R&B sensation Craig David was barely out of his teens when he took a hold of the U.K. pop circuit, twisted it around, and threw it back on its bum during fall 2000. This fresh-faced native of Southampton, England, was merely playing into his love of funkadelic hip-hop and crooning urban stylings when he started writing songs as a teenager. His love for Terence Trent D'Arby, Sisqo, and Donnell Jones allowed him to put his creative love for art, culture, and history into a musical beat all his own. And the new millennium belonged to him and garage had been redefined.
Born Craig Ashley David on May 5, 1981, David was slicing and dicing ragga and R&B on the local station PCRS 106.5FM and found himself playing club gigs prior to rubbing elbows with some of music's finest. It was during this time he hooked with Artful Dodger's Mark Hill. After winning a national writing competition, Craig was more than ready to start producing with Hill. His big break came when he put his own additives on Damage's "I'm Ready," a B-side to "Wonderful Tonight." Soon thereafter he remixed his own version of Human League's "Human" and started himself a regular spot in area clubs during the weekends. "Rewind" was another underground smash, specifically a definitive move for David. His respect for Stevie Wonder, Faith Evans, and R. Kelly was most apparent, however his own vocal talent was beginning to shine. He and Hill's specialty show on Capital Radio provided another outlet for David to shape his musical work of genius. "Fill Me In" proved yet another hit, shooting straight to number one in summer 2000. David was now the youngest British male solo artist to have a number one single. He was 19-years-old.
A deal with Wildstar Records in the U.K. sparked toward the end of the summer as "Re-Rewind" and "7 Days" gained praise in late November. A stateside agreement with Atlantic also led to more global hype. He had sold 3.5 million records worldwide and garage was finally becoming massive overseas and it was David's debut Born to Do It that was at the head.
But not all were pulling for this R&B prodigy. Aside from winning three awards at the MOBO's in October, Craig David walked away empty handed at the 2000 Brit Awards in February 2001. He was up for six nominations, including Best British Male Solo Artist, Best British Newcomer, and Best British Single for "7 Days," but industry politics fell into operation. Many mainstream stars came to David's defense, artists such as Elton John, U2, and Robbie Williams, professing their disgust for the ill recognition for David and his musical efforts in the past year. Death threats soon followed for the superstar in spring 2001 as he took the stage in a show in London. An anonymous caller claimed a soldier would injure David with tear gas and hand grenades. Still, his record sales continued to soar in the U.K. with sales of Born to Do It increasing over 100 percent after his dismal beginning months of 2001. He bombared American Shores with a deal with Atlantic and released Born to Do It stateside in summer 2001. Mainstream radio flocked to him immediately. Missy Elliott, Beyoncé Knowles, and Usher called themselves fans.
The next year, things didn't simmer down for the now international pop star. Craig David returned with a sophomore effort Slicker Than Your Average in November 2002. This particular album saw a much grittier side from David. Debut single "What's Your Flava?" also became one of the year's hottest singles.
Mariah Carey - BiographyBorn and raised in New York by her mother, a former opera singer with the New York City Opera and a vocal coach, Mariah Carey began singing at age four. By the time she was in junior high school, she had begun to write songs. After her high school graduation, she got her first big break, singing backup for friend Brenda K. Starr, a break that led to her signing with Columbia Records.
Mariah's 1990 eponymous debut album launched an unparalleled unbroken string of successes. Mariah Carey has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide, was certified 8x RIAA-platinum, and yielded a record-setting four consecutive #1 singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday," and "I Don't Wanna Cry." The title track of 1992's quadruple-platinum Emotions generated her fifth consecutive #1 single, placing Mariah Carey in the Top Ten All-Time achievers of Most Consecutive #1 Hits.
Emotions earned Mariah two Grammy® nominations ("Best Pop Vocal, Female" and, with Walter Afanasieff, "Best Producer") and an American Music Award ("Favorite Female Artist, Soul/R&B"). On March 17, 1992, Mariah appeared on MTV Unplugged, leading to the release of Mariah's sixth #1 single ("I'll Be There") as well as an EP which has been certified triple platinum in the U.S. and has sold more than five million copies worldwide. In 1993, Mariah released Music Box, an album which has sold more than 24 million copies worldwide, has been certified ten times RIAA platinum, and generated her seventh and eighth #1 singles "Dreamlover" and "Hero" as well as the Top 10 hit "Without You."
