Bars and Melody

Bars and Melody
Also known as BAM
Origin United Kingdom
Genres Pop rap, R&B
Years active 2014–present
Labels Syco Music
Website barsandmelody.tv
Members Leondre Devries
Charlie Lenehan

Bars and Melody (B.A.M.) are a British singing/rapping duo consisting of rapper Leondre "Bars" Devries and singer Charlie "Melody" Lenehan.[1] They took part in the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2014. During their audition, they were automatically sent into the semifinals of the competition after the head judge, Simon Cowell, pressed the "golden buzzer."[2] They ultimately finished in third place in the series.[3]

After the show, Bars and Melody signed a record deal with Syco Music. Their debut single, "Hopeful", was released on 25 July 2014 and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart.[4][5] They brought out a new song, "Shining Star", on 30 July 2014; this was an extra to their acoustic version of the song "Hopeful".[6] Bars and Melody released their debut studio album 143 on 21 August 2015.[7] It debuted at number four in the UK.[2] One year later, their EP Teen Spirit was released.[2] They refer to their fans as "Bambinos."[8]

They have appeared in the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, mainland Europe, and Australia.[5]

History

2013–14: Formation and Britain's Got Talent

Devries and Lenehan first met on Facebook[1] in September 2013, after Devries had seen Lenehan's videos. They first met in person in January 2014 and decided to form a music duo as Bars and Melody.[9]

On 8 February 2014, Bars and Melody auditioned in Manchester for the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent. They performed a song based on Twista and Faith Evans' "Hope", with Devries replacing the original verses with ones protesting against bullying. After the performance, Simon Cowell pressed the golden buzzer, sending them through straight through to the live semifinals.[1][8]

Before the semifinals, the boys appeared and performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States.[10] In the BGT semi-final on 29 May, they performed Puff Daddy and Faith Evans' "I'll Be Missing You", coupled with new verses about someone who had recently lost a friend; audience members were given candles to wave during the performance. They won their semi-final and progressed through to the final,[11] where they performed the song they sang in their audition and ultimately finished third behind Lucy Kay and Collabro.[3] According to Billboard magazine, the video of their audition was number six in the top ten trending videos for 2014.[12]

2014–15: 143

Despite not winning, Bars and Melody signed a £500,000 record deal with Simon Cowell's record label,[1] Syco, which released "Hopeful" in July 2014.[1] Their debut single went straight to number five on the UK Singles Chart.[4] The music video of their song "Hopeful" was released on YouTube on 7 July 2014.[13][14] To promote the song, they appeared on television shows such as Good Morning Britain,[15] This Morning,[16] and The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1.[17] By late September, the song "Hopeful" was number 33 on the Twitter Top Tracks.[18]

Bars and Melody also participated in their first HMV signing tour to promote Hopeful. They released the song "Shining Star", which came out as part of Hopeful Acoustic.[6] Their second single, "Keep Smiling", was released on 28 February 2015,[19] with a music video filmed in Plymouth.[20][21] It peaked at 52 in the Official Charts Company.[19] Their third official single, "Stay Strong", was released on 18 April 2015 and peaked at 53 in the Official Charts Company.[19] Two physical editions of the CD could be purchased with each one containing an image of either Lenehan or Devries, promoted through a second HMV signing tour.[22] They released their fourth single "Beautiful" in June 2015 alongside a music video.

The boys released their debut album, 143, on 21 August 2015,[7] which peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart on 28 August 2015.[2] The album included their previously recorded singles and additional songs. To promote the album, they toured across the United Kingdom in the summer and had a winter tour in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Poland,[23] where the album went platinum.[24]

Following a guest presenting stint in 2014,[25] Bars and Melody made a red carpet appearance at the premiere of CBBC show Friday Download in May 2015.[26] They also participated in the Friday Download movie called Up All Night.[27] They performed the third ending theme "Unite (Live Forever)" for the anime series Future Card Buddyfight Triple D. They appeared on BBC's Newsround during a week-long series about bullying in February 2015.[28]

2016

In 2016, they toured five cities with Kiera Weathers, a contestant on The X Factor, in February and April of that year. The cities included London, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, and Liverpool.[29] They also became ambassadors for the Anti Bullying Charity campaign that year.[2] In August 2016, their album Teen Spirit was released by Syco.[2] They toured Australia and Japan by August 2016.[24]

In August, 2016 they released their first Japanese album, titled Hopeful by Avex Music Creative, including fourteen tracks from the UK albums 143 and Teen Spirit as well as UK and Japanese versions of Hopeful.[30]

They toured thirteen cities in Austria, Germany and Switzerland in November and December, opening for German teen singer Lukas Rieger .[31]

