Tyrone Wells
Tyrone Wells | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Tyrone Wells |
Origin | Spokane, Washington, USA |
Genres | Folk pop |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | Position Music [1] |
Website | Official website |
Tyrone Wells is a singer/songwriter[2] from Spokane, Washington.
Career
Wells was born in Seattle and raised in Spokane, Washington. He has said in interviews that he was inspired by his older sisters who "brought out the music in me" but did not begin songwriting until his move to California. While attending Hope International University in Southern California, Wells joined the band Sinai in 1994 turning out two LPs on Say-Sos Records before signing with Word Records and renaming the band Skypark for their 1998 Dove Award-nominated album Am I Pretty?.
In 2000 Wells launched his solo career, playing acoustic shows in Orange County, California. In 2006 Wells signed a recording contract with Universal Records. They re-released his independent album Hold On on the internet in 2006, and released it in stores on February 6, 2007. On Hold On, Wells worked with producers Chris Karn and Marc Ford.
Wells released his solo album Remain on January 27, 2009. The first single from Remain, "More", reached #13 on the Triple A radio charts. The second single "Sink or Swim" was used in promos for the season 6 premiere of Grey's Anatomy.
In September 2010, Wells's song "Time of Our Lives" was used in the series finale promo for American daytime soap opera, As the World Turns, as well as The Vampire Diaries episode, "Memory Lane" (season 2, episode 4).
Remain album
Wells traveled to London to work on Remain. "Half of the album was done in London and the other half completed in the States," says Wells. "I didn't know what kind of record I was going to make before I got to London, but something just seemed to click while I was there that really defined what I wanted to do with this album."
Wells worked with songwriter and producer Martin Terefe (Jason Mraz, KT Tunstall, James Morrison) and Iain Archer (UK indie artist and Snow Patrol co-writer) in the UK, and Tim Myers (formerly of OneRepublic), David Hodges (formerly of Evanescence) and Matt Scannell (Vertical Horizon) in the U.S. The song "Losing Ground", one of a handful of production/songwriting collaborations between Wells and Terefe, was written and demoed in less than 3 hours during their first writing session together.
Metal & Wood EP
The 2010 independently released EP, Metal & Wood, saw Wells return to his acoustic, singer/songwriter roots. The album spent nearly three weeks at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter album chart, with the track "Running Around in My Dreams" topping the song chart.
Where We Meet album
Released on March 3, 2012, Where We Meet, ushered in a new beginning for Wells. His fourth full-length album and first since leaving a major label, Where We Meet embraced both sides of Wells' acoustic vulnerability and pop rock irresistibility. The album's first single, "Freedom", spawned a music video and was used in trailers for Disney's The Odd Life of Timothy Green.
Where We Meet debuted at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter album chart, reached the top ten of iTunes overall and #3 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.
This Love album
The recording of This Love found Tyrone Wells in the studio on and off throughout most of 2012. Tyrone teamed up again with producer Michael "Smidi" Smith. Smidi produced nearly half of Tyrone's sophomore major label release (Universal Republic), Remain, as well as being responsible for 7 of the 8 songs on Tyrone's acoustic EP Metal & Wood.
About This Love, Tyrone says, "I did my best to make a mostly acoustic record. I always find myself listening to acoustic music, so I did my best to build the record around the acoustic guitar and make an organic sounding CD that I would enjoy listening to. Smidi was the perfect choice to produce this record. Smidi does a fantastic job of not getting in the way and helping really serve each song."
This Love debuted at #2 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter album chart and reached #19 on the Billboard Heatseakers chart.
TV and film placements
Wells' songs have been featured in television shows (American Idol, Intervention, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Rescue Me, One Tree Hill, North Shore, What About Brian, Numb3rs, The Mountain, Windfall, Wildfire, Ghost Whisperer, As the World Turns, The Bedford Diaries, Three Moons Over Milford, Meet the Barkers, Felicity, The Vampire Diaries, Scrubs, Switched at Birth) and films (Everyone's Hero, My Sister's Keeper, Rails & Ties, Something Borrowed, The Odd Life of Timothy Green).
Personal life
Tyrone and his wife Elina have two daughters named Aria Lian Wells & Ireland Mele Wells.[3] A video of him singing to Aria went viral in 2014 [4]
Tyrone and Elina also have an album together [5]
Discography
Studio albums
- Roll With It (2015)
- The Christmas Album (2013, Position Music)
- This Love (2012, Position Music)
- Beautiful World EP (2012, Position Music)
- Where We Meet (2012, Position Music)
- Metal and Wood (2010, Position Music)
- Remain (2009, Universal Records U.S.) #17 Billboard Top Heatseekers[6]
- Hold On (2007, Universal Records)
- Hold On (2006, Position Music/True American Records)
- Close: Live at McClain's (2005) Position Music/True American Records)
- Snapshot (2003, True American Records)
- Tyrone Wells (2001, True American Records)
Singles
- "Freedom" (2012, Position Music)
- "Patience" (2008, Universal Records)
- "More" (2009, Universal Records)
- "What Are We Fighting For?" (2007, Universal Records)
- "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" (2006, Universal Records)
References
- ^ "Tyrone Wells". Position Music. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ Brown, Marisa. "Tyrone Wells". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/tyronewellsmusic/posts/350572791640386
- ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865594196/Dads-song-Beautiful-Girl-Beautiful-World-soothes-baby-girl-in-viral-video.html?pg=all
- ^ http://www.fixtstore.com/product/17263/Tyrone-%26-Elina---Different-As-Can-Be-%28CD%29
- ^ Billboard, Allmusic