Look up close in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Close may refer to:

• Close (surname)

In music:

• "Close", a song by Rascal Flatts from Unstoppable
• "Close", a song by Soul Asylum from Candy from a Stranger
• "Close", a song by Westlife from Coast to Coast
• "Close (to the Edit)", a song by Art of Noise

Other:

• "Close" (noun pronounced to rhyme with adjectival form of "close"), a British term for alley or cul-de-sac
• "Close", an ecclesiastical term for lawn next to a cathedral or convent
• "Close", a common stair or entryway in a Scottish tenement
• close() – a low level IO function on file descriptor in C programming
• Closing (real estate)
• close, old English term for an estate, as in a close of land

See also[link]

• Clos (disambiguation)
• Closed (disambiguation)
• Closet, a small and enclosed space
• Closing (disambiguation)
• Distance, a numerical description of how far apart objects are
• Klose, a surname

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Alexander George Clare (born 14 September 1985 in Southwark, London, England) is a British singer-songwriter.^[1] His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records^[2] and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.^[3]

Clare adopted his current stage name, Alex Clare, in 2010, replacing Alexander G. Muertos, a pseudonym he first used whilst still at school.

Early life[link]

Clare was born in Southwark, London. He grew up listening to his father’s jazz records and was drawn to blues and soul (Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder), which eventually led to interests in drum and bass and UK garage. Though Clare took up the trumpet and drums as a youngster, he eventually placed an emphasis on guitar and songwriting, playing open mike nights with original material.^{[citation needed]}

Music career[link]

A demo earned him a deal with the Island label in the UK. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer^[3] was released in July 2011. The first single from the album was "Up All Night", followed by "Too Close" and "Treading Water".

On 19 May 2011, Reggie Yates made Alex Clare's cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" his Song of the Day.^[4] A day later, the Dutch radio station 3FM announced single "Too Close" to be the '3FM's Megahit of that week.^[5]

On 21 June 2011, Clare performed at the Queens' College, Cambridge May Ball.^[6] On 14 August 2011, Clare performed at the Summer Well festival in Buftea, Romania.

Following the disappointing performance of the album, Clare was dropped from his record contract with Universal Island in the UK.^[7]

In 2012, Clare's song "Too Close" was featured in an Internet Explorer 9 commercial.^[8] Following its use in the commercial, the song debuted at #68 on the US Billboard Hot 100^[9] Clare saw success on the German charts too, topping the charts at #1. On 16 May, Clare's song peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart.^[10]

Personal life[link]

Clare is a practicing Shomer Shabbat Jew, refusing to perform, travel or work on the Jewish Sabbath or religious Holidays. He lives in Golders Green, North London but often travels to Jerusalem when his work permits.

Before gaining critical success, Clare dated singer Amy Winehouse for a year. They met while he performed and worked at a bar she frequented, The Hawley Arms in Camden, North London.^[11]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Calvin Harris
Background information
Birth name	Adam Richard Wiles
Born	(1984-01-17) 17 January 1984 (age 28) Dumfries, Scotland
Genres	Electropop, electro house, nu-disco, synthpop, Eurodance
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, DJ
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, synthesizer
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Fly Eye, Columbia, Ministry of Sound, Ultra
Website	www.calvinharris.co.uk

Adam Richard Wiles^[1] (born 17 January 1984)^[2], better known by his stage name Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His gold-selling debut album, I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and contained the top ten singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls". His second studio album, Ready for the Weekend (2009), reached number one in the UK Album Chart and includes the chart-topper "I'm Not Alone", the UK top five hit "Ready for the Weekend", and the singles "Flashback" and "You Used to Hold Me".

A remix album titled L.E.D. Festival was released in July 2010 as a free album in the August issue of Mixmag. Harris is currently working on his third studio album—due for release in 2012—which has produced the singles "Awooga", "Bounce", "Feel So Close", and "Let's Go". He has written and produced records for other recording artists including Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Dizzee Rascal, Rihanna (on the international chart topper "We Found Love"),^[3] and Kesha.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Harris was born in Dumfries, Scotland. He states that his childhood hero was football star Steve McManaman,^[5] but because he could not play [the game] nor have McManaman's 'curly hair', music was the next best option for a career.^[6] He was first attracted to electronic music in his teens and was recording bedroom demos by 1999.^[7] According to an interview with News of the World, all the while he created music, he started becoming an antisocial person, which affected his personality.^[8] His earliest success was when he was 21: the songs "Da Bongos" and "Brighter Days" were released as a 12" club single and CD-EP by the Prima Facie label in early 2002 under the name Stouffer.^[9] He released one song in 2004, "Let Me Know", with artist Ayah Marar. The song appears on The Unabombers' Electric Soul 2.

[edit] 2006–08: I Created Disco

Harris performing in 2008

Harris signed contracts with EMI (publishing) and Sony BMG (recording) in 2006 after he had been discovered by Tommie Sunshine on the social networking website MySpace and his music was released on Sunshine's label Xylophone Jones Recordings previous to his album on Sony BMG.^[10] Harris had recently moved back from London to his hometown of Dumfries because he was unable to find a job.^[11] Later in 2006, Harris produced a remix of All Saints' hit single "Rock Steady".

Harris' first album, I Created Disco, was released in June 2007. The album contains uptempo electroclash songs that were influenced by music from the 1980s. To promote I Created Disco, Harris embarked on a tour of the UK, supporting Faithless and Groove Armada.^[12][13] I Created Disco has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 100,000 copies in the UK, where it reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart.

The first single, "Vegas", was issued on limited edition vinyl; the first wide-release single from the album was "Acceptable in the 80s", a tribute to the style and culture of the decade. The song reached the top ten on the UK Singles Chart, remaining on the chart for fifteen weeks.^[14] "The Girls", the album's third single, peaked at number three in the UK, although the fourth release, "Merrymaking at My Place", reached only number forty-three. The fifth and final single, "Colours", was featured in television advertisements for DFS sofas and Kia Motors. In October 2008, Harris was featured on BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix with a two-hour set.