2017

On 15 February 2017 they released their second Japanese Album, titled Never Give Up, for distribution in Asia, by Rhythm Sound a division of Avex Music Creative.[32] In April they announced the future release of a new album, titled Generation Z, scheduled for September 2017 as well as the immediate digital release of new song Faded on 14 April.[33] In April they toured ten cities in the UK opening for the dance troupe Diversity.[33] Announced digital release of single Thousand Years on 26 May.[34]

Members

Leondre Devries

Leondre Antonio Devries was born 6 October 2000[1] to stonemason Antonio and personal trainer Victoria Devries.[35][36] From Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, he has three older brothers—Jacob, Joseph (Joey), and the eldest is Ben—and a younger sister, Matilda.[35] Joey was part of the boy band Overload Generation who participated in the eleventh series of The X Factor.[37] Leondre Devries has spoken openly about his experiences of bullying for four years before he switched schools.[35] He attended the Glan Afan Comprehensive School at the time of the Britain's Got Talent competition.[8] Previously he rapped solo under the stage name 'Little Dre'.[35] His father said that Devries lived with him until he appeared on Britain's Got Talent, and after that has lived with his mother.[38] Although Devries said that his father was a stonemason during the contest,[36] his father now says he is a music promoter.[38] He is Bars in the group.

Charlie Lenehan

Charlie Lenehan was born 27 October 1998 in Frampton Cotterell.[1] He lives in South Gloucestershire[21] with his mother, a school cook; his step-father, a businessman;[39] his younger brother, Joel; and a younger sister, Brooke. His mother, Karen James, is a cook in Thornbury at Gillingstool and New Siblands schools.[40] Lenehan took up singing at the age of 11 when his schoolmates invited him to join a band.[1] He has been attending the Winterbourne International Academy[9] since he was 11, and was interested in drama, music, and engineering at the time of the competition. He returned to school the first day after the Britain's Got Talent finale.[40] He is Melody in the group.

Lawsuit

Antonio Devries, Leondre's father, threatened to file a suit against the group in March 2016, saying that he wrote Hopeful due to troubles that he was having in his life.[38] He claims that he helped promote the boys until their Britain's Got Talent contest, is unhappy that the boys are moving away from the anti-bullying theme, and claims that their management overworks them. He says that he does not have any issues with Bars and Melody,[38][41] but he took over the boy's social media accounts and posted music from his son Joey and other artists he represents until the management team regained control of the accounts.[9] The management team, who Devries says is the root of the problem, have stated that the boys wrote Hopeful. A spokesperson for the boys says that they are happy with their career and management team and do not feel exploited or overworked.[38][41] They also said, "Bars and Melody are sorry to hear that legal action is being threatened and they hope it will resolved quickly and amicably."[38]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[19]		 IRE
[42]		 POL
[43]		 SCO
[44]
143
  • Released: 21 August 2015
  • Label: 143 Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 4 11 31 12
Covers
  • Released: 17 February 2017
  • Label: Zeneration Records
  • Formats: Digital download
 — — — —
Bars and Melody Generation Z[45]
  • Release date: 1 September 2017
  • Label: TBA
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — — — —
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released.

Extended plays

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[19]		 IRE
[42]		 POL
[43]		 SCO
[44]
Hopeful
  • Released: 25 July 2014
  • Label: Syco Music
  • Formats: Digital download
 — — — —
Teen Spirit
  • Released: 26 August 2016
  • Label: Zeneration Records
  • Formats: Digital download
 49 85 4 97
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released.

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[19]		 IRE
[42]		 SCO
[46]
"Hopeful" 2014 5 56 6 143
"Keep Smiling" 2015 52 — 43
"Stay Strong" 53 — 48
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Promotional singles

