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Donna Lewis

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Donna Lewis
Lewis at theHighline Ballroomin 2009
BornAugust 1959 (age 64)[1]
Cardiff,Wales, United Kingdom
Alma materRoyal Welsh College of Music & Drama
Occupation
  • Singer
Years active1970s–present
SpouseMartin Harris
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
LabelsAtlantic
Websitewww.donnalewis.comEdit this at Wikidata

Donna Lewis(born 6 August 1959) is a Welsh singer. She is best known for the 1996pophit single "I Love You Always Forever",which peaked at number five on theUK Singles Chart,and also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States. In the US, the song peaked at number two on theBillboardHot 100for nine weeks, having been held off the summit by the Bayside Boys Remix of "Macarena"byLos Del Rio.It also became the highest-charting single on theBillboardHot 100 by aWelshartist sinceBonnie Tylertopped the chart with "Total Eclipse of the Heart"in 1983. Additionally, the single istied thirdamong songs with the longest runs at number two on theBillboardHot 100 and at second for most weeks at number one on theBillboardMainstream Top 40chart. Lewis teamed up withRichard Marxon the 1997adult contemporaryhit "At the Beginning"for theAnastasiasoundtrack.In 1997, Lewis was nominated for theBrit AwardforBest British Female Artist.[2]

After releasing her second album,Blue Planet,Lewis leftAtlantic Recordsand independently released albumsBe StillandIn the Pink.Her albumBrand New Daywas produced byDavid Tornand featuredEthan Iverson,Reid AndersonandDave King.[3][4][5]

Biography[edit]

There are conflicting accounts regarding Lewis's birth date. According to her biography on theBillboardandAllMusicwebsites,[6][7][8]written by employees ofRovi,[6][9]and her BBC page,[10]she was born on 6 August 1973. The following information is consistent with all sources: Lewis was born inCardiff.She began playing the piano at the age of six.[7]Her father, an amateur jazz pianist and guitarist[5]lent encouragement, and at 14, she began composing original songs.[7]Her formal training was at theRoyal Welsh College of Music and Dramain Cardiff, where she majored in classical composition for piano and flute. Lewis then went on to teach music for a year inSussexbefore moving toBirminghamto sing in a bar band.[7]During that time she set up a home studio[7][10]and began recording demos. She became a popular live attraction and circa 1993 began sending her demos to record labels.[7]Atlantic Recordssigned her in 1994.[7]

An article inPeoplefrom November 1996 presents a different timeline of these events. It states that Lewis's graduation from the Royal Welsh College took place in 1979 and that she played in piano bars throughout Britain and Europe for a period of five years, so like many people in the public eye, there may have been attempts to make her age appear younger than she really is.[11]In November 1996, she had been married for ten years to her road manager and "[gave] her age as in her 30s".[11]This information, if correct, would imply that she was born between 1957 and 1966. This is roughly consistent with a statement Lewis made in an interview in 2015: "When I was in the pop world [...], I wasn't a 19 year old—I was 30 or something like that."[4][5]The context suggests that this refers to the time when she got her Atlantic record deal. The biography on Lewis's own website[12]does not date events prior to 1996. An article inEntertainment Weeklyfrom September 1996 states that Lewis "won't reveal her age—she and her husband/manager, Martin Harris, have been married for nine years, so 'you know I'm not 21'".[13]According to Companies House records for 'Donna Lewis Limited', of which both Donna Lewis ('Singer Songwriter') and her husband Martin Harris ('Business Manager') were directors, she was born in August 1959.[14]

In 1996, Atlantic Records released Lewis's first single, "I Love You Always Forever",a love song which was a hit onVH1.[7]It was also successful on U.S. radio, staying at No. 2 on theBillboardHot 100[15]for nine consecutive weeks,[15]and spending 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the airplay chart.[15]It exceeded one million "spins"on radio, to claim its place in music industry history as the most-played single up to that point.[16]The single reached No. 5 on theUK Singles Chartin 1996, and spent 14 weeks in the chart. It helped her debut album,Now in a Minute,to No. 31 in the U.S.Billboard200[17]chart, and No. 52 in theUK Albums Chart.It was certifiedplatinumin the U.S.[18]

