He was a contestant on the sixth season of American Idol, and co-wrote Jay Sean's 2009 single "Down", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100.
Cotter's great grandfather, James Reese Europe, was the first African American jazz player to perform at Carnegie Hall.
He performed and released music as JL Cotter, and co-wrote songs such as "Make U Cry", "My Girl", "She Likes It" and the Notorious B.I.G inspired "Somebody's Gotta Go".
[9] Immediately after American Idol, in June 2007, Cotter joined as co-host for a daily show The Sauce on the television network Fuse TV.
[6] After The Sauce was cancelled in 2008, he hosted You Rock, Lets Roll, a dating game show, in the same time slot.
He has also worked for Fox TV’s Good Day New York as a weekly correspondent during later seasons of American Idol.
He was the host of The Challenge, a New York metropolitan area high school student quiz show on MSG Varsity internet service.