Craig David facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Craig David
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David performing at The Queen's Birthday Party in April 2018
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Craig Ashley David |
| Born | 5 May 1981 Southampton, Hampshire, England |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
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Craig Ashley David, born on May 5, 1981, is a famous English singer. He became well-known in 1999 after being featured on the song "Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. His first album, Born to Do It, came out in 2000. Since then, he has released many more albums and worked with other artists like Sting. He has also been awarded an MBE for his contributions to music.
Contents
Craig David's Early Life
Craig David was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England. He was the only child of Tina, a retail assistant, and George David, a carpenter. His parents separated when he was eight years old, and his mother raised him.
He went to Bellemoor School and Southampton City College. Craig David faced bullying from other students at school. In 2005, he wrote and released a song called "Johnny" about his memories of being bullied.
Craig's father, George David, played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. When Craig was a teenager, he started going with his father to local dance clubs. There, the DJs would let him use the microphone to sing.
Craig David's Music Career
Starting His Music Journey
Craig David first gained attention by working on a song called "I'm Ready" for the British group Damage. After that, he began singing for the UK garage duo Artful Dodger. He sang on their tracks like "Something" and "What Ya Gonna Do."
A record label called Wildstar Records noticed Craig David when his manager played some of his music. The label's co-owner, Colin Lester, was very impressed by a song called "Walking Away." He thought that a seventeen-year-old who could write such a song had huge potential. Colin Lester visited Craig's home and saw his small bedroom filled with vinyl records. This convinced him that Craig was a true musician. Wildstar Records then offered Craig a deal to help him develop his music. When Lester later heard the song "7 Days," he immediately knew it would be a number-one hit. He then offered Craig a full album deal that same day.
First Albums: Born to Do It and Slicker Than Your Average
The song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)" by Artful Dodger, featuring Craig David, reached number two on the UK music charts in 1999. This success helped Craig start his solo career.
His first solo single, "Fill Me In", went straight to number one in the UK. This was the first of four top 10 songs from his first album, Born to Do It. This album sold over 8 million copies worldwide and became multi-platinum in more than 20 countries. A song from the album, "Key to My Heart," was also used in the animated movie Osmosis Jones.
Because Born to Do It was so successful, "Fill Me In" was released in the United States in May 2001. It reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album Born to Do It came out in the U.S. on July 17, 2001. It reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 1 million copies. The single "7 Days" also made it into the top 10 in the U.S.
In April 2009, MTV viewers voted Born to Do It as the second "Greatest Album of All Time." It was only beaten by Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Craig David's next album, Slicker Than Your Average, was released in 2002. The first four songs from this album continued his streak of top 10 hits in the UK. This gave him a total of nine top 10 hits in a row. However, the song "World Filled with Love" only reached number 15 in 2003. None of the six songs from this album charted in the U.S.
Craig David said that the album title Slicker Than Your Average could be seen in two ways. He explained it could sound like he was being arrogant, or it could mean he felt more calm and confident on the album.
New Labels and Collaborations
Craig David later signed with Warner Music. He released his third album, The Story Goes..., in August 2005. The first song from this album, "All the Way," brought him back into the top 3. The second song, "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)," stayed on the UK charts for 15 weeks. This made it one of his longest-running singles. The album's third song, "Unbelievable," debuted at number 18 in March 2006.
In 2007, Craig David worked with British rapper Kano on his album London Town. They collaborated on the song "This Is the Girl," which reached number 18 on the UK charts.
The first song from his album Trust Me was "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)". It was released on November 5, 2007. Craig David got permission from David Bowie to use a sample from his 1983 hit song "Let's Dance." "Hot Stuff" was a top ten hit. The album Trust Me reached number 18 on the UK Albums Chart. The second song from Trust Me, "6 of 1 Thing," charted at number 39. This was one of his lowest-charting songs at the time.
"Officially Yours" was released on June 23, 2008. It became his lowest-charting single and the last one from Trust Me. In July, a new song called "Are You Up for This" started playing on radio stations. On August 17, 2008, Craig David performed at a concert honoring songwriter Don Black. He sang "Ben," a song originally made famous by Michael Jackson.
Craig David also played in Soccer Aid 2008 at Wembley Stadium. He was named "Man of The Match" and played alongside famous football players. He received two nominations at the 2008 UK Urban Music Awards for Best Album and Best R&B Act. On November 7, 2008, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Southampton Solent University. This recognized his contributions to the music industry.
