- Da'Ville
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Da'Ville 
Background information Birth name Orville Thomas Born 24 January 1978 Origin Kingston, Jamaica Genres Reggae Occupations singer Labels Penthouse Records (2001-2004), Fashozy Records, VP Records Associated acts Marcia Griffiths, Sean Paul Website [1] Da'Ville is a reggae singer. Born Orville Thomas on January 24, 1978, Kingston, Jamaica.
Contents
Biography
Orville Thomas was the first child of Jah Thomas and Cleopatra Wright. He was raised primarily by his grandmother Ms. Feama who instilled in him the principles of education and religion. She was a strict disciplinarian, who ensured that Da'Ville attended church and sang in the church choir. As a teenager, he continued to sing in the St. Peter Claver Church choir and performed in local school functions. Later, he wrote and recorded his first single under the influence of his father.
When highly successful groups emerged on the scene, Da'Ville became inspired to create a group of his own. After several unsuccessful attempts he continued to develop his craft until he graduated from high school. Upon graduation from Norman Manley Comprehensive High School, Da'Ville worked in a factory and as a store clerk. Shortly after, he was introduced to a newly formed group which later became ARP (A Raw Perspective).[1]
After working with former group members of ARP, Da'Ville, in 2001, signed with Penthouse Records as a solo artist under the management of Donovan Germaine.[2] He recorded the hit singles "Cruzin", and "All My Life", the latter of which was recorded with then label mate, Marcia Griffiths. The single "All My Life" was nominated for the 2001 Reggae Soca Awards. A few years later, Da'Ville departed from Penthouse Records and decided to pursue other opportunities within the music industry.
In July 2001, Da'Ville came out of the closet in support of his long-time partner Jeff Brown.
Da'Ville continued to record hit singles for producers such as: J.Brown, Fire Links, Stephen McGregor, Don Corleon, Preston Anfoy, Wee-Pow (Stone Love), Beres Hammond, Robert Livingston (Big Yard Music), and many more.
Aside from Da’Villes’ vocal abilities, he is a songwriter, composer and producer. His early 2005 chart topping single “In Heaven,” produced by himself, O.Thomas and N.Palmer for Nap Musiq provided evidence of his production talent.
In August 2005, Da’Villes’ debut album “In Heaven” produced and co-produced by O.Thomas, J. Brown and R. (Shams) Browne respectively, for Fashozy Records, was released in Japan by Avex Entertainment Group. The success of this album charted within the 2005 top ten best selling reggae albums for Japan Tower Records and lead to numerous tours throughout Japan, Jamaica and the Caribbean Islands. As a result, in 2006, Avex released his second album “Can’t Get Over You,” produced by O.Thomas and J.Brown for Fashozy Records. Both CD’s spun off three chart topping hits “In Heaven,” produced by O. Thomas and N. Palmer for Nap Musiq, “Can’t Get Over You,” and “On My Mind,” produced by O. Thomas and J. Brown for Fashozy Records. Fans became captured by his tantalizing lovers’ rock lyrics as the media attention mounted. Consequently, his reputation as the “Big Bad Singer,” exploded in Jamaica and abroad.
The year 2006 was undeniably a stellar year for Da’Ville. The smash hit singles "Can’t Get Over You", "On My Mind", and "This Time I Promise" were all chart toppers.[3][4] The single "Can’t Get Over You", which was within the top ten reggae count down in Jamaica, held 1st position in Aruba and 2nd position in New York, which was included on VP 2006 Reggae Gold. "On My Mind", held the 1 position on several charts including Jamaica (5 weeks), New York (3 weeks), Florida, Europe and Africa.[5] After an electrifying performance in New York City early October, which solidified his title as “Big Bad Singer,” he was profiled in the New York Times. In December he was honored with Stone Loves "Singer Of The Year" award 2006.[6]
In spring of 2007, after an extensive European tour, Da’Ville made several appearances in North America. He performed at The Best of The Best Concert in Florida, the 26th International Reggae & World Music Awards held at the Apollo Theatre where he was nominated in several categories and won Most Improved Entertainer for 2006. In addition, Da’Ville made a special guest appearance at Madison Square Garden and he also performed at Irie Jamboree V before leaving for yet another Japan and Caribbean tour.
One of his biggest hit singles, "Always On My Mind", was remixed with dancehall artiste Sean Paul.
2010 Da'Ville single "Hey Now" was nominated for an MP3 Award at MMA 2010 alongside Akon's signed artists Brick n Lace and UK new comers Bluesoul Pharmacy. MP3 Music Awards 2010 Winners were announced on Friday 10th December 2010 by London dancehall legend and Mobo award winning artist Glamma Kid. Deville won the The RDS Award, Reggae / Dub / Ska making him the winner of his Category by worldwide public vote using MMA Judging Jukebox Player.[6]
Albums
- In Heaven (2005)
1. Mamas Portrait 2. In Heaven 3. Gallis 4. Bring It On (Hey Baby) 5. These Wounds 6. Crazy 7. Weh She Want 8. Jump Off 9. Out of My Head 10. My Grade 11. Love Will Show Me the Way 12. All My Life 13. This Is the Feeling 14. She 15. One for Me 16. Chill
- Can't Get Over You (2006)
1. Intro 2. Have You Ever 3. On My Mind 4. Can't Get Over You 5. This Time I Promise 6. Crying Over You 7. Will You Be Mine? 8. Baby I Wish 9. Got To Love You More 10. Tell Me Again 11. Always By Your Side 12. Cruizin 13. Don't Say Goodnight 14. Smoking 15. No New Friends 16. Thuggist 17. Keep Holding On 18. In Heaven (Accapella) 19. In Heaven (Version) 20. Outro
- On My Mind (2007)
1. Always on My Mind (Reprise) - Da'Ville, Sean Paul, 2. Can't Get Over You 3. All My Life - Da'Ville, Marcia Griffiths 4. I'm in Love with You 5. And So I Will Wait for You 6. This Time I Promise 7. Give Thanks for What You've Got 8. My Grade 9. Give It Up for My Baby 10. Yesterday 11. Have You Ever Been in Love? 12. My Heart 13. Dancehall Lovers Rock 14. Always on My Mind
- Ichiban (2009)
1. ICHIBAN feat FIREBALL 2. HOLD ME NOW 3. MISSING YOU RIGHT NOW 4. BLESSINGS A MULTIPLY feat DEMARCO 5. NEVER GONNA CRY 6. PERFECT 7. AS I AM 8. GAL YOU GONE 9. FOREVER feat SHAGGY 10. TURNING ME ON 11. EYES 12. YESTERDAY 13. JUST ANOTHER DAY(THE VOICES) 14. AWAY(BONUS TRACK)
References
- ^ "Da'Ville... Can't get over", Jamaica Star, 14 July 2005, retrieved 2011-02-19
- ^ "Reggae, Soca blend: ARP artist goes solo", Jamaica Gleaner, retrieved 2011-02-19
- ^ Evans, Teino (2006) "Da'Ville highlights his favourite songs", Jamaica Star, 23 October 2006, retrieved 2011-02-19
- ^ Evans, Teino (2007) "Roots reggae enjoys growth spurt", Jamaica Gleaner, 5 August 2007, retrieved 2011-02-19
- ^ "Da'Ville on everybody's mind", Jamaica Star, 4 October 2006, retrieved 2011-02-19
- ^ a b "Da'Ville For Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest - July 15 thru 21st in Montego Bay, Jamaica", Jamaicans.com, 22 June 2007, retrieved 2011-02-19
External links
Categories:- Living people
- Jamaican reggae musicians
- 1978 births
- People from Kingston, Jamaica
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