DIDO
See also: Dido (homonymy)
Dido Florian Cloud De Bounevialle O' Malley Armstrong is a British singer born with London the December 25th 1971. Its name of scene is simply Dido . She writes and produces also her songs.
Dido became famous thanks to the title Thank You , which was re-used by the rappor Eminem for his song Stan . Thank You belongs to its first album No Angel , which was the album more sold with the the United Kingdom in 2001. Another song extracted the same album, With Young stag Me , was used like musical topic of the series TV Roswell .
Its second album, left in September 2003, is entitled Life for Rent . The first individual White Flag is extracted from it. For launching, Dido rented two planes and gave a concert in London and in New York in the same day followed by a hundred fans having gained a contest organized by BMG and the MTV chain.
Written Dido and composes the majority of its songs in company of his/her brother Rollo, member of the group Faithless.
Biography
Childhood
Dido is born with London on December 25th, 1971. Its complete name is Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong : Dido is thus its true first name (it is about the Latin form of Didon, founder legendary of Carthage). She bathes in the culture medium, with a father who works as a literary agent for a publisher and a French mother who devotes her life to the poetic writing.She grows in a northern district of London in company of her brother Rollo, and both are impassioned already for the music. At 5 years, it would have concealed a recorder. This flute will be the revealing one of its early talent. Indeed, it should be believed that she devoted herself there with a certain passion, in spite of her young age, since she is allowed later one year, at the six years age in very prestigious Guildhall School off Music of London.
Little by little, it is initiated with many instruments, of which the Flûte, the Piano and the Violon, three instruments that it controls at the 10 years age. She plays especially of the classical music, and loves the current traditional type-setters particularly. Per hour of adolescence, she knows already the scene with a whole of classical music which organizes some rounds in the United Kingdom. However, in spite of its efforts, she is persuaded that she will be able to never carry out its first dream, namely to become a large traditional pianist. At 16 years, she discovers the mythical singer of jazz Ella Fitzgerald who the fascine and causes her admiration. It is apparently difficult a enough period for the Dido young person who seeks herself, hesitant between the classical music, the studies, and the new group of electro of his/her brother Rollo, Faithless.
Beginnings on scene
At 17 years it gives up the Classical music, somewhat disillusioned. After having finished its secondary studies, it is registered at the university and studies the right, in the hope to become lawyer. It will tie deep relations there, and it was a time when one spoke even about marriage with a boyfriend become lawyer. This time is completed, and today the private life of Dido defrays the chronicle well little, except when they are its “free” opinions rather (some will say “progressists”) on sexuality. It starts to carry out rounds with Faithless, and lends its voice to several their songs. Little by little, the name of Dido finds echo in the musical mediums. However, his/her brother worries and advises to him to devote itself to its academic works. “I was right the little sister of Rollo, therefore the last which one would have looked at”. However, precisely, on the side of the labels, one starts to look it closely.Indeed, after one of its demonstrations, Dido is invited to meet Clive Davis, the founder of Arista Records. The meeting proceeds in 1997, in a large London hotel. “What really made me understand that this man was astonishing, it is that I had already met many people of music industry, and it is the only one which really sat down to speak to me about my music, all opposite of what they usually do! ”. Another thing allured it, something of more subtle. It had any limit, no barrier not to be crossed, its creation was completely free, “because one was not worried really the EC what I did, they were elsewhere occupied… ”. And thus in 1999 Highbury fields , the album including/understanding leaves the first four pieces of No Angel , plus a more electronic title, impresses sonorities of Faithless, and that Dido composed itself: Worthless , which wants to say “without value”, has just proven the priceless talent of the singer.
The contract signed with Arista relates to the the United States, and for this reason No Angel , the first complete album, initially will be distributed in this country.
Success
In April 2000, Dido is with New York and connects the concerts around No Angel , which let us recall it, was initially available only to the United States. One day, it receives a letter accompanied by CD, that of Eminem obviously and its title Stan , for which it samplé Thank you . “When I listened to CD, I felt carried, flown away. I liked already what it did, but there there was something of a little different, more beautiful”. However, one should not take care not to allot the success of the child of London to this only stroke of luck. Before even the exit of Stan , Dido, which did not spare its efforts of scene on the American ground, had already sold 1 million albums, also thanks to the choice of Here With Me as credits of the famous series Roswell .Paradoxically, it is perhaps in the United Kingdom that “the Eminem effect” was most favorable: it is very often thanks to Stan that the British discovered the artist compositrice expatriate. Much showed Dido to plagiarize the style of Sinead O' Connor or Sarah McLachlan. But Dido, if she says herself flattered to be compared with such artists, explains its success well differently: by the freedom of creation, if rare, in which it was since its style was not a priori not very with the mode.
