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Biography
pp-move-indefInfobox musical artist|image=| name = Des'ree| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Desiree Annette Weeks| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|1968|11|30|df=yes| birth_place = London , England | death_date =| genre = soul music|Soul , dance music|dance , rhythm and blues|R& B , pop music|pop | occupation = Singer , songwriter | years_active = 1992 present| label = Dusted Sound Records, Epic Records | associated_acts =| website ='''Des'ree (born Desirιe Annette Weeks''', 30 November 1968) is a British R& B recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is well known for her hit record|hits : "Feel So High", " You Gotta Be ", " Life (Des'ree song)|Life ", and " Kissing You (Des'ree song)|Kissing You " (from the soundtrack of the film '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet ''). Des'ree has not released any new material since 2003's Dream Soldier .
Career
Des'ree was born in South London , England in 1968.Briton Hadden, Henry Robinson Luce (1995) Time (magazine)|Time , Volume 145, Issues 18-26 Time Inc ., 1995 http://books.google.com/books? id=YQ4EAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA14& dq=des%27ree+born+in+london& hl=en& ei=dqWFTIOIDY_HswaBs-WaBQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=4& ved=0CDkQ6AEwAw#v=onepage& q=des%27ree%20born%20in%20london& f=false Billboard 13 Jun 1998 Billboard Magazine '' Her mother is from British Guiana (now Guyana ), and her father is from Barbados . She was introduced to reggae , calypso music|calypso and jazz music by her parents, and Des'ree's interest in pursuing a musical career followed a two year trip to Barbados with her family at the age of 11.
Des'ree has released five albums through Sony Music Worldwide; Mind Adventures , ''I Ain't Movin' , Supernatural , Endangered Species and Dream Soldier .
Her first single, "Feel So High', (Mind Adventures) went top 10 in the UK and several other European countries, along with Japan.
In 1994, her single (music)|single " You Gotta Be " hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top 5, peaking at #5, and was a chart-topper|hit in the United Kingdom|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 2.5 million copies worldwide. Her success led to an United States|American tour with Seal (singer)|Seal in 1995. The following year, she contributed the song " Kissing You (Des'ree song)|Kissing You " to the soundtrack of the film '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet .
In 1997, her single "Crazy Maze" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Nothing to Lose with Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence.
In 1998, her single " Life (Des'ree song)|Life " became a hit in Europe , reaching no1 in many countries, along with Japan. In 1999, she won a BRIT Awards|BRIT Award for the British Female Solo Artist category.cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6626239.stm | title = Des'ree takes bad lyric top spot | work = BBC | date = 4 May 2007 | accessdate = 2008-02-29
Sony released Dream Soldier in 2003. The album released one single, "It's Okay". The video was shot in London's Notting Hill.
Des'ree has also performed various duet (music)|duets , including "Fire" with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds|Babyface (part of the soundtrack for the independent film, Hav Plenty ), "Plenty Lovin" with Steve Winwood and " Delicate (Terence Trent D'Arby Song)|Delicate " with Terence Trent D'Arby .
In 2012, her song "You Gotta Be" was used for the trailer for Tyler Perry 's movie, Good Deeds .
Other work
In 1998, Des'ree's hit, "Feel 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. The maxi single, released in 2000, lists Des'ree and Michael Graves as one of the song's writers.Q Magazine, July 1998
In 2007, Des'ree filed suit against Beyoncι Knowles|Beyoncι for her cover version of the Tim Atack/Des'ree songwriter|penned song , "I'm Kissing You",Allmusic|class=song|id=t2596323|pure_url=yes Allmusic - discography section for the re-release of her album '' B'Day ''. http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/article.html? in_article_id=45821& in_page_id=7 Des'ree sues Beyonce over song (April 18, 2007) Metro.
Other duets include the Bill Withers ' song, " Ain't No Sunshine ", recorded by Ladysmith Black Mombazo , featuring, Des'ree. "Silent Hero", written by Des'ree and Prince Sampson, featured in Spike Lee 's, Clockers . "Feel So High", written by Des'ree and Michael Graves, featured in Set It Off . "You Gotta Be", also featured in The Object Of My Affection .
