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Donna Lewis

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Donna Lewis
Lewis at the Highline Ballroom in 2009
Born
Cardiff, Wales
Occupation
  • Singer
Years active1992–present
SpouseMartin Harris
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
LabelsAtlantic
Websitewww.donnalewis.com Edit this at Wikidata

Donna Lewis is a Welsh singer. She is best known for the 1996 pop hit single "I Love You Always Forever", which peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, and also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States. In the latter country, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, having been held off the summit by the Bayside Boys Remix of "Macarena" by Los Del Rio. It also became the highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 by a Welsh artist since Bonnie Tyler topped the chart with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in 1983. Additionally, the single is tied third among songs with the longest runs at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and at second for most weeks at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. Lewis teamed up with Richard Marx on the 1997 adult contemporary hit "At the Beginning" for the Anastasia soundtrack. In 1997, Lewis was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Female Artist.[1]

After releasing her second album Blue Planet, Lewis left Atlantic Records and independently released albums Be Still and In the Pink. Her album Brand New Day was produced by David Torn and featured Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and Dave King.[2][3][4]

Biography

There are conflicting accounts regarding Lewis's birth date. According to her biography on the Billboard and AllMusic websites,[5][6][7] written by employees of Rovi,[5][8] and her BBC page,[9] she was born on 6 August 1973. The following information is consistent with all sources: Lewis was born in Cardiff. She began playing the piano at the age of six.[6] Her father, an amateur jazz pianist and guitarist[4] lent encouragement, and at 14, she began composing original songs.[6] Her formal training was at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, where she majored in classical composition for piano and flute. Lewis then went on to teach music for a year in Sussex before moving to Birmingham to sing in a bar band.[6] During that time she set up a home studio[6][9] and began recording demos. She became a popular live attraction and circa 1993 began sending her demos to record labels.[6] Atlantic Records signed her in 1994.[6]

An article in People from November 1996 presents a different timeline of these events. It states that Lewis's graduation from the Royal Welsh College took place in 1979 and that she played in piano bars throughout Britain and Europe for a period of five years, so like many people in the public eye, there may have been attempts to make her age appear younger than she really is.[10] In November 1996, she had been married for ten years to her road manager and "[gave] her age as in her 30s".[10] This information, if correct, would imply that she was born between 1957 and 1966. This is roughly consistent with a statement Lewis made in an interview in 2015: "When I was in the pop world [...], I wasn't a 19 year old—I was 30 or something like that."[3][4] The context suggests that this refers to the time when she got her Atlantic record deal. The biography on Lewis's own website[11] does not date events prior to 1996. An article in Entertainment Weekly from September 1996 states that Lewis "won't reveal her age—she and her husband/manager, Martin Harris, have been married for nine years, so 'you know I'm not 21'".[12] According to Companies House records for 'Donna Lewis Limited', of which both Donna Lewis ('Singer Songwriter') and her husband Martin Harris ('Business Manager') were directors, she was born in August 1959.[13]

In 1996, Atlantic Records released Lewis's first single, "I Love You Always Forever", a love song which was a hit on VH1.[6] It was also successful on U.S. radio, staying at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100[14] for nine consecutive weeks,[14] and spending 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the airplay chart.[14] It exceeded one million "spins" on radio, to claim its place in music industry history as the most-played single up to that point.[15] The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart in 1996, and spent 14 weeks in the chart. It helped her debut album, Now in a Minute, to No. 31 in the U.S. Billboard 200[16] chart, and No. 52 in the UK Albums Chart. It was certified platinum in the U.S.[17]

Lewis recorded "At the Beginning" with Richard Marx for the 1997 film Anastasia. Her second LP, Blue Planet (1998), won critical acclaim, but it was largely overlooked by the public. Although it produced a minor hit in continental Europe and Asia, "I Could Be the One", and a U.S. No. 1 dance single, "Love Him", Lewis parted ways with Atlantic Records[9] and independently produced her third LP, Be Still (2002), which featured her on an almost entirely acoustic set. During the early 2000s, Lewis was featured as a guest vocalist on several trance music/house music recordings. Her fourth LP, In the Pink, was released in 2008; its first single was "Shout," which was included in the soundtrack to the Marian Quinn film 32A. Lewis also sang lead vocals for her side project, Chute, which released their debut EP in April 2010. In March 2015, she released Brand New Day, her first full-length LP in nearly a decade.