Title Year Album
"Beautiful" 2015 Non-album single
"Unite (Live Forever)" 2016 Teen Spirit
"Never Give Up" Non-album single
"Live Your Life" 2017
"Faded"
"Thousand Years"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 John D. Buchanan, Rovi. "Biography". Billboard. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rachel Mainwaring (28 August 2016). "Britain's Got Talent's Bars and Melody are coming to Cardiff and here's how you can meet them". Wales Online. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 Alex Finnis (8 June 2014). "Jamie's a Winner as Collabro Get a Huge Thumbs Up". Sunday Sun. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via HighBeam Research. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. 1 2 "2014-08-09 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company.
  5. 1 2 "BGT heartthrobs Bars and Melody at The Met". Peterborough Today. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 Jade Wright (7 April 2015). "Bambinos queue for hours outside HMV Liverpool One to meet Bars and Melody". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 Gordon Barr (12 August 2015). "Britain's Got Talent's Bars & Melody line-up two Newcastle dates". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 G Roberts (88 June 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014: Leondre Devries from Bars and Melody tells all". South Wales Evening Post. Retrieved 15 June 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. 1 2 3 Craig Jones (24 March 2016). "Exclusive: Britain's Got Talent stars Bars and Melody sued by dad". Bristol Post. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Thursday's (May 22) TV Highlights: 'Labyrinth' on KTLA". Los Angeles Times. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Dassanayake, Dion (29 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent: Bars & Melody and Lettice Rowbotham book final spots". Daily Express. Northern & Shell. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Elias Leight (9 December 2014). "Watch YouTube's 2014 Rewind Video, With Music From DJ Earworm". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  13. ↑ Heath, Olivia (8 July 2014). "Britain's Got Talent stars Bars and Melody unveil 'Hopeful' music video". Reveal. Nat Mags. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Max & Dania (director). "Hopeful (2014)". IMVdB. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  15. ↑ "'Our parents didn't speak for at least three days!'". Good Morning Britain. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "Bars and Melody make Hopeful debut". This Morning. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  17. ↑ "Bars and Melody pop in to see Jameela!". BBC. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  18. ↑ William Gruger (26 September 2014). "Kendrick Lamar, One Direction Highlight Social Chart Action". Billboard. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bars & Melody". Officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company.
  20. ↑ Emma Sisk (7 February 2015). "Bars and Melody prepare for release of second single after BGT success". Wales Online. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  21. 1 2 Kate Rees (17 March 2015). "BGT's Bars and Melody release their very own Easter egg". Wales Online. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  22. ↑ David W Owen (10 April 2015). "Bars and Melody meet their adoring 'Bambinos' in city's hmv". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 25 February 2017. See photograph showing Lenehan and Devries each holding their versions of the single with their photographs on the cover.
  23. ↑ "BGT Duo's Gig at Slade Rooms". The Tamworth Herald. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via HighBeam Research. (Subscription required (help)).
  24. 1 2 "Pop Rap Duo in Signing Appearance". Western Mail. Cardiff, Wales. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via HighBeam Research. (Subscription required (help)).
  25. ↑ Entertainment & Arts (4 September 2014). "CBBC's Friday Download heads to the big screen". BBC. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  26. ↑ "Up All Night stars Dionne Bromfield and Tyger Drew-Honey reveal their holiday nightmares". Irish Examiner. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  27. ↑ Heather Thompson (31 October 2015). "The Vamps 'Friday Download, The Movie (Up All Night)'". J-14. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  28. ↑ "Greg James, Niki and Sammy, Bars and Melody on bullying". BBC's Newsround. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  29. ↑ Ian Sandwell (10 January 2016). "X Factor's Kiera Weathers to join Britain's Got Talent's Bars and Melody on UK Tour". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  30. ↑ "Bars And Melody - Hopeful". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  31. ↑ "Bars and Melody to tour German-speaking countries – Juice or Cider". Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  32. ↑ "Bars And Melody - Never Give Up". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  33. 1 2 "News - BarsandMelody.tv". BarsandMelody.tv. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  34. ↑ "Bars and Melody on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "Britain's Got Talent 2014: Bars and Melody open up on their meteoric rise to fame". Wales Online. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  36. 1 2 G Roberts (7 June 2014). Britain's Got Talent 2014: Leondre Devries from Bars and Melody tells all. South Wales Evening Post. Event occurs at 0:34. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  37. ↑ Sandra Loy (11 October 2014). "X Factor: Overload Generation is second Welsh act to make it through to live stages of talent show". Wales Online. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Adele Ankers (25 March 2016). "Britain’s Got Talent Stars Bars And Melody Being Sued By Member’s Own DAD". Yahoo News. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  39. ↑ G Roberts (7 June 2014). Britain's Got Talent 2014: Leondre Devries from Bars and Melody tells all. South Wales Evening Post. Event occurs at 0:42. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  40. 1 2 Alexandra Womack (10 June 2014). "Mum of Bars and Melody singer Charlie Lineman is 'over the moon' after 15-year-old comes third on Britain's Got Talent". Gazette. Newsquest Media. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  41. 1 2 Katie Baillie (25 March 2016). "Britain's Got Talent's Bars And Melody are being sued by one of their dads". Metro. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  42. 1 2 3 "Discography Bars and Melody". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
  43. 1 2 "Bars and Melody - Music Charts". acharts.co.
  44. 1 2 Peak positions for albums in Scotland:
  45. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BStH6B8gyoH/
  46. ↑ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
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