[edit] 2008–10: Ready for the Weekend

In April 2008, Harris stated that the only existing copy of his upcoming album work was lost when his was misplaced during the baggage handling problems at the opening of London Heathrow Terminal 5.^[15] Harris later admitted that this was a lie as the album was not in his luggage at all, and that he hoped that what he said would buy him some more time to finish recording the LP.^[16] The album, Ready for the Weekend, was released in August 2009 in the United Kingdom^[17] and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, eventually being certified gold by the BPI for selling 100,000 copies. The first single, "I'm Not Alone", released in April 2009, debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number one and was shortlisted for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize. The follow-up single, "Ready for the Weekend" (featuring singer Mary Pearce), went to number three. Other tracks included on the album are "Worst Day" featuring Izza Kizza^[18] and "Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La", which was used in a Coca-Cola advertisement.^[19]

Harris toured around the UK, Ireland, France, the Netherlands and the United States promoting the album. In June 2009, Harris appeared at the Summertime Ball at the Emirates Stadium, and in August, he made an appearance on the first Soccer AM show of the season. Harris performed at Wembley Stadium in October 2009 as part of the pre-game entertainment for the NFL International Series game between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The third single from Ready for the Weekend, "Flashback", reached the top twenty in the UK, and the fourth, "You Used to Hold Me", entered the top forty. During promotion of the album, Harris hosted a series of videos on YouTube titled JAM TV, in which musicians such as Florence Welch, Goldie and Katy Perry tried to open pots of jam.^[20] In 2010, Harris received a BRIT Award nomination for British Male.

On 14 November, Harris invaded the stage of The X Factor during a performance by John & Edward, holding a pineapple on his head and bending over to point at his buttocks. He was subsequently evicted from the studio by the security team and told not to return to have his say on the ITV2 programme The Xtra Factor—in which he was to have been a "Celebrity Guest". He later apologised on Twitter, saying he was a fan of the boys, "At the end of the day, I had a pineapple on my head. Sorry if I caused anyone embarrassment. PS, I love Jedward (sic)".^[21] The same week, Harris spoke to The Chris Moyles Show and revealed that he had been "inspired to make a mockery of the show", as well as stating that "If you look at music it's a frightening stranglehold that Simon Cowell has got over the entire music chart in the UK at the moment."^[22] On the same day, John and Edward's "mentor" Louis Walsh, appearing on The Paul O'Grady Show, accused Harris of trying to "cash in" on John & Edward's fame, and claimed to not know who he was.^[23]

2010–present: Third album and touring[link]

Harris performing in Australia

Harris played at the 2010 Big Day Out, a music festival which takes place in several major cities in Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. In May 2010, he performed at Evolution Festival, UK in Newcastle upon Tyne, Quayside, and in July he played at Nottingham Splendour and headlined at the Stockton International Riverside Festival in Stockton-on-Tees. In July 2010, Harris released a mix, titled L.E.D. Festival (short for L.E.D. Festival Presents... Calvin Harris). It was available for one month as a free covermount CD in Mixmag.

Harris appeared at the tenth birthday of Our:House in Auckland, New Zealand, in November 2010, alongside Afrojack,^[24] and performed an hour-long DJ set at Australia's Steresonic Festival alongside Tiesto, Carl Cox, Afrojack and Major Lazer in November/December 2010, in several major Australian cities including Sydney and Melbourne. In 2011, he toured with Rihanna in Australia, Poland and the UK as a support act on her Loud Tour; Rihanna was quoted to say that "Calvin is the perfect fit for the Loud tour. He is going to bring something unique and fun for the fans."^[25] Harris headlined the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2011 party.

During March and April 2011, Harris was scheduled to be an opening act/DJ for Katy Perry on the UK leg of her California Dreams Tour, but he withdrew from the tour shortly before his first date, citing production issues and difficulties with Perry's management in his apology to her fans.^[26] Perry publicly criticised Harris via her Twitter feed, stating that the tour's other support acts had expressed no problems with their production arrangements,^[27] but Harris later said "it's all fine" between them and that he would still like to work with her in the future.^[28]

Harris headlined Limelite at Metropolis Fremantle (Western Australia) in March 2011 in celebration of the event's fourth birthday, where he played small samples of his new track, "Awooga", which was subsequently uploaded onto YouTube via his channel, icreateddisco.^[29] Following "Awooga", Harris released the single "Bounce", a collaboration with Kelis that debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart in June 2011. Another single, "Feel So Close", was released in August 2011 and also reached number two, as did the third single, "Let's Go" featuring Ne-Yo (released in April 2012), commissioned for a Pepsi Max advertising campaign. "Feel So Close" became Harris's first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100 in America, peaking at number twelve. These singles precede Harris's third studio album, which will be released in 2012;^[30] he has said of the LP, "I'm going for pretty epic-sounding dance records. I guess the whole sound has just moved on in terms of production as I've got a new studio and some new gear to make the sounds I wasn't able to make before."^[31] Singer/rapper Example announced via Twitter that he will be featured on Harris's next single, "We'll Be Coming Back".^{[citation needed]}

Harris performed at the 2011 Jingle Bell Ball concert, and has been announced as one of the headline acts at a number of Southern Hemisphere 2011/2012 new year music festivals, including Shore Thing and Field Day^[32] in Sydney, as well as Rhythm and Vines in New Zealand.^[33]

Productions and songwriting[link]

In 2007, Harris caught the attention of pop singer Kylie Minogue after his recordings had been passed on to her by another record producer.^[12] This led to him co-writing and producing two songs on her 2007 album X—"Heart Beat Rock" and "In My Arms", the latter a top ten hit in the UK. Harris said that working with Minogue was "surreal, but fun" although he admitted to Mixmag in 2007 to "needing a few drinks before meeting her". Harris returned to work with Minogue on her album Aphrodite (2010), co-producing the track "Too Much".

