- Des'ree
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Des'ree Birth name Desiree Annette Weeks Born 30 November 1968
London, EnglandGenres Soul, R&B, pop Occupations Singer-songwriter Years active 1992–2003 Labels Dusted Sound Records, Epic Records Des'ree (born Desirée Annette Weeks, 30 November 1968) is an English pop/soul singer who was popular during the 1990s. She is well known for her hits: "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Life", and "Kissing You" (from the soundtrack of the film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet). Des'ree has not released any new material since 2003's Dream Soldier.
Contents
Career
Des'ree was born in South London, England in 1968.[1][2] Her mother is from British Guiana (now Guyana), and her father is from Barbados. She was introduced to reggae, calypso and jazz music by her parents, and Des'ree's interest in pursuing a musical career followed a three year trip to Barbados with her family at the age of fourteen.
In 1994, her single "You Gotta Be" hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5, peaking at #5, and was a hit in the UK three times. "You Gotta Be" became the most played music video on VH1 and remained on the Billboard recurrent airplay chart for 80 weeks.
Following the single's success, Des'ree's second album, I Ain't Movin' , sold in excess of 1.6 million copies worldwide. Her success led to an American tour with Seal in 1995. The following year, she contributed the song "Kissing You" to the soundtrack of the film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.
In 1997, her single "Crazy Maze" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Nothing to Lose with Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence.
In 1998, her single "Life" became a hit in Europe. In 1999, she won a BRIT Award for the British Female Solo Artist category.[3]
She released Dream Soldier in 2003. The album spawned one single, "It's Okay". Both the album and the single were a commercial failure.
Des'ree has also performed various duets, including "Fire" with Babyface (part of the soundtrack for the independent film, Hav Plenty), "Plenty Lovin" with Steve Winwood and "Delicate" with Terence Trent D'Arby.
Other work
In 1998, Des'ree's hit, "Feel So High" was interpolated into the Janet Jackson song "Got 'Til It's Gone" from Jackson's CD The Velvet Rope without due credit to Des'ree as a contributor. The album prompted a lawsuit and as part of the settlement, Jackson was forced to pay an undisclosed sum to Des'ree. The album does not list the song or Des'ree as a contributor, but the maxi single, released in 2000, lists Des'ree as one of the song's writers.[4]
In 2007, Des'ree filed suit against Beyoncé for her cover version of the Tim Atack/Des'ree penned song, "I'm Kissing You",[5] for the re-release of her album B'Day.[6]
In Spring 2007, Des'ree was voted the worst pop lyricist of all time for the song "Life" according to a BBC Radio poll.[7]
Between 1999 and 2003, Des'ree studied photography, ceramics and art at the Camberwell College of Arts.[8]
Des'ree is an active supporter of PETA.
Discography
Albums
- Mind Adventures (released 14 February 1992) #26 UK
- I Ain't Movin' (released 5 July 1994) #13 UK
- Supernatural (released 14 December 1998) #16 UK
- Endangered Species (B-Sides and rare tracks) (released 23 October 2000)
- Dream Soldier (released 31 March 2003)[9]
Singles
- 1991, "Feel So High", #51 UK
- 1992, "Feel So High" (Re-release), #13 UK, #28 AUS, #67 US [1995]
- 1992, "Mind Adventures", #43 UK
- 1992, "Why Should I Love You", #44 UK
- 1993, "Delicate" (duet with Terence Trent D'Arby), #14 UK
- 1994, "You Gotta Be", #20 UK, #5 US, #9 AUS
- 1994, "I Ain't Movin'", #44 UK
- 1994, "Little Child", #69 UK
- 1995, "You Gotta Be" (Remix), #14 UK
- 1997, "Kissing You", #17 AUS
- 1998, "Fire" (duet with Babyface)
- 1998, "Life", #8 UK, #8 AUS, #1 SPA, #1 ITA. Note: "Life" remained in the UK top 40 for 11 weeks, and was a number one seller across Europe.
- 1998, "What's Your Sign?", #19 UK, #30 SPA
- 1998, "God Only Knows" (Japan)
- 1999, "You Gotta Be" (2nd Remix), #10 UK, #1 SPA
- 1999, "Ain't No Sunshine" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo), #42 UK
- 2003, "It's Okay", #69 UK
- 2003, "Why?"[9]
- 2010, "I'm Kissing You" #137
Vinyl Records
Des'ree had a few British RPMs sold from 1991 to 1998.
- 1991, "Feel So High"
- 1992, "Mind Adventures"
- 1992, "Why Should I Love You?"
- 1992, "Competitive World"
- 1994, "You Gotta Be"
- 1994, "I Ain't Movin'"
- 1994, "Little Child"
- 1998, "What's Your Sign?"
- 1998, "Life"
References
- ^ Briton Hadden, Henry Robinson Luce (1995) Time, Volume 145, Issues 18-26 Time Inc., 1995
- ^ Billboard 13 Jun 1998 Billboard Magazine
- ^ "Des'ree takes bad lyric top spot". BBC. 4 May 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6626239.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ Q Magazine, July 1998
- ^ Allmusic - discography section
- ^ Des'ree sues Beyonce over song (April 18, 2007) Metro.
- ^ News.com website
- ^ http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/interviews/1008-desree
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 152. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links
- The Official Des'ree Website from SonyMusic (Japanese)
- Des'ree from Allmusic
- Des'ree at the Internet Movie Database
Categories:- 1968 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
- English people of Barbadian descent
- English female singers
- British musicians
- Black British singers
- Black British musicians
- English rhythm and blues singers
- English singer-songwriters
- English soul musicians
- Neo soul singers
- People from London
- Brit Award winners
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