Des'ree
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| Des'ree | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Desiree Weeks |
| Born | 30 November 1968 London, England |
| Genre(s) | Soul, R&B, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Label(s) | Dusted Sound Records, Sony Records |
Des'ree (born Desiree Weeks, 30 November 1968, London[1]) is a British pop/soul singer who was popular during the 1990s, mostly remembered for her hits "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be" and "Life".
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[edit] Career
Des'ree was raised in South London and introduced to reggae, calypso and jazz music by her parents, who came to Britain from the Caribbean. 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 1992, the single Feel So High got extensive international airplay and reached #13 in the UK and #28 in Australia.
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 lead 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 1998, her single "Life" became a hit in Europe. In 1999, she won a BRIT Award for the British Female Solo Artist category.[2]
Her 2003 release Dream Soldier was considerably less successful and she was dropped by her record label, Sony.
[edit] Other work
Des'ree has also performed various duets, including "Fire" with Babyface, "Plenty Lovin" with Steve Winwood and "Delicate" with Terence Trent D'Arby.
She also campaigned for anti-fur campaigns featuring on PETA's website, as well as FurIsDead.com.
In Spring 2007, Des'ree was voted the worst pop lyricist of all time for the song "Life" according to a BBC Radio poll.[3]
Des'ree also re-appeared in the news, when Beyoncé recorded a cover version of the Tim Atack/Des'ree penned song, "I'm Kissing You",[4] for the re-release of her album, B'Day. It turns out that the song was recorded without permission, legal action to recover royalties and block further distribution of the song is pending.[5]
Her song, "Feels So High" was interpolated into the Janet Jackson song "Got 'Til It's Gone" from Jackson's CD, The Velvet Rope. The album itself 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. This was when in 1998, Jackson was forced to pay an undisclosed sum to Des'ree following legal action.[6]
[edit] Discography
[edit] 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 (The Best of Des'ree) (released 23 October 2000)
- Dream Soldier (released 31 March 2003)[7]
[edit] Singles
- 1991, "Feel So High", #51 UK
- 1992, "Feel So High" (Re-release), #13 UK, #28 AUS, #67 U.S. [1995]
- 1992, "Mind Adventures", #43 UK
- 1992, "Why Should I Love You", #44 UK
- 1993, "Delicate" (Terence Trent D'Arby with Des'ree), #14 UK
- 1994, "You Gotta Be", #20 UK, #5 U.S., #9 AUS
- 1994, "I Ain't Movin'", #44 UK
- 1994, "Little Child", #69 UK
- 1995, "You Gotta Be" (Re-release), #14 UK
- 1997, "Kissing You", #17 AUS
- 1998, "Fire"
- 1998, "Life", #8 UK, #8 AUS, #1 SPA. 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" (Remix), #10 UK, #1 SPA
- 1999, "Ain't No Sunshine" (Ladysmith Black Mambazo featuring Des'ree), #42 UK
- 2003, "It's Okay", #69 UK
- 2003, "Why"[7]
[edit] 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"
[edit] References
- ^ National Portrait Gallery website
- ^ "Des'ree takes bad lyric top spot", BBC, 2007-05-04. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
- ^ News.com website
- ^ All Music Guide - discography section
- ^ Rockgems.blogspot - Des'ree mini biography
- ^ Q magazine, July 1998
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited, p. 152. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
[edit] External links
- The Official Des'ree Website from SonyMusic (Japanese)
- Des'ree from All Music Guide
- Des'ree at the Internet Movie Database