In 2008, Harris collaborated with rapper Dizzee Rascal on his single "Dance wiv Me", producing the track and singing the hook. The single reached number one in the UK and has been certified platinum by the BPI, selling 300,000 copies. It was shortlisted for the 2008 Popjustice £20 Music Prize and, in 2009, received a BRIT Award nomination for British Single and an Ivor Novello Award nomination for Best Contemporary Song. In 2009, he produced Dizzee Rascal's next single entitled "Holiday", which also reached number one. He was supposed to make an appearance in its music video, but objected to dancing along in some scenes, wearing a certain shirt for the video and not wearing his "fly eye" glasses.^[1] Also in 2009, Harris made a guest appearance on Tiësto's song "Century" on the Dutch producer's album Kaleidoscope.^[34] Harris produced a track for English singer/rapper Example for his second album Won't Go Quietly (2010), "Time Machine", and mixed The Ting Tings' UK top forty single "Hands", having previously remixed the band's singles "Great DJ" (2008) and "We Walk" (2009).

In 2011, Harris featured on LMFAO's album Sorry for Party Rocking, appearing on the track "Reminds Me of You" which is based on Harris's own song "Awooga". Harris produced Tinchy Stryder's second single, "Off the Record" from his fourth studio album, Full Tank. The track had its première on 15 September 2011, and was released in the UK on 6 November 2011. Following a stint as her support act on the Australian leg of her tour, Harris produced "We Found Love" and "Where Have You Been" for Barbadian singer Rihanna. The former is the lead single from her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk, and was premiered in September 2011. It has reached number one in countries such as the UK and the United States, becoming Harris's first charting appearance on the Billboard Hot 100. He co-wrote and co-produced the bonus track "One Life" for R&B singer Mary J. Blige's album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011).

In mid April 2012, Billboard published an article on their website claiming that Harris had contributed several tracks to Kesha's upcoming album Spandex on the Distant Horizon, with their specific recording date being left unknown.^[35] Calvin Harris worked with American pop band Scissor Sisters on the single "Only the Horses" from their fourth studio album, Magic Hour. He wrote and produced Cheryl Cole's comeback single "Call My Name", the lead single from her upcoming third album A Million Lights.^[36]. It was also revealed that Calvin is to collaborate with singer/rapper Example again on his upcoming album titled 'Coming Back'.

Failed collaborations[link]

In 2007, Harris contributed the song "Off & On" to Róisín Murphy's album Overpowered, but it was cut from the album; Harris later gave the song to Sophie Ellis-Bextor to record for her 2011 album Make a Scene. He said that Murphy was "a bit mental", "crazy" and a "twat" to reject the songs,^[37] though subsequently apologized in person to Murphy "for throwing my toys out of the pram because I said things that weren't very nice. She said: 'That's all right, we all say silly things sometimes.'"^[38] Harris also produced a remix of Dragonette's debut single "I Get Around" that was rejected by the band, whom he said "weren't very nice to me [...] they said, 'by the way, it's s—t', and then asked me to change everything about it. I told them I couldn't because I was on a bus and that they could basically F--- OFF. That's where we left it."^[37]

In 2007, Kelis discussed plans to work with Harris on her fifth studio album, Flesh Tone (2010), saying that he was "very creative and exciting [...] very, very talented". Although she said they were "looking at doing something together" for the album,^[39] this did not materialise; Harris did, however, produce a remix of Flesh Tone's second single, "4th of July (Fireworks)" and later collaborated with her on his 2011 single "Bounce".

Harris has said that in early 2008, he turned down the opportunity to work with American singer Lady Gaga before the release of her top-selling debut album, The Fame. He recalled: "When Lady Gaga first came out, her name rang a bell, so I checked my emails—and it turns out that on 1 January 2008, I got an email asking to work with her. I thought, 'Lady Gaga, what sort of name is that?' So I replied saying, 'Nah, I’m not into that.' Fast forward a year and she's the biggest thing. But I don't regret turning her down as I didn't think the song I heard then was that good."^[40] In a later interview, Harris stated he considers Gaga to be a "good artist".^[41]

American singer Katy Perry expressed an interest in working with Harris in 2009,^[42] and at one point they had pencilled recording sessions for her second album, Teenage Dream (2010),^[43] but no material was released. Harris worked with boyband JLS on songs for their second album, Outta This World (2010), but none of his work appeared on the released LP.^[44] The third single from that album, "Eyes Wide Shut", was said to copy heavily from Harris's own single "I'm Not Alone", but Harris said that it "wasn't [JLS's] fault and had nothing to do with them".^[45]

Concert tours[link]

• Groove Armada: Soundboy Rock tour (2007)
• Faithless: To All New Arrivals tour (2007)
• Ready for the Weekend tour (2009–2010)
• Deadmau5 & Skrillex: 'Unhooked' tour (2010)
• Rihanna: Loud Tour (2011)

Discography[link]

• I Created Disco (2007)
• Ready for the Weekend (2009)
• Third coming album (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Calvin Harris

• Official website
• Calvin Harris at Ultra Records

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2011)

Drumsound & Bassline Smith are a British electronic production group from Derby, consisting of Andrew Wright, Benjamin Wiggett (Drumsound) and Simon 'Bassline' Smith. Their record label is Technique Recordings, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009. They met at one of Derby's club nights in the summer of 1998.

In 2004 their "Odyssey" banger was judged Mixmag 's tenth best all-round dance anthem of the year, and hit #1 on the UK Dance Chart. They have released tracks on a string of some of the most respected imprints in drum and bass, including on Ltj Bukem's Good Looking Records, Bryan G’s V Records and Grooverider's Prototype Records.

