Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''

Born to Do It ''Born to Do It'' is the debut studio album by English singer Craig David, released in the United Kingdom on 14 August 2000 by Wildstar Records and in the United States later in 2001 by Atlantic Records. Following exposure from his work with Bri ...

'', was released in 2000, after which he has released a further five studio albums and worked with a variety of artists such as

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo studio albums, '' Star in the Hood'' (2 ...

Big Narstie Tyrone Mark Lindo (born 16 November 1985), known by his stage name Big Narstie, is a British MC, author, rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and television presenter. He started his career in 2002 as a member of grime crew "N Double A," though ...

, Kano and Jay Sean. David has 20 UK Top 40 singles, and seven UK Top 40 albums, selling over 15,000,000 records worldwide as a solo artist. David has been nominated for fourteen

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

: five times for Best British Male, and twice receiving a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

Early life

David was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, the son of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant at Superdrug, and George David, a carpenter, and grew up in the Holyrood estate. David's father is

Afro-Grenadian Afro-Grenadians or Black Grenadians are Grenadian people of largely African descent. This term is not generally recognised by Grenadians or indeed Caribbeans. They usually refer to themselves simply as Black or possibly Black Caribbean. The te ...

and David's mother is Anglo-Jewish and related to the founders of the

Accurist Accurist Watches Ltd is an English watch manufacturer, headquartered in Leicestershire. The brand was established in 1946 in St John Street, Clerkenwell, London, by Asher and Rebecca Loftus. Accurist became the first company to sponsor the U ...

watch-making company; David's maternal grandfather was an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

and his maternal grandmother a

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

. David's parents separated when he was eight and he was brought up by his mother. He attended Bellemoor School and Southampton City College. David was bullied by other students at school. He wrote and released the song "Johnny" in 2005 about his memories of being bullied. David's father played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. As a teen, David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone.

Career

Early career

David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a B-side to British group Damage's cover of "

Wonderful Tonight "Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album ''Slowhand''. Clapton wrote the song about Pattie Boyd. "the hard-rock pioneer and guitar god also become a soft-rock star in the mid-1970s. He c ...

", on the track "I'm Ready". He then started doing vocals for the English garage duo Artful Dodger, on tracks such as "Something" and "What Ya Gonna Do".

Wildstar Records Telstar Records was a British record label that operated from 1982 to 2004. Background Telstar was founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,00Telstar RecordsIt was launched as a specialist compilation mar ...

first became aware of David when the artist's then manager Paul Widger met the label's co-owner

Colin Lester Colin Lester (born 26 May 1960 in London) is a British artist manager of R&B, pop and rock music acts. Colin Lester has managed the careers for numerous British and international artists. He was awarded 'The Peter Grant Award' for outstandin ...

and played some of his music. Lester later told

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

that he was particularly impressed by the first song he heard, " Walking Away", saying "That was an absolute stand out ... It struck me that any seventeen year-old that could write a song like this had huge potential." The Wildstar boss was further won over when, on later visiting the artist's home in Southampton, he found David's tiny bedroom stacked from floor to ceiling with 12" vinyl records, commenting: "That convinced me he was the real deal and not just some kid acting out the part." At that point Lester offered him a development deal with his label. When Lester later heard the song " 7 Days", he said he immediately heard a number-one record and promoted the contract to an album deal the same day.

1999–2003: ''Born to Do It'' and ''Slicker Than Your Average''

The song " Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)", from the Artful Dodger album '' It's All About the Stragglers'', hit number two on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David's first single, "

Fill Me In "Fill Me In" is the debut solo single of British singer Craig David. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'' (2000). The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 9 April 200 ...

