Des'ree
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Des'ree is a British singer/songwriter who made her presence known on the charts with her 1994 hit single You Gotta Be. Born Des'ree Weeks on November 30, 1968 in London, England from parents Annette Norma (a retired nurse) and Samuel Weeks (a factory foreman).
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About
Born in a small village south of London with parents from the Caribbean, Des'ree's music was influenced by both cultures. A resembled reggae, calypso and jazz joined by British pop, soul and R&B makes Des'ree's music unique from the rest. She admitted during early years of her life that she and her family were avid listeners of Duke Ellington, Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder's music and often imagining herself as Gladys Knight singing on stage.
After living in Barbados with her family from the age 11 to 14, she had seen interested in writing songs and poetry upon her return to England. Condensing what she learned from her culture, life experiences and history and putting it to music.
Although her 1992 duet with Terence Trent D' Arby Delicate was less successful in reaching American audience, despite it being a top ten hit in the U.K. Des'ree made it big with her second album, I Ain't Movin' in 1994. With it's single You Gotta Be, became the most played video on VH1, broke US records and spent 80 weeks on Billboard recurrent air-play chart and was included in the tribute album for Diana, Princes of Wales.
Due to the record-breaking single, I Ain't Movin' has sold for more than 1.6 million copies worldwide. The success of the album has created a busy environment for Des'ree. She and her fellow Black Brit, Seal has travelled America in 1995 to do series of concerts there and held performances at the Vatican with the Pope around as one of their audience.
Des'ree has even provided a soundtrack for Spike Lee's film, Clocker that same year and on Baz Luhmann's remake of Romeo and Juliet the following year. The latter film featured the song Kissing You which was later revived by the American R&B superstar, Beyoncé and included in the latter's re-released album, B'Day.
In 1998, saw the release of their third album, Supernatural. It's single Life topped several charts in Europe and also used as the trailer music of the film with the same title in 2001.
In 1999, she won Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist.
Des'ree have also released two studio albums titled Endangered Species (in 2001) and Dream Soldier (in 2003) but the latter album was considered less successful compared to her earlier CDs.
Des'ree's voice was also featured on PETA's website for their anti-fur campaign and on FurlsDead.com.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Golden Satellite Award | Nominated Kissing You for Outstanding Original Song (from the film Romeo & Juliet (1996)) |
| 1999 | Brit Award | Won British Female Solo Artist |
Certifications
| Year | Album | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | I Ain't Movin' | Platinum (USA) Gold (album & single) (Australia) Gold (Canada) Gold (Brazil) Gold (UK) |
Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | UK | SPA | SWISS | Adult Contemporary (US) | The Billboard Hot 100 (US) | Top 40 Mainstream (US) | Adult Top 40 (US) | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks (US) | Rhythmic Top 40 (US) | Top 40 Adult Recurrents (US) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Feel So High | 51 | Endangered Species | |||||||||
| 1992 | Feel So High (Re-released) | 13 | 11 | I Ain't Movin' | ||||||||
| 1992 | Mind Adventures | 43 | Mind Adventures | |||||||||
| 1992 | Why Should I Love You | 44 | Mind Adventures | |||||||||
| 1993 | Delicate (a duet with Terence Trent D'Arby) | 14 | 34 | |||||||||
| 1994 | You Gotta Be | 20 | 2 | 16 | 9 | I Ain't Movin' | ||||||
| 1994 | I Ain't Movin' | 44 | I Ain't Movin' | |||||||||
| 1994 | Little Child | 69 | I Ain't Movin' | |||||||||
| 1995 | Little Child | 67 | 39 | I Ain't Movin' | ||||||||
| 1995 | You Gotta Be (Re-released) | 14 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 72 | 24 | 1, 4 | I Ain't Movin' | ||
| 1998 | Life | 8 | 1 | 3 | Supernatural | |||||||
| 1998 | What's Your Sign? | 19 | 30 | 43 | Supernatural | |||||||
| 1999 | You Gotta Be | 1 | Best Remixes | |||||||||
| 1999 | You Gotta Be (Remix) | 10 | Best Remixes | |||||||||
| 2003 | It's Okay | 69 | 86 | Dream Soldier |
News
Tours & Concerts
Des'ree is currently not performing any shows.
Announcements
WikiMusicGuide:Artist template/press
Discography
Comprehensive list of the recordings made.
Albums
 Released: 1992 Label: Epic, Sony, Sony 550 Music |
 Released: 1994 Label: SBA, SSQ, Sony, Epic/550 Music, Sony Mid-Price |
 Released: 1998 Label: S2, SSQ, 550 Music, 550 Music/Epic |
 Released: 2000 Label: Sony International |
 Released: 2003 Label: SSQ, Epic, Sony International |
Singles
| Date | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Feel So High (Cassette Single) | Sony |
| 1993 | Competitive World | Sony |
| 1994 | You Gotta Be | Sony |
| 1995 | Feel So High | Sony |
| 2003 | It's Okay (CD #1) | Soho Square |
| It's Okay (#1) | Sony | |
| It's Okay (#2) | Sony | |
| It's Okay, Pt.1 | Sony/Epic |
Compilations & Live Releases
 Released: 1999 Label: Sony International |
Other artists
Similar artists
Influences
Contemporaries
Trivia
- You Gotta Be video: Most Played video on VH1 (USA)(1995) and nominated for 2 MTV (USA) Awards, IAAAM award, BMI award .
- Romeo & Juliet soundtrack has sold in excess of 6 million copies worldwide.
- Diana tribute album has sold in excess of 8 million copies worldwide.
- I Ain't Movin' album has sold over 1.6 million copies worldwide.
- Ivor Novello song writing award recepient for You Gotta Be.
Reviews
External Links