Also, in 2004 Drumsound & Bassline Smith released their first studio album, Nature of the Beast,^[1] featuring "Crossfire (Danger)", "Planet Mars", "The End" and "Tinman", on Technique Recordings.

They enjoy regular plays on BBC Radio One and 1Xtra from Fabio and Grooverider, Zane Lowe, Mistajam, Annie Nightingale and Annie Mac. The trio are one of the few complete multiple mixes for BBC Radio One.

The 10 Years Of Technique album included the "Can You Feel It", "Clap Your Hands" and "Law Of The Jungle", and reached #1 on the BBC Radio 1 and 1xtra charts at the end of November 2009. 2009 remixes included VV Browns "Leave"’ at the request of Universal's Island Records and Fugative's - Supafly for Ministry Of Sound.

Annie Mac requested the crew complete a remix of Chipmunk's "Oopsy Daisy" for her Mash Hitz segment. They also did a remix of the EastEnders theme for the E20 Music Competition set up by the BBC.

In 2010, Drumsound & Bassline Smith remixed work by Blame feat Ruff Squad, and mixed "Until You Were Gone" by Chipmunk featuring Esmée Denters. The group have also completed a remix of Afrojack featuring Eva Simons' "Take Over Control" on Data Records, and produced tracks on the Dansette Junior album on Columbia Records.

In April 2011 Drumsound & Bassline Smith released a 12" of "Freak" on the Newstate label. "Freak" gained positive reviews and made BBC Radio 1's daytime playlist. Soon afterwards they remixed DJ Fresh - "Louder" which was released on July 3, 2011. The song features vocals from Welsh singer Sian Evans from the band Kosheen and hit the Number 1 spot in the UK Singles Chart. Other remixes include Moby - After & Youngman MC - Who Knows.

The trio then released "Close" on 21 August 2011,The single was supported by Zane Lowe, MistaJam, Annie Mac and Fearne Cotton on BBC Radio 1 promoted to BBC Radio 1 B-list and it peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 49.

In 2012 Drumsound & Bassline Smith collaborated with Utah Saints on their classic track 'What Can You Do For Me' which made the BBC Radio 1 daytime playlist & hit the Number 28 spot in the UK Singles Chart on 4th March

Also in March 2012 Drumsound & Bassline Smith won the 'Best Track' award & 'Best Video' award with 'Close' at the Official Drum & Bass Awards

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Discography[link]

This section may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help by adding relevant internal links, or by improving the article's layout. (May 2011) Click [show] on right for more details. No reason has been cited for the Wikify tag on this article.You can insert a reason using the |reason= parameter, like this: {{Wikify|reason=Your reason here}} Please replace HTML markup with wiki markup where appropriate. Add wikilinks. Where appropriate, make links to other articles by putting "[[" and "]]" on either side of relevant words (see WP:LINK for more information) and check that your links work as expected. Please do not link terms that most readers are familiar with, such as common occupations, well-known geographical terms, and everyday items. Format the lead. Create or improve the lead paragraph. Arrange section headers as described at Wikipedia:Guide to layout. Add an infobox if it is appropriate for the article. Clean up / format the references and footnotes, using citation templates when appropriate. Remove this tag.

• A Pole Dancer Called Eternity
• Aneurysm
• Annihilate
• Ant's Nest
• Aquarius
• Badman
• Bandsaw
• Barcode
• Beeswax
• Beeswax (TeeBee Remix)
• Belly Dancer
• Big Tings
• Big Tings (DJ Hype Special Mix)(featuring MC Skibadee)
• Big Tings (DJ Hype Special Mix)
• Bigheadz
• Body Movin'
• Body Pump
• Booty Call
• Booty Call (Phetsta Remix)
• Breakdown
• Breakdown (2009 Re-Lick)
• Breakdown (Twisted Individual Remix)
• Bust It Up
• Can You Feel It
• Cape Fear
• Cape Fear (Tantrum Desire Remix)
• Catacomb
• Clap Ya Hands
• Clap Ya Hands (Dubstep Remix)
• Close
• Close (Dub Mix)
• Close (Jacob Plant Remix)
• Close (Mensah Remix)
• Cold Turkey
• Conspiracy
• Crossfire (Danger)
• Crossfire (Danger) (DJ Friction & K.Tee Remix)
• Dangerous
• Databass
• Datastream
• Dirty Dancing
• Disco Biscuit
• Distinction
• Distortion (Aquasky Remix)
• Dragonfly
• Dragonfly (Loxy Remix)
• Drain Pipe
• Dubtrack
• Eight Ball
• Electro-Tech
• Ever Changin'
• Evolution
• Fallin'
• Feel The Sunset
• Feelings
• Fire (Burning)
• Firewall
• Freestyle Mambo
• Freak
• Freak (Dubstep Remix)
• Freak (Crissy Criss Drumstep Remix)
• Friday
• Future Tech
• Future Tech (Future Tech Remix)
• Fu Manchu
• Fu Manchu (140 Dubstep Mix)
• Get Through
• Get Through (Distorted Minds Remix)
• Get You Together
• Ghost
• Give It To You
• Go
• Good Times Roll
• Harder
• Heavy FC
• Higher
• Hipsteppin'
• Humanoid
• Hypnosis (A-Sides Exclusive Mix)
• Hypnosis (Aphrodite Remix)
• Hypnotic Regression
• I Need Your Love
• If You Need Someone
• In & Out
• In The Silence
• Intro
• It Came From Mars
• Judgement Day
• Jungle
• Jungle Fever
• Junglist
• Junglist (Twisted Individual Remix)
• Killa DJ
• Kilo
• King Of Kings
• Law Of The Jungle
• Lazor Razor
• Lazy Bones
• Let The Good Times Roll
• Live Another Day
• Lose Control
• Mafia
• Mafia (VIP Mix)
• Maze In Your Minds
• Midnite
• Mine
• Moving Target
• My Way
• Natty Music
• Newsflash
• Nightmares
• Ooh Baby
• Original Badboy
• Overdrive
• Pegasus
• Phoenix
• Planet Earth
• Planet Mars
• Planet Saturn
• Plutonium
• R U Ready
• R U Ready (Dubstep Mix)
• Ragga Twins Story (Dub Mix)
• Ragga Twins Story (Full Vocal Mix)
• Rasta Blasta
• Ready For The Bassline
• Ready For The Bassline (Ruffstuff VIP Mix)
• Realization
• Reverence
• Robotix
• Rock N Roll
• Rock Your Body
• Roll The Night
• Rottwieler
• Ruffkut
• Scallops
• Skumbag
• Slipstream
• Smoker's Anthem
• Special
• Stay Loose
• Steal My Heart
• Steal My Heart (Tearout Mix)
• Stigmata
• Stories Of The Future
• Street Level Funk
• Subliminal
• Subsonic
• Sucker
• Superfly
• Supersonic
• Target Practice
• Tears Drop (On & On)
• Testament
• The Don
• The Odyssey
• Through The Night ft. Tom Cane
• Tijuana
• Time
• Time To Burn
• Tin Man
• Today
• Tokyo Electric
• Trouble
• Tsunami
• Tudo Lindo (Track Two)
• Tyrant
• Underworld
• Vicious
• What Can You Do For Me with Utah Saints
• What Can You Do For Me with Utah Saints (Tantrum Desire Remix)
• Welcome To The Jungle
• West Bank
• What Do...
• What You Gonna Do Now?
• Without You
• Zanzibar (Ascend & Dead Dread Remix)
• Zeus