Personal life

Lewis is married to Martin Harris, who is also her business manager. She resides in Boiceville, New York and has one son, Archie.[12]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
UK
[18] 		AUS
[19] 		AUT
[20] 		GER
[21] 		SWI
[22] 		US
[23]
Now in a Minute 52 47 — 66 43 31
Blue Planet
  • Release date: 14 July 1998
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Formats: CD, cassette
 — — 33 — — —
Be Still
  • Release date: 2002
  • Label: Peruzzi Music
  • Formats: CD, cassette
 — — — — — —
In the Pink — — — — — —
Brand New Day
  • Release date: 10 March 2015
  • Label: Palmetto
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[26] 		AUS
[19] 		AUT
[27] 		CAN
[28] 		GER
[29] 		NZ
[30] 		NOR
[31] 		SWI
[32] 		US
[33] 		US Pop
[34]
"I Love You Always Forever" 1996 5 2 3 3 7 9 3 6 2 1 Now in a Minute
"Without Love" 39 — — 12 77 47 — — 41 24
"Mother" 1997 — — — — — — — — — —
"Fool's Paradise" — — — — — — — — — —
"Love & Affection" — — — — — — — — — —
"At the Beginning"
(with Richard Marx) 		— 64 — — 77 — — — 45 — Anastasia (soundtrack)
"I Could Be the One" 1998 99 76 9 — 69 — — — — — Blue Planet
"Love Him" — — — — — — — — — —
"Falling" 1999 — — — — — — — — — —
"Shout" 2007 — — — — — — — — — — In the Pink
"You to Me" 2008 — — — — — — — — — —
"Summertime" 2020 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Title Year Artist
"You and I" 2012 Project 46 and DubVision

Collaborations

  • The Seduction of Claude Debussy – Art of Noise [guest vocalist] (2000)
  • Take Me Over – Dino Lenny [guest vocalist] (2001)
  • When the Rain Comes Down – [guest vocalist] (2001)
  • Dancing Angel – Ryan Farish [guest vocalist] (2010)
  • Chute (EP) – [lead singer] (2010)
  • "Running Up That Hill" – David Baron [vocals] (2019)
  • "Distance" - Michael Whalen [vocals] (2022)

Awards and nominations

Year Awards Work Category Result Ref.
1997 Brit Awards Herself British Female Solo Artist Nominated
RSH Gold Awards "I Love You Always Forever" Airplay Hit of the Year Won
ASCAP Pop Music Awards Most Performed Song Won [39]
1999 Won [40]

See also

References

  1. ^ Donna Lewis BRITS Profile Archived 16 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine. BRIT Awards Ltd. Retrieved 26 January 2013
  2. ^ Prisco, Jaime (19 December 2014). "Donna Lewis to Release New Album 'Brand New Day' Featuring David King, Reid Anderson and Ethan Iverson With Covers of David Bowie, Neil Young, Damien Rice and More". Classicalite. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  3. ^ a b Scholz, Ben (10 March 2015). "Donna Lewis: Brand New Day". All About Jazz. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Donna Lewis: Brand New Day". Benjamin Scholz. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Donna Lewis. Biography by Matt Collar". Billboard. 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography by John Bush". Allmusic.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  7. ^ "Biography by Matt Collar". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. ^ "How does an artist get added to AllMusic?". AllMusic. 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "BBC Wales – Music – Donna Lewis". bbc.co.uk. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  10. ^ a b "The No. 1 That Got Away". Time Inc. 4 November 1996. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  11. ^ "bio". Donna Lewis. 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Donna Lewis chats with us about her hit single". Entertainment Weekly. 13 September 1996. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Donna Lewis personal appointments". Gov.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 366. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
  15. ^ "Donna Lewis – Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and pictures at". Last.fm. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Donna Lewis | Awards". AllMusic. 6 August 1973. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  17. ^ US certifications riaa.com Archived 26 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine Search "Donna Lewis"
  18. ^ "Chart Log UK: DJ Steve L. – LZ Love". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  19. ^ a b Peaks in Australia:
    • All except noted: "australian-charts.com – Australian charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
    • "At the Beginning" and "I Could Be the One": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 165.
  20. ^ "austriancharts.at – Austria Top 40". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  21. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts – German Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  22. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  23. ^ "Donna Lewis Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  24. ^ "Canadian certifications – Donna Lewis". Music Canada. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  25. ^ a b "RIAA – Gold & Platinum – April 15, 2011: Now in a Minute certified awards". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  26. ^ Peak chart positions for releases charting in the United Kingdom:
  27. ^ "austriancharts.at – Austria Top 40". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  28. ^ "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". RPM Magazine. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  29. ^ "German charts portal". Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  30. ^ "charts.nz – New Zealand charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  31. ^ "norwegiancharts.com – Norwegian charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  32. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  33. ^ "Donna Lewis Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  34. ^ "Donna Lewis Chart History – Pop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  35. ^ "British certifications – Donna Lewis". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 October 2022. Type Donna Lewis in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  36. ^ "ARIA Full Accreditations List". Australian-Charts. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  37. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Donna Lewis)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  38. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Donna Lewis". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 December 2018.[dead link‍]
  39. ^ "Billboard". 31 May 1997.
  40. ^ "Billboard". 29 May 1999.
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