Des'ree (born Desirée Annette Weeks, 30 November 1968, Barbados[1]) is a Barbados born British pop/soul singer who was popular during the 1990s, mostly remembered for her hits "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Kissing You", and "Life".
Career
Des'ree was born in Barbados, where she has passed her first years, and raised in South London and introduced to reggae, calypso and jazz music by her parents. Des'ree's interest in pursuing a musical career followed a three year trip to Barbados with her family at the age of fourteen. In 1992, the single "Feel So High" got extensive international airplay and reached #13 in the UK and #28 in Australia.
In 1994, her single "You Gotta Be" hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5, peaking at #5, and was a hit in the UK three times. "You Gotta Be" became the most played music video on VH1 and remained on the Billboard recurrent airplay chart for 80 weeks.
Following the single's success, Des'ree's second album, I Ain't Movin' , sold in excess of 1.6 million copies worldwide. Her success lead to an American tour with Seal in 1995. The following year, she contributed the song "Kissing You" to the soundtrack of the film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.
In 1998, her single "Life" became a hit in Europe. In 1999, she won a BRIT Award for the British Female Solo Artist category.[2]
She released Dream Soldier in 2003.
Des'ree has also performed various duets, including "Fire" with Babyface (part of the soundtrack for the independent film, Hav Plenty), "Plenty Lovin" with Steve Winwood and "Delicate" with Terence Trent D'Arby.
Other work
In 1998, Des'ree's hit, "Feels So High" was interpolated into the Janet Jackson song "Got 'Til It's Gone" from Jackson's CD The Velvet Rope without due credit to Des'ree as a contributor. The album prompted a lawsuit and as part of the settlement, Jackson was forced to pay an undisclosed sum to Des'ree. The album does not list the song or Des'ree as a contributor, but the maxi single, released in 2000, lists Des'ree as one of the song's writers.[3]
In 2007, Des'ree filed suit against Beyoncé for her cover version of the Tim Atack/Des'ree penned song, "I'm Kissing You",[4] for the re-release of her album B'Day.[5]
In Spring 2007, Des'ree was voted the worst pop lyricist of all time for the song "Life" according to a BBC Radio poll.[6]
Des'ree is an active supporter of PETA and has appeared in anti-fur campaigns featured on PETA's website as well as FurIsDead.com.
Discography
Albums
- Mind Adventures (released 14 February 1992) #26 UK
- I Ain't Movin' (released 5 July 1994) #13 UK
- Supernatural (released 14 December 1998) #16 UK
- Endangered Species (B-Sides and rare tracks) (released 23 October 2000)
- Dream Soldier (released 31 March 2003)[7]
Singles
- 1991, "Feel So High", #51 UK
- 1992, "Feel So High" (Re-release), #13 UK, #28 AUS, #67 U.S. [1995]
- 1992, "Mind Adventures", #43 UK
- 1992, "Why Should I Love You", #44 UK
- 1993, "Delicate" (duet with Terence Trent D'Arby), #14 UK
- 1994, "You Gotta Be", #20 UK, #5 U.S., #9 AUS
- 1994, "I Ain't Movin'", #44 UK
- 1994, "Little Child", #69 UK
- 1995, "You Gotta Be" (Remix), #14 UK
- 1997, "Kissing You", #17 AUS
- 1998, "Fire" (duet with Babyface)
- 1998, "Life", #8 UK, #8 AUS, #1 SPA. Note: "Life" remained in the UK top 40 for 11 weeks, and was a number one seller across Europe.
- 1998, "What's Your Sign", #19 UK, #30 SPA
- 1998, "God Only Knows" (Japan)
- 1999, "You Gotta Be" (2nd Remix), #10 UK, #1 SPA
- 1999, "Ain't No Sunshine" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo), #42 UK
- 2003, "It's Okay", #69 UK
- 2003, "Why"[7]
Vinyl Records
Des'ree had a few British RPMs sold from 1991 to 1998.
- 1991, "Feel So High"
- 1992, "Mind Adventures"
- 1992, "Why Should I Love You?"
- 1992, "Competitive World"
- 1994, "You Gotta Be"
- 1994, "I Ain't Movin'"
- 1994, "Little Child"
- 1998, "What's Your Sign?"
- 1998, "Life"
References
External links