References[link]

Independent Newspaper

External links[link]

• Knowledge mag
• Kmag article
• Dogs On Acid
• Drumsound & Bassline Smith discography at Discogs

Michael Bublé
Bublé in February 2011
Background information
Birth name	Michael Steven Bublé
Born	(1975-09-09) 9 September 1975 (age 36) Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada[1]
Genres	Big band, traditional pop, jazz
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	143/Reprise
Associated acts	Naturally 7, Jann Arden, Laura Pausini, Boyz II Men, Chris Botti, Leon Jackson, Nelly Furtado
Website	michaelbuble.com

Michael Steven Bublé ( /ˈbuːbleɪ/; born 9 September 1975) is an Italian Canadian singer and actor. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards^[2][3] and multiple Juno Awards.^[4] His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found a worldwide audience with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible which reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the U.K. Albums Chart, the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and several European charts. Bublé has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.^[5]

Early life[link]

Michael Bublé was born in the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada to Lewis Bublé, a salmon fisherman,^[6] and Amber (née Santagà).^[7][8] He has two younger sisters,^[9] Crystal (an actress) and Brandee.^[10] He attended Seaforth Elementary School and Cariboo Hill Secondary School.^[11] According to an Oprah interview on 9 October 2009, Bublé dreamed of becoming a famous singer since age two. When he was a teenager, he slept with his Bible and prayed to become a singer.^[12][13] Bublé's interest in jazz music began around age five^[14] when his family played Bing Crosby's White Christmas album at Christmas time.^[14][15][16] The first time that his family noticed his singing talent was at Christmas time when Bublé was 13 years old, and they heard him powerfully sing the phrase "May your days be merry and bright" when the family was singing to the song "White Christmas" in a car ride.^[12][17]

Bublé had a strong passion for ice hockey and wanted to become a professional ice hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks growing up, but believed he was not good at it,^[18] stating: "I wanted so bad to be a hockey player... If I was any good at hockey, I probably wouldn't be singing right now."^[19] Bublé often played hockey in his youth,^[20][21] watched Vancouver Canucks games with his father,^[22] and said that he "went to every single home game as a kid. . . I remember I wanted to be Gary Lupul, I wanted to be Patrik Sundstrom and Ivan Hlinka. I used to think that being named Michael Bublé was pretty cool because I was close to being called Jiri Bubla."^[20] Bublé also shared his hockey interest with his grandfather.^[23]

From age 14, Bublé spent six years working during the summer as a commercial fisherman with his father and crewmates.^[6][24] Bublé described his work experience as "The most deadly physical work I’ll ever know in my lifetime. We’d be gone for two, sometimes three months at a time and the experience of living and working among guys over twice my age taught me a lot about responsibility and what it means to be a man."^[9]

His first singing engagements were in nightclubs at the age of 16 and were facilitated by his Italian grandfather Demetrio Santagà,^[7] a plumber originally from the small town of Preganziol,^[25] in the district of Treviso, who offered his plumbing services in exchange for stage time for his grandson.^[9] Bublé's grandfather also paid for his singing lessons. One of his vocal instructors was Joseph Shore, the opera baritone.^[17] Bublé grew up listening to his grandfather's collection of jazz records and credits his grandfather in encouraging his love for jazz music. "My grandfather was really my best friend growing up. He was the one who opened me up to a whole world of music that seemed to have been passed over by my generation. Although I like rock 'n' roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real, the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing."^[26] Bublé never stopped believing that he would become a star but admitted he was probably the only one who believed in his dream, stating that even his maternal grandfather thought Bublé was going to be "an opening act for somebody in Las Vegas".^[27] Bublé's maternal grandmother Iolanda Moscone^[28][29] was also Italian, from Carrufo,^[28] Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi, Italy.^[30] Bublé has stated he never learned to read and write music, using only emotion to drive his songwriting ability.^[18][31][32]

At the age of 18, Bublé entered a local talent contest and won. But after winning, he was disqualified by organizer Bev Delich because he was underage. After that, Delich entered Bublé in the Canadian Youth Talent Search, which he won. Following that win, Bublé asked Delich to be his manager. Delich signed on and represented Bublé for the next seven not-so-fruitful years. According to Delich, Bublé would do every gig imaginable, including talent shows, conventions, cruise ships, malls, hotel lounges, bars, clubs, corporate gigs, musical revues, singing telegrams, and even the occasional singing Santa Claus gig.^{[17][24][33][34]}

In 1996, Bublé appeared in TV's "Death Game" (aka Mortal Challenge) as a Drome Groupie. Also in 1996, he appeared (uncredited) in 2 episodes of The X-Files as a Submarine Sailor.^[35]

Bublé's first national TV performance was on a 1997 award-winning Bravo! documentary titled Big Band Boom!, directed by Mark Glover Masterson.

