Austin Mahone
Austin Harris Mahone
April 4, 1996
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
2010–present
- Universal Music Japan
- BMG
- Mr. 305 Inc.
- AM Music
- Cash Money
- Republic
- Chase
He was discovered by record producers Rocco Did It Again! and Mike Blumstein in 2012, and subsequently signed with their label, Chase Records in a joint venture with Republic Records in June of that year. His 2012 debut single, "Say Somethin'" and its follow-up, "Say You're Just a Friend" (featuring Flo Rida) both received gold certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), while his 2013 single, "What About Love" did so and marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. All three were included on his titularly-titled debut extended play (2013), which was released only in Japan. In September of that year, his recording contract entered a triple joint venture with Birdman's Cash Money Records, an imprint of Republic.[6]
His 2014 single, "Mmm Yeah" (featuring Pitbull) received platinum certification by the RIAA and became his highest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100—at number 49. It served as lead single for his second extended play (EP) The Secret (2014), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200. After the release of his 2015 single "Dirty Work", he parted ways with the labels in favor of Pitbull's Mr. 305 Inc. The song entered the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), leading his debut studio album, Dirty Work – The Album (2017) to be released exclusively in the country—where it entered the Oricon Albums Chart. Preceded by a number of follow-up mixtapes and EPs, his second album, A Lone Star Story (2023) marked a full departure from pop in favor of country music, and failed to chart in any known territory.
Early life
Austin Harris Mahone[4] was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Michele Lee (née Demyanovich) and Charles Edgar Mahone.[7][8] His father died when he was a year and a half old, and he was raised as a Catholic[9] by his single mother.[10] Mahone is of English, French, German, and Slovak descent.[11] He attended Lady Bird Johnson High School in San Antonio but left after his freshman year and was homeschooled at his grandmother's house.[12]
Personal life
Mahone briefly dated Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello in 2014.[67] He dated model Katya Elise Henry for less than a year. The two split in February 2017.[68]
Legal Issues
On March 22, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Mahone, along with several other celebrities, for illegally promoting the securities of crypto companies.[69] According to the SEC complaint, Mahone was paid approximately $20,000 in Bitcoin to tweet, "When $TRX hits 50 cents and $BTT hits 1 cent I'm getting a tattoo of @justinsuntron’s face."[70]
Studio album