Thank You "Thank you" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of gr ...

MTV Europe Music Award The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-20 ...

White Flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-20 ...

Band Aid 20 Band Aid 20 was the 2004 incarnation of the charity supergroup Band Aid. The group, which included Daniel Bedingfield, Dido, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2 ...

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

best-selling albums This is a list of the world's best-selling albums of recorded music in physical mediums, such as vinyl, audio cassettes or compact discs. To appear on the list, the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have s ...

Safe Trip Home ''Safe Trip Home'' is the third studio album by Dido (singer), Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.''Billboard'' 200 artists of the 2000s (2000–2009) based on the success of her albums in the first decade of the 21st century. In 2011, Dido's duet with

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

, " If I Rise", was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

at the

83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, be ...

. Dido made a comeback in 2013, releasing her fourth studio album, ''

Girl Who Got Away ''Girl Who Got Away'' is the fourth studio album by English recording artist Dido, released in Europe on 4 March 2013, and in North America on 26 March 2013 by RCA Records. The album followed 2008's ''Safe Trip Home''. Recording began in 2009 and ...

'', which reached the top 5 in the UK. Having taken time out of the music industry to raise her son, she reappeared on stage at the 2013

Reading and Leeds festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festi ...

where she reunited with Eminem. Dido released her fifth studio album, ''

Still on My Mind ''Still on My Mind'' is the fifth studio album by English singer Dido, released on 8 March 2019 through BMG. It is her first studio album since 2013's '' Girl Who Got Away''. The album was supported by singles "Give You Up", "Take You Home", "Fr ...

,'' on 8 March 2019 and embarked on her first tour in 15 years in support of the new album. In May 2019, Dido received the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Outstanding Song Collection from the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...

. In 2020, Dido co-released ''The Last Summer (Deluxe Edition)'', a studio album in collaboration with her brother R Plus (Rollo Armstrong).

Early life

Dido was born Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong, at

St Mary Abbots Hospital St Mary Abbots Hospital was a hospital that operated from 1871 to 1992 at a site on Marloes Road in Kensington, London. History The hospital building, which was designed by Alfred Williams as a workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhou ...

in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

in 1971. As she was born on Christmas Day, she also celebrates an "official birthday" on 25 June, following the example of

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear (though his name is just Paddington; the "Bear" simply serves to confirm his species; and also known as Paddington Brown for some sources) is a fictional character in British children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October ...

. Her mother, Clare (née Collins), is a poet of French ancestry, and her father, William O'Malley Armstrong (1938–2006), was an Irish publisher and former managing director of

Sidgwick & Jackson Sidgwick & Jackson was an imprint of book publishing company Pan Macmillan. Formerly it was an independent publisher; as such, it was founded in Britain in 1908. Its early authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster. In m ...

. Her elder brother, Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong, is better known as record producer

Rollo Rollo (, ''Rolloun''; ; ; – 933), also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings who Siege o ...

, part of the British electronica trio

Faithless Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...

. Despite their birth names, the pair were known from childhood by the names Dido and Rollo. Dido considers this as her real name, not simply a stage name or nickname. As a child, she had to deal with her birth name's ambiguous and unusual nature, which led to her being bullied and even to her pretending to have an ordinary name. In a 2001 interview, she said "To be called one thing and christened another is actually very confusing and annoying. It's one of the most irritating things that my parents did to me. ... Florian is a German man's name. That's just mean. To give your child a whole lot of odd names. They were all so embarrassing. ... I thought it was cruel to call me Dido and then expect me to just deal with it." The name ''

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

'' derives from the legendary Queen of Carthage. Dido was educated at Thornhill Primary School in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, Dallington School, City of London Girls' and

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, where she was taught by the contemporary musician and Head of Academic Music, Sinan Savaskan. After she stole a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

from school at the age of five, her parents enrolled her at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London. At age nine she had toured

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

with a recorder orchestra. By the time she reached her teens, she had learned to play the piano, recorder, and the violin. She later studied law at

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

, while working as a literary agent. She never completed the degree, deciding instead to take up music full-time.

Career

1995–1996: Early recordings

In 1995, Dido began recording 10 demo tracks which were put together on a collection entitled '' Odds & Ends'' and sent out by

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

management. Nettwerk had signed her after she was brought to their attention by her collaborations with

Faithless Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...

, the UK dance act spearheaded by her brother,

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English DJ and music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding, non-touring, membe ...