Beginning in 1997, Bublé also became a frequent guest on Vicki Gabereau's national talk show on the CTV network. During its first season the Vancouver-based program aired live, which ultimately worked in Bublé's favour. When a scheduled guest was forced to cancel, the show's music producer (Mark Fuller) often asked Bublé to fill in at the last minute. On one occasion, Bublé shared guest duties with fellow British Columbian Diana Krall, who was already a Grammy-nominated jazz musician. According to Fuller, Krall was suitably impressed with Bublé's performance. The Gabereau appearances provided Bublé with great exposure, but they also helped the singer hone his television skills as a performer and as an interview guest. In a mutual show of gratitude, Bublé appeared on the final Gabereau show in 2005, along with Jann Arden and Elvis Costello.

Bublé received two Genie Award-nominations in 2000 for two songs he wrote for the film Here's to Life! ("I've Never Been in Love Before", "Dumb ol' Heart").^[36] He recorded three independent albums (First Dance, 1996; Babalu, 2001; Dream, 2002).^[37] But by 25 years of age, Bublé moved from British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario and was ready to give up the dream of professional musicianship to move back to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue a career in journalism, when his lucky break came in 2000.^[17][38]

Music career[link]

2000–02: Musical beginnings[link]

In 2000, Bublé's career breakthrough came from a surprising chain of events. An aide to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Michael McSweeney, saw Bublé's performance at a business party^[17] and received a copy of Bublé’s self-financed independent album. McSweeney showed the album to Mulroney and his wife and Bublé was subsequently invited to sing at the wedding of Mulroney's daughter Caroline, where he sang Kurt Weill's "Mack the Knife".^[17] At the wedding, Bublé was introduced to David Foster, a multi-Grammy Award-winning producer and record executive who had worked previously with artists such as Madonna, Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand, Kenny G., Cher, Josh Groban, and Andrea Bocelli.^[17][39]

Initially, Foster was reluctant to sign Bublé to his 143 Records label because he "didn’t know how to market this kind of music." Bublé moved to Los Angeles for a brief period, with his agent, to convince Foster to sign him. Eventually, Foster agreed to produce an album for him if he raised $500,000 to cover the costs of the production, which Bublé did. Foster ended up covering the costs of production in the end under his label, with no assurances of support from Warner Brothers, and after Bublé received the personal stamp of approval and support of Foster's friend Paul Anka. After David Foster agreed to produce Bublé’s debut album, Bruce Allen, whom Bublé had pursued for years to be his manager, also signed Bublé.^[40][41]

Bublé did some acting in this period; in 2000, as a karaoke singer in Duets opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis, and in 2001, as Van Martin (a club owner), in Totally Blonde, produced by Andrew Van Slee.^[35]

[edit] 2003–04: Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé's debut album, was released 11 February 2003 by 143 Records/Reprise Records. The album features a range of standards from various eras including "Fever", "The Way You Look Tonight", "For Once in My Life", "Moondance" and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". Also on the album is "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees singing back up vocals. The album went to the top 10 in Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and reached #1 in Australia. It was #33 on the ARIA Top 100 Albums of 2003.^[42] It achieved marginal success in the United States reaching the top 50 on the Billboard 200.^[43] Three tracks from the album (Kissing a Fool, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?, Sway) reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

Bublé appeared nationally on NBC television in the United States on the Today program on 14 February 2003.^[44] A campaign featuring "Fever" was launched before Valentine's Day with a quirky marketing campaign that simply stated "You pronounce it Boo-blay." The album went Gold there. Then he began to travel all over the world to promote the album. The tour included Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Canada, South America, and eventually the United States.

In November 2003, Bublé released a Christmas EP Let It Snow, containing 5 previously unreleased tracks, that peaked at 56 on the Billboard 200.^[45] The title track reached the top 40 of the Australia singles chart. A live DVD/CD called Come Fly with Me was released in early 2004. The Come Fly with Me CD was #99 on the Aria Top 100 Albums of 2004.^[42] The DVD included live footage and behind the scenes footage of Bublé's first world tour. The CD included 3 new studio tracks, 2 live recordings of new songs, and 3 live recordings of songs from the album Michael Bublé. The album peaked at 55 on the Billboard 200.^[46] In November 2004 the Christmas edition of his debut album was released as a 2-disc set that included both the Michael Bublé and the Let It Snow EP.^[47]

Bublé won the "New Artist of the Year" award at the 2004 Juno Awards and his album was nominated for "Album of the Year", but lost out to Sam Roberts.

