Songz was born in Petersburg, Virginia, and raised in a military family, He did not intend having a musical career as a child due to his shyness, saying "Singing wasn't a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good." He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14 in 1998 (jobs).
s ɔ ŋ z WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ z WORD_BOUNDARY b ɔ ɹ n WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY p iː t ə ɹ z b ɜː ɡ WORD_BOUNDARY v ɜː d̠ʒ ɪ n iə WORD_BOUNDARY æ n d WORD_BOUNDARY ɹ eɪ z d WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ WORD_BOUNDARY m ɪ l ə t ɛ ɹ i WORD_BOUNDARY f æ m ɪ l i WORD_BOUNDARY h iː WORD_BOUNDARY d ɪ d n ɑ t WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n t ɛ n d WORD_BOUNDARY h æ v ɪ ŋ WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ WORD_BOUNDARY m j uː z ɪ k ə l WORD_BOUNDARY k ə ɹ ɹ ɪ ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY æ z WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ WORD_BOUNDARY t̠ʃ aɪ l d WORD_BOUNDARY d uː WORD_BOUNDARY t ə WORD_BOUNDARY h ɪ z WORD_BOUNDARY ʃ aɪ n ə s WORD_BOUNDARY s eɪ ɪ ŋ WORD_BOUNDARY s ɪ ŋ ɪ ŋ WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ z ə n t WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ WORD_BOUNDARY ɹ ɪ æ l ɪ t i WORD_BOUNDARY f ɔ ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY m iː WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ n t ɪ l WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ ð ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY p iː p ə l WORD_BOUNDARY s t ɑ ɹ t ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY n oʊ t ɪ s ɪ ŋ WORD_BOUNDARY aɪ WORD_BOUNDARY s aʊ n d ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY ɡ ʊ d WORD_BOUNDARY h iː WORD_BOUNDARY ɹ ɛ k ə ɡ n aɪ z d WORD_BOUNDARY h ɪ z WORD_BOUNDARY v oʊ k ə l WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ b ɪ l ə t i z WORD_BOUNDARY æ t WORD_BOUNDARY ð ɪ WORD_BOUNDARY eɪ d̠ʒ WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ v WORD_BOUNDARY f ɔ ɹ t iː n WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY n aɪ n t iː n h ʌ n d ɹ ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY n aɪ n t i WORD_BOUNDARY eɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY d̠ʒ ɑ b z WORD_BOUNDARY