(Dido co-wrote and provided vocals for album tracks, such as "Flowerstand Man" and "Hem of His Garment"). The collection was released by Nettwerk on

CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can only be Write once read many, written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) ...

and

acetate disc An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', '' dubplate'', or '' transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes. Despite their name, "ac ...

in 1995 and featured a mixture of finished productions and demo versions which she later considered for release on her 1999 debut album, '' No Angel''. ''Odds & Ends'' brought her to the attention of A&R

Peter Edge Peter Edge is an English-American record executive. He is the chairman and CEO of RCA Records. Early life and education Edge was born near Coventry, England. Fueled in part by his sister's record collection – which included influential re ...

at

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

, who signed her in the US in late 1996, and negotiated a co-sign deal with her brother's independent record label, Cheeky Records. Of the tracks included on ''Odds & Ends'', "Take My Hand" was included on all editions of ''No Angel'' as a bonus track; "Sweet Eyed Baby" was remixed and renamed to "Don't Think of Me", while "Worthless" and "Me" were released exclusively on the Japanese edition. Peter Leak became Dido's manager during the recording of ''No Angel'' after Edge played some of the in-progress recordings and been "blown away" by them.

1998–2002: ''No Angel'' and breakthrough

In 1998, the music producer for the film ''

Sliding Doors ''Sliding Doors'' is a 1998 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow while also featuring John Hannah, John Lynch, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. The film alternates between two storylines, showi ...

'' selected her track "

Thank You "Thank you" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of gr ...

" for the soundtrack. Cheeky Records, to which Dido was signed, was sold to BMG records in 1999. This delayed the release of the album ''No Angel'' in the United Kingdom, but also allowed her to concentrate on promoting ''No Angel'' in the United States, including a slot on

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...

's

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride (CEO), Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during ...

tour. Through touring, both before and after the album was available, Dido's music began to receive more exposure. The first official single chosen by Dido and her label, " Here with Me", initially struggled to make an impact on radio, but while the label were considering switching to an alternative track, the song made a breakthrough as a result of its use in television programme '' Roswell''. The song was used as the theme music of the show, but it was actually when it was played in its entirety during the season finale that it really made an impact with audiences. Manager Peter Leak 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 sales jumped from 2,000 to 9,000 units during the week of the show's transmission. Arguably it was this, as well as the airplay on MTV throughout Europe of the single's video, which brought her mass attention. Subsequently, the song was used in the British romantic comedy ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas film, Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous pro ...

''. ''No Angel'' was released in 1999, and Dido toured extensively to promote the record. American rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

helped introduce Dido to a US audience in 2000 when he received permission from Dido herself to sample the first verse of "Thank You" in his hit single " Stan". Dido also appeared in the music video as Stan's pregnant girlfriend. She did not want to do the video at first, as she was uncomfortable with the scene in the video where she had to be tied up and have her mouth covered with duct tape, but later agreed to it and got along well with Eminem and the crew on set. In North America, the video usually aired with the trunk scene censored. Interest soared in her debut album, leading it to hit charts in Europe on import sales alone, charting in the top five on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

before its official UK re-release. '' No Angel'' went on to become the top-selling album of 2001 worldwide, debuting at, and returning to, number one in the official

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

many times throughout the year. It spawned two top ten hit singles, "Here with Me" and "Thank You", a further top twenty hit, "

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

" and a fourth and final single release "All You Want" which reached the top 25. It was certified platinum in over thirty-five countries, and is estimated to have sold over 21 million copies worldwide. In America, " Don't Think of Me" was released as the second single, peaking at number 35 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

in May 2000. Dido's widely emulated hairstyle at this time became known as the "

Dido flip The Dido flip was a hairstyle of the early 21st century in imitation of the singer and songwriter Dido Armstrong. It was a "chopped" style with hair flipped to one or both sides and often strands not cut evenly. Dido noted in a number of intervi ...

". Her sold-out worldwide tour featured hip-hop artist

Pete Miser Peter Aaron Ho (born February 3, 1971), known by the stage name Pete Miser, is an American Hip Hop rapper and producer living in New York City. Biography Originally from Portland, Oregon, Miser is involved in the hip-hop scene in the North ...

as her live band's DJ. ''No Angel'' claimed No. 97 according to the Decade-end Album Chart by ''Billboard''.

2003–2005: ''Life for Rent'' and Live 8

''

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-20 ...

'' was released in 2003. Produced by her brother

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English DJ and music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding, non-touring, membe ...

and American songwriter

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the BPI, and sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth best-selling album worldwide of 2003. The album became the seventh best-selling album of the 2000s in the United Kingdom, making Dido the only singer to have two albums in the top 10 list. Preceded by the hit single "

White Flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...

