Dina Carroll facts for kids

Geraldine "Dina" Carroll (born August 21, 1968) is a talented English singer. She became very famous in the 1990s with many hit songs. Some of her most popular songs include "It's Too Late" (1991), "Don't Be a Stranger" (1993), "The Perfect Year" (1993), and "Escaping" (1996).

Dina Carroll released two successful albums. These were So Close (1993) and Only Human (1996). Both albums reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. They also sold enough copies to be certified platinum, which means they sold over 300,000 copies each. In 1994, she won the award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1994 Brit Awards.

Dina Carroll's Early Music Journey

Dina Carroll was born in Newmarket, England. Her mother was from Scotland, and her father was from America. She started singing when she was just five years old. Even without formal singing lessons, she won a local talent show in 1981. She was thirteen years old at the time. She sang Barbra Streisand's song "Woman in Love".

After finishing school, Dina worked different jobs. In 1985, when she was sixteen, she signed with a record label called StreetSounds. This company was known for its dance music. Dina moved to West London and recorded two songs. These songs were "Set It Off" and "One Nation". They were released in 1985 under the name Masquerade. After six months, she left StreetSounds.

In 1989, Dina signed a new music contract with Jive Records. She released several singles in 1989 and 1990. One notable song was her cover of Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By". This song was a small hit in Europe. Other solo songs from this time included "People All Around the World". In 1990, she also sang on songs for other artists, like Brothers in Rhythm.

After a short time at Jive Records, Dina was discovered by Dennis Ingoldsby. He was part of a new management group called First Avenue Management. This group also managed a dance music duo called Quartz. Dina joined Quartz to sing on their cover of Carole King's "It's Too Late". This song became a big hit, reaching No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1991.

After working with Quartz, First Avenue decided to help Dina become a solo artist again. She signed with A&M Records. Her first solo single, "Ain't No Man", came out in June 1992. It reached number 16 on the music charts.

Dina Carroll's Rise to Stardom

To keep her success going, Dina Carroll worked with producer Nigel Lowis. They created more hit singles together. One of these was "So Close", released in December 1992. This song also became the title of her first album.

Famous producers Robert Clivillés and David Cole from C&C Music Factory invited Dina to New York. She became the first British artist to work with them. Dina recorded "Special Kind of Love" with them. This song also reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart.

In January 1993, her debut album, So Close, was released. It quickly entered the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. The album produced more hit songs, like "This Time" (No. 23) and "Express" (No. 12).

One of the most popular songs from the album was "Don't Be a Stranger". This was a cover of a song by Chyna. A new version was recorded for the single release, which made the song even better. When it was released, it became Dina's biggest hit, reaching No. 3 and staying in the top 10 for many weeks.

Dina Carroll announced her first British tour for late 1993. The band Eternal, who were not yet famous, joined her as supporting guests. To end a very successful year, Dina recorded her version of "The Perfect Year". This song was from the musical "Sunset Boulevard". It was released in December 1993 and became another top 5 hit, reaching No. 5. Dina was the only British female artist that decade to have two songs in the top 10 at the same time.

In February 1994, Dina Carroll was named Best Female Artist at the BRIT Awards. After this, she took a break from recording and touring because she felt "burned out". Even without new songs, her album So Close stayed in the top 10 for most of 1994. It sold over 1.5 million copies in the UK. This made it the fourth best-selling album of the year. It was also the best-selling debut album by a female artist in UK chart history for a long time. The album was also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Later that year, Dina announced another tour in December, and all 15 shows sold out.

Rumors about new songs from Dina started in 1995. However, she faced some problems with her music contract. Eventually, she moved to Mercury Records. In May 1996, a new single was finally announced. "Escaping" was released in September, almost three years after her last record. The song entered the chart at No. 3. The B-side song, "Mind Body & Soul", became a top club hit.

A new album, Only Human, followed in October. It debuted at No. 2 on the album charts, just like her first album. The song "Only Human" was released as a Christmas single in 1996. Another popular song from the album, "Living for the Weekend", became a big club hit.

While recording Only Human, Dina found out she had otosclerosis. This is a hereditary bone disease that affects the ears. She waited until her recording duties were done to get treatment. She had an operation to replace an eardrum. Even though loud noise could have caused her to lose her hearing, Dina recovered well. She did have some permanent hearing loss. Overall, Dina found making her second album very difficult. She often called Only Human a "lost baby," even though it sold 500,000 copies and reached platinum status.

Dina Carroll was nominated for "Best British Female Artist" again at the 1997 BRIT Awards. She then took a break from music. In 1998, she started working on her third album in Los Angeles. She worked with producer Rhett Lawrence. The lead single from this album was "One, Two, Three". It was released in October 1998 and reached No. 16 in the charts.

Her new album, titled Dina Carroll, was planned for release in late 1998. It included her cover of the Dusty Springfield song, "Son of a Preacher Man". This song was meant to be the next single. However, due to Dusty Springfield's death in early 1999, the single was not released. The album was also delayed because Dina was not happy with some of the mixes.

Instead, Dina's record company decided to re-launch her as a dance music star. A new upbeat song, "Without Love", was chosen as the next single. It was released in July 1999 and reached No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart. This song continued her streak of topping the Dance Chart.

A follow-up single, "Say You Love Me", was planned for November 1999. Dina performed the song live on a TV show to promote it. The remixed version of the album was also planned to follow. However, the record company stopped the release of both the single and the album. Despite this, Dina appeared on the charity single "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" with many other stars. It reached No. 19 in the Christmas charts of 1999.

Dina Carroll's Later Career

In 2000, Dina Carroll left her management company, First Avenue Management. Many artists managed by the company were dropped by their labels around this time.

In 2001, Dina released a new single and a collection of her greatest hits. Her cover of Van Morrison's "Someone Like You" was featured in the movie Bridget Jones's Diary. This song reached number 38. To complete her contract with Mercury, Dina released The Very Best of Dina Carroll in June 2001. It entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 15.

In 2002, Dina left her contract with Universal Music Group. In 2003, she recorded a version of the Randy Crawford song, "Almaz".

In 2016, Dina Carroll was a guest singer on the song "We Bring the Party" by the Dig Band. She also made her live comeback in 2016. She was the main act on the "David Gest Is Not Dead but Alive With Soul" tour.

Dina Carroll's Awards and Nominations

Dina Carroll's Music Albums