Bublé appeared in the 2003 movie The Snow Walker. Also in 2003 he portrayed a lounge performer on an episode of Days of Our Lives.^[44] In 2004 he appeared as himself in Las Vegas.^[35]

Songs from Bublé's debut album ("For Once in My Life", "Kissing a Fool") were released on the soundtrack for the movie Down with Love (2003).^[48] The soundtrack also included a previously unreleased duet with Holly Palmer of the movie's title theme. The Junkie XL remix of the theme for the 60s TV cartoon version of Spider-Man from Bublé's Babalu album was played during the closing credits of Spider-Man 2 (2004), and this version was also released as a single. A CD was released in 2003 of the 7 songs that Bublé sang for Totally Blonde, calling it Totally Bublé.^[49] After the success of Michael Bublé's self-titled debut, DRG Records belatedly released the jazzy soundtrack from the 2001 film Totally Blonde in which Bublé had a co-starring role as a nightclub singer/club owner. Capitalizing on Bublé's newfound stardom, DRG Records basically ignored the music's connection to the film by altering the title and putting a shot of Bublé on the cover making it appear as if this was a proper Michael Bublé release. The slight misrepresentation was not lost on Bublé who has stated on his website that he did not want these songs released, but that it was out of his control.^[50] His version of "Come Fly with Me" is used in Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

[edit] 2005–06: It's Time

	"Feeling Good" noicon A sample of the song "Feeling Good".
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Bublé's second studio album, It's Time, was released 15 February 2005, again by 143/Reprise Records. The album included standards from a variety of eras including "You Don't Know Me", "Feeling Good", "Can't Buy Me Love", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Song for You", and "Quando, Quando, Quando" (a duet with Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado). It also included an original track, "Home", co-written by Bublé, his musical director Alan Chang, and Amy Foster-Gilles (David Foster’s daughter).

The album reached #1 in Canada, Italy, Japan, and on the Billboard Top Jazz chart, #2 in Australia, and #7 on the Billboard 200. Additionally it reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, and Sweden. The album spent 104 weeks on the Billboard Top Jazz chart, including a record-breaking 78 weeks in the #1 spot.^[51] It’s Time was Billboard's Top Jazz Album in both 2005^[52] and 2006^[53] The first single, "Feeling Good", was met with little commercial success. However, the second single from the album, "Home" reached #1 on Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and #72 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[54] The third single "Save the Last Dance for Me" reached #5 on the Billboard AC Track Chart and #99 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[54]

In 2005, he also appeared in a commercial for Starbucks Frappucino line, singing his single "Come Fly with Me". The single appeared as a bonus track for a Starbucks edition release of It's Time.^[55]

Bublé won four Juno Awards in 2006 for Pop Album of the Year – It's Time, Single of the Year – "Home", Album of the Year – It's Time, Artist of the Year, and was additionally nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award, but lost out to the Canadian pop band Simple Plan.^[4] Bublé was nominated twice for a Grammy in the category Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2006 (It's Time) and 2007 (Caught in the Act) but lost, in both cases, to Tony Bennett. In 2007, Bublé received one Juno nomination, for Fan Choice, but lost to Nelly Furtado.^[56]

[edit] 2007–08: Call Me Irresponsible

Bublé's third studio album, Call Me Irresponsible, was released 1 May 2007 by 143/Reprise Records. His third effort included songs from different eras such as "Always on My Mind", "Dream", "I've Got the World on a String", and "Comin' Home Baby" (a duet with Boyz II Men). In the U.S., the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and rose to number one in its second week. Only a few artists have been able to accomplish this, like Michael Jackson and Sugarland.^[57] The album has sold nearly 2 million copies in the US alone. Internationally, the album also fared well. In Australia, the album debuted in the top position, and was the best-selling album of the year 2007. In the UK, both the standard version and the special edition were best-selling albums, with the latter outselling the former (standard: 300,000; special edition: 462,000). Additionally, the album was certified 2× Platinum in Europe with over 2 million copies sold. Call Me Irresponsible has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

The first single off the album was "Everything". It carried a more adult-contemporary sound than his usual big band style and was released in May 2007. The song became one of Bublé's biggest hits ever, reaching #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart,^[58] and #10 in Canada. "Me and Mrs. Jones" was set to be released as the second single off the album but was cancelled despite a music video being made. The next single, released in November 2007, was "Lost", a #97 hit on the Hot 100 and #19 in the UK. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" was released mainly as a remix single, with many mixes by Eddie Amador. The song reached position #89 in Canada. The final single from the album, "Comin' Home Baby", was released in April 2008.^[59]

[edit] 2009–2011: Crazy Love

Bublé in Vancouver (March 2009)

Michael Bublé's third DVD (after Caught in the Act and Come Fly with Me) titled Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden was released on 16 June 2009.^[60] An exclusive trailer premiered online at his website. The DVD is a recollection of events building up to Bublé's most important live performance yet.

The standard CD contains 10 live tracks and has an orange cover. The online edition contains two additional tracks ("Sway" and "That's Life") and has a blue-coloured alternate cover. In America, the blue edition can only be purchased through his online store—however, everywhere else the special edition is available for purchase anywhere.

In 2009, Bublé was featured in the CTV television film My Musical Brain with neuroscientist and writer Daniel Levitin, based on Levitin's bestselling book This Is Your Brain On Music.

Bublé's fourth studio album, Crazy Love, was due for release by 143/Reprise Records on 13 October 2009.^[61] However, an early release in the United States occurred on 9 October 2009,^[62] in which Bublé appeared on Oprah that same day and performed the album's first single "Haven't Met You Yet".^[63] The album was also promoted in an interview with George Stroumboulopoulos on The Hour on 17 October 2009,^[64] and on the 22 December episode of The Glenn Beck Program.^[65]

The album contains 12 tracks (and one bonus track), including two original songs co-written by Bublé, "Haven't Met You Yet" and "Hold On".^[66] Its first single, "Haven't Met You Yet" was released 31 August 2009,^[67] and reached #1 on Billboard's Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.^[68] Most of the tracks off the album were recorded live because Bublé did not want his album to sound overproduced and slick.^[69] Bublé also wrote the opening part for his cover on the single "Cry Me a River" in Bond-like theme because he wanted the song to sound very cinematic and bombastic.^[70]

Crazy Love debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart,^[71] becoming Bublé's fourth No. 1 album on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart. It also debuted at No. 1 in Australia and Canada, where it became his fastest-selling album.^[63] The album was supported by the (ongoing) Crazy Love Tour. During the tour, Michael performed two nights at the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, which were the first concerts to take place at the venue. The stadium holds 51,700 (which is excluding taped off areas) and all tickets sold out in one day. The first night of the tour was Bublé's largest ever audience.

