Donna Lewis

Biography

There are conflicting accounts regarding Lewis's birth date. According to her biography on the Billboard and AllMusic websites, written by employees of Rovi, and her BBC page, she was born on 6 August 1973. Lewis was born in Cardiff. She began playing the piano at the age of six. Her father, an amateur jazz pianist and guitarist lent encouragement, and at 14, she began composing original songs. Her formal training was at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, where she majored in classical composition for piano and flute. Lewis then taught music for a year in Sussex before moving to Birmingham to sing in a bar band. During that time she set up a home studio and began recording demos. She became a popular live attraction and circa 1993 began sending her demos to record labels. Atlantic Records signed her in 1994.

In November 1996, she had been married for ten years to her road manager and "[gave] her age as in her 30s". During an interview in 2015 she noted "When I was in the pop world [...], I wasn't a 19 year old—I was 30 or something like that."

In 1996, Atlantic Records released Lewis's first single, "I Love You Always Forever", a love song which was a hit on VH1. It was also successful on U.S. radio, staying at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks, and spending 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the airplay chart. It exceeded one million "spins" on radio, to claim its place in music industry history as the most-played single up to that point. The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart in 1996, and spent 14 weeks in the chart. It helped her debut album, Now in a Minute, to No. 31 in the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and No. 52 in