", released on

's and Ian McAndrew's

, topped the UK chart and was the first of a string of four top 10 singles from his debut album ''

'', which eventually sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries. The song "Key to My Heart", taken from the US version of the album, was also featured on the award-winning Warner Bros. animated film '' Osmosis Jones''. The success of David's debut, which was written almost entirely by David and Mark Hill of Artful Dodger, led to the United States release of "Fill Me In" in May 2001. It reached number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. ''

'' was released in the United States on 17 July 2001, peaking at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and sold over 1 million copies. The single "7 Days" hit the top 10 in the U.S.; although "Walking Away", which had reached number 3 in the UK and number 5 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, missed the top 40 in the U.S. and was the last of his singles to chart there. In April 2009, MTV viewers voted ''Born to Do It'' as number 2 on their "Greatest Album of All-Time" poll, behind

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

's ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

''. The follow-up album, '' Slicker Than Your Average'', was released in 2002. The album's first four singles continued David's streak of top 10 hits in the UK, bringing a total of nine consecutive top 10 hits until "World Filled with Love" peaked at number 15 in 2003. None of the six singles released from the album charted in the U.S.. Although "What's Your Flava?" and " Rise & Fall" (duet with

) received airplay on the

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

and

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

formats, they did not make the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart or the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. However, "What's Your Flava?" made the

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart (number 32),

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

chart (number 24) and the

Top 40 Tracks Top 40 Tracks was a chart from ''Billboard'' magazine. It debuted in the issue dated December 5, 1998 to preserve the notion of Hot 100 Airplay when it expanded to include airplay data from radio stations of other formats such as R&B, rock and cou ...

chart (number 37). According to the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, ''Slicker Than Your Average'' was certified Gold in the U.S.. David also commented that the album title could be looked at in two different ways: "On the one hand, it's coming across like I'm arrogant. On the other hand, it's saying I have a lot more composure on the album."" The album was leaked onto the internet prior to its official release but David was not too bothered as he feels it "spreads the word".

2005–2009: ''The Story Goes...'' and ''Trust Me''

David later signed on with

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

and put together his third album, ''The Story Goes...'', which was released worldwide in August 2005 (excluding the U.S. where it was never released). The first single, "All the Way", returned him to the top 3. The second single, "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)", tied with "7 Days" as his longest-running single in the charts since "Re-Rewind", spending 15 weeks inside the UK top 75. The album's third single, "Unbelievable", debuted at number 18 in March 2006. In 2007, David collaborated with British rapper Kano on his album '' London Town'', for the single "

This Is the Girl "This is the Girl" was the first single from British rapper Kano's second studio album '' London Town'' and the first from British singer Craig David's fourth studio album '' Trust Me''. The song was released in 2007 and reached its peak of numbe ...

". The track was released on 27 August 2007 and debuted at number 18 on the UK charts. The first single from his album '' Trust Me'', "

Hot Stuff (Let's Dance) "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)" is a song by British singer Craig David. It written by David and Fraser T. Smith for his fourth studio album '' Trust Me'' (2007), with production overseen by Smith. The song samples English singer David Bowie's 1983 ...

", was released on 5 November 2007. David successfully sought permission from

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

to sample his 1983 number-one single " Let's Dance". The single was a top ten hit, whilst the album charted at number 18 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. " 6 of 1 Thing", the second single to be taken from '' Trust Me'', charted at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his third-lowest-charting single to date. "

Officially Yours "Officially Yours" is a song by British singer Craig David. It was written by David, Curtis Richardson, Paulo Mendonça, Hiten Bharadia, and Iain James for his fourth studio album '' Trust Me'' (2007). Production on the track was helmed by Marti ...

" was released on 23 June 2008 and peaked at number 158 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his lowest-charting single to date and was the final single from ''Trust Me''. In July, a new track titled "Are You Up for This" started receiving airplay on various radio stations as part of a promo with Ice Cream Records, which also featured a remix with

Wittyboy Duwaine Whitfield, better known by the stage name Wittyboy, is a British DJ, record producer and remixer from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Early life Whitfield was raised in Leeds where he was influenced by a mix of speed garage, grime, hip ...

called "Nutter Butter". On 17 August 2008, David performed at a birthday tribute concert for songwriter Don Black at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

. He performed the song "Ben", originally a hit for

. David took part in ''

Soccer Aid ''Soccer Aid'' is a British annual (formerly bi-ennial) charity event that has raised over £38 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The televised event is a friendly-style football match between tw ...

