Des'ree
| Des'ree | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Desiree Annette Weeks |
| Born | 30 November 1968 London, England |
| Genres | Soul, dance, R&B, pop |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1992– present |
| Labels | Dusted Sound Records, Epic Records |
Des'ree (born Desirée Annette Weeks, 30 November 1968) is a British R&B recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is well known for her hits: "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Life", and "Kissing You" (from the soundtrack of the film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet). Des'ree has not released any new material since 2003's Dream Soldier. She currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Career [edit]
Des'ree was born in South London, England in 1968.[1][2] Her mother is from British Guiana (now Guyana), and her father is from Barbados. She was introduced to reggae, calypso and jazz music by her parents, and Des'ree's interest in pursuing a musical career followed a two year trip to Barbados with her family at the age of 11.
She briefly worked as an MTS Assistant at the Tate Gallery in London before achieving later success. It was during her time at the Tate he developed a strong desire to achieve success in her music career to avoid the constant boredom and self-doubt she experienced at the Tate. Upon leaving she vowed never to return.
Des'ree has released five albums through Sony Music Worldwide; Mind Adventures, I Ain't Movin', Supernatural, Endangered Species and Dream Soldier.
Her first single, "Feel So High', (COBO) went top 10 in the UK and several other European countries, along with Japan.
In 1994, her single "You Gotta Be" hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5, peaking at #5, and was a hit in the UK three times. "You Gotta Be" became the most played music video on VH1 and remained on the Billboard Recurrent Airplay Chart for 80 weeks.
Following the single's success, Des'ree's second album, I Ain't Movin' , sold in excess of 2.5 million copies worldwide. Her success led to an American tour with Seal in 1995. The following year, she contributed the song "Kissing You" to the soundtrack of the film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.
In 1997, her single "Crazy Enta" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Nothing to Lose with Tim Dixon and Luke T Smith.
In 1998, her single "Life" became a hit in Europe, reaching #1 in many countries, along with Japan. In 1999, she won a BRIT Award for the British Female Solo Artist category. The album from which the single was taken, "Supernatural", was also released in 1998 to mostly positive reviews. It was somewhat successful in the UK, but was a commercial flop in the United States. In 2007, the song "Life" also notably won a BBC poll for "Worst Pop Lyrics Ever".[3]
Sony released Enta is Frozen in 2003. The album released one single, "It's Okay Working on Level 5 on a Tuesday Afternoon", which peaked in the UK at #69. The single did not chart in the U.S. The video was shot in London's Notting Hill. "Dream Soldier" was not a critical or commercial success. Des'ree was subsequently dropped by her label, Sony/550 Music, following the release of the album in late 2003.
Des'ree has also performed various duets, including "Fire" with Babyface (part of the soundtrack for the independent film, Hav Plenty), "Plenty Lovin" with Steve Winwood and "Delicate" with Terence Trent D'Arby.
Other work [edit]
In 1998, Des'ree's hit, "Feel So High" was interpolated into the Janet Jackson song "Got 'Til It's Gone" from Jackson's CD The Velvet Rope without due credit to Des'ree as a contributor. The maxi single, released in 2000, lists Des'ree and Michael Graves as one of the song's writers.[4]
In 2007, Des'ree filed suit against Beyoncé for her cover version of the Tim Atack/Des'ree penned song, "I'm Kissing You",[5] for the re-release of her album B'Day.[6] Des'ree also won BBC poll for "Worst Pop Lyricist" for the 1998 single "Life".
Other duets include the Bill Withers' song, "Ain't No Sunshine", recorded by Ladysmith Black Mombazo, featuring, Des'ree. "Silent Hero", written by Des'ree and Prince Sampson, featured in Spike Lee's, Clockers. "Feel So High", written by Des'ree and Kes Richardson, featured in Set It Off. "You Gotta Be", also featured in The Object Of My Affection.
Des'ree has won several awards, including a Brit Award, an Ivor Novello Award, World Music Award, Urban Music Award and a BMI award for over five million plays of "You Gotta Be" in America alone.
Between 1999 and 2003, Des'ree studied photography, ceramics and art at the Camberwell College of Arts.[7]
Des'ree is no longer producing music. Whilst studying at Camberwell College of Arts she returned to her job as an MTS Assistant at the Tate Gallery. She is rumoured to be currently songwriting as of 2012, but has not released any new material in a decade as of 2013.