", the album sold over 152,000 copies in the first day alone in the UK, and went on to sell over 400,000 in the first week. Three further singles—"

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-20 ...

", " Don't Leave Home" and " Sand in My Shoes"—were lifted from the album, with Dido embarking on a worldwide tour in support of the album (a DVD of footage from the tour was released in 2005 entitled '' Live at Brixton Academy''). As of 2015, ''Life for Rent'' is the 34th best-selling album in UK chart history. In 2019 it was listed the 15th best-selling album of the 21st century in the UK. Following her sold-out world tour of 2004, Dido was asked to perform at three of the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...

concerts on 2 July 2005—performing in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, then at the

Eden Project The Eden Project () is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay clay pit, pit.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map 107 – Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel''. . The complex is dominated by two h ...

in Cornwall, before flying over to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, performing both solo ("White Flag") and duetting with

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

("Thank You" and "Seven Seconds"). Also in 2005, Dido provided vocals for her brother's side project Dusted on the album '' Safe from Harm''. She sings on the tracks: "Time Takes Time", "Hurt U" and "Winter" and she co-wrote three tracks on the album: "Always Remember to Respect & Honour Your Mother, Part 1", "The Biggest Fool in the World" and "Winter".

2006–2008: ''Safe Trip Home'' and hiatus

Dido's third album, ''

Safe Trip Home ''Safe Trip Home'' is the third studio album by Dido (singer), Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.Jon Brion Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established pro ...

and Dido herself and features contributions from

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

,

Questlove Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought ...

,

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John Mc ...

,

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English DJ and music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding, non-touring, membe ...

, and

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session drummer, record producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, David Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey, The Wallflow ...

. Recording sessions were held at London's Abbey Road and at

Jon Brion Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established pro ...

's home studio in Los Angeles. During production of the album, Dido attended evening classes in music and English at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. The first single from the album, " Don't Believe in Love", was released in October 2008, and a track titled " Look No Further" was made available to download from her official website for a limited time. The album failed to sell as well as ''No Angel'' or ''Life for Rent'', and Dido opted not to tour in support of the album due to her difficulties with performing the material that was written about the death of her father. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. In December 2008, Dido's ''Safe Trip Home'' song "Let's Do the Things We Normally Do", was criticised by Gregory Campbell, MP for East Londonderry and Minister for Sports, Arts and Leisure for Northern Ireland, for referencing lyrics from a song, "

The Men Behind the Wire "The Men Behind the Wire" is a song written and composed by Paddy McGuigan of the Barleycorn folk group in the aftermath of Operation Demetrius. The song describes police raids in Northern Ireland by British security forces during the Troubles, ...

", which was written in the aftermath of the introduction of

detention without trial Indefinite detention is the incarceration of an arrested person by a national government or law enforcement agency for an indefinite amount of time without a trial. The Human Rights Watch considers this practice as violating national and internatio ...

for persons accused of being members of paramilitary groups. Campbell described "The Men Behind the Wire" as "written about people who were murderers, arsonists and terrorists", and suggested "she

ido Ido () is a constructed language derived from a reformed version of Esperanto, and designed similarly with the goal of being a universal second language for people of diverse languages. To function as an effective ''international auxiliary ...

should clarify her position so that her fans and the wider public knows where she stands on these things". The album's artwork features a photograph of astronaut

Bruce McCandless II Bruce McCandless II (born Byron Willis McCandless; June 8, 1937 – December 21, 2017) was an American Navy officer and aviator, electrical engineer, and NASA astronaut. In 1984, during the first of his two Space Shuttle missions, he comple ...

during a

spacewalk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environme ...

, as part of space shuttle mission

STS-41-B STS-41-B was NASA's tenth Space Shuttle mission and the fourth flight of the . It launched on February 3, 1984 and landed on February 11, 1984, after deploying two communications satellites. It was also notable for including the first untethere ...

; McCandless sued Dido,

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, and Getty Images Inc for unauthorised use of this photo in September 2010. The case was settled under undisclosed terms on 14 January 2011.

2009–2018: ''Girl Who Got Away'' and ''Greatest Hits''

Shortly after the release of ''Safe Trip Home'', Dido returned to the studio to start recording new material for inclusion on her fourth studio album. In July 2009, Dido said that the album would have an electronic approach, in an attempt to take it in a totally different direction to her previous albums. In September 2010, Dido released the single " Everything to Lose" via digital download, following its appearance on the soundtrack of the film ''

Sex and the City 2 ''Sex and the City 2'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Sex and the City','' which was based on the 1998–2004 HBO television series of ...