'' 2008 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 7 September 2008. He picked up the "Man of The Match" award on the night and played in the same England side as ex-internationals such as

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premi ...

Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham, MBE (born 2 April 1966) is an English football manager and former player. He played as a forward, mostly as a second striker, in a 24-year professional career. Sheringham began his career at Millwall, where ...

and

David Seaman David Andrew Seaman (born 19 September 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a career lasting from 1981 to 2004, he is best known for his time playing for Arsenal. He won 75 caps for England, and is the country' ...

, and played against the likes of

Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...

, Paolo Di Canio,

Jaap Stam Jakob Stam (; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. Stam played for several European clubs including ...

, and

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one ...

. David received two 2008 UK

Urban Music Award The Urban Music Awards (UMA) is a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony which was launched by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and is now held in several countries. The US version of the award ceremony, the Urban Music Awards USA, was ...

nominations for Best Album with '' Trust Me'' and Best R&B Act. On 7 November 2008, David was recognised for his contribution to the music industry by receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Music, from Southampton Solent University at a graduation ceremony held at Southampton Guildhall. Craig-David 2008

David released his first ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album on 24 November 2008. In support of the release, David released two singles to promote the album. "

Where's Your Love "Where's Your Love" is a song by Craig David from his album, ''Greatest Hits''. It features vocals from rapper Tinchy Stryder and singer Rita Ora (although her vocals are not officially credited). It was made available for digital download only ...

" featuring

and

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...

, a homage to his

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. I ...

days, was digitally released on 10 November 2008. The second single, "

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

", produced by Jim Beanz from

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

productions, a dance track with hard bassline beats, was released the following week on 17 November 2008. Toby Gad and Eimear Crombie provided back-up vocals and instrumental stylings. David also started working with guitarist and recording engineer

Kwame Yeboah Kwame Adzenyina Yeboah (born 2 June 1994) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Yeboah played youth football with the Queensland Academy of Sport and Gold Coast United before making his professional debut fo ...

, both live and in the studio. On 29 December 2008, a new mix of "Insomnia", titled "Up All Night Mix", was made available for digital download. As part of the ''Greatest Hits'' compilation, David re-recorded " Walking Away" with four different artists across Europe, Monrose from Germany,

Nek Filippo Neviani (born 6 January 1972), known by his stage name Nek, is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. Nek is popular in Italy and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and has performed and released most of his albums in both Italian ...

from Italy,

Lynnsha Sophie Jordier (born in France on 4 January 1979), better known by her stage name Lynnsha, is a French R&B-zouk singer. She has released four albums, self-titled ''Lynnsha'' (2004), ''Elle & moi'' (2008), Île & moi (2013) & Over & Other (2018) ...

from France and Álex Ubago from Spain. The album debuted at number 48 on the

. From February to April 2009, David toured Russia, the Far East and performed one show in Los Angeles as part of a ''Greatest Hits'' tour. He met fans at a meet and greet session at Singapore Changi Airport before his show. In April 2009, ''Born to Do It'' came second in a poll by

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & ...

for the Greatest Album Ever, which received over 40,000 votes, beaten by

's album ''

''. On 14 May 2009, David participated in the Hillsborough Memorial football match at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 ...

. On 26 July 2009, David participated in the

Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match The Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match was a charity football match played in honour of the former England and Newcastle United manager, Sir Bobby Robson, and in aid of his cancer charity, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Produced under licence by To ...

at St James' Park, playing alongside boyhood hero

2009–2013: ''Signed Sealed Delivered'' and TS5 launch

On 18 September 2009, fans got the first taste of the new album with an exclusive demo posted on his official website, a thirty-second snippet covering

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

's " Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". On 2 October 2009, David revealed to his fans via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and his website that he had signed a new record deal with

Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company tha ...

