Bars and Melody
Bars & Melody | |
---|---|
Also known as | BAM |
Origin | Bristol, UK |
Genres | Teen pop |
Years active | 2014–present |
Members | Leondre Devries Charlie Lenehan |
Bars and Melody (B.A.M) are a British singing R&B/rapping duo consisting of rapper Leondre Devries ("Bars") and singer Charlie Lenehan ("Melody"). They took part in the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2014. During their audition, they had automatically been entered into the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent after the head judge Simon Cowell pressed the "golden buzzer", a new feature introduced in the eighth series, and finished in third place.
After the show, Bars and Melody signed a record deal with Syco Music. Their debut single "Hopeful" was released on 25 July 2014 . Also 5 days later, they brought out a new single " Shining star " ( 30 July 2014 ), this was an extra to their acoustic version of " Hopeful ". They refer to their fans as "Bambinos".
Background
Devries and Lenehan first met in September 2013 on Facebook, after Devries' had seen Lenehan's solo performances. They first met each other in January 2014 and decided to form a music duo as Bars and Melody, or B.A.M.[1]
Career
2014: Britain's Got Talent
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 audition, the audience began chanting "Push the gold!" and Simon Cowell responded by pressing the golden buzzer, sending them through.[2] Their audition has since been viewed on YouTube more than 50 million times.[3]
Before the semi-finals, the boys were interviewed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States, and numerous adverts were posted on Facebook. They advertised Britain's Got Talent and themselves, as well as performing their audition piece.[4] 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 having been given candles to wave during their performance. They won their semi-final and progressed through to the final.[5]
In the final, they performed the song they sang in their first audition and ultimately finished third behind Lucy Kay and Collabro.[6]
2014–present: Official Video
Despite not winning, it was reported that Bars and Melody were set to sign a £500,000 record deal.[7] On 15 June 2014, it was announced that Bars and Melody have signed an initial one-single deal with Simon Cowell's record label, Syco.[8] The music video of their song "Hopeful" was released on YouTube on 7 July 2014.[9][10] Their debut single was released on 27 July and went straight to number five on the UK Singles Chart.
Members
Charlie Lenehan
Charlie-Joe Lenehan-Green (born 27 October 1998) is from Frampton Cotterell, Bristol, England. He lives in Bournemouth with his mum and his younger sister, Brooke. Lenehan returned to school the first Monday after the BGT final at the Winterbourne international Academy and stated that on his first day back, all the Year 7's & 8's, were banging on the window, when they saw him.[11][12] He had only taken up singing aged 11 where he had formed a band with his schoolmates and was chosen as the singer.[11]
Leondre Devries
Leondre Antonio Devries (born 6 October 2000) is from Port Talbot, Wales. He attends the Glan Afan Comprehensive School.[13] Devries lives with his mum Victoria and younger sister Matilda. His older brother, Joseph, is part of boyband Overload Generation from X Factor UK, Series 11. Devries has spoken openly about his experiences of bullying at a young age. Previously he was rapping solo under the stage name 'Little Dre'.[14][15]
Discography
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [16] |
IRE [17] |
SCO [18] | |||
"Hopeful" | 2014 | 5 | 56 | 6 | TBA |
"Shining Star" | — | — | — | ||
"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. |
References
- ^ Thompson, Melissa (29 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent: Bars and Melody become global sensations with their anti-bullying message". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ Darvill, Josh (10 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014: Bars and Melody get Simon Cowell's golden buzzer". TellyMix. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ "Bars & Melody – Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer act". YouTube. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ^ Heath, Olivia (23 May 2014). "BGT's Bars and Melody are Stateside hit after talk with Ellen DeGeneres". Reveal. (Nat Mags). Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Percival, Ash (7 June 2014). "Collabro win Britain's Got Talent 2014: 'We thank all of our fans'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ Pryer, Emma (8 June 2014). "Britain's Got Talent's Bars and Melody to sign £500,000 US tour deal despite final defeat". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ^ Pryer, Emma (15 June 2014). "Britain's Got Talent rappers Bars & Melody to release single on Simon Cowell's label". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ^ "Bars and Melody – Hopeful". YouTube. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
- ^ Heath, Olivia (8 July 2014). "Britain's Got Talent stars Bars and Melody unveil 'Hopeful' music video". Reveal. Nat Mags. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ^ a b Daily, Western (7 June 2014). "Bristol teenager Charlie Lenehan prepares for Britain's Got Talent final in Bars and Melody act". Western Daily Press. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Bars and Melody singer Charlie Lenehan welcomed back after Britain's Got Talent final (From Stroud News and Journal)". Stroud News and Journal. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ SWEPGRoberts (7 June 2014). "Britain's Got Talent 2014: Leondre Devries from Bars and Melody tells all". South Wales Evening Post. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "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.
- ^ McGeorge, Alistair (14 May 2014). "Britain's Got Talent: Leondre Devries doesn't hate schoolyard bullies". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
- ^ Peak positions in Ireland:
- For "Hopeful": "Chart Archive > 31 July 2014". Irish Recorded Music Association.
- ^ Peak positions in Scotland:
- For "Hopeful": "2014-08-09 Top 40 Scottish Singles Archive". Official Charts Company.
External links
Official pages: YouTube