'' (released in May 2010). In January 2011, Dido released " If I Rise", a collaboration with producer

A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinema ...

, for which an official music video was released. "If I Rise" was written for ''

127 Hours ''127 Hours'' is a 2010 biographical drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Danny Boyle. The film mainly stars James Franco, with Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, and Clémence Poésy appearing in brief supporting roles. In the film, cany ...

'', a thriller film directed by

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

. The soundtrack features a mix of electric guitars with orchestral arrangements and sound loops, and "If I Rise" is featured in the climax of the film. The song was nominated for

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

,

Houston Film Critics Society Awards The Houston Film Critics Society is a non-profit film critic unincorporated voluntary organization in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The group presents an annual set of film awards for "extraordinary accomplishment in film" in a ceremony h ...

and Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award, as well as the 83rd Academy Award for Original Song. It won the

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The award notably recognizes not only songwriters but also performers as recipient ...

. Dido's fourth album, ''

Girl Who Got Away ''Girl Who Got Away'' is the fourth studio album by English recording artist Dido, released in Europe on 4 March 2013, and in North America on 26 March 2013 by RCA Records. The album followed 2008's ''Safe Trip Home''. Recording began in 2009 and ...

'', was released by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

in March 2013. " No Freedom" was released as the album's lead single in January 2013. The album was recorded in London and CaliforniaSleeve notes to ''girl who got away'' and features production from

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English DJ and music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding, non-touring, membe ...

,

Sister Bliss Ayalah Deborah Bentovim (born 30 December 1970), better known by her stage name Sister Bliss, is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ and songwriter. In the studio, she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong as one half of the pr ...

,

Lester Mendez Lester Mendez is a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning record producer, songwriter and composer. His production/writing credits include a multitude of successful hits with Shakira, Jewel, Nelly Furtado, Jessica Simpson, Enrique Iglesias, and ...

,

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

,

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...

,

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

, and

Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...

. Dido appeared on the second series of televised singing competition ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

'' in May 2013, serving as an advisor to coach

Danny O'Donoghue Daniel John Mark Luke O'Donoghue (born 3 October 1980) is an Irish singer-songwriter best known for being the frontman of the Irish rock band The Script and as a coach on the first two series of the television singing talent show '' The Voice ...

during the show's battle rounds. In November 2013, Dido released the album ''

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 creat ...

'', a compilation of previous material and remixes that also included a new track, "NYC". The release of ''Greatest Hits'' completed Dido's contractual obligations with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

, and she spoke of her plans to release her music independently. By late 2013, she was writing material for a fifth studio album.

2018–present: ''Still on My Mind'' and ''The Last Summer''

Dido signed to BMG to release her fifth album in early 2019. Dido worked with her brother and long-time collaborator

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English DJ and music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding, non-touring, membe ...

, along with

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,Still on My Mind ''Still on My Mind'' is the fifth studio album by English singer Dido, released on 8 March 2019 through BMG. It is her first studio album since 2013's '' Girl Who Got Away''. The album was supported by singles "Give You Up", "Take You Home", "Fr ...

'', along with its cover. It was released on 8 March 2019 and charted at number 3 on the UK Albums chart, number 1 on the UK Indie Album chart and sold over 60,000 copies in the UK. The teaser single "Hurricanes" was released on 12 November 2018. The official lead single " Give You Up" was premiered 22 January 2019 on BBC Radio 2. The single peaked at number 32 on the

UK Singles Download chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart con ...

. It peaked at number 1 on the US

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. "Give You Up" was followed by edited versions of "Take You Home" (released 5 April 2019) and "Friends" (released 22 July 2019) as singles. Dido toured in support of the album from May 2019, making it her first world tour in 15 years. The deluxe edition of the album was released on 15 November 2019 but failed to chart, despite the release of another single, "Just Because". Dido was featured on her brother Rollo's '' The Last Summer'' album, which was released on 11 October 2019, under the alias "R Plus". The album charted at number 96 on the UK Album Sales Chart. Dido featured on the singles "Summer Dress", "Those Were The Days" and "My Boy", with another feature appearing on "Together (In These Times)" and alternate version of ''The Last Summer'' album track "Together". The deluxe version of ''The Last Summer'' was credited to both R Plus and Dido. In February 2023, Dido appeared on American singer-songwriter

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

's album '' Desire, I Want to Turn Into You'' on the track "Fly to You" alongside Polachek and singer

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

, and is credited as a co-writer. On May 18, 2023,

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 m ...

released the single "When Love Sucks", which samples "Thank You", and includes a feature credit for Dido. In December 2023, Belgian-Greek DJ duo

Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike (previously Dnm) are a Belgian–Greek DJ duo composed of brothers Dimitri Thivaios and Michael Thivaios. They were ranked No. 1 on ''DJ Magazine, DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list in 2015 and 2019, and No. 2 in 2014, 2016 thr ...

released " Thank You (Not So Bad)" alongside Dido,

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

and W&W, which was a reimagining of Dido's "Thank You"; she re-recorded her vocals for the remake. It peaked at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart, and became Dido's first song to place on the main UK singles chart since "No Freedom" in 2013 and her highest charting song since 2004's "Sand In My Shoes".

Other work

In addition to her solo work, Dido has co-written and provided vocals for tracks with

Faithless Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...

, including " One Step Too Far"—which was released in the UK as a limited edition single, where it debuted at number six—and "No Roots", the title track of the fourth Faithless album.

Rollo Rollo (, ''Rolloun''; ; ; – 933), also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings who Siege o ...

—Dido's brother—co-writes and co-produces much of Dido's solo material, including many tracks on '' No Angel'', ''

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-20 ...

'' and ''

Safe Trip Home ''Safe Trip Home'' is the third studio album by Dido (singer), Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.Reverence'' to 2010s '' The Dance''. Dido worked with her brother on a CD to accompany the children's book he wrote with Jason White, ''Safe from Harm''; the CD is also titled ''Safe from Harm'' and the artist is listed as "Dusted". She co-wrote

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

's worldwide number one hit " I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", soundtrack feature track to Spears's first major film debut, and co-wrote the song "Never Ending" on

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's 2016 album Anti. Dido's song "Thank You" was also sampled by Rihanna for "Never Ending". Dido has provided guest vocals to tracks by other artists including " Feels Like Fire" for

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

's 2002 album, ''

Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

'', and a duet with

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

entitled "I Eat Dinner (When the Hunger's Gone)" for the '' Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' film soundtrack. A sample of the Dido track "Do You Have a Little Time" is used on the song "Don't You Trust Me?" by

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

, on the album "

Loyal to the Game ''Loyal to the Game'' is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur. The album was produced by Eminem and consists of remixes of previously unreleased music recorded by Tupac before his death in 1996. ...

", which was almost entirely produced by Eminem in 2004. Dido joined

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

and 21 other female artists to raise awareness of the issue of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa. The collaborative single "

Sing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

" was released on

World Aids Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immu ...

on 1 December 2007, in conjunction with Lennox's appearance at the

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

46664 concert in South Africa.

Personal life

After releasing ''No Angel'' in 1999, and after much time spent promoting the album, Dido broke up with her fiancé, entertainment lawyer Bob Page, after a twelve-year relationship. Dido then married author Rohan Gavin in 2010. They have one son, Stanley, who was born in July 2011. Dido says she is a "diehard" lifelong supporter of

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

football club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. She holds dual British-Irish citizenship by virtue of having an Irish father.

Discography

* '' No Angel'' (1999) * ''

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-20 ...

'' (2003) * ''

Safe Trip Home ''Safe Trip Home'' is the third studio album by Dido (singer), Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.Girl Who Got Away ''Girl Who Got Away'' is the fourth studio album by English recording artist Dido, released in Europe on 4 March 2013, and in North America on 26 March 2013 by RCA Records. The album followed 2008's ''Safe Trip Home''. Recording began in 2009 and ...

'' (2013) * ''

Still on My Mind ''Still on My Mind'' is the fifth studio album by English singer Dido, released on 8 March 2019 through BMG. It is her first studio album since 2013's '' Girl Who Got Away''. The album was supported by singles "Give You Up", "Take You Home", "Fr ...

'' (2019)

Tours

* No Angel Tour (1999–2001) * Life for Rent Tour (2004) * Still on my Mind Tour (2019)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dido 1971 births Living people Arista Records artists English people of French descent English people of Irish descent Brit Award winners MTV Europe Music Award winners English women guitarists English guitarists English women pop singers English women singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters Folktronica musicians Ivor Novello Award winners People from Kensington RCA Records artists Singers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Trip hop musicians University of California, Los Angeles alumni 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers World Music Awards winners English women in electronic music 20th-century women guitarists 21st-century British women guitarists Downtempo musicians Electropop musicians English women songwriters People educated at the City of London School for Girls