In 2009, Bublé took part in series 6 of The X Factor in the UK on the ITV network. He was the celebrity mentor for the finalists in week 3 and also appeared on the finale, duetting with Stacey Solomon.^[72]

Bublé was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on 30 January 2010. He sang "Haven't Met You Yet", "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" with Sharon Jones, and did a sketch with Jon Hamm for "Hamm & Bublé Restaurant".

Bublé with Meredith Vieira on the Today Show.

External videos
	Video of Michael Bublé singing "Maple Leaf Forever" at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony.[73]

Bublé also took part in 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay in Vancouver before the opening ceremony.^[74]

He performed on NBC's Today on 12 February, the day of the opening ceremony and during the broadcast on Grouse Mountain. His opening to "Cry Me a River" was selected as the theme tune for the BBC's coverage of the games.^[75]

Bublé appeared in a TV special Michael Bublé's Canada which aired on Australian cable television in January, ahead of the 2010 Winter Games, with co-host Sophie Faulkiner.^[76]

Bublé performed alongside other Canadian celebrities (including Michael J. Fox) at the closing ceremony singing a version of the song "Maple Leaf Forever", originally appearing as a 'Mountie', but subsequently having the uniform torn off to reveal a white tuxedo underneath.^[77]

He also appeared on the American comedy news show Colbert Report for Colbert's 2010 Vancouver Winter Games coverage.^[78]

On 18 April 2010, Bublé won four Juno Awards for Juno Fan Choice Award, Single of the Year ("Haven't Met You Yet"), Album of the Year (Crazy Love) and Pop Album of the Year (Crazy Love),^[4] plus two Juno nominations for Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Crazy Love producers David Foster and Bob Rock both received two separate nominations of their own for the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award, with Bob Rock winning the award.^[4][79]

Bublé re-released Crazy Love on 25 October 2010 in the U.S., with an earlier release date of 15 October 2010 for Europe. The special edition is called "Crazy Love: Hollywood Edition",^[80] and contains several bonus tracks including Bublé's newest single, titled "Hollywood", co-written with Toronto songwriter/pianist Robert G. Scott.^[81] On 7 September 2010 "Hollywood" was released worldwide on radio and as a digital single on iTunes. He recently played to 100,000 people at the Aviva stadium Dublin his biggest concert to date and rumours sparked that there will be a DVD release of the concert.^[80]

Bublé was featured in an ITV special called This Is Michael Bublé. The special featured concert footage from his gigs at Aviva Stadium. On 23 February 2011, Bublé featured as the narrator of BBC Radio 2's Song Stories: My Way.^[82]

In October 2011, Buble released his fifth studio album, Christmas, which rose to the top of the US and UK charts.^[83][84]

Personal life[link]

Bublé performing in February 2011

Michael Bublé was engaged to long-time girlfriend Debbie Timuss, a stage actress, dancer, and singer. Both were in the musicals Red Rock Diner in 1996^[85] and Dean Regan's Forever Swing in 1998.^[86][87] Timuss was listed as one of the dedicatees in Bublé's self-titled album Michael Bublé and It's Time, and as background vocalist on It's Time. While away in Italy, Bublé co-wrote the hit single "Home" for Timuss.^[88][89] Timuss was also featured in the music video for "Home".^[88][90] Their engagement ended in November 2005. Their breakup inspired Bublé to co-write the hit original song "Lost".^[91]

During an appearance at Australian television's Logie Awards in 2005, he met British actress Emily Blunt and again a few months later at his concert backstage in Los Angeles. Eventually they began a relationship. He thought she was a BBC television producer.^[9][92] She also provided background vocals on the cover of "Me and Mrs. Jones" on the album Call Me Irresponsible. The hit original song "Everything" was penned by Bublé for Blunt.^[90][93] Bublé's publicist confirmed on 11 July 2008 that he had broken up with Blunt.^[94]

Bublé became engaged in Argentina^[95] to girlfriend Luisana Lopilato in November 2009. She is an Argentine actress and model.^[95][96] Bublé co-wrote the hit single "Haven't Met You Yet" for Lopilato,^[97] and she appeared in the song's music video.^[95] They reportedly met in November 2008 at a party thrown by Bublé's record company after one of his concerts in Buenos Aires.^[95] The couple wed on 31 March 2011 in Buenos Aires.^[98]

Since 2005, Bublé has had dual Italian-Canadian citizenship.^[7][25][99]

A big hockey fan since childhood, Bublé requires "one local team hockey puck" in his dressing room as part of his rider contract to concert promoters in every city.^{[18][100][101]} He is one of the Vancouver Canucks' most prominent celebrity supporters and since December 2008, he has been co-owner of the Vancouver Giants^[102]

On 12 February 2009 Bublé pledged a donation of A$50,000 to the victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia.^[103]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Michael Bublé (2003)
• It's Time (2005)
• Call Me Irresponsible (2007)
• Crazy Love (2009)
• Christmas (2011)

Independent albums

• First Dance (1996)
• Babalu (2001)
• Dream (2002)

Live albums

• Come Fly with Me (2004)
• Caught in the Act (2005)
• Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden (2009)

Tours[link]

• Michael Bublé: Live in Concert (2004)
• It's Time Tour (2005–06)
• Irresponsible Tour (2007–08)
• Crazy Love Tour (2010–12)

Filmography[link]

• 2000: Duets
• 2001: Totally Blonde
• 2003: The Snow Walker
• 2004: Las Vegas – Catch of the Day

Awards and nominations[link]