Mariah followed up with her holiday album, Merry Christmas, which sold eight million copies worldwide shortly after its release in November 1994 and has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA. Mariah's 1995 album, Daydream, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart; generated three consecutive #1 singles -- "Fantasy," "One Sweet Day" (her duet with Boyz II Men which, having spent 16 weeks at #1, still holds the record as the longest-running #1 single in history), and "Always Be My Baby" (Mariah's ninth, tenth, and eleventh #1's) -- and has been certified 10x platinum.
With Daydream, she became the first female artist in history to have three studio albums to each sell in excess of eight million copies. Mariah's 1997 album, Butterfly, a heady sensuous mix of contemporary R&B and pop, generated the #1 hits "Honey" (featuring Ma$e & The Lox) and "My All" (her twelfth and thirteenth #1's).
Butterfly has been certified quadruple platinum. In November 1998, Mariah released her #1's album, a collection of 13 of her chart-topping megahits as well as four brand-new bonus recordings: "When You Believe (from The Prince Of Egypt)," a duet with Whitney Houston; "Whenever You Call," a duet with Brian McKnight; "I Still Believe"; and "Sweetheart." #1's has achieved RIAA triple platinum status. Her 1999 release, Rainbow, featured Mariah's 14th #1 Hot 100 single, "Heartbreaker," which also became her 6th chart-topping R&B single. Maria Carey has had more #1 singles than any female artist, surpassing both the Supremes (12) and Madonna (11), and more #1's than any currently active recording artist. She has had more #1 singles (14) than any artist during the 1990s and seen more singles (3) debut at #1 than any artist in history. With more #1 albums (4) than any female artist in the 1990's, Mariah was the first female artist to see two of her albums (Music Box and Daydream) reach the 10 million mark in sales and is the only female artist to have eight albums certified triple-platinum or better (in Mariah's case, her entire album catalog has achieved RIAA multi-platinum status). In fact, Mariah Carey is the only artist to have had a #1 single for every year of the 1990's. The last decade to have an artist hit #1 every single year was the 1920's when Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra hit the top slot each year. (By the end of the 1920's, Whiteman had become a Columbia Records artist.) With the exception of Merry Christmas (from which there was no single release) and #1's (a collection of her first 13 chart-toppers), Mariah has hit #1 with the debut single from every one of her albums. With the exception of her cover version of the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There," Mariah has cowritten all of her #1's, including "Heartbreaker." With the exceptions of "I Don't Wanna Cry," "Someday," "Love Takes Time," and "Vision Of Love," Mariah has co-produced all of her chart-topping singles.
Mariah received 1990 Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Female ("Vision of Love"). The same year, Mariah picked up three Soul Train Awards: Best New Artist, Best Album (Mariah Carey) and Best Single, Female ("Vision of Love"). A perennial favorite at the American Music Awards, Mariah won Favorite Female Artist/R&B in 1992; Favorite Female Artist, Pop/Rock and Favorite Album, Adult Contemporary in 1993; Favorite Female Artist, Pop/Rock in 1995; and Favorite Female Artist, Pop/Rock and Favorite Female Artist, Soul/R&B in 1996. Mariah picked up her first Billboard Awards in 1991 for Top Adult Contemporary Artist, Top Pop Artist, Top Album Artist, Top Pop Singles Artist, and Top Pop Singles Artist/Female.
In 1996, she won a Billboard Award for Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year and, with Boyz II Men, a Special Hot 100 Singles Award for "One Sweet Day." At the 1998 World Music Awards ceremony, Mariah won an award for Best Selling R&B Artist and the Legend Award for World's Best Selling Recording Artist of the 1990's. She won her first World Music Awards - World's Best Selling Pop Artist, World's Best American Recording Artist, and World's Overall Best Performing Artist - in 1995. The following year, she was presented with trophies for World's Best Selling R&B Female Artist of the Year, World's Best Selling Overall Recording Female Artist of the Year, World's Best Selling Pop Artist of the Year, and World's Best Selling American Female Artist of the Year. Mariah was presented with the Aretha Franklin Entertainer Award and named Entertainer of the Year at the 1998 Lady Of Soul Awards. As of September 1999, Mariah Carey had sold more than 120 million albums and singles worldwide and earned an astounding 84 RIAA gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications for her singles, albums, and videos.
