Andru Donalds

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Andru Donalds is a musician and vocalist with a previous solo career, who is now working in collaboration with the Enigma project as lead vocalist.

1 Biography
2 See also
3 External links

[edit] Biography

Born in the Caribbean Islands, Andru Donalds took an early interest in the arts. Particularly, he spent much of his time developing in interest in music. "My father was a professor of theology and psychology and the campus used to be my playground. We traveled a lot, too. My dad worked at the Princeton University, in Atlanta, Ga., London and in New York City." As a kid, Donalds saw a lot of the world. His musical development was moulded by the most different influences. In this respect, his father also played an important role. "As a child, I was taught classical music and I sang in a boys' choir. My dad gave me many records, some of them Beatles records. The Beatles were my first excursion into the realm of Rock and Pop music." While his father wished for his son to take up an academic career, Donalds didn't really find the thought so attractive, and after finishing school he left home.

He later spent some time in England, Holland and France trying to make it as a musician. But for many years, it didn't quite seem to work. Donalds had already been thinking of giving up music and going back to Jamaica, when renowned producer Eric Foster-White (Whitney Houston, Hi Five, Britney Spears) offered him a contract. The result was his very successful debut album "Andru Donalds", released in 1995. The super-relaxed hit single "Mishale" climbed the US charts up to number four. And in Europe -- and the Far East, too -- "Mishale" clung fast to the charts for a long time. His ambition to create "universal World Pop" -- as Donalds calls his music -- of great diversity and full of atmosphere, turned out to be right and successful.

He slowed down for his second album, however. "With this album, I wanted to show my personal development, not just come up with another "Mishale. It's like with movies, the follow-up is never as good as the original." In 1998, "Damned If I Don't" was released. Shortly after the release, Donalds got a call from producer Michael Cretu. (Enigma) "He was on vacation in Greece and had heard "Mishale" and wanted me to sing on his Enigma project", Donalds remembers, "at first, I was a little surprised but then I said to myself, why not." Donalds and Crétu met and both realized quickly that they'd get along very well.

The work on the Enigma project was postponed, because Michael has offered Andru the chance to produce a complete album with him. Donalds was greatly impressed with the idea, "I learned a lot from him. Michael's musical range is a phenomenon. I listened to music from Pakistan, Morocco, India and many other countries and this opened new horizons for me. This was a real challenge and I found new ways to use my voice."

Currently, Donalds continues to work side-by-side with Crétu as lead vocalist of the Enigma project.

[edit] Singles

Year	Title
1994	"Mishale"
1996	"Tryin' to Tell Ya"
1998	"Lovin' You"
1998	"Beautiful Friday"
1999	"All Out of Love"
1999	"Simple Obsession"
2000	(I'm Not Your) "One Night Lover"
2000	"Precious Little Diamond"
2001	"Hurts to Be in Love"
2001	"Someday"