Craig David released his first Greatest Hits album on November 24, 2008. To support the album, he released two new songs. "Where's Your Love" featured Tinchy Stryder and Rita Ora. It was a tribute to his early UK garage music. The second song, "Insomnia," was a dance track. Craig David also started working with guitarist Kwame Yeboah.
In February 2009, Craig David toured Russia and the Far East. He also performed in Los Angeles as part of his Greatest Hits tour. In April 2009, his album Born to Do It was voted the second greatest album ever by MTV UK. On May 14, 2009, he played in the Hillsborough Memorial football match. On July 26, 2009, he played in the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match.
New Music and TS5
On September 18, 2009, Craig David shared a preview of a new song on his website. It was a short cover of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." On October 2, 2009, he announced he had signed a new record deal with Universal Motown. He also featured on a song called "Stuck in the Middle" on Jay Sean's album All or Nothing. Craig David performed a cover of "I Wan'na Be Like You" from Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book on the ITV show Ultimate Movie Toons.
The first song from his fifth album, Signed Sealed Delivered, was "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)". It was released in the UK on March 22, 2010. The album followed a week later and entered the UK chart at number 13.
On March 17, 2010, Craig David released a UK garage music collection called Rewind Old Skool Classics. He mixed it with DJ Spoony. Two weeks later, on May 31, 2010, the second song from Signed Sealed Delivered, "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)," was released. The chorus of this song used a sample from the Stylistics' hit "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)".
In February 2011, Craig David agreed to do a desert trek for Comic Relief. This was part of Red Nose Day 2011. He joined other celebrities to trek 100 kilometers across a Kenyan desert. They raised money to help prevent blindness in Africa.
In May 2011, Craig David appeared on a French reality TV show called Les Anges 2. He gave advice to contestants who were trying to make a living in Miami. On August 1, 2011, he was featured on Erick Morillo's new album Subliminal Invasion on the track "Fly Away." Craig David performed at the Michael Jackson tribute concert in Cardiff on October 8, 2011.
In 2012, Craig David was featured on several songs while working on his own album. This included releases with Stereo Palma titled "Our Love." In July 2012, it was announced that Craig David was writing with the Backstreet Boys for their 20th-anniversary album.
In January 2013, Craig David announced that he had signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). This deal meant his publishing company, Bootyman Music Publishing, would become JEM Music.
Starting in March 2013, Craig David began a world tour. He performed shows in Australia, Europe, and England. In September 2013, Capital FM announced that Craig David's DJ show 'TS5' would move to Capital Xtra every Friday evening.
New Albums and Continued Success
On July 2, 2014, Craig David shared a preview song called "Cold" on his SoundCloud page. He played it on his TS5 radio show the week before. He wanted to show some of the new music he was working on for his next album.
On September 5, 2015, Craig David appeared on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge with Sigala. They covered "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, mixed with the Little Mix song "Black Magic." The next week, on September 10, 2015, Craig David was on Kurupt FM's 'Sixty Minute Takeover' show. He performed "Fill Me In" over the song "Where Are Ü Now" by Jack Ü. This performance became very popular online.
It was later revealed that his radio appearance led to a collaboration with Big Narstie. The song they recorded, "When the Bassline Drops," was released on November 27, 2015. Craig David made a surprise appearance on The X Factor on December 13, 2015. He performed his hit song "Re-Rewind" with Reggie 'n' Bollie and Fuse ODG. "When the Bassline Drops" reached number 10 in the UK on February 5, 2016. This was his highest-charting song since 2007.
On January 25, 2016, it was announced that Craig David had signed a new record deal with Insanity Records and Speakerbox Media. On March 19, 2016, he appeared at the Ultra Music Festival 2016 during Hardwell's set. They introduced their new song "No Holding Back," which was released on August 19, 2016.
In 2016, Craig David was featured on Kaytranada's album 99.9% on the song "Got It Good." He also helped write this song. On August 19, 2016, Craig announced that his sixth album, Following My Intuition, would be released on September 30, 2016. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. This was his first number-one album since his debut, Born to Do It, in 2000.
On September 15, 2017, Craig David announced his seventh album, The Time Is Now. It was released in January 2018, along with the song "Heartline." On November 23, he released his second song from The Time Is Now, "I Know You" featuring Bastille. This song reached number 5 in 2018.
The Time Is Now debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. On May 31, 2019, Craig David released a new song "When You Know What Love Is" from his upcoming eighth album. In July, he made a guest appearance on Love Island, performing as a DJ. His next UK garage song "Do You Miss Me Much" was released on August 23, 2019.