Des'ree has won several awards, including a Brit Award, an Ivor Novello Award, World Music Award, Urban Music Award and a BMI award for over five million plays of "You Gotta Be" in America alone.
Between 1999 and 2003, Des'ree studied photography, ceramics and art at the Camberwell College of Arts . http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/interviews/1008-desree Des'ree. Metro.co.uk (2009-10-27). Retrieved on 2012-05-09.
She continues songwriting and has performed for charities.
Discography
Albums
col-begincol-2
Studio albums
Title
Album details
Peak chart positions
UK cite web
Mind Adventures
Released: 17 February 1992
Label: Sony Music|Sony
Formats: Compact Disc|CD , Compact Cassette|cassette , Music download|digital download
'' I Ain't Movin'
Released: 5 July 1994
Label: Sony
Formats: CD, cassette, digital download
Supernatural
Released: 11 August 1998
Label: Sony
Formats: CD, cassette, digital download
Dream Soldier
Released: 31 March 2003cite book
Label: Sony
Formats: CD, cassette, digital download
col-2
Compilation albums
Title
Album details
Mystic Mixes
Released: 4 August 1999
Label: Sony
Formats: CD
Endangered Species (B-sides and rare tracks)
Released: 23 October 2000
Label: Sony
Formats: CD, digital download
col-end
Singles
Song
Year
Peak chart positions
Album
UK
AUS cite web
ITA cite web
SPA cite web
US cite web
"Feel So High"1
1991
13
28
67
Mind Adventures
"Mind Adventures"
1992
43
"Why Should I Love You"
44
" You Gotta Be "
1994
20
9
5
''I Ain't Movin
"I Ain't Movin'"
44
"Little Child"
69
"You Gotta Be" (remix)
1995
14
" Kissing You (Des'ree song)
1997
1372
17
Supernatural
" Life (Des'ree song)
1998
8
8
1
1
" Fire (Bruce Springsteen song)
"What's Your Sign? "
19
1
"God Only Knows" ( Japan only)cite web
1999
"You Gotta Be" (1999 mix)3
10
1
"It's Okay"
2003
69
Dream Soldier
"Why? "
Notes
1 "Feel So High" originally peaked at number 51 in the UK Singles Chart in 1991. It was re-released in 1992 and peaked at number 13. In the US, the single did not chart until 1995 and featured on "I Ain't Movin'".
2 "Kissing You" peaked at number 137 in the UK in 2010.
3 "Fire" was included on the 1998 edition of Supernatural as track 11. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Supernatural/dp/B004QOPHJU/ Supernatural: Des'ree: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads The 1999 mix of "You Gotta Be" replaced it when the album was re-released in the UK in 1999. http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do? ctx=280;-1;-1;-1;-1& sku=763471 Desree: Supernatural: Includes You Gotta Be (1999): CD: hmv.com
As a featured artist
Song
Year
| Peak chart positions
Album
UK
" Delicate (Terence Trent D'Arby Song)
1993
14
Symphony or Damn
" Ain't No Sunshine " ( Ladysmith Black Mambazo featuring Des'ree)
1999
42
style="text-align:left;"
Vinyl records
Des'ree had 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, " Life (Des'ree song)|Life "
1998, "What's Your Sign? "
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/International/Special/Desree/desree2/frame_set.html The Official Des'ree Website from Sony Records|SonyMusic ja
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p22913|pure_url=yes Des'ree from Allmusic
IMDb name|id=0220783|name=Des'ree
Persondata| NAME =Desree | ALTERNATIVE NAMES =Weeks, Desiree Annette | SHORT DESCRIPTION = English people|English pop and soul singer | DATE OF BIRTH =30 November 1968 | PLACE OF BIRTH = London , England | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Desree Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts Category:English people of Barbadian descent Category:English female singers Category:Black British singers Category:Black British musicians Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English soul musicians Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from London Category:Brit Award winners