Discography [edit]
Albums [edit]
Studio albums [edit]
Compilation albums [edit]
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Singles [edit]
| Song | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [8][10] |
AUS [11] |
ITA [12] |
SPA [13][14] |
US [15] |
|||
| "Feel So High"1 | 1991 | 13 | 28 | — | — | 67 | Mind Adventures |
| "Mind Adventures" | 1992 | 43 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Why Should I Love You" | 44 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "You Gotta Be" | 1994 | 20 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 5 | I Ain't Movin' |
| "I Ain't Movin'" | 44 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Little Child" | 69 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "You Gotta Be" (remix) | 1995 | 14 | — | — | 1 | — | |
| "Kissing You" | 1997 | 137 | 17 | — | — | — | Supernatural |
| "Life" | 1998 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | — | |
| "Fire" (duet with Babyface)3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "What's Your Sign?" | 19 | — | — | 1 | — | ||
| "God Only Knows" (Japan only)[16] | 1999 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "You Gotta Be" (1999 mix)3 | 10 | — | — | 1 | — | ||
| "It's Okay" | 2003 | 69 | — | — | — | — | Dream Soldier |
| "Why?"[17] | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Notes [edit]
- 1 "Feel So High" originally peaked at number 51 in the UK Singles Chart in 1991. It was re-released in 1992 and peaked at number 13. In the US, the single did not chart until 1995 and featured on "I Ain't Movin'".
- 3 "Fire" was included on the 1998 edition of Supernatural as track 11.[18] The 1999 mix of "You Gotta Be" replaced it when the album was re-released in the UK in 1999.[19]
As a featured artist [edit]
| Song | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [8] |
|||
| "Delicate" (Terence Trent D'Arby featuring Des'ree) | 1993 | 14 | Symphony or Damn |
| "Ain't No Sunshine" (Ladysmith Black Mambazo featuring Des'ree) | 1999 | 42 |
Vinyl records [edit]
Des'ree had British RPMs sold from 1991 to 1998.
- 1991, "Feel So High"
- 1992, "Mind Adventures"
- 1992, "Why Should I Love You?"
- 1992, "Competitive World"
- 1994, "You Gotta Be"
- 1994, "I Ain't Movin'"
- 1994, "Little Child"
- 1998, "Life"
- 1998, "What's Your Sign?"
References [edit]
- ^ Briton Hadden, Henry Robinson Luce (1995) Time, Volume 145, Issues 18-26 Time Inc., 1995
- ^ Billboard 13 Jun 1998 Billboard Magazine
- ^ "Des'ree takes bad lyric top spot". BBC. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ Q Magazine, July 1998
- ^ Allmusic - discography section
- ^ Des'ree sues Beyonce over song (April 18, 2007) Metro.
- ^ Des'ree. Metro.co.uk (2009-10-27). Retrieved on 2012-05-09.
- ^ a b c "DES'REE - Artist - Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Zobbel.de: Chart Log UK: Asher D – Dyverse". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Chart: CLUK Update 25.12.2010 (wk50)". Zobbel.de. 25 December 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ "Des'ree discography in Australian-charts". Australian Charts. ARIA Charts Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Des'ree discography in italiancharts". Italian charts. Federation of the Italian Music Industry Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Des'ree discography - Spain Charts". Spanish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
- ^ "Whats Your Sign" peak
- ^ "Des'ree Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-12-29. Text " Billboard.com" ignored (help)
- ^ "God Only Knows: Des'ree: Amazon.co.jp: Music". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 152. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Supernatural: Des'ree: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads
- ^ Desree: Supernatural: Includes You Gotta Be (1999): CD: hmv.com
External links [edit]
- The Official Des'ree Website from SonyMusic (Japanese)
- Des'ree from Allmusic
- Des'ree at the Internet Movie Database
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- 1968 births
- Living people
- English rhythm and blues singers
- English singer-songwriters
- English soul musicians
- Neo soul singers
- Brit Award winners
- Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
- British female singers
- English female singers
- Black British singers
- Black British musicians
- English people of Barbadian descent
- English people of Guyanese descent
- Singers from London
- English expatriates in Canada
