Shawn Bosco Fernandes (born January 12, 1982), known by his stage name Shawn Desman, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and choreographer.

Early life

Shawn Desman attended St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Toronto. After discovering his passion for performing, Desman's parents encouraged him to pursue a career in music. From age nine to 16, he made Portuguese albums and toured under his legal name, Shawn Fernandes. In 1998, Shawn was in

The Boomtang Boys The Boomtang Boys are Canadian dance-remix musicians and music producers. They are known for both their remix work and pop-dance music, in particular their singles "Squeeze Toy (song), Squeeze Toy" and "Movin' On", which both topped the Canadia ...

video for their song " Squeeze Toy" as a dancer.

Career

2002–2005: Debut Album and ''Back for More''

At 18, Desman was signed to

BMG Music Canada BMG Music Canada was the Canadian division of BMG, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History The holding company was formed in 1924 as the Victor Talking Machine Co. Of Canada Limited, followed by the RCA Victor Company, Ltd. in 1934, RCA L ...

and started recording an album, which was released in 2002. The self-titled breakthrough album featured three top ten singles ("Shook", "Spread My Wings" and "Get Ready") on the Canadian charts. The album went on to achieve gold certification in Canada. The single, "Spread My Wings", is a cover of the unreleased group Vega, featuring Chilli of

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

. His follow-up album, '' Back for More'' garnered a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year which featured the single " Let's Go". After the release of his second album, BMG dropped him from the label. He was then signed to

Universal Music Canada Universal Music Group (UMG) owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to the UMG official website, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Gra ...

2010–2015: ''Fresh'' and ''Alive''

His 2010 album ''

Fresh Fresh may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (2009 film), a documentary film on sustainable agriculture * ''Fresh'' (2022 film), a thriller film *''Fresh with the Aust ...

'' garnered two gold singles, one platinum single, Video of the Year at the

Much Music Video Awards The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Aw ...

, Canadian Dance/Pop Song of the year at the Stylus Awards, as well as

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

Number 1 Award for Electric/Night Like This. Desman is also a producer and has worked with various artists producing hit singles for

Nick Carter Nickolas Gene Carter (born January 28, 1980) is an American singer, the lead vocalist of the vocal group Backstreet Boys, and an alleged rapist. As of 2015, he has released three solo albums, '' Now or Never'', '' I'm Taking Off'' and '' All A ...

Kreesha Turner Kreesha Turner (born June 10, 1985) is a Canadian recording artist and songwriter, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Raised in both Canada and Jamaica, she began her musical career after a successful audition with Virgin Records. She signed a r ...

Keshia Chanté Keshia Chanté Harper (born June 16, 1988) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, television host, actress, humanitarian, and businesswoman. As a teenager, Chanté released her singles "Unpredictable," "Bad Boy," "Does He Love Me," "Shook," "Been G ...

as well as contestants on YTV's

The Next Star ''The Next Star'' is a Canadian reality competition television series that was broadcast on YTV. It was hosted by Adamo Ruggiero (seasons 1–5) and Carlos Bustamante (season 6–7). The series involved a competition to find the most talented s ...

, where he produced the song (One More First Chance) for Brock Zanrosso in 2009 and "It Might Be You" for contestant Parker Schmidt in 2011. In 2013, Shawn Desman released his fourth studio album, ''Alive'', along with an accompanying short film of the same name. The album spawned two singles; "Nobody Does It Like You" and "Dum Da Dum". In 2015, he released the songs "Victoria" and "Obsession", and was dropped by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

2022–present: Resurgence

In July 2022, Desman performed at

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

's All Canadian North Stars concert at OVO Fest, featuring a dozen Canadian hip-hop and R&B artists. After the show, Drake approached him in the hallway outside of the green room, praising him for his performance and had encouraged him to continue making music. A few months later he had signed a new deal with Wax Records and released a new single called "Maniac", his first single since 2015's "Obsession". In January 2023, the single debuted at number 99 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

, making it his first appearance on the chart in 10 years, it would then peak at number 71. In 2023, he participated in an all-star recording of

Serena Ryder Serena Lauren Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Toronto, she grew up in Millbrook, Ontario. Ryder first gained national recognition with her ballad "Weak in the Knees" in 2007 and has released eight studio ...

's single "

What I Wouldn't Do "What I Wouldn't Do" is a song performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, which was released as a single in November 2012. The song was written by Ryder and Jerrod Bettis for Ryder's fifth studio album, ''Harmony (Serena Ryder album), ...

", which was released as a charity single to benefit

Kids Help Phone Kids Help Phone () is a Canadian charitable organization that provides online and telephone counselling and volunteer-led, text-based support in English and French to youth across Canada. Kids Help Phone also provides information on how to acc ...

's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.Brent Furdyk
"Feel Out Loud: Alessia Cara, Serena Ryder & More Canadian Artists Collaborate On New Single Promoting Youth Mental Health Initiative"
''

Entertainment Tonight Canada ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...

'', March 2, 2023.

Personal life

Desman is of Portuguese and Italian descent. He has two younger brothers (one of them being fellow Canadian singer

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985)Danny Fernandes
. Maple Music. Retrieved December 6, 2 ...

). He is also a cousin to another Canadian singer

Tyler Medeiros Tyler Medeiros (born July 11, 1995) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer. Personal life Medeiros was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, to a Portuguese father and an Italian mother. He attended St. Anthony's Catholic Elementary School ...

. In 2015, Desman's wife became ill, so he made the difficult decision to step away from his music career to focus on his family. He credits his appearance at

's 2022 OVO Fest concert celebrating a legacy of Canadian hip-hop and R&B musicians as one reason why he returned to making solo music. A conversation with Drake and response from the audience gave him the conviction to return to the recording studio.

Accolades

Eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

was certified Gold by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...

. *In 2006, won a

for " R&B/Soul Recording of the Year". *In 2011, won " Video of the year" at the

for his video "Electric/Night Like This". *In 2011, won Canadian Dance/Pop Single of the Year at the Stylus Awards. *In 2011, awarded SOCAN No. 1 Award for Electric/Night Like This reaching No. 1. *In 2013, ''Alive'' awarded Best Outstanding Short Film at Reel World Film Festival

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

;Notes

Features

*2003: "Movie Star (Remix)"

Rascalz Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia. The group played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop as well as specifically for the Westcoast scene in Vancouver popularizing the te ...

feat. Shawn Desman *2006: "All Eyes on Me" Puppet feat. Shawn Desman *2010: "Feel It"

Danny Fernandes Daniel "Danny" Fernandes (born September 16, 1985)Danny Fernandes
. Maple Music. Retrieved December 6, 2 ...

feat. Shawn Desman

Collaborations

*2009: "One More First Chance" (as producer for Brock Zanrosso on YTV's

)

Filmography

*'' Get Over It'' (2001) *''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

'' (2003) *''

How She Move ''How She Move'' is a 2007 drama film directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Rutina Wesley, Clé Bennett and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the street culture of step dancing. The film is produced by Celluloid Dreams, Sienna Films, Paramount ...

'' (2007) *'' The Next Step'' (2015)

References

External links

* * * * *
Shawn Desman MuchMusic page
(archived 2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Desman, Shawn 1982 births Living people Canadian rappers 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian dance musicians Canadian hip-hop singers Canadian male dancers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian people of Portuguese descent Canadian pop singers Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year winners Musicians from Mississauga Singers from Ontario 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters