Sam Sparro (born Sam Falson on 8 November 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter, music producer, and former child actor of Portuguese descent. His stage name was derived from a family nickname, which in turn was inspired by the Australian radio mascot Sammy Sparrow. He is signed to the British record label Island Records.
Biography
Born in
Sydney,
Australia, Sparro's singing talent was discovered after he moved with his family to
Los Angeles at age 10. His father had signed a deal there and was recording a
soul album, and took him to a church in
Tujunga,
Los Angeles to hear some of the genre's best singers. After hearing Sparro's singing through knowing the
McCrary family,
Chaka Khan became one of his early admirers. His first job as a child actor was in a
McDonald's commercial.
He left Los Angeles and returned to Sydney, where he lived with his grandparents and worked for a public relations company, before travelling to the UK, immersing himself in the music scene in London. He returned to Los Angeles in 2002, where he took a job in a coffee shop. It was during these low points that he wrote his single, "Black and Gold". of Portuguese descent
who has written music for Star Trek and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. When growing up, Sparro regularly performed backing vocals at his father's concerts and on his music releases. He states "I'm a spiritual person, but ... not into any religion. I was always kind of a non-denominational Christian" and "a bit of a gypsy".
Sparro is openly gay. He did an interview for Attitude magazine and was featured on the front cover.
Career
Sparro's debut single, "Cottonmouth", was released in late 2007. His second single, "
Black and Gold", peaked on the
UK Singles Chart at number two in April 2008 and at number four in
Australia, and has since been used in soundtracks and promotional campaigns for various television series, video games, and films. Sparro's self-titled debut album,
Sam Sparro, was released in the UK in April 2008 and reached the top five on the
UK Albums Chart, eventually receiving a gold
certification from the
BPI for selling 400,000 copies. Two subsequent singles, "
21st Century Life" and "
Pocket", were considerably less successful on the charts.
During promotion of "Black and Gold", Sparro covered "American Boy" by Estelle on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge on BBC Radio 1. In September 2008, Sparro was nominated for five ARIA Music Awards. His tour that month formed part of the Wonky Pop tour; Wonky Pop is a new genre of music created by artists such as Sparro and Alphabeat. In December 2008, Sparro and co-writer/ producer Jesse Rogg received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording for "Black and Gold".
Sparro is featured on the Basement Jaxx single "Feelings Gone", released in September 2009. He has also recently collaborated on a track called "Soles on Fire" with Chauffeur, which consists of Sparro, Theophilus London and producer Mark Ronson.
On March 16, 2010, a new single, "Corrected" was released to U.S. iTunes and is a collaboration with Mason (DJ) and rapper DMC.
In July 2010, a new song titled "Pink Cloud" was premiered on East Village Radio's Accidental Rhythm. The premiered song was stated to be un-mastered. The video for the song was uploaded onto Sam Sparro's YouTube channel on December 22, 2010. Sparro stated via his Twitter that the video is an art project, and the song was not released as a single. Addressing rumours of a mostly instrumental album, he clarified that, unlike "Pink Cloud", his second album would be full of tracks featuring his vocals. A free EP will be released eventually following the release of the video.
Discography
References
External links
Australian website
Interview with The Advocate magazine on Grammy Award nomination
Eleanor Conway Presents: Sam Sparro video interview
Wonky Pop website
Category:1982 births
Category:Living people
Category:Australian Christians
Category:Australian dance musicians
Category:Australian people of Portuguese descent
Category:Electro musicians
Category:LGBT Christians
Category:LGBT musicians from Australia
Category:LGBT people from Australia
Category:People from Sydney
Category:Wonky Pop acts