. The UK edition of Jay Sean's new album ''

All or Nothing All or Nothing may refer to: Film and television * ''All or Nothing'' (film), a 2002 film by Mike Leigh * ''All or Nothing'' (game show), a 2004–2005 Russian game show based on ''Deal or No Deal'' * ''All or Nothing'' (sports docuseries), ...

'' which was released on 30 November 2009, features David on a track entitled "Stuck in the Middle". David performed a bold new cover of " I Wan'na Be like You" from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's 1967 film ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...

'' on the ITV programme ''Ultimate Movie Toons'', broadcast 28 March 2010. The first single from David's fifth studio album '' Signed Sealed Delivered'' was " One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)" and it was released in the UK on 22 March 2010 where it made number 76 with the album following one week later on 29 March 2010, which entered the UK chart at number 13. On 17 March 2010, David released a UK garage compilation album titled ''Rewind Old Skool Classics'' mixed with DJ Spoony featuring some of their favourite UK garage hits from the last ten years. Two weeks later on 31 May 2010, the second single to be taken from '' Signed Sealed Delivered'', titled "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)" was released. The chorus of the single samples

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

' hit " Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" but features completely new verses. In the weeks leading up to the release BBC Radio Two backed the single by naming it their 'Record of the Week' and adding it to their 'A-List'. On 20 May 2010, David appeared as a co-host on '' The Morning Show'' in

alongside Kylie Gillies, whilst regular male presenter Larry Emdur was on holiday. On 27 August 2010, Swiss DJ Remady released an album titled ''No Superstar'' on which David features on the track "Do It on My Own". David was nominated for 'Best Video' at the 2010 Urban Music Awards for the song "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)". The 2010 ''Sunday Times'' Rich List indicated that Craig David is worth £8 million.

David revealed on Twitter that he has worked with record producer Jim Beanz on material for his new album. He also tweeted about working with August Rigo and more recently Fraser T Smith. Whilst doing a show in Russia, David confirmed he had left Universal Music Group and hopes to release his new album in America as well as the UK. In February 2011, David agreed to do a desert trek for

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

as part of Red Nose Day 2011. A host of celebrities including Dermot O'Leary, Olly Murs and

Lorraine Kelly Lorraine Kelly, (born 30 November 1959) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter. She has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' Good Morning Britain'' (1988–1992), '' GMTV'' (1993–2010), ''This Morning'' (2003 ...

trekked 100 kilometres across a Kenyan desert to raise money for preventable blindness across Africa. In May 2011, David made a guest appearance on NRJ12's French reality TV show ''Les Anges 2'' where he offered advice to contestants trying to make a life in Miami. Released on 1 August 2011, David features on Erick Morillo's new mix CD ''Subliminal Invasion'' on a track titled "Fly Away". David performed at the Michael Jackson tribute concert, held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national r ...

on 8 October 2011. Further to their earlier collaboration, David and Erick Morillo also canvassed a promotional track to DJs and radio stations titled "Get Drunk Up" and also featured it on YouTube. Morillo revealed David would appear on a project with Harry Romero and José Nunez, featuring a remix of the track. In December, he featured on the Blackout Mode dance track "Freak on the Dancefloor" that appeared on the compilation album ''R&B Collection 2012''. In 2012, David featured on a number of tracks whilst recording his own album, including releases with Stereo Palma titled "Our Love" and a collaboration with Mohombi and DJ Asaad titled "Addicted". In July 2012, it was revealed David was writing with Backstreet Boys on their 20th-anniversary album, the follow-up to their 2009 album "This Is Us" and the first they released since the return of Kevin Richardson who departed from the band in 2005. In January 2013, David announced on Twitter that he had signed a publishing deal with

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

(UMPG). The deal saw David's publishing company, formally known as Bootyman Music Publishing merge to become JEM Music. Starting in March 2013, David embarked on a world tour starting with three shows across Australia, followed by four in Europe (France, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands) and finally finishing in May with four shows in England (Birmingham, Manchester, Southampton and London). In September 2013, Capital FM announced that David's DJ show 'TS5' would move to Capital Xtra every Friday evening from 10:00 pm.

2014–2020: ''Following My Intuition'' and ''The Time Is Now''

On 2 July 2014, David previewed a teaser track titled "Cold" on his official SoundCloud page. Premiering it on his TS5 radio show the week before, he wanted to preview some of the new music he has been working on in anticipation of his long-awaited sixth studio album. A further teaser track titled "Seduction" was uploaded to the same

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

page in September 2014. On 5 September 2015, David featured on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

's Live Lounge with Sigala where they covered

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...

and Charlie Puth's " See You Again" mixed with the

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British v ...

track " Black Magic". The following week, on 10 September 2015, David appeared on Kurupt FM's 'Sixty Minute Takeover' on

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

with MistaJam. He performed "

" over the track " Where Are Ü Now" and it became a viral internet hit. Two snippets of potential new album tracks were also played on the night and this 1Xtra appearance led to David making surprise performances of the "Fill Me In" / "Where Are Ü Now" remix at Fabric with Kurupt FM and Alexandra Palace with

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving af ...

and

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD wit ...

. It was later revealed that the Radio 1Xtra appearance led to a collaboration between David and

who also featured on the show and the track they recorded titled " When the Bassline Drops" was played on MistaJam's

and

show on 7 November 2015, it was later revealed the track is to be released under SpeakerBox/JEM on 27 November 2015. David made a surprise appearance on '' The X Factor'' on 13 December 2015, where he performed his breakthrough single "Re-Rewind" during a medley with

Reggie 'n' Bollie Reggie 'n' Bollie (formerly Menn on Poinnt) are a Ghanaian music duo consisting of Reggie Zippy and Bollie Babeface. They formed in 2012 and are best known for finishing as runners-up on the twelfth series of ''The X Factor'' UK in 2015. Overview ...

and Fuse ODG. "When the Bassline Drops" debuted at number 50 in the UK and peaked at number 10 on 5 February 2016, becoming David's highest-charting single since 2007. On 25 January 2016, it was announced that Craig David had signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with Insanity Records (a joint venture between Sony Music UK and Insanity Management) and independent company Speakerbox Media. On 19 March 2016, at the second day of the Ultra Music Festival 2016, during the set of the Dutch DJ and record producer

Hardwell Robbert van de Corput (; born January 7, 1988), known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by '' DJ Mag'' in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 ...

, he appeared to present their new track " No Holding Back", which was released on 19 August 2016. In 2016, David appeared on Kaytranada's album '' 99.9%'', on the track "Got It Good", which he also co-wrote. This song also appeared on his sixth studio album. On 19 August 2016, Craig announced on social networks that his sixth studio album, '' Following My Intuition'', would finally be released on 30 September 2016. It debuted at number one on the

, giving David his first number-one album since his debut, ''

'', reached the top spot in 2000. On 15 September 2017, David announced the release of the seventh studio album, '' The Time Is Now'', which was released in January 2018, along with the single "

Heartline "Heartline" is a song by British singer Craig David. It was written by David, Jonas Blue, and Sam Romans and produced by Blue for his seventh studio album, '' The Time Is Now'' (2018). The song was released as the album's lead single on 14 Septem ...

