• Craig David's shock at death of Michael Jackson

  ThisisHampshire.net - Found Jun. 27, 2009 Comments (2) Have your say » SOUTHAMPTON singing sensation Craig David has paid his own tribute to Michael Jackson, describing him as the King of ...

• Craig David's shock at death of Michael Jackson

  Southern Daily Echo - Found Jun. 27, 2009 SOUTHAMPTON singing sensation Craig David has paid his own tribute to Michael Jackson, describing him as the King of Pop.

• Craig David and Sway join Ali Campbell on new album

  Music-News - Found May. 16, 2009 Speaking about recording the song 'Everways' with Craig David, Ali recalls: 'It was a joy working with Craig, he is totally professional and...

• Craig David whisks mystery woman to Paris as ex-girlfriend quits ...

  Mail Online UK - Found May. 11, 2009 Craig David hasn't wasted much time after splitting from ex-girlfriend Francesca Neill.

• Craig David whisks mystery woman to Paris as ex-girlfriend quits ...

  Mail Online UK - Found May. 11, 2009 Craig David hasn't wasted much time after splitting from ex-girlfriend Francesca Neill.

• Craig David persuades girlfriend to quit Miss Great Britain pageant

  Mail Online UK - Found May. 11, 2009 Craig David's stunning girlfriend Francesca Neill has pulled out of the Miss Great Britain pageant to join the singer in Paris.

• Craig David whisks girlfriend off to Paris after persuading her to ...

  Mail Online UK - Found May. 11, 2009 Craig David's stunning girlfriend Francesca Neill has pulled out of the Miss Great Britain pageant to join the singer in Paris.

• News & Reviews: Craig David And Sway Join Ali Campbell On New Album

  Chester Chronicle - Found May. 15, 2009 Speaking about recording the song ?Everways? with Craig David, Ali recalls: ?It was a joy working with Craig, he is totally professional...

• Singer Craig David -- Measuring Length

  TMZ.com - Found Apr. 28, 2009 Filed under: Paparazzi Photo , Beauty , Hot Bodies Wearing nothing but his white boxers, sexy British R&B singer Craig David hung out on his

• Birthdays: Craig David

  The Times - Found May. 4, 2009 Craig David, the Southampton-born singer-songwriter, found early success with the hit singles Rewind, Fill Me In and 7 Days.

Craig David
Craig David by Jonathan Andel, 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Craig Ashley David
Born	5 May 1981 (1981-05-05) (age 28) Southampton, Hampshire, England
Genre(s)	R&B, Pop, Dance, Electronica, Soul, Hip-hop/Rap, UK garage, 2-step garage, 4x4 garage, Bassline
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, Rapper
Years active	1999 — present
Label(s)	Warner / Atlantic (1999-Present) Sire (1999-Present)
Website	www.craigdavid.com

Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English R&B singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums: Born To Do It, Slicker Than Your Average, The Story Goes..., Trust Me and a Greatest Hits album.

Early life

David was born in Southampton, the son of a half-Jewish white mother and a father from Grenada.¹ His father, George David, was a carpenter and also played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. As a teen, David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone.²

Career

David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a b-side to British group Damage's song "Wonderful Tonight." He then started doing vocals for a few tracks with garage act Artful Dodger. The song "Rewind," released off the Artful Dodger album It's All About the Stragglers, hit #2 on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David's first single, "Fill Me In," released on Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar Records made him the youngest solo male artist ever to reach #1 in the UK (he was 19 years old at the time). This was the first of a string of four Top 10 singles from his debut album Born To Do It, which eventually sold more than seven million units worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries.²³ The song "Key To My Heart," taken from the US version of the album, was also featured on the award-winning Warner Brothers animated film Osmosis Jones.

2000-2001: Born To Do It

The success of David's debut, which was written almost entirely by David and Mark Hill of Artful Dodger, led to the U.S. release of "Fill Me In" in May 2001. It reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Born to Do It was released in the U.S. on 17 July 2001, peaking at #11 on the Billboard 200 and sold over one million copies. The single "7 Days" hit the Top 10 in the U.S.; although, "Walking Away," which had reached #3 in the UK and #5 in Australia, missed the Top 40 in the U.S. and was the last of his singles to chart there.

In April 2009, MTV viewers voted 'Born To Do It' as #2 on their 'Greatest Album of All-Time' poll.⁴

2002-2003: Slicker Than Your Average

The follow-up album, Slicker Than Your Average, was released in 2002 and fared considerably less well than David's debut. None of the six singles released from the album charted in the U.S. Although "What's Your Flava?" and "Rise & Fall" (duet with Sting) received airplay on the Urban contemporary and Soft AC formats, they did not make the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Tracks chart or the Adult Contemporary chart. However, "What's Your Flava?" made the Rhythmic Top 40 (#32), Top 40 Mainstream (#24) and the Top 40 Tracks (#37). The albums' first four singles continued his streak of Top 10 hits in the UK, bringing a total of nine consecutive Top 10 hits until "World Filled with Love" peaked at #15 in 2003. According to the RIAA Slicker Than Your Average reached Gold Status in the USA.

2005-2006: The Story Goes...

David later signed on with Warner Music and put together his third album, The Story Goes..., which was released worldwide in August 2005 (excluding the U.S. where it was never released). The first single, "All The Way," returned him to the Top 3. The second single, "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)," tied with "7 Days" as his longest running single in the charts since "Rewind," spending 15 weeks inside the UK Top 75. The album's third single, "Unbelievable," debuted at #18 in March 2006.