As one of the most popular recording artists of the 1990s, Mariah has provided an ongoing soundtrack to the decade. In 2001, Mariah signed with Virgin Records, which released Glitter, the soundtrack album to the film of the same name, with Mariah in her first lead acting role. She has also been featured in the films The Bachelor (1999) and Wisegirls (2002). In May 2002, Mariah signed an exclusive recording contract with the Universal Music Group's Island Records.
In addition, Carey has formed her own label, MonarC Music. Mariah's Charmbracelet features the songstress writing and co-producing with such a-list names as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Jermaine Dupri among others. The album, which is lyrically very personal, showcases Mariah's stunning voice, prolific songwriting and incredible versatility. This is fully evident on the first single, the sweeping epic ballad, "Through The Rain" which is a perfect example of what Mariah does best.
Carey's ninth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi was released in 2005 and contained contributions from producers such as The Neptunes, Kanye West and Carey's longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri. Carey said it was "very much like a party record ... the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out ... I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that." Mimi became the year's best-selling album in the U.S. with over five million copies (5xPlatinum) sold, won three Grammy Awards (including "Best Contemporary R&B Album") and received some of Carey's most favourable reviews in some time.
The second single "We Belong Together" held the Hot 100's number-one position for fourteen weeks (her longest run at the top as a solo artist) and was the biggest hit of 2005 in the U.S., while "Shake It Off" made Carey the only female artist to occupy the top two positions on the Hot 100 simultaneously. "Don't Forget about Us" became her seventeenth number-one in the U.S., which tied her with Elvis Presley for the most number-ones by a solo act according to Billboard magazine's revised methodology. By this count Carey is behind only The Beatles, who have twenty number-ones. The album became certified 6x platinum after her Grammy wins.
Since turn of the century, every American summer has seemed to produce one or two Caribbean-styled dance-pop hit sensations, and the summer of 2005 was no different, as the relentless dancehall-lite booming rhythms of Rihanna's "Pon de Replay" seemed as omnipresent as sunshine. Like Daddy Yankee ("Gasolina") and Sean Paul ("Get Busy") in summers prior, Rihanna emerged initially as an unknown superstar, known far more for her song than for herself. Unlike Daddy Yankee and Sean Paul, however, she is a woman — a young and beautiful green-eyed one, to be more specific. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in the St. Michael parish of Barbados a brief 17 years before she reached the Top Two of Billboard's Hot 100 chart (held back from the number one spot by the undisputed song of the summer, Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together"), Rihanna always exhibited a special quality, winning beauty and talent contests as a schoolchild. But because she lived on the fairly remote island of Barbados in the West Indies, she never foresaw the sort of stardom that would later befall her.
That stardom came courtesy of a fateful meeting with a man named Evan Rogers. The New Yorker was vacationing in Barbados with his wife, a native of the island, when someone turned him on to Rihanna. Since Rogers had spent years producing pop artists — including superstars like *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Laura Pausini, and Rod Stewart — he offered her the opportunity to record some music after he recognized her talent and potential. Along with Rogers' production partner, Carl Sturken (the other half of Syndicated Rhythm Productions), Rihanna recorded some demos that sparked the interest of the Carter Administration — that is, Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This led to an audition and, in turn, an on-the-spot offer to sign with Def Jam, which Rihanna indeed inked on the spot.
Come summer 2005, Def Jam rolled out "Pon de Replay," the lead single of Music of the Sun, which was produced almost entirely by Rogers and Sturken and which synthesized Caribbean rhythms and beats with urban-pop songwriting. "Pon de Replay" caught fire almost immediately, challenging "We Belong Together"'s half-summer reign atop the Billboard chart before Music of the Sun even saw release. Her sophomore release, A Girl Like Me, appeared in 2006. Singles off it include the Hot 100 #1 record "SOS", the ballad "Unfaithful" (#6) and third release "We Ride". Fourth single "Break It Off" which features Sean Paul entered the Hot 100 Top 10 only being a digital download song. Now her third album Good Girl Gone Bad is coming in 2007.
Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She made her debut in 2003 appearing in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in 2006 after appearing as Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel filmHigh School Musical hit series. Hudgens began a music career and released her debut album, V, in 2006. Her second album, Identified, was released July 1, 2008.
Hudgens's breakout role has been starring in the Disney Channel movie series High School Musical, starring as Gabriella Montez. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles.[7] The first High School Musical spawned a hit soundtrack, a worldwide concert tour, a show at Walt Disney World, and even a book series that helped Hudgens land in Forbes magazine's list of top-earning stars under 21." In the list, the 18-year-old Hudgens was No. 7 with estimated earnings of $2 million.[8] Hudgens started concentrating on her music career by signing a record deal with Hollywood Records in 2006 as the start of her solo career, but
Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in late September 2006. V debuted on the Billboard 200 in early Octobe
r 2006 at number twenty-four on the chart, with 34,000 copies sold that week.[9] A music video for her first single, "Come Back to Me", debuted after the world premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2 in late August. The official music video for her second single, "Say OK", was first shown following the premiere of Disney's Jump In!. In August 2007 at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards, Hudgens was named the Choice Breakout Singer - Female.[10]
Hudgens promoted the album when opening for The Cheetah Girls during their The Party's Just Begun Tour.[7] The album was re-released in a limited Deluxe Edition format, released only in Japan.[11] The album was certified Gold for shipments to retailers of 500,000 copies on February 27, 2007.[12] The album was nominated as #7 on "Album of The Year" by Billboard Readers' Choice.[13]
Hudgens launched a worldwide tour with the rest of the cast of High School Musical in fall 2006, performing the songs from the soundtrack album as well of three songs from her debut album, "Come Back to Me", her lead single, "Say OK", and "Let's Dance.[14] A DVD and an album named High School Musical: The Concert were released in 2007, featuring only one of the three songs performed by Hudgens from her debut album in the tour. Hudgens sang the duet "Still There For Me" with Corbin Bleu for his debut album. Hudgens also appeared on the soundtrack of High School Musical 2, performing several songs such as "
Hudgens's second album was Identified and was released on July 1, 2008.[17] On the first week of the release of her album, Identified sold more than 22,000 copies, 12,000 less than her debut album. Though the album had poor sales its first week, Identified received generally positive reviews from music critics. The first single from this album, "Sneakernight", premiered on Radio Disney on April 11, 2008. Though the album wasn't very successful on the charts, the lead single was able to climb at the top 10 on the U.S. BillboardHot Dance Club Play and peaked at #8.[18] Hudgens launched on July 31, 2008 her first solo tour called "Identified Summer Tour" in order to promote her first two albums. The tour reached Mexico too and she appeared in the Neutrogena Fresh Face Concert on September 7, 2008 at Santa Monica, California Powerhouses.[19][20] She closed officially concert tour on October, 2008,
On January 11, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Hudgens would star in the comedy, Bandslam. Hudgens will play 15-year old Sam and the movie is set to premiere on July 31, 2009.[21][22][23] Hudgens recorded the soundtrack to the film.[24] which tracklist remain not confirmed. Bandslam will take full advantage of Anschutz’s AEG Live to boost the film’s awareness level. AEG Live will book dates at the Anschutz-owned Nokia venues in New York and Los Angeles, where the girls and other acts from the film will play.[25]
Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella for the third time in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. She also appeared on the soundtrack of the movie, performing songs such as "Can I Have This Dance" and "Walk Away". She also presented an award in the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards along with the rest of the HSM cast.[26] Hudgens and the cast of HSM 3 launched a European promotional tour to promote the movie.[27] Vanessa made only $2 million for the film, reportedly due to the photo scandal that hurt her image.[28] > Hudgens and Efron also toured in Japan to promote High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which
In 2007, Hudgens signed a promotional deal for the Eckō Red footwear in which she did two commercials for the brand. She also endorsed the sneakers in the video for the song, "Sneakernight".[30][31]Sears has teamed up with Hudgens for a b
ack-to-school marketing campaign that began in July and had the theme, "Don't just go back. Arrive."
