Ray Dalton
| Ray Dalton | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 15, 1991 Washington |
| Genres | Gospel, hip hop, R&B, pop |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, backing vocals |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2011-present |
| Associated acts | Macklemore, Ryan Lewis |
| Website | www.raydalton.com |
Ray Dalton (born March 15, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter based in Seattle, Washington. He began his career as a gospel and R&B singer.[1] Dalton gained prominence as the featured singer on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 2013 song "Can't Hold Us", which gained popularity when it was released as a single in 2013.[1] The song was certified platinum in the U.S. in April 2013.[2] He has won two MTV Video Music Awards.[3]
Life and career
Dalton's mother is Mexican American and his father is African American.[2] He began singing at the age of 6 on the advice of his music teacher, joining the Seattle Children's Choir. He continued to sing through high school. He has described himself as a fan of Fleetwood Mac.[2] Dalton spent his senior year in high school listening to Missy Elliott, Amy Winehouse, and Kanye West, according to an interview with MTV News.[2]
Aside from music, Dalton is a tennis player who has worked as a tennis instructor.[1] He gave up teaching tennis following the success of "Can't Hold Us" to pursue a full-time career as a musician.[1] Dalton sings in the Total Experience Gospel Choir of Seattle, as of 2013.[1]
Dalton's work drew the attention of producer Ryan Lewis, who had heard Dalton's singing on a song for another artist.[1] Lewis reached out to Dalton via Facebook.[1] Dalton soon began collaborating with Lewis and Macklemore in the studio.[1] The first song the trio worked on together was Macklemore's and Lewis' 2011 single, Wings.[1]
In June 2012, Dalton released his first single, So Emotional,[4] which was mixed by Ryan Lewis. He also announced he was working on his 'own project' to be called The Dalton Show.[5]
Dalton, Lewis and Macklemore created the hook for "Can't Hold Us" in one day.[1] Dalton shot his scenes for the single's music video while on tour in New Zealand in March 2013.[1][2]
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "So Emotional" | N/A |
As featured artist
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] |
AUS [7] |
BEL (Vl) [8] |
BEL (Wa) [9] |
DEN [10] |
FRA [11] |
NZ [12] |
SWE [13] |
SWI [14] |
UK [15] | ||||||||||
| 2010 | "Kingdom Come" (Dyno Jamz featuring Ray Dalton) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | |||||||
| 2012 | "Need Your Love" (Sol featuring Ray Dalton) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | |||||||
| 2013 | "Can't Hold Us" (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton) |
1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | The Heist | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 Unterberger, Andrew (2013-03-22). "Talking Tennis, Rachael Ray and "Can’t Hold Us" with Macklemore Hook Man Ray Dalton". Popdust. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Thomas, Rebecca (2013-04-30). "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us': Decoding The Hook! Ray Dalton, the 22-year-old crooner behind the catchy chorus, talks to MTV News about the Seattle duo, that epic video and a few baffling lyrics.". MTV News. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
- ↑ Willis, Kim (2013-08-26). "MTV VMAs: The winners and nominees". USATODAY. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
- ↑ So Emotional - Ray Dalton (Bandcamp)
- ↑ RayDalton.com - Biography
- ↑ Peak positions for singles in the US:
- For "Can't Hold Us": "Macklemore – Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard.
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Ray Dalton". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Ray Dalton". Belgium (Flanders) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Ray Dalton". Belgium (Wallonia) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Ray Dalton". Danish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Ray Dalton". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Ray Dalton". New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Ray Dalton". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Ray Dalton". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ↑ Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
- For "Can't Hold Us": "Chart Archive > 4th May 2013". officialcharts.com/ Official Charts Company.