CRAIG DAVID Since the past two weeks I have covered Westlife, it was hard deciding who could possibly follow them up. After masterfully debating for a while I realized no one can follow them up. However, the easiest way to make a transition was to cover an artist along the same roots, who also conquered the UK charts while simultaneously making a splash in the USA. This next artist is one who is WAY underrated and even though you may know a few of his songs via radio airwaves in the early 2000’s, there are still a lot more songs in this man’s repertoire that can strike a chord with listeners… A two-time Grammy nominated Vocalist of the Year, Craig David was raised in the UK and got an early start in music while traveling with his father’s band and sometimes taking the stage. Originally starting out as just a hobby, singing eventually turned into something more, when at age 17, a music label executive heard a demo from him. After listening to the song that would later take over the charts, “Walking Away”, the executive of Wildstar records was astonished that a kid his age could not only sing like that, but more importantly, write a song so complex and heartfelt. After visiting Craig at his home and seeing that he was for real, the exec signed him to a deal after listening to the song “7 Days” while in his office. After being featured on the song “Re-Rewind” from the group Artful Dodger, it was just enough to propel Craig into the limelight so that he could now be seen and heard. A mere year later, at age 18, Craig released his debut single “Fill Me In.” This catchy tune instantly climbed the charts all the way to #1 and it was then that Craig became the youngest solo male artist to conquer such a feat. After releasing that first single, Craig released his entire debut album, “Born To Do It” shortly thereafter. With Craig gaining steam from such a successful debut, he made his crossover to the US with “Fill Me In” and it went on to chart at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. His album, in the US, debuted at #11 on the Billboard Top 200, as it reached over 1 million copes sold. With this success still lingering, Craig kept the momentum going and released “7 Days” and “Walking Away” one after the other. Although “7 Days” reached inside the Top 10 on the charts, “Walking Away” could not do the same as it could not break the Top 40, leading to Craig’s US hiatus. Craig’s follow-up album “Slicker Than Your Average” propelled his hot streak and led to his accomplishment of having 9 consecutive singles in the Top 10 on the UK charts. Although this second album release did well on the charts in the UK, it did absolutely nothing on the US charts, disregarding the fact it still went on to go Gold status in sales (500,000 copies) in the US. After 2002, Craig took a brief break and later settled a label issue by signing with Warner Bros Records in 2005. He and his label put together his third studio album “The Story Goes” and it never got released in the US. However, Craig got back into the rhythm of things when his first 3 singles released off the album took over the charts. “All The Way”, his first single, got him into the top 3 on the UK charts. Then, his second single “Don’t Love You No More (I’m Sorry), repeated what “7 Days” did and lasted a whole 15 weeks inside the Top 75. Later, his third single “Unbelievable” went on to hit a lackluster #18. Seeing his star was once again fading, Craig joined forces with UK rapper Kano and released the hit “This is the Girl” and it also charted at #18, marking the end of singles being released from his third studio album. Later on in 2007, Craig released his fourth album “Trust Me” and it didn’t do as much damage as his previous albums, charting once again at #18. After the top ten hit “Hot stuff” climbed the charts, he released two more singles from this album that both were flops, leading to his lowest charting singles releases yet. Shortly after in 2008, Craig released a Greatest Hits album that saw numerous remixes and re-recording of his previous Top 10 hits. Supporting the old adage “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” his Greatest Hits album charted at a disappointing #48 on the UK charts. In 2010, Craig took to it again and released yet another album (his fifth), this time entitled “Signed Sealed Delivered.” This album, mainly made up of old covers and a few new songs, did average on the charts coming in at #13, giving hope to Craig on maybe perusing a comeback. However, no songs from this album were good enough to jumpstart the comeback, and shortly after Craig went on yet another hiatus. As of now Craig is writing for numerous artists (Backstreet Boys, Rita Ora, Jay Sean) along with putting together another album that is set to be released at some point this year. Now a fitness guru, Craig often poses in health magazines to show off his freakish physique that he got from “dedication.” Seriously though, Google it, because it is borderline disgusting how shredded he is. Look, Craig David is one of the best artists to ever take hold in the UK and honestly, I think he would have done a lot more in the USA if he hadn’t been signed to a weak label at the time. For instance, in 2009 on MTV, his first album “Born To Do It” was ranked at #2 behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as best album ever released. Needless to say, the fanfare was there, but the promotion was not. I am looking forward to more work from Craig and as we all get a taste of new Backstreet Boy songs, I hope it is just a prelude to what is soon to come from the amazingly talented Craig David. Thank you.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 20:15:32 +0000
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