Robin Thicke's career began in the late 1990s in Los Angeles, where he established himself as a teenage songwriter and producer for some of R&B and pop's biggest stars before stepping into the spotlight as an artist. The son of actor Alan Thicke and singer-actress Gloria Loring, he wrote and produced for Brandy, Christina Aguilera, Brian McKnight, Jordan Knight, Mýa, and Marc Anthony before launching his own performing career.

His debut, A Beautiful World (2003), introduced his falsetto-led R&B sound, but it was The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006) that turned him into a household name. The album went platinum and produced the breakout single "Lost Without U," which topped Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for multiple weeks and reached #14 on the Hot 100, earning him major Grammy buzz.