HotStar: Trey Songz

“Trey Songz is on the edge of stardom.”

That’s the lede from a story in the Dallas Morning News the day after the R&B crooner played Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie. Critic Dawn Burkes had some qualifiers but, overall, the show was full of “sex-drenched R&B, power pop, superstar hip-pop, even rock.”

Songz is definitely on the verge of blowing up. Managed by former Def Jam president Kevin Liles, the crooner is dropping Passion, Pain & Pleasure Sept. 14, followed by two nights at the Beacon Theatre in New York.

Passion will be Songz’ fourth album following 2005’s Gotta Make It, 2007’s Trey Day and 2009’s Ready, which has sold nearly 800,000 units in North America, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

And he’s not only sold out venues like 5,397-capacity Mark G. Etess Arena in Atlantic City but came close to filling up the 1,850-capacity Ancienne Belgique in Belgium.

Songz’ audience is composed mostly of women, one reason he is equated to Usher. And the songs – from “Neighbors Know My Name” to “I Invented Sex” – have placed Songz as the musical lothario of his generation.

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Songz has sold 1.53 million albums and 1.91 million digital songs according to Nielsen SoundScan

Uploads to Songz’ YouTube channel have more than 73 million views.