Wanz

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For other uses of "Wanz", see Wanz (disambiguation).
Wanz

Background information
Birth name Michael Wansley
Also known as TeeWanz
Born October 9, 1961 (age 52)
Seattle, Washington, USA
Genres Hip-hop, alternative hip hop, R&B, pop
Occupations Singer, songwriter, backing vocals
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1978–present
Associated acts Macklemore, Ryan Lewis
Website www.wanzmusic.com

Michael Wansley, better known by his stage names TeeWanz and Wanz (born, October 9, 1961),[1] is an American singer in various genres including R&B, soul, hip hop and pop. He achieved wide acclaim after he was featured on fellow Seattle-based duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' international hit single "Thrift Shop".

Life and career

Wansley started performing in church, school, and on the street. He was introduced to jazz and pop music early and studied jazz at school. He has been performing since the early 1980s.[2] At 21, he formed a band called Boys Will Be Boys. Their repertoire included covers, including INXS songs.[3] He also was the bass player and singer for the original hard-funk band, Lifering, with David Scott Cameron on guitar, Jeff Stone on guitar, and David Nielsen on drums. He later on fronted a band called the Ghetto Monks and saw some success.[4] He sang hooks in recordings by D. Sane and Street Level Records for a decade. He also took part in the summer of 2011 in the opera Porgy and Bess.[5]

Prior to the break-out performance of "Thrift Shop", Wanz was a full-time software test engineer[1] for companies such as Microsoft, Adapx, and Volt.[6] Sane called him and introduced him to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to do the hook for "Thrift Shop" in 2012. Wanz has toured with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis over the past few months and performed with them on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.[4] He is also featured in the official music video of the song. After the international success of the song, he is working on an EP of 6 tracks of his own[4] called Wander with the debut single planned from the EP will be "Tell Me One More Time".[7] It became known in 2013 that Wanz is planning a book about a series of sayings he has coined over the years, to be called The Book of Wanz.[1]

Discography

Singles

Featured in
List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[8]		 US
Alt.
[9]		 US
R&B
[10]		 US
Rap
[11]		 AUS
[12]		 CAN
[13]		 FRA
[14]		 GER
[15]		 IRL
[16]		 NZ
[17]		 UK
"Thrift Shop"
(Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz)		 2012 1 13 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 The Heist
(Macklemore & Ryan Lewis album)
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mogg, Daniel (January 25, 2013). 17, 2013 "The Story of Thrift Shop's Wanz". youtube.com. 
  2. ↑ Josh Kerns (2013-02-08). "Seattle's Wanz finds fame decades later than planned thanks to Macklemore's 'Thrift Shop'". MyNorthwest.com. Retrieved 2013-02-11. 
  3. ↑ Steven J. Horowitz (31 January 2013). "Wanz Q&A: Meet the 'F-ing Awesome' Singer in 'Thrift Shop'". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Caulfield, Keith (October 17, 2012). "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Heist' Album Debuts At No. 2 On Billboard 200, Mumford Holds at No. 1" Billboard.
  5. ↑ PopDust: The Story of Wanz, The 51-Year-Old Breakout Singer on Macklemore’s "Thrift Shop"
  6. ↑ "Wanz... All about the Seattle Singer". bakeek.com. January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013. 
  7. ↑ Alexgale (9 February 2013). "Meet Wanz, the 51-Year-Old Former Software Engineer Who’s Topping the Charts With Macklemore". XXL. Retrieved 13 February 2013. 
  8. ↑ "Macklemore Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Macklemore Album & Song Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  10. ↑ "Macklemore Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  11. ↑ "Macklemore Album & Song Chart History: Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Discography Wanz". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2012. 
  13. ↑ "Macklemore Album & Song Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  14. ↑ "Discographie Wanz". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2012. 
  15. ↑ "Macklemore (Single)". charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved November 27, 2012. 
  16. ↑ "Irish Charts – Top 100 Singles – Week ending 8th November 2012". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012. 
  17. ↑ "Discography Wanz". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 15, 2012. 
  18. ↑ "ARIA Charts > Accreditations > 2013Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2013-01-13. 
  19. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart: 03 December 2012". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved January 7, 2013. 
  20. ↑ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Shop" Certified Double Platinum | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales | HipHop DX

External links

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