A&R on the last two Beyonce studio albums. Most recently, Gousse served as A&R for Beyonce Knowles's third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce, in November 2008. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold 482,000 copies in its first week, giving Knowles her third consecutive #1 album in the United States. The album sold 2.9 million copies in the US and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. To date, the album has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. The deluxe edition of the album was released simultaneously with the standard edition. "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" were released as the album's first and second lead singles, respectively. The first lead single peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the second peaked at #1, becoming Knowles' fifth #1 single. "Single Ladies" spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top spot.
Gousse also served as A&R/Producer Knowles's second studio album B'Day which was released in September 2006; it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 541,000 copies in its first week. The album earned Knowles her largest first week sales of her solo career and became her second consecutive #1 album. The album sold 3.2 million copies in the United States and has been certified three times platinum by the RIAA. The album's lead single, "Déjà Vu" featuring Jay-Z, peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Ring the Alarm" was released as the album's second US single, while "Irreplaceable" served as the second international single and later as the third US single. "Irreplaceable" spent ten consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Knowles' fourth #1 single as solo artist. I am... Sasha Fierce earned Knowles and Gousse four Grammy Awards, including 2010 Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, ("Single Ladies") and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Halo"). Prior to this, B'Day won the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2007.
Gousse discovered the multi-platinum selling group B2K. The group's initial eponymous debut title was certified gold by the RIAA. The group's fourth single, "Bump, Bump, Bump" which featured Bad Boy executive, P. Diddy, peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became the group's first top ten and #1 single. It was the first single off their second studio album, Pandemonium!. The album was released on December 10, 2002 and debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 and at number three on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
In 2006, Gousse contributed his A&R efforts to the release of the Dreamgirls soundtrack album. The Dreamgirls soundtrack was nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, losing to The Beatles' Love. However, "Love You I Do" won the Grammy that same year for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The one-disc version of "Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture" debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 92,000 units. In its fifth week of release, the soundtrack reached the top of the Billboard 200 with a sales week of 68,000 units.
Prior to working on the Dreamgirls soundtrack, Gousse served as Executive Producer to the motion picture, You Got Served in 2004. Gousse contributed to the motion pictures Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back In Business, Cadillac Records and Sunset Park.
Comments