2007-2008: Trust Me

In 2007, David collaborated with UK rapper Kano on his upcoming album London Town, for the single "This is the Girl." The track was released on 27 August 2007 and debuted at #18 on the UK charts.

The first single "Hot Stuff" from the album Trust Me, was released on 5 November 2007 . The single was a top ten hit, whilst the album charted at #18 on the UK Albums Chart. "6 of 1 Thing," the second single to be taken from Trust Me, charted at #39 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his third-lowest charting single to date.

"Officially Yours" was released on 23 June 2008 and peaked at #158 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his lowest-charting single to date and was the final single from Trust Me.

In July, a new track titled "Are You Up For This" started receiving airplay on various radio stations as part of a promo with Ice Cream Records, which also featured a remix with Witty Boy.

On 17 August, David performed at a birthday tribute concert for songwriter Don Black at the London Palladium. He performed the song "Ben," originally a hit for Michael Jackson.

David took part in Soccer Aid 2008 at Wembley Stadium on 7 September 2008. He picked up the 'Man of The Match' award on the night and played in the same England side as ex-internationals such as Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and David Seaman, and played against the likes of Romario, Paolo Di Canio, Jaap Stam and Luis Figo.

David received two 2008 UK Urban Music Award nominations for Best Album with Trust Me and Best R&B Act.⁵

On 7 November, David was recognised for his contribution to the music industry by receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Music, from Southampton Solent University at a graduation ceremony held at Southampton Guildhall.

On 29 December, a new mix of "Insomnia," titled "Up All Night Mix," was made available for digital download.

2008-present: Greatest Hits

David released his first Greatest Hits album on 24 November 2008. In support of the release, David released two singles to promote the album. "Where's Your Love" featuring Tinchy Stryder and Rita Ora, a homage to his UK garage days, was digitally released on 10 November 2008. The second single, "Insomnia," produced by Jim Beanz from Timbaland productions, a dance track with hard bassline beats, was released the following week on 17 November 2008.

As part of the "Greatest Hits" compilation, David re-recorded "Walking Away" with four different artists across Europe, Monrose from Germany, Nek from Italy, Lynnsha from France and Alex Ubago from Spain.

The album debuted at #48 on the UK Albums Chart, making it David's lowest-charting album ever. It also failed to enter inside the Irish Top 100 Albums Chart.

In February - April 2009 David toured Russia, the Far East and performed one show in Los Angeles as part of a Greatest Hits tour. He met fans at a Meet and Greet session at Singapore Changi Airport before his show ⁶.

In April 2009, 'Born To Do It' came second in a poll by MTV for the Greatest Album ever, which received over 40,000 votes, beaten by Michael Jackson’s classic album 'Thriller'.⁷

On 14 May 2009 Craig participated in the Hillsborough Memorial football match at Anfield.

Discography

Awards and nominations

• BET Awards
  • 2002: Best R&B Male Artist (Nominated)
  • 2002: Best New Artist (Nominated)

• BRIT Awards
  • 2006: Best British Urban Act (Nominated)
  • 2003: Best British Urban Act (Nominated)
  • 2003: Best British Male Solo Artist (Nominated)
  • 2002: Best British Album: Born to Do It (Nominated)
  • 2002: Best British Dance Act (Nominated)
  • 2002: Best British Male Solo Artist (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best British Album: Born to Do It (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best British Dance Act (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best British Male Solo Artist (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best British Newcomer (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best British Single: "7 Days" (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best British Video: "7 Days" (Nominated)

• Goldene Kamera
  • 2004: Pop International

• Grammy Awards
  • 2003: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: "7 Days" (Nominated)
  • 2002: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: "Fill Me In" (Nominated)

• Ivor Novello Awards
  • 2001: Best Contemporary Song: "7 Days"
  • 2001: Best Dance Single Award: "Woman Trouble", shared with Robbie Craig and Artful Dodger
  • 2001: Songwriter Of The Year, shared with Mark Hill

• MOBO Awards
  • 2001: Best UK Act
  • 2001: Best R&B Act (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best Album: Born to Do It (Nominated)
  • 2000: Best R&B Act
  • 2000: Best UK Newcomer
  • 2000: Best UK Single of the Year: "Fill Me In"
  • 2000: Best Video: "7 Days" (Nominated)
  • 2000: Best UK Single of the Year: "Woman Trouble" (Nominated), shared with Robbie Craig and Artful Dodger

• MTV Europe Awards
  • 2001: Best Male (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best New Act (Nominated)
  • 2001: Best R&B Act
  • 2001: Best UK & Ireland Act

• MTV Video Music Awards
  • 2002: Best Male Video: "Walking Away" (Nominated)
  • 2001: MTV2 Award: "Fill Me In" (Nominated)

• MTV Video Music Awards Japan
  • 2006: Best R&B Video: "All The Way" (Nominated)
  • 2003: Best Male Video: "What's Your Flava?"

• Radio Music Awards
  • 2001: Most Requested Song: "Fill Me In" (Nominated)

• Other awards and honors
  • Honorary Degree, Doctor of Music, Southampton Solent University, 7 November 2008⁸⁹

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Craig David

• Craig David's official website
• Craig David's official forum
• Craig David's official Facebook Page
• Craig David's official YouTube Channel
• Craig David at MySpace