On December 31, 2019, and January 1, 2020, Craig David performed on BBC One's New Year Live concert.
Recent Work and New Album 22
After appearing on KSI's album All Over the Place, Craig David decided to release his new music independently.
In May 2021, he was featured on "Summertime," a song from Kurupt FM. In October, he had a top 40 song with MNEK called "Who You Are."
Craig David ended 2021 as a judge on the new talent show Walk the Line on ITV. He joined Gary Barlow, Dawn French, and Alesha Dixon on the judging panel.
In June 2022, Craig David performed at the Platinum Party at the Palace. In August 2022, he performed "7 Days" and "Fill Me In" with Coldplay at Wembley Stadium.
On September 30, 2022, Craig David released his eighth album, 22. This album included songs like "Who You Are" (featuring MNEK), "My Heart's Been Waiting for You" (featuring Duvall), "G Love" (featuring Nippa), and "DNA" (featuring Galantis).
On October 6, 2022, Craig David released his first book called What's Your Vibe?. He said the book shares lessons he has learned to help him navigate daily life.
On November 14, 2022, the music festival Camp Bestival announced its 2023 lineup, which included Craig David. On February 23, 2023, a 20th-anniversary edition of his second album Slicker Than Your Average was released. In September 2024, Craig David released the song "In Your Hands," which was based on the children's song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."
Publishing Deals
On September 9, 2020, Craig David signed a global publishing deal with Round Hill Music. This agreement includes all of his music created so far. It also covers his new music, which will be managed by the company.
Bo' Selecta! Caricature
Craig David was often made fun of by comedian Leigh Francis on the British TV comedy show Bo' Selecta!. The show's title itself was a reference to Craig David's song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)." Many other celebrities who were made fun of on the show enjoyed the jokes. However, Craig David, who was the most mocked, did not like the attention. He felt that the public was no longer taking his music seriously.
Even though he appeared on the show himself, he later regretted it. But he has also said that the show did not ruin his career. He was happy with the music he made over the years.
In a 2015 interview, Craig David said he had no hard feelings towards Leigh Francis. He explained that he saw him at a wedding and gave him a hug, telling him they were "cool." He also explained that his public relations team had suggested he "play hurt" by the caricature. He repeated this on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2016. He clarified that he did not leave the UK because of the show.
In June 2020, Leigh Francis apologized for how he portrayed Craig David and other black and mixed-race celebrities on the show. This apology came as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Bo' Selecta! was later removed from the Channel 4 streaming service for similar reasons.
Personal Life and Activism
Craig David is Jewish. He is a big fan of Southampton F.C., his hometown football team.
On March 24, 2010, which is World Tuberculosis Day, the World Health Organization named Craig David a Goodwill Ambassador against tuberculosis. His first activity in this role was to travel to South Africa. There, he learned more about tuberculosis. He met people who had the disease and those who had recovered. He also met scientists working to fight tuberculosis. Craig David said his goal is to help overcome the social stigma of TB to fight the disease.
In October 2022, Craig David released a song called "Better Days (I Came by Train)." He did this with Trainline to encourage people to use trains instead of flying or driving. This helps lower CO2 emissions and protect the planet.
Craig David's Albums
- Born to Do It (2000)
- Slicker Than Your Average (2002)
- The Story Goes... (2005)
- Trust Me (2007)
- Signed Sealed Delivered (2010)
- Following My Intuition (2016)
- The Time Is Now (2018)
- 22 (2022)
Concert Tours
Headlining Tours
- Born to Do It "Off the Hook" Tour (2001)
- Slicker Than Your Average Tour (2003)
- The Story Goes... Tour (2006)
- Following My Intuition Tour (2017)
- The Time Is Now Tour (2018)
- Hold That Thought Tour (2022)
- 7 Days Commitment Tour North America (2024)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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| 2018 | Turn Up Charlie | Himself | Season 1, Episode 2 |
| 2018 | The Big Narstie Show | Guest | Season 1, Episode 2 |
| 2020 | The Graham Norton Show | Musical Guest | Season 26, Episode 15 |
Honours and Awards
On December 30, 2020, it was announced that Craig David would be appointed as an MBE. This award recognized his services to music. His manager, Colin Lester, also received an OBE for his work in the music industry and charity. Craig David received his award at Windsor Castle on December 15, 2021.
See also
In Spanish: Craig David para niños