Lewis recorded "At the Beginning"withRichard Marxfor the 1997 filmAnastasia.Her second LP,Blue Planet(1998), won critical acclaim, but it was largely overlooked by the public. Although it produced a minor hit in continental Europe and Asia, "I Could Be the One",and a U.S. No. 1 dance single," Love Him ", Lewis parted ways withAtlantic Records[10]and independently produced her third LP,Be Still(2002), which featured her on an almost entirely acoustic set. During the early 2000s, Lewis was featured as a guest vocalist on severaltrance music/house musicrecordings. Her fourth LP,In the Pink,was released in 2008; its first single was "Shout," which was included in the soundtrack to the Marian Quinn film32A.Lewis also sang lead vocals for her side project, Chute, which released their debut EP in April 2010. In March 2015, she releasedBrand New Day,her first full-length LP in nearly a decade.

Personal life[edit]

Lewis is married to Martin Harris, who is also her business manager. She resides inBoiceville, New Yorkand has one son, Archie.[13]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
UK
[19] 		AUS
[20] 		AUT
[21] 		GER
[22] 		SWI
[23] 		US
[24]
Now in a Minute 52 47 — 66 43 31
Blue Planet
  • Release date: 14 July 1998
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Formats: CD, cassette
 — — 33 — — —
Be Still
  • Release date: 15 June 2002
  • Label: Peruzzi Music
  • Formats: CD, cassette
 — — — — — —
In the Pink — — — — — —
Brand New Day
  • Release date: 10 March 2015
  • Label:Palmetto
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — — — — — —
Rooms with a ViewwithHolmes Ives
  • Release date: 26 April 2024
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: digital download
 — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles[edit]

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[27] 		AUS
[20] 		AUT
[28] 		CAN
[29] 		GER
[30] 		NZ
[31] 		NOR
[32] 		SWI
[33] 		US
[34] 		US Pop
[35]
"I Love You Always Forever" 1996 5 2 3 3 7 9 3 6 2 1 Now in a Minute
"Without Love" 39 — — 12 77 47 — — 41 24
"Mother" 1997 — — — — — — — — — —
"Fool's Paradise" — — — — — — — — — —
"Love & Affection" — — — — — — — — — —
"At the Beginning"
(withRichard Marx) 		— 64 — — 77 — — — 45 — Anastasia(soundtrack)
"I Could Be the One" 1998 99 76 9 — 69 — — — — — Blue Planet
"Love Him" — — — — — — — — — —
"Falling" 1999 — — — — — — — — — —
"Shout" 2007 — — — — — — — — — — In the Pink
"You to Me" 2008 — — — — — — — — — —
"Summertime" 2020 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Featured singles[edit]

Title Year Artist
"You and I" 2012 Project 46 and DubVision

Collaborations[edit]

  • The Seduction of Claude Debussy–Art of Noise[guest vocalist] (2000)
  • Take Me Over– Dino Lenny [guest vocalist] (2001)
  • When the Rain Comes Down– [guest vocalist] (2001)
  • Dancing Angel–Ryan Farish[guest vocalist] (2010)
  • Chute(EP) – [lead singer] (2010)
  • "Running Up That Hill" – David Baron [vocals] (2019)
  • "Distance" -Michael Whalen[vocals] (2022)

