A 25-year-old native of Kansas City, MO, Brian Kennedy is a Grammy-winning producer/songwriter responsible for such chart-topping hits as Rihanna's "Disturbia" and Chris Brown's "Forever" as well as three songs on Jennifer Hudson's self-titled debut, awarded a Grammy for Best R&B Album, including "You Pulled Me Through."

One of the record industry's most in-demand writer/producers, Kennedy has recently expanded his stylistic range, working with Hollywood Records folk artist Marie Digby, as well as spending time in Nashville collaborating with some of country music's top writers and performers.

"My favorite genre is music," he says, pointing to an eclectic background growing up, where he was exposed to all kinds of different styles by his family's listening habits, including his father's old-school Motown and jazz records, his brother's hip-hop and sister's contemporary pop. "As long as it has a melody and a beat to it, I'm there. I can do it all."

Brian's introduction to music came on an old piano his aunt had in the dining room, which he started banging on at four years old, teaching himself to play before starting to take lessons when he was six.

"I'd practice every day," he recalls. "Whatever I listened to, I memorized and played. I would just hear scales and melodies in my head and then perform them on the piano."

By the time he was eight, he began composing his own songs. "I'd just take what I heard and make it my own thing, add my own touch to it," he recalls. "I could read music a little bit, but I preferred just making it up. I always wanted to play from the heart, rather than from something that's already been written. There's no point in playing someone else's music."

As a teenager, he was a piano prodigy known locally for performing his own music in the Kansas City Boys' Choir. Around that time a friend of his brought over a primitive beat machine, and Kennedy was hooked. When he was 18, he recorded separate piano albums of jazz, Christmas and contemporary music, including one dubbed "Uneek Season".

"I just kind of fell for it," he says. "Ever since then, I've been producing. It all goes hand in hand. My musicianship gives me an advantage as a producer."

When he was 20, Kennedy began traveling between Kansas City, Atlanta and L.A., where he hooked up with label veteran Tom Maffei as manager, then signed a worldwide publishing deal with Universal Music. Meanwhile, he became a go-to piano player for studio sessions, working with some of the industry's top artists and producers, including Dr. Dre, the Underdogs' Grammy-winning production team of Harvey Masson Jr. and Damon Thomas, Jamie Foxx, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and legendary songwriter Diane Warren.

His first big break as a producer/writer came in 2006, when he produced and co-wrote "My Love" on Ciara's platinum sophomore album, The Evolution.

Brian quickly established his production style, which involved establishing close relationships with his artists that involved going beyond the professional.

"My whole method in collaborating with other artists is to get to know them on a personal level," he says. "I think creating hits comes from genuine emotion. Everyone I've worked with I'm very good friends with now. I believe in learning the other person's story and what they have to offer, because it just might trigger something in me, and now we have something in common to write about. That helps me come up with an original style, a different sound for each artist. And then we can go from there, rather than just going into the studio cold and trying to vibe out."

From there, his reputation growing, Brian wrote "Forever," the single added to Chris Brown's Exclusive: The Forever Edition, which was a #2 single and #1 in Top 40 airplay.

"He was a lot of fun to be around," says Brian about working with Brown. "We became very good friends as well. He's a good guy. There's no ego involved. The first time we met, he invited me into the studio with him. He was the one who introduced me to Rihanna, and gave me the opportunity to work with her."

Like "Forever," "Disturbia," the song Brian he produced for Rihanna, was an addition to a re-released version of her third album, the platinum-plus Good Girl Gone Bad Reloaded. Rihanna opened the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards with a live performance of the song, which received a nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy awards. It is now the best-selling digital single from her catalog and the clip from the awards show has received at least 40 million YouTube views.

"When I first talked to Rihanna, I thought I had something new for her," he says of the track which he gave to her. "As soon as she heard it, she lost it. I called her back to hear what they came up with, and it was 'Disturbia.'"

Moving on to work with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson on her self-titled debut, Kennedy contributed "My Heart" as a writer and a pair of songs, the current single, "If This Isn't Love," and "You Pulled Me Through," another hit single, as producer. The effort earned him his first Grammy when it took home honors as Best R&B Album at the 2009 awards ceremony.

"That was great, like working with family, someone you've known for years," says Kennedy about his stint with Hudson. "You know, the songs actually picked her. It's always like that. When I write a song, it's for whomever. And then, when we finished it, we were like, wow."

Kennedy has gone on to create hit records as a writer/producer for Jesse McCartney ("Runnin'," "It's Over"), Meech ("Thicka Than a Snicka") and Noel ("I Fell").

"My whole thing is to branch out," he explains about his eclectic approach. "I want to be able to take artists to different places, to another level, rather than where they were."

Among his current projects are Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield, Tiffany Evans, Backstreet Boys, Corbin Bleu, Jordin Sparks, Boa, Livvi Frank and current X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, as well as country performers Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill.

When he first came to Nashville, people were surprised that a young African-American would be working in country music. He laughs, recounting the reactions: "To me, music is universal."

Kennedy also hopes to follow in the footsteps of industry writer/producer giants like David Foster, Quincy Jones and Smokey Robinson. "I want to set a tone and leave a path behind," he says. "As well as inspire millions around the world just by listening to my songs and hopefully, taking something from them."

Aside from doing regular gigs with his Brian Kennedy Project, where he wows live audiences by demonstrating how to produce an album spontaneously on-stage by directing his band, Brian has his sites set on one day doing film composing and scoring. "That's one of my ultimate goals," he says. "Taking the visual and translating it into the musical."

Alternating between his own home and outside studios, he's committed to continuing to improve his craft, and expand his stylistic range. "It's all about making the best song," he says. "I never could tell the difference between my father's Motown and jazz and the hip-hop my brother was listening to."

For Brian Kennedy, the sky is the limit.