Once a protege of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs (who signed Thomas after hearing him sing at an open mic night in New York in the mid - 90s), he was the first heartthrob R&B songster on Bad Boy Entertainment. Thomas is best known for his #1 R&B smash "I Wish" from the album So Emotional, which debuted in the Top 20 on Billboard and was a critical and commercial success, selling nearly 2 million copies.