When the wind turned, and that it was necessary to think of a second album, she did not need to ask this freedom. “Goes forwards, further, without you to trouble to make like the last time” tells him Arista. “Say to us simply when you think of having finished”. Dido, it, is with the angels: “In my spirit, I will be always that which arrives of the back, the unknown, and it seems that carries me chance”. Thus on September 29th, 2003, Life for Rent is in the vats. Strongly impresses style of No Angel , this second opus did not suffer from the Syndrome of Difficult the Second Album. If one immediately recognizes there the crystalline voice and envoûtante of Dido, he nevertheless is worked more musicalement, arrangements are based, the atmosphere is more intimist and cordial. The influences are disconcerting, since Ella Fitzgerald until the rockers The Clash. The titles left one by one into individual, White Flag the first extract contains a new song " Paris". Then the individual ones are connected, will come then the piece Life For Rent (which precisely takes again the title headlight of the album), Don' T Leave Home (song that Dido composed after having left No Angel but before the album does not gain in success; here the piece receives an instrumentation much richer and more rapid that the old version that Dido sang in no-claims bonus on scene in 2001) and until the very estival Sand in My Shoes in August 2004, history to point out the memories of the holidays. During more than one year, it will connect the concerts, will be discovered unsuspected fans in Japan, in Eastern Europe, in short in almost the whole of the world. The prices rain of any share, the airs break on the radios of the whole world. White Flag will be even the title more diffused on the French radios in 2003! In February 2005 the sales figures of albums fall, Life for Rent is for the moment sold with more than 8 million specimens throughout the world. That is to say more than 20 million with No Angel .
In the future
From the exit of No Angel , rumors return regularly, affirming that Dido decided to stop composing. However itself, on its official forum, declared that even if success grew blurred, it would in any event continue to write new songs. “It is a marvellous job. One works hard but it is a pleasure! ”.
The European round was completed at the end of 2004. That gave place to the exit, on June 13rd, 2005, of very awaited DVD Live At Brixton Academy . Dido, according to several sources and in particular the British tabloïd The Sun , would have started to seek the inspiration for a new album, in particular thanks to an abstract voyage with stopovers in Asia, New Zealand and South America. This voyage to the long course, which could last a year well, would be a kind of sabbatical year after several animated months. The occasion perhaps also to seek other influences, to again be able to become “that which arrives of the back, of the unknown”.
Source: This biography is adapted site lovedido with the authorization of the writer.
2008 - New album
At the beginning of 2008 will mark the come-back of Dido with a third album produced in company of the musician, singer, author/type-setter and Californian producer Jon Brion, (known in particular for its film original soundtracks).
For the style of the new album, Dido declared that the music would sound different from what she had accustomed us but that she is really satisfied with the turning which the things take. Jon Brion when with him declared that Dido wanted to move away from its current for something moreover believed stressing the emotional aspect of its songs. The next months will put to us with the current advance of the album.
Exit awaited for March 2008 with the launching of the first individual one envisaged in January announcing the color of the album.
An interview in-tea-studio with Dido appears in the British magazine Q of the edition of November 2007; it is learned there that the opus is finished and that it any more but does not remain to entitle it. Five new titles which will appear on the album can be found in this interview (the 4 first are signed Dido and Jon Brion): It Comes And It Goes , Look No Further , Never Want To Say It' S coils , The Day Before and the melancholic person Grafton Street (Dido and Brian Eno). The brother of Dido, Rollo, which was very present on the first two albums also collaborated in this new project.
Rewards
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Sales with the the United Kingdom:
Source: the U.K. industry bible MUSIC WEEK
Discography
Albums and DVDs
Individual
- With Young stag Me - January, 2001
- Thank You - May, 2001
- Hunter - September, 2001
- Don' T Think Off Me
- All You Want - December, 2001
- White Flag - September, 2003
- Life for Rent - December, 2003
- Don' T Leave Home - April, 2004
- Sand in My Shoes - September, 2004
External bonds
- Its official site