". On 23 November, David released his second single from ''The Time Is Now'', " I Know You" featuring Bastille. David and Dan Smith from Bastille performed the song live a day later on '' Sounds Like Friday Night''. The single peaked at number 5 in 2018, making it David's highest charting single since "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)" in 2005. ''The Time Is Now'' debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, kept off the top spot by '' The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''. On 31 May 2019, David released a new single " When You Know What Love Is" from his upcoming eighth album. In July, David made a cameo appearance in

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

, performing the single as a DJ at a Ministry of Sound pool party. His next UK garage single "Do You Miss Me Much" was released on 23 August 2019. On 31 December 2019 and 1 January 2020, David performed on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

New Year Live BBC One's New Year's Eve specials have aired in varying formats; in 2000, and since 2004, they prominently feature live coverage of London's New Year's Eve in London, New Year's Eve festivities, including the midnight bongs of Big Ben, and the ...

concert at Westminster Central Hall with his full band and TS5 DJ set.

2021–present: ''Walk the Line'' and ''22''

After appearing on KSI's BMG-released album '' All Over the Place'', David went independent as a solo artist in order to release his new album. In May 2021, he appeared on "Summertime", a single from ''

People Just Do Nothing ''People Just Do Nothing'' is a British television mockumentary sitcom, created and performed by Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp, Asim Chaudhry and Hugo Chegwin. The programme follows the lives of MC Grindah, DJ Beats and their friends, who run ...

'' stars Kurupt FM, which appeared on their album ''The Greatest Hits (Part 1)''. In October, he scored a Top 40 single with MNEK called "Who You Are", which was produced by Digital Farm Animals and released by Moor in association with BMG. David ended the year as one of the judges on new talent show '' Walk the Line''. Debuting on ITV on 12 December 2021, David joined Gary Barlow,

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show '' French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Sau ...

and

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She gained recognition in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B, garage and hip hop group Mis-Teeq. The group disbanded ...

on the judging panel. In August 2022 he performed " 7 Days", " Live in the Moment" and "

" alongside

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

. On September 30, 2022, David released his eighth studio album, '' 22'', via his own TS5 label and Moor Records under exclusive license to BMG. The album was preceded by and features singles "Who You Are" (featuring MNEK), "My Heart's Been Waiting for You" (featuring Duvall), "G Love" (featuring Nippa) and "DNA" (featuring Galantis). "Who You Are (Part 2)", "Who You Are" (Stripped) and "DNA (Part 2)" were also released as additional promotional singles. On 14 November 2022, music festival

Camp Bestival Camp Bestival is a British music festival, the "little sister" of Bestival, both organised by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank. It is held annually, in July, at Lulworth Castle in Dorset and is targeted at families with small children. In 2019 it ha ...

announced their 2023 lineup, which included David, alongside

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums). ...

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (12 January 1974 - 25 December 2022), better known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer-songwriter and media personality. She is best known as one of the five members of the Spice Girls, during which time she was ni ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by the ...

, the Human League, and others.

Publishing deals

On 9 September 2020, David signed a global publishing deal with New York-based Round Hill Music. The agreement includes all of David's music catalogue to date, and also includes a futures agreement that will see all of his new music administered by the company.

Caricature on ''Bo' Selecta!''

David was frequently caricatured by comedian

Leigh Francis Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973), known professionally as Keith Lemon, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's sketch comedy show '' Bo' Selecta!'' (20 ...

on the British TV comedy show '' Bo' Selecta!''; the show's title itself being a reference to his song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)". Although many other celebrities lampooned in the series appreciated the jokes and even appeared in the series themselves, David – the series's most prominently mocked target – did not enjoy the attention, remarking that the public were no longer taking him seriously. Speaking to ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' in 2007, David said that "The whole ''Bo' Selecta!'' thing was killing me for a while because this idiot had a cult following and I was the main caricature. ... Inside it was absolutely pissing me off and hurtful beyond belief. There were times when I thought I just want to knock this guy out".Iley, Chrissy (4 November 2007).
Craig David: no laughing matter
. ''

