Graham James Candy (born 1 April 1991) is a singer-songwriter and actor from New Zealand. In 2013 he moved to Berlin, Germany to begin his music career. Candy’s first collaboration with German DJ and producer

Alle Farben Frans Zimmer (born 5 June 1985), better known by his stage name Alle Farben (meaning ''All Colours'' in German) is a German DJ and Music producer, producer. Since 2014 Zimmer is signed to the record label Guesstimate/b1 Recordings and the publishi ...

, "She Moves" (2014), gained him quick popularity with his quirky, high-range vocals, as well as his first gold single. He is currently signed with

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...

and the Berlin-based label Crazy Planet Records. In 2014, Candy also made his feature-film debut with a lead role in '' Queen of Carthage'', alongside

Keisha Castle-Hughes Keisha Castle-Hughes (born 24 March 1990) is a New Zealand actress. She made her acting debut in the drama film '' Whale Rider'' (2002), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the second-youngest nominee ...

and

Shiloh Fernandez Shiloh Fernandez is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Jericho'' and '' United States of Tara'', and the films '' Deadgirl'' and '' Red Riding Hood'', as well as for playing David Allen in the 2013 film '' Evi ...

History

Early life

Born and raised in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, Candy is the youngest of four children. His artistic career was established at a young age through a combination of music, dance and acting. Candy started Ballroom and Latin dancing at the age of 6 and with his dance partner, went on to gain titles as juvenile, junior and youth champion in both

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and Australia. At age 12, Candy was introduced to the film industry as the photo double for the character "Edmund" in The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Candy attended

Rangitoto College Rangitoto College is a state coeducational secondary school, located on the North Shore City, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Serving years 9 to 13, Rangitoto has a school roll of as of making it the largest "brick-and-mortar" school in ...

where his love of the arts was cultivated. He was part of the school's winning team at the National Stage Challenge competition, a member of the National Champions barbershop choir, and winner of AMI Showdowns "best supporting actor" for his role in the high school production "Seussical". At aged 17, Candy went on a school exchange to Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn to further develop his creative talents. In 2007 Candy played Troy in

NYTC The National Youth Theatre Formerly known as the National Youth Theatre Company is a not-for-profit organisation that runs musical theatre training workshops and musical productions in New Zealand. It was established in 2005, with the aim of pro ...

's production of Disney's High School Musical - which became the fastest selling locally produced show in Auckland to that date. In 2008, Candy gave songwriting a go, and entered the Play It Strange songwriting competition for secondary school students. His song "Lasts Forever" was awarded 7th place.

Mike Chunn Jonathan Michael Chunn (born 8 June 1952) is a former member of the New Zealand bands Split Enz and Citizen Band. He performed alongside his brother Geoff Chunn in both bands. His musical performing career was cut short due to agoraphobia. B ...

– the founder of Play it Strange has helped direct Candy's music career ever since.

2009–2012

In 2009, Candy stopped dancing to study acting, but at the end of the year he left to pursue music with band "The Lost Boys". In the 2009 New Zealand Battle of the Bands, they reached the top ten with their song "Hot Air Balloon". After accepting a role in the short film ''Go the Dogs'', directed by Jackie van Beek, Candy returned to film and the stage gaining two NAPTA "best supporting actor" awards for his roles in the stage production of ''Footloose'' and ''Spring Awakening''. Shortly after,

(''

Evil Dead ''Evil Dead'' is an American horror franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of five feature films and a television series. The series follows various characters as they battle demonic forces unleashed by an ancient book called the ''Necrono ...

'', ''

Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Brothers Gr ...

'') was introduced to Candy and he was signed for his first lead role in a feature film as Candy in '' Queen of Carthage'', directed by Mardana Mayginnes. Candy commenced his solo music career in 2012 by playing in

's bars and pubs. He helped establish live music venue, The Portland Public House as the in-house musician and event manager. Candy immersed himself in the local music community and was given this opportunity to play for audiences that included the likes of

Everclear Everclear is a line of rectified spirits (also known as grain alcohol and neutral spirit) produced by the American company Luxco. It is made from grain and is bottled at 60%, 75.5%, 94.5% and 95% alcohol by volume (120, 151, 189, and 190 U.S. ...

and the

Black Keys Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

, and play with musicians including

Mumford and Sons Mumford may refer to: Places ;In the United States *Mumford, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Mumford, New York, a hamlet in the town of Wheatland, New York *Mumford, Texas, an unincorporated community *Mumford High School in Detroit, Michi ...

and

Daniel Bedingfield Daniel John Bedingfield (born 3 December 1979) is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. His debut studio album, '' Gotta Get thru This'' (2002), spawned three UK number ones, " Gotta Get thru This", " If You're ...

. In January 2013, Rachael Watson (Spin 33 Records) introduced Candy to Matthias Müller of Crazy Planet Records (Germany), which led to a solo career in Germany.

2013–2014

Since relocating to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Candy has collaborated with the German indie-pop band Abby, DJ

and electro-swing musician

Parov Stelar Marcus Füreder (born 27 November 1974), better known by his stage name Parov Stelar, is an Austrian musician, producer, composer and DJ. He is considered a pioneer of Electro swing and is one of the most internationally successful artists ...

. His melodies have received positive reviews with the release of his first single "13 Lords", and his featured vocals on

's "The Sun". He achieved prominence with his vocals featured on two tracks, "She Moves" and "Sometimes", on

's debut album "Synthesia". "She Moves" peaked at #9 in Germany and was moderately successful in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The single was remixed by Bakermat and Goldfish. Candy's debut EP was released in 2014.

2015–Present

On 4 March 2016, Candy released his first single off his debut album ''Plan A'' called "Back Into It". ''Plan A'' was scheduled to be released on 6 May 2016.

Discography

Albums

* ''Plan A'' (2016)

Singles

As lead artist

* "13 Lords" (2014) * "Holding Up Balloons" (2015) * "Back Into It" (2016)

As featured artist

Other appearances

Filmography

* 2004: Photo double for the character "Edmund" in The Chronicles of Narnia — The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe * 2011–13: Shorts: ''Go the Dogs'' / ''Harrowing of Hell'' / ''Asyrinthium'' / ''Inoganic'' * 2012: '' Queen of Carthage'' as Graham * 2012: ''Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away'' * 2013: ''Power Rangers Megaforce'' (TV Series, as a singer in the episode ''Dream Snatcher'')

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Candy, Graham 1991 births Living people New Zealand male singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters New Zealand male actors Entertainers from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand male singers Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn) alumni New Zealand expatriates in Germany