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Awards Work Category Result Ref.
1997 Brit Awards Herself British Female Solo Artist Nominated
RSH Gold Awards "I Love You Always Forever" Airplay Hit of the Year Won
ASCAP Pop Music Awards Most Performed Song Won [40]
1999 Won [41]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Donna LEWIS personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
  2. ^Donna Lewis BRITS ProfileArchived16 February 2013 at theWayback Machine.BRIT Awards Ltd. Retrieved 26 January 2013
  3. ^Prisco, Jaime (19 December 2014)."Donna Lewis to Release New Album 'Brand New Day' Featuring David King, Reid Anderson and Ethan Iverson With Covers of David Bowie, Neil Young, Damien Rice and More".Classicalite.Retrieved18 April2015.
  4. ^abScholz, Ben (10 March 2015)."Donna Lewis: Brand New Day".All About Jazz.Retrieved4 August2016.
  5. ^abc"Donna Lewis: Brand New Day".Benjamin Scholz. 23 February 2015.Retrieved4 August2016.
  6. ^ab"Donna Lewis. Biography by Matt Collar".Billboard. 2016.Retrieved4 August2016.
  7. ^abcdefgh"Biography by John Bush".Allmusic.com. Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2012.Retrieved27 February2009.
  8. ^"Biography by Matt Collar".Allmusic.Retrieved4 August2016.
  9. ^"How does an artist get added to AllMusic?".AllMusic. 2016.Retrieved4 August2016.
  10. ^abc"BBC Wales – Music – Donna Lewis".bbc.co.uk. 1 August 2009.Retrieved6 May2015.
  11. ^ab"The No. 1 That Got Away".Time Inc. 4 November 1996.Retrieved4 August2016.
  12. ^"bio".Donna Lewis. 2016.Retrieved4 August2016.
  13. ^ab"Donna Lewis chats with us about her hit single".Entertainment Weekly. 13 September 1996.Retrieved14 September2016.
  14. ^"Donna Lewis personal appointments".Gov.uk.Retrieved25 May2022.
  15. ^abcWhitburn, Joel(2004).The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits(8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 366.ISBN0-8230-7499-4.
  16. ^"Donna Lewis – Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and pictures at".Last.fm.Retrieved6 May2015.
  17. ^"Donna Lewis | Awards".AllMusic.6 August 1973.Retrieved6 May2015.
  18. ^US certificationsriaa.comArchived26 June 2007 at theWayback MachineSearch "Donna Lewis"
  19. ^"Chart Log UK: DJ Steve L. – LZ Love".The Official Charts Company.Retrieved15 April2011.
  20. ^abPeaks in Australia:
    • All except noted:"australian-charts.com – Australian charts portal".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
    • "At the Beginning" and "I Could Be the One":Ryan, Gavin (2011).Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010(PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 165.
  21. ^"austriancharts.at – Austria Top 40".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
  22. ^"Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts – German Albums".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
  23. ^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
  24. ^"Donna Lewis Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200".Billboard.Retrieved15 April2011.
  25. ^"Canadian certifications – Donna Lewis".Music Canada.Retrieved14 December2018.
  26. ^ab"RIAA – Gold & Platinum – April 15, 2011:Now in a Minutecertified awards ".Recording Industry Association of America.Retrieved16 April2011.
  27. ^Peak chart positions for releases charting in the United Kingdom:
  28. ^"austriancharts.at – Austria Top 40".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
  29. ^"Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada".RPM Magazine.Retrieved15 April2011.
  30. ^"German charts portal".Retrieved3 June2014.
  31. ^"charts.nz – New Zealand charts portal".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
  32. ^"norwegiancharts.com – Norwegian charts portal".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
  33. ^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community".Hung Medien.Retrieved15 April2011.
  34. ^"Donna Lewis Chart History – Hot 100".Billboard.Retrieved20 August2022.
  35. ^"Donna Lewis Chart History – Pop Songs".Billboard.Retrieved20 August2022.
  36. ^"British certifications – Donna Lewis".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved29 October2022.TypeDonna Lewisin the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  37. ^"ARIA Full Accreditations List".Australian-Charts.Retrieved14 December2018.
  38. ^"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Donna Lewis)"(in German).Bundesverband Musikindustrie.Retrieved14 December2018.
  39. ^"New Zealand single certifications – Donna Lewis".Recorded Music NZ.Retrieved14 December2018.
  40. ^"Billboard".31 May 1997.
  41. ^"Billboard".29 May 1999.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donna_Lewis&oldid=1227570849"