Beyonce’s doing it! R. Kelly does it with a lot of people. And the main reason Prince (or is it the artist formerly known as?) will always be paid is because he’s always done it. Stop what you’re thinking – I’m talking about songwriting!

Singers come and go. But singer/songwriters keep themselves on the lips of music fans constantly. If not with their own music than music they create for other artists. With more than 10 years under his belt as a successful commercial artist and songwriter, Brian McKnight has proven that the pen is mightier than the phat beat when it comes to lasting in the music industry.

Whether inspired by his own experiences, a friend’s or something he may have seen on television, McKnight has tried to keep himself open so that he may draw on a myriad of life experiences to make great music. In “U Turn,” his eighth album in 11 years, the multi-talented artist has offered fans one of his most personal projects to date. “In other records there were bits and pieces that meant something,” he confesses. “With this one every single word means something.”

Brian won’t go into detail about which songs are “truth-like” and which are totally based on his own actual life experiences, but since divorcing McKnight finds himself single again after more than a decade. With tracks like “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda,” and “Where do we go from here,” listeners may wonder, more than normal, what part the singer’s personal life played in the creation of the wistful songs. When speaking of his writing on U Turn, McKnight reveals, “It’s much more personal than it was before.” He chuckles a little then admits, “It’s [marriage] the only thing I ever failed at. So when you look at the experience there’s a lot to talk about.”

The R&B balladeer hasn’t always been so forthcoming when it comes to committing his life to lyrics, splaying his personal life wide open for the public to scrutinize. He says that the songs written for his first three albums were mostly imagination. “I was so young when I made those records,” Brian points out. “I hadn’t gone through much. And I was very closed as far as what I wanted people to know about me.”

But for the last five albums McKnight took a leap out of his comfort zone and began opening up a little more, planting more of his actual life experiences in each track. Still, truth be told, real-life or imagined, McKnight’s songs are made for loving. Few fans will begrudge him his privacy as long as they keep getting the real-deal lyrics that touch their hearts. And the singer is more than willing to deliver.

Set to tour America, Europe and Asia early fall, McKnight is also busy honing what may be the next generation of soulful singers. Through his label, FOS (the singer shared with me what it stands for but if I told I’d have to kill you) Brian McKnight is working with five artists and is spending a lot of time preparing them for life in the music business. And typical of an individual who knows the power of the pen, McKnight looks for artists that can write their own music or lyrics. “They have to know who they are moreso than what they’re going to wear, how they’re going to dance and what they’re going to buy once they get the money,” he says seriously. “I’m looking for artists that want to be in the business because they have a voice and want to say something.”

Naysayers, those who think that the future of music lies in a tight sample and a bumping beat, need only look as far as Missy Elliot to witness the power (earning and otherwise) of contemporary songwriters. Before signing a multi-million deal as an artist, Elliot made an extremely comfortable living writing for others. Her talent and skill for nurturing a lyric has kept the artist atop the charts year after year. And McKnight can relate.

Able now to look back on a career that includes 2x platinum “Anytime,” and 3x platinum, “Back at One,” successful thanks in large part to his own writing prowess, McKnight has some advice for the overwhelming number of wannabe, would-be rising stars:

Start off writing your own music! He warns that because the music industry is based largely on perception – artists that allow others to do their writing pen themselves (pardon the pun) in a box. He says those same artists, who later decide to write their own songs, after a few successful hits penned by others, may find that the perception of others (fans and label execs alike) might be clouded. “It’s almost better to take a chance on your first record,” the successful ballad man advises. “It’s easier when you start off doing it that way. People take you more seriously.”

Hey, you heard it from the Master. Does he need to spell it out for you?