Craig David: biography
English singer Craig David rose to prominence in the UK in 1999, when the single “Fill Me In” topped the national charts. The debut album entitled Born To Do It made the singer world-famous, and the subsequent discs received 10 Brit Awards nominations and a dozen other prestigious awards and prizes.
Childhood and youth
Craig Ashley David was born on May 5, 1981, in the English city of Southampton to parents of different ancestries and religions. The dark-skinned father came from the island of Grenada, and his mother is Anglo-Jewish.
When the boy was eight years old, the father, who worked as a local carpenter, left the family. So, his wife had to take care of the son. However, after a while, Craig restored relationship with his father who also played bass in the band Ebony Rockers, and began to attend performances at clubs, listening to their music and enjoying the creative atmosphere.
In college, the young man became interested in playing the guitar and began to compose music. Thanks to his father’s contacts, he could earn extra money at local parties as a DJ and won at a national competition for young performers.
As a reward, they released Craig's song “I'm Ready” as a b-side to the English band Damage’s album Wonderful Tonight. Then he did vocals for Artful Dodger several times.
Manager Paul Widger influenced the further development of the young performer’s career. The man met the Wildstar Records label’s co-owner Colin Lester and played Craig’s song "Walking Away."
Music
In the late 1990s, David was invited to a professional studio and offered a contract to record an album. After the producers and management had heard the song “7 Days”, the young singer-songwriter was meant to become a star.
Besides, an excellent springboard for a career was the success of Artful Dodger's song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)," which hit number two on the UK charts in 1999.
Thanks to it, the first single entitled "Fill Me In" from the debut album topped the UK charts and earned multi-platinum status, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide.
After the release of the album Born To Do It, other songs also hit the top 10 popular tracks, were released in the USA, and immediately took the lead on the Billboard Hot 100.
Since the time constraints of the standard disc did not allow Craig to use all the material, he promptly released the second album Slicker Than Your Average and continued his triumphal way to worldwide fame.
After the official release on November 19, 2002, the disc was certified Gold in the U.S. and double Platinum in the UK. Along with the English version, which consisted of 13 tracks, the remix album, including the duet with Sting "Rise & Fall" and David's composition "Hidden Agenda," was released in the countries of Asia.
Craig's subsequent singles could not repeat the success of the debut albums. The Story Goes ..., recorded in 2005, went unnoticed except for the song "All The Way." The collection Trust Me, containing the cover of David Bowie's song "Let's Dance," missed the top ten on the UK charts.
Despite the low ratings, the last song received two 2008 UK Urban Music Award nominations, and the singer was recognized for his contribution to the music industry by receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Southampton Solent University.
Before the release of the fifth studio album, Signed Sealed Delivered, with a black and white photograph on the cover, Craig participated in national concerts and recorded several English hit songs for the Rewind Old Skool Classics project together with a rapper, DJ Spoony. Besides, the singer released the greatest hits album, featuring the famous song "Insomnia" as a new and title track on the album.
At the same time, David released the singles "Stuck in the Middle," "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)," and "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)" and received a nomination for Best Video at the 2010 Urban Music Awards.
In 2011, the musician collaborated with DJs Erick Morillo and Stereo Palma, performing at various concerts. The most notable event was Michael Jackson tribute concert, held in Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium.
In 2012, Craig was featured on the album of the American pop band Backstreet Boys. He also announced the release of a new disk, but later disappeared from the spotlight.
A year later, it became known that the musician weekly hosted TS5 parties in his penthouse in Miami and uploaded the sets to SoundCloud. There was also information about the creation of the company, Bootyman Music Publishing, which purpose was to seek and support young talented performers.
Finally, in 2016, David delighted his fans with the studio album, Following My Intuition. The teaser track “Cold” and the promotional song “No Holding Back” had appeared on the Internet shortly before the release of the album. Such promotion helped Craig to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart on sales of 24,500.
In September 2017, David announced the release of the seventh studio album and this time justified the expectations of fans. On January 26, 2018, he presented the disc titled The Time Is Now.
Personal life
Craig does not like to talk about his personal life and relationships with women. But he does not refute the information about the love affairs with Venezuelan model Aída Yéspica, American singer Willa Ford, Colombian actress Sofía Vergara.
Now, according to unofficial information, the singer is looking for a girlfriend who can be a good wife, love, and care for children.
In addition to his music career, David is fond of design and architecture, and in his spare time, he comes up with unique visual technologies for smartphones, iPhones, and other gadgets.
Besides, Craig travels a lot and often visits Russia. During these trips, the performer has met showmen and creative people in Moscow and also made friends with Ksenia Sobchak.
Craig David now
After completing a tour in support of the album The Time Is Now, Craig returned to a project called TS5.
In 2019, the musician plans to give concerts in a dozen cities in the USA and Europe and, judging by the announcement on Instagram, to perform at the South West Four Festival in London.
Besides, on January 12, 2019, it became known that David received a Brit Awards nomination for Best British Male, but he lost the award to the young folk musician and songwriter, George Ezra.
Craig David has a net worth of $18 million.
Discography
- 2000 – Born to Do It
- 2002 – Slicker Than Your Average
- 2005 – The Story Goes...
- 2007 – Trust Me
- 2010 – Signed Sealed Delivered
- 2016 – Following My Intuition
- 2018 – The Time Is Now
