| Ben Bledsoe | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Benjamin Frederick Bledsoe |
| Born | May 11, 1982 Snellville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Origin | Orlando, Florida, U.S. Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels |
Transcontinental (2000–04; Natural) |
Benjamin Frederick "Ben" Bledsoe (born May 11, 1982; Snellville, Georgia) is an American pop singer formerly of the boy band Natural. He is currently a solo singer and actor living in Los Angeles, California.[1]
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Bledsoe was a child model and acted in several commercials throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s while growing up in California. He guest starred on the Nickelodeon TV series The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo in 1997.[1] In his teen years he moved to Longwood, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, where he met future band mate Marc Terenzi. At 16 he helped formed the band Natural, with fellow members Patrick King, Michael Johnson, and later Michael 'J' Horn.[2]
After his move to Florida, Bledsoe did some acting jobs, but after meeting Terenzi, he decided to change careers and start a band. The band was a mix of rock and pop. Although were a full band when performing live, they would perform a cappella renditions at local venues. Their first show at the House of Blues in Orlando completely sold out.
Produced Veit Renn signed the band, and they started recording new music. Natural obtained a following in Orlando, and Veit decided to send them on a promotional tour of Germany. Lou Pearlman saw them perform at the German Festival "Popkomm" in Cologne. He was there promoting another act. Very soon after they were signed with Transcontinental Records.
Pearlman promoted the first single with Claire's and sent the band on a tour with the Monkees, traveling by private jet and tour bus. The first single "Put Your Arms Around Me" became RIAA-certified Gold, and reached the Billboard Sales Chart Position of #8.
Soon thereafter, Natural was signed to BMG International, based in Munich. The band immediately started touring in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Scotland, Italy, Spain, France, and Sweden. They had success with such hits as "Put Your Arms Around Me", "Will It Ever", "Runaway", "Let Me Just Fly", "What If", and the Sarah Connor number-one hit "Just One Last Dance", on which they were featured.
Natural finished their last tour in Europe and Asia in September 2004. Bledsoe wrote some new music with band members Terenzi and Michael Johnson. Bledsoe taught himself guitar and piano as a way to enhance his compositional skills.
Bledsoe's new songs were a mixture of pop and rock. He wrote all of the songs himself for his first album, and played the guitar and piano (as well as other instruments) in most of the recordings and performances. The CD was named An Insomniac's Guide to a Lonely Heart due to his lack of sleep while creating the album, and the first song he wrote for it, titled "Lonely Heart". He released An Insomniac's Guide to a Lonely Heart on his own record label, 44th Floor Records. It was #1 on Amazon.com for exports to Germany, and was in the top 5% of sales overall. It was simultaneously #1 and #2 on Awarestore.com, beating out Aware's own artists such as John Mayer, Five for Fighting, and Wheatus.[2] The first single release was the tongue and cheek song "Boyfriend".
He began touring in Florida and New York, and continued with Seventeen magazine's national Rock your Prom tour in 2005 and Radio Disney Tours in the U.S. He toured Europe, and played at Hard Rock Cafe's "Rocktober" tour—a charity tour to raise money for breast cancer research.[2]
He currently is working on new music in L.A. with top songwriter/producer, Eddie Galan of Mach 1 Music.
After the release of his solo album Ben sought to do more acting. He did some Broadway shows, such as Hairspray and Cry-Baby. He studied with The Groundlings and the Lesley Kahn School of Acting, and guest starred on an episode of the TV show House.[1] Ben guest starred in the pilot episode of the TV show Glee.[1]
| Year | Title | Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com German export chart | ||
| 2005 | An Insomniac's Guide to a Lonely Heart
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