Haddaway
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| Haddaway | |
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 Haddaway in 2004
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander Nestor Haddaway |
| Born | January 9, 1965 |
| Origin | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Genres | Eurodance, House |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Years active | 1993 - present |
Alexander Nestor Haddaway (born January 9, 1965, Trinidad and Tobago) better known by his stage name Haddaway is a Trinidadian singer. He is most famous for his worldwide 1993 hit "What Is Love".
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[edit] Early life
The son of a Dutch oceanographer and a Trinidadian nurse, Haddaway moved to Europe in the early 1970s with his father when his parents separated. After spending his formative years at boarding school, he moved to the United States to be with his mother.
His high school years were spent in Maryland City, Maryland, where he graduated from Meade Senior High School in 1983. While at Meade, he was very active in the school's jazz, marching, symphonic, and stage bands.
Discovering a love for music, Haddaway performed small engagements with a cover band while he studied "North American History from the First Mongolian Immigrants to Amerigo Vespucci in the Fifteenth Century" at George Washington University in Washington DC[1].
In 1989, then aged 24, Haddaway returned to Europe and settled in Cologne, Germany, where he started playing football for the Cologne Crocodiles in the German Football League, as well as working as a choreographer, selling carpets and making music in his spare time.
[edit] Musical career
Haddaway's break came in 1992 when he was signed by German label Coconut Records. His first single "What Is Love" rapidly became popular across Europe, reaching number 2 in Germany and in the United Kingdom, where it sold more than 500,000 copies. It later reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
His second single "Life" hit number 2 in Germany, number 6 in the UK and number 41 in the USA; "I Miss You" and "Rock My Heart" were also top 10 smashes across Europe and established him as a successful Eurodance artist. His first LP The Album was also a multi-million seller.
In 1995 he released his second album The Drive, which spawned the UK top 20 hit "Fly Away", as well as "Catch a Fire" and "Lover Be Thy Name".
Subsequent albums are more soulful, but since 1998 Haddaway has struggled to repeat the mainstream commercial success of his early hits.
Haddaway appeared on the Comeback reality television show in Germany in 2004. He appeared on a similar UK show, Hit Me Baby One More Time, in 2005 and subsequently appeared on the U.S. version. This exposure led to him scoring a moderate chart hit in Germany with the ballad "Spaceman".
"What Is Love" enjoyed renewed popularity after it was featured in a Saturday Night Live sketch that later became the 1998 film, A Night at the Roxbury. The song was also featured in a 2008 Pepsi commercial which parodied the sketch,[2] which prompted thousands of downloads of the track, and led to it entering the Hot Digital Songs chart at number 68.
He has released a single entitled "I Love The 90s" in May 2008, a collaboration with Dr. Alban. He also performed at the "Back 2 The 90s" event in Riga, Latvia on March 20, 2009, alongside Ace of Base, 2 Unlimited, Dr. Alban and Culture Beat.[3]
In Brazil his singles were soap opera themes on Rede Globo TV. "What is Love" appeared in Sonho Meu (Dream of Mine) in 1993, "I Miss You" was used in A Viagem (The Voyage) in 1994; "Catch a Fire" was used in Malhação (Workout) in 1995; and "The First Cut" also appeared in 1995 in História de Amor (Love Story).
A new collaboration with Klass is set for release in mid 2009, "Klass Meets Haddaway - What Is Love 2009"
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Haddaway |
| 1995 | The Drive |
| 1998 | Let's Do It Now |
| 1999 | All The Best: His Greatest Hits |
| 2001 | My Face |
| 2002 | Love Makes |
| 2004 | Best of Haddaway: What Is Love |
| 2005 | Pop Splits |
| 2008 | Crucified |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom[4] | United States | Germany | Switzerland | Austria | Ireland | Netherlands | France | Norway | Sweden | ||
| 1993 | "What Is Love" | 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1993 | "Life" | 6 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 1993 | "I Miss You" | 9 | — | 18 | 17 | 44 | 13 | 17 | 16 | — | 36 |
| 1994 | "Rock My Heart" | 9 | — | 10 | 10 | 83 | 9 | 17 | 11 | — | 17 |
| 1995 | "Fly Away" | 20 | — | 25 | 14 | 16 | 28 | 10 | 23 | — | 14 |
| 1995 | "Catch a Fire" | 39 | — | 38 | 20 | 30 | — | 23 | — | — | — |
| 1995 | "Lover Be Thy Name" | — | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | "What About Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | "Who Do You Love" | — | — | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | "You're Taking My Heart" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001 | "Deep" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002 | "Love Makes" | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | "What Is Love Reloaded" | — | — | 51 | 92 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | "Spaceman" | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | "Missionary Man" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | "Follow Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | "I Love the 90s" (feat. Dr Alban) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | "What Is Love 2k9" (feat. Klaas) | — | — | 60 | — | 37 | — | — | — | — | — |
[edit] References
- ^ Haddaway Biographie
- ^ YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
- ^ :|: Biä»Eå U Serviss :|: Ticketservice Latvia :|:
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 239. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
[edit] External links
- Official site (German, but an English version is available)
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