''. Times Newspapers. Archived fro
the original
on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2012. Although he made an appearance himself on the programme (as the pseudo-fictional tribute act "Craig Davis"), he regretted it. However, he has also denied that his career had been ruined as a result of the show, and has said that he was satisfied with his musical output over the years. In a 2015 interview with the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'', David stated that he had no hard feelings towards Francis, explaining how he had seen him at a wedding and given him a hug, assuring him they were "cool". He further explained in the interview that it was his PR team who suggested that he "play hurt" by the caricature. He reiterated this stance on ''

The Jonathan Ross Show ''The Jonathan Ross Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2011 and airs on Saturday evenings following the conclusion of Ross' BBC One chat show, ''Friday Night with Jona ...

'' in 2016 and explained that, contrary to popular belief, he had not fled the UK to escape negative attention brought about from the show. In June 2020, Francis apologised for his portrayal of David (among other black and mixed race celebrities such as

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

, and Trisha Goddard) in the show as a response to the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

movement and

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...

, stating that "I want to say sorry for any upset I caused whether I was Michael Jackson, Craig David or Trisha Goddard... all people who I am a big fan of." ''Bo' Selecta!'' was removed from the

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

service All 4 later that same month for similar reasons. David raised the topic again in October 2022. "Every sketch felt personal", he told ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

''. "It felt like a vendetta and when it got a following, it became something that affected me. People would shout at me on the street and I felt the same feeling I had when I was bullied at school. Leigh Francis had normalised bullying by making it comedy. When he put blackface on, that was being racist. We can all apologise when on the back foot. Has he reached out to any of the people he did on his show? He hasn't reached out to me. Has he gone to communities to talk about bullying? Racism? And to be educated? You can only ask him."

Discography

* ''

'' (2000) * '' Slicker Than Your Average'' (2002) * '' The Story Goes...'' (2005) * '' Trust Me'' (2007) * '' Signed Sealed Delivered'' (2010) * '' Following My Intuition'' (2016) * '' The Time Is Now'' (2018) * '' 22'' (2022)

Concert tours

Headlining * The Time Is Now Tour (2018)

Filmography

Personal life and activism

David is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. He is also an avid supporter of Southampton F.C., his hometown football team. On 24 March 2010 ( World Tuberculosis Day), the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

appointed Craig David as a Goodwill Ambassador against

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

. His first activity in this role was to travel to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

to learn more about tuberculosis, where he met people suffering from the disease and those who have recovered, and scientists who have dedicated their lives to fighting tuberculosis. David stated that his mission is to help overcome the social stigma of TB in order to combat the disease. In January 2021 it was announced that Craig David would appear in an E-Sports series in a campaign with

Mclaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...

and

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the lar ...

(BAT) in order to enable them to reach their customers "in new, exciting and engaging ways" to push the nicotine pouch brand VELO. He appears in the series alongside other UK stars including presenter Rory Reid and Fred Sirieix. Craig has also been criticised by

Action on Smoking and Health Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigar ...

in 2013 for appearing in another

Big Tobacco Big Tobacco is a name used to refer to the largest companies in the tobacco industry. According to the World Medical Journal, the five largest tobacco companies are: Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japa ...

funded appearance in Penang, Malaysia where Japan Tobacco International sponsored a concert.

Honours and awards

On 30 December 2020, it was announced that in the Queen’s New Year Honours List David had been appointed as MBE in recognition of his services to music. His manager

was also appointed OBE in recognition of his services to the music industry and to charity. David received his award at Windsor Castle on 15 December 2021.

References

External links

* – official site * *
I Love Music Festival at Tenerife (23 April 2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:David, Craig 1981 births Living people Atlantic Records artists 21st-century Black British male singers Black British male rappers Black Jewish people English Jews English male singer-songwriters English people of Grenadian descent English record producers British contemporary R&B singers Ivor Novello Award winners Jewish rappers Members of the Order of the British Empire MTV Europe Music Award winners Musicians from Hampshire Musicians from Southampton Third British Invasion artists UK garage musicians