His client roster also includes Jennifer Lopez and Rihanna, and his job is to make sure that the star’s vocal is as powerful and flawless as it can be. Harrell, 47, is one of those figures, shaping the sound of radio from the shadows. But there are deeper levels of highly specialized talent, just as integral, that often go unrecognized. Pop music’s universe of celebrities has widened in recent years to include producers and songwriters they’re as crucial to what you hear on the radio as the stars, and increasingly known to the public. At this studio he’s a star, too: the nameplate on a kick scooter at the front desk just says, “KUK.” Bieber’s vocal producer, filling a many-layered and amorphous job: part vocal coach, part cheerleader, part sound engineer, part therapist.
Bieber’s attention, who moved through the scrum quietly, every so often checking settings on a computer. Then there was Kuk Harrell, the only person not openly vying for Mr. Bieber’s relatives, in town for his birthday with a security guard with various assistants. The studio was crowded with songwriters trying to turn that beat into a hit with Mr. Bieber was a few weeks into recording his second full-length album, “Believe” (RBMG/Island). He walked into the main control room at Record Plant, a recording studio here, his blue-and-pink high-top Balenciaga sneakers unlaced, nodding his head to a sinuous beat blaring over the speakers.
LOS ANGELES - Two days before Justin Bieber’s 18th birthday he was, as usual, working.
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