Jon B has opened up about one of the most memorable moments of his career, creating an official remix for Michael Jackson’s You Are Not Alone, as he celebrates 30 years since his debut album.
Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of his Still Got Love Spring/Summer Tour, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and producer, 51, was clear about the significance of the collaboration.
“I remixed the song You Are Not Alone for Michael Jackson. And it was an official remix. It wasn’t like I just did it on the side. They asked me to do it and I was honored.”
He added that at the start of his career, he was also managed by the same company as Jackson, deepening the connection between the two artists.
Though he has yet to see the new Michael biopic starring Jaafar Jackson, Jon B has warm memories of working alongside the King of Pop in person.
“It’s an incredible honor,” he said, emphasising that the collaboration happened “in the same room, really collaborating, not over the phone or via text message or something like that.”
He placed those sessions in the context of a broader career defined by in-person creative partnerships with legends.
“That’s really my name of the game as far as using the opportunity that I have as an artist to live out my dreams. The first thing for me was, all right, I’m gonna work with all my favorite people.”
That list included Tupac Shakur and many others.
Jon B’s debut album Bonafide was released in 1995, producing the breakthrough single Someone to Love featuring Babyface, which first appeared on the Bad Boys soundtrack.
“To [be featured] on my record, my very first song that I ever put out was a tremendous honor for me,” he said of working with Babyface, whom he described as “the pinnacle of all artists for me to want to work with.”
His 1997 follow-up single They Don’t Know from the album Cool Relax remains a live highlight three decades on.
“It’s still being sung in the club. Everybody’s singing it word for word, and you’re just thinking, ‘Man, that started out as me shedding my feelings.’ As a songwriter, that’s very fulfilling.”
He calls it the song he is most proud of.
Jon B’s latest album Waiting on You was released in March 2025 and features Tank, Rick Ross, Donell Jones and Alex Isley. His next tour stop is 10 May in Palm Springs.
