Shelton Woolright (born c. 1980) is a New Zealand musician. 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 ...

, he became the drummer of

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Blindspott Blindspott is an alternative metal band from West Auckland, New Zealand. After performing under the name Blacklistt for several years, the original line-up got back together in 2018.Kellman, Andy " Blindspott Biography, Allmusic, Macrovisio ...

in 1997, before leaving the group in 2008. Later that year, Woolright formed the group I Am Giant in the United Kingdom, before the group returned to New Zealand to produce their music career. Woolright launched his solo project Deadbeat in November 2017. In March 2015, it was announced that Woolright would become a judge on the second series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'', replacing the sacked

Willy Moon William George Sinclair (born 2 June 1989), better known by his stage name Willy Moon, is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and producer. He is known for his 2012 single " Yeah Yeah", which appeared on the 2012 Apple iPod advert and peaked at num ...

. He mentored Brendon Thomas and the Vibes to the final, where they finished in third place. ''The X Factor'' was later cancelled following the airing of the second series.

Early years

Woolright was born in New Zealand. He is of Tongan and French Canadian heritage. Woolright was the original drummer for the New Zealand band Blindspott whose 2002 debut album reached No 1 and went platinum in New Zealand in its first week. Blindspott broke up in 2007, although Woolright retained an interest in the band. On 15 May 2010, it was announced on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

that Blindspott had reunited and were writing new material. As Woolright was not involved this eventually ended with him taking legal action. On 5 March 2011, the Blindspott lead singer Damian Alexander announced it would be releasing its new single ''From The Blind Spot'' under the name

Blacklistt Blacklistt is a New Zealand rock band formed by four of the original members of the New Zealand-based group Blindspott, Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell (guitar, backing vocals), Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini (turntables, keyb ...

for legal reasons. Entertainment lawyer Mick Sinclair was handling the case for Blindspott.

Career

I Am Giant

Following his departure from

, Woolright formed the band I Am Giant in 2008 with Paul Matthews, Ed Martin and Max O'Donnell. The band went into a hiatus in 2018 after releasing the album ''Life in captivity''. By 2018 Woolright and the former members of Blindspot had mended their differences and reformed releasing a new single ''RIP'' in 2021 and going on tour. They followed this with a new album ''Volumes'' in 2022.

Deadbeat

Woolright launched new solo project Deadbeat in November 2017. Deadbeat is a high energy drum DJ set, which involves Woolright layering live drums over a mashup of the biggest party tunes on the planet.

''The X Factor''

In March 2015, it was announced that Woolright would replace the sacked

on the second series of the New Zealand version of ''The X Factor'', along with

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian singer, actress and television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an acting career in 1998 ...

replacing Moon's wife,

Natalia Kills Natalia Noemi "Teddy" Sinclair (' Cappuccini; born 15 August 1986) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She has recorded music under various aliases, most famously as Natalia Kills and Verbalicious. She is currently the lead vocalist of ...

, who was also sacked from the show. Woolright mentored Brendon Thomas and The Vibes to the final where they finished in third place.

Personal life

On 14 March, Shelton put on exhibition of his photography ''L'Art reflète la vie'' at the Viaduct in Auckland. The Auckland exhibition was to raise funds for Cure Kids, a child cancer sponsor. He had first put his photography on display in

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 ...

at The Hub, 5 rue Montorgueil on 12 February 2015. In 2015, Woolright was called out for his use of

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

Discography

References

External links

Shelton Woolright YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolright, Shelton New Zealand drummers New Zealand male drummers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)