Hudgens is also currently a Neutrogena spokesperson. "Vanessa Hudgens has an energetic, dynamic personality that will truly complement the spirit of Neutrogena. We are pleased to welcome her to our team", says Neutrogena President, North America, Jim Colleran. As a new spokesperson for Neutrogena, Hudgens will be featured in both
national TV and print campaigns.[32] In September 2008, she performed in the Neutrogena Fresh Faces Concert.
Personal life
Hudgens confirmed, in an October 2007 interview with Teen magazine, that she was dating her High School Musical series co-star Zac Efron and had been since the filming of High School Musical.[33][34] They were still dating as of September 3, 2008.[35]
In 2008, she was ranked as FHM's 62nd Sexiest Woman[36] and Maxim's number 12 in their 100 Hot List.[37] She was included in People's annual "100 Most Beautiful People" list in May 2008. As of 2008, she has been a cover girl for CosmoGirl and Lucky magazine.[38] She has also done photoshoots with her boyfriend, Zac Efron and High School Musical co-star Ashley Tisdale for Elle magazine,[39]Glamour magazine for the May issue, and InStyle for October.[40]
She ranked #20 for Forbes magazine 2008 highest earners under 30 [41] and #7 at the ten best dressed list for October 2008. [42] She also made the "Maxim’s Sexiest of 2009" list. [43] In an internet poll, she garnered rank #61 in AskMen.com's Top 99 Women of 2009. [44] Moreover, she is ranked #10 in Cosmopolitan magazine's Best Dressed Celebs of 2008. [45]
Controversies
Nude photo scandal
On September 6, 2007, controversy erupted after provocative photos of Hudgens surfaced online. Two showed her posing in suggestive lingerie, and another showed her nude. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was "unfortunate" that they were released on the Internet.[46] Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken [those] photos."[47] Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague indicated that Disney will still be working with Hudgens, stating, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."[48][49] Early speculation that Vanessa Hudgens would be dropped from High School Musical 3 due to her nude photo scandal proved untrue.[50] Although it was reported by OK! magazine that Vanessa would be replaced by Adrienne Bailon or Sabrina Bryan from the Cheetah Girls in High School Musical 3,[51]Access Hollywood confirmed that the cast was still in negotiations and Vanessa would not be cut from High School Musical 3. "Totally untrue. It is an old rumor", Vanessa's representative told Access, "OK! Magazine never bothered to check the fact with me, but they did call Disney who said it wasn't true, but yet OK! ran it anyway. Apparently, OK! Magazine was having a slow news day."[52] She also claims that she did not regret on the leakage of the photos.[53]
Lawsuits
Hudgens was sued by music producer Johnny Vieira, who claims she reneged on a deal to share her earnings with him after he helped make her a star. In the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Vieira accuses Hudgens and father, Greg Hudgens, of breach of contract and fraud, seeking more than $27 million in damages. Hudgens's record label, Hollywood, also is named as a defendant in the suit. Vieira said he was dumped from Hudgens's management team soon after she was cast in HSM. However, "it became clear that Hudgens and her new 'team' ... all directed by her father ... would take every possible opportunity to deprive Vieira of the benefits to be derived from the settlement agreement", the lawsuit says. Hudgens's publicist could not immediately be reached for comment. A Disney spokesman said the company had not had a chance to review the lawsuit.[54] According to the suit, they subsequently reached a settlement under which Hudgens agreed to pay Vieira a percentage of her earnings from her first three albums under her solo recording contract with Hollywood Records.
I already have over 20 years in the business behind me, even though I am only 24 years old – will undoubtedly look back upon those last three years as a landmark achievement. I'm a singer, dancer, performer. In 2001, I was catapulted to the top of the French charts with my debut single. « Trackin’ » sold 750 000 copies and was certified platinum;it reached a 1 position in the sales charts and was 1 in the club charts… The track also made 1 in Holland, 2 in Belgium, 3 in Switzerland, 20 in Germany. It reached a great response in Germany and became 1 on radio and club charts…. Then by April 2002, I was back on the scene with my sophomore album, « Ride ». “Ride” was certified gold in France (100 000 copies) within just a few weeks and shipped gold in Switzerland. The album went on to achieve platinum status in the French market (300 000) and a total of 600 000 copies have been sold to date. As for singles, following the success of the second track, « When You Think About Me » (over 250 000 copies sold in France), I was back again in September 2002 with my third single from the “Ride” album, « You Didn’t Expect That », which went straight in the Top 5 and was certified gold in December, having sold more than 250.000 copies in just a few weeks! After this landslide success, I returned in 2003 with two versions of a previously unreleased track: the English version of « Someone Like You » and a special Franco-English version for France, « Me passer de toi », which stayed in the singles charts for several weeks. I've already received a nomination at the 2002 NRJ Music Awards for « Best Newcomer of the Year », and in 2003, I was awarded as « International Male Artist of the Year» with competition from Will Smith, Eminem and Robbie Williams. During all these accomplishments I managed to squeeze a role in the movie " Dominion, The Prequel To The Exorsist" directed by the one and only Paul Shrader was released under Morgan Creek Films and WB. 2004 was the release of my latest album called "Big City". this album was produced by some of the hottest producers in the industry such as Kovas(ghettobeat production), J Que (from "The Clutch"), Tricky and Laney Stewart (REDZONE), The Cornerboyz, Pale Face, Desmond Child, Stargate, and more. I left my old company, V2 records, wanting to expand my career into something bigger. The rest should be history!!!
Billy Crawford (born Billy Joe Crawford on May 16, 1982)[1] is an Filipino-Americanmusician and actor with musical influences from R&B, pop, and soul. Crawford became known in Europe and Asia with song titles such as "When You Think About Me", "Never My Love", "Steamy Nights"[2] and "Bright Lights". Crawford is multilingual, being fluent in two Philippine languages, his native Tagalog as well as Cebuano. His second language is American English and he is conversational in French. Crawford has lived in New York City, USA, and in Paris for five years and for one year in London. He currently resides in Los Angeles as of 2007. In 2008, he went to Manila to host Pinoy Dream Academy's uberture. He has also hosted the prestigious Miss Earth 2008 held in the Philippines.
Crawford was born in Manila, Philippines, to a Filipina mother who is half Spanish named Mayette and an American father named Jack. He has two half-brothers. Crawford was discovered at an early age of 3 years, singing at a bowling alley that his mother visited often. He became a series regular on an afternoon GMA Network television show called That's Entertainment under the name Billy Joe. He attended International Christian Academy in the Philippines until his departure for the US when he was 11 and balanced both his professional acting and academic repertory obligations. He acted in a few movies before he moved to the United States where he started a music career, performing mostly in the United Kingdom and France, as well as in Asia. His pre-career started in Dallas, Texas, USA, where he lived and performed his singing and then moved to New York City. During this time, he legally changed his name to Billy Crawford. He went to a school in New York City which lots of other famous people such as Mandy Moore and Nina Sky attended. In 1996, he danced with Michael Jackson onstage when he was 14 years old and appeared as one of his back-up dancers at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. He dated Mandy Moore for almost a year when he was 15 and she was 14.
He recorded his first album called Billy Crawford (which included hits such as "Urgently In Love" and "Mary Lopez") when he was 15 years old. It went straight into the charts in the Philippines and Europe. His foreign career did not last too long. After a year, everyone began to forget who he was. He took a small break at first and had a few accidents during that time and he was in the hospital. When he was released from hospital, he fainted and fell down the stairs in front of it, and returned to hospital the same day with a broken jaw, which healed successfully. His quiet break lasted more than a year.
Crawford was a success as a singer in France with the first single from his album Ride called "Trackin'". In 2001, it put Crawford at the top of the French charts. "Trackin'" has sold 750,000 copies and was certified platinum; it reached a #1 position on sales charts and was #1 in the club charts. The song also made #1 in the Netherlands, #2 in Belgium, #3 in Switzerland and #20 in Germany. It had a great success in Germany and became #1 on the radio and club chart. His second single "When You Think About Me", was also a huge success, and many other successes followed.
By April 2002, Crawford was back on the scene with his second album, Ride. This was certified gold in France (making 100,000 copies) within just a few weeks and gold in Switzerland. The album went on to achieve platinum status in the French market (making 300,000 copies) and a total of 600,000 copies has been sold to date. As for singles, following the success of the second track, "When You Think About Me" (over 250,000 copies sold in France), Crawford returned in September 2002 with a third single from the Ride album, "You Didn't Expect That", which went directly into the Top 5 and was certified gold in December, having sold more than 250,000 copies in just a few weeks. After this grand success, he returned in 2003 with two versions of a previously unreleased track: the English version of "Someone Like You" and a special Franco-English version for France, "Me Passer de Toi", which stayed in the singles charts for some weeks.
The album Big City was produced by some of the best producers in the American music industry such as Kovas (Ghettobeat Production), J Que (from "The Clutch"), Tricky Stewart and Laney Stewart (RedZone Entertainment), The CornaBoyz, Pale Face, Desmond Child and Stargate. He left his old company, V2 records, wanting to expand his career into something bigger.
Big City Tour Live is the live release DVD album from Crawford. The DVD was released in 2005 at France. It was directed by Michel Jankielewicz, produced by Yves El-Baze and distributed by UMG (2005) (worldwide) (DVD). The budget of this album was €150,000 (estimated).
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It's Time is the fourth studio album by Crawford. The album is confirmed to be released in fall 2007. There are 12 songs known so far.
Crawford had major chart success in France and other parts of Europe, but did not repeat this success in the United Kingdom and the United States, although his single "You Didn't Expect That" did make the lower reaches of the UK Top 40, peaking at number 35. He also contributed a remix of the Pokémon anime theme song for Pokémon: The First Movie in the series. Crawford also appeared at a popular Filipino American event called "Fiesta Filipina" in 2001 held in San Francisco, California, and American people have become more aware of his name.
Crawford's album Big City was released in 2004 in France and Asia only. The single "Bright Lights" was unable to break into the any Top 10 charts. The second single "Steamy Nights", fared better making Top 40, and was featured on 7 compilations across Europe and was the first single in Germany. Crawford's music video for "Steamy Nights" was shot in Los Angeles, California, and was produced with the same people who worked on the Destiny's Child single "Lose My Breath". Actress Jenna Dewan, who was one of the main characters in the popular 2006 movie Step Up, was featured as one of Crawford's main dance partners.
Billy's Philippine TV Show "MOVE"
Another song from Candy Store was leaked from the album and received airplay on London radio. Thought to be a duet with Ginuwine, it is featured on the Big City album. After doing the first ever online reality show "the MSN Dance Show", his third single from Big City, "3 Wishes", was canceled by his label. Crawford felt it was time for something new and decided not to re-sign his contract with V2 records. He is writing and producing songs for other artists.
In 2006, Crawford began recording a new album which was expected to be released in 2007. In 2006, he toured during the summer with the L5 in France and in November he was scheduled to return to his home country to shoot a film.
In 2007, he returned to the Philippines for a new dance reality show M.O.V.E for GMA Network. The show searched for six back-up dancers for his Araneta Coliseum concert. After the successful concert, he returned to the United States to work on projects and fulfill several commitments.
Upon his return to the Philippines, Crawford decided to sign with ABS-CBN as an exclusive artist instead of returning to GMA. He became a regular on the Sunday variety show ASAP and later hosted the 2nd season of Pinoy Dream Academy.
Crawford did not receive significant media attention after the Big City Tour 2005, mostly being mentioned in a few magazines for his break-up with Lorie, and found a new relationship with Maryss (also known as Maryss from Paris), a dancer he met when she auditioned for the Big City tour. Recently, Maryss has only referred to Crawford as a good friend and Crawford has admitted that he is too busy to find any relationships at the moment.
Amidst his looming career in the international music scene, most especially in Europe, he decided to reside in the Philippines. His stay in the Philippines for his Move TV show gave Billy friendly connections with many other Filipino actors and singers such as Rochelle Pangilinan, Ruffa Mae Quinto, Marian Rivera, Gary Valenciano and Jay-R, as well as with many other famous actors and singers.
I'm a girl,i think so..but also i'm a person who has a little bit of everything that is why i have a very balanced life.I crave for music & it's been a part of me.I like all genres but i'm most into R&B...my feminity is what brings me close to the world of music.It brings out my softer side the emotion within me.Music helps me change my mood to ease my tension.Music for me is an expression of the soul... outlet of all kinds of emotions.When i sing songs i'm putting all my emotions there that would bring me to a whole new dimension that only a few people would understand.I'm a true music lover.Song are not just songs they are emotions unleashed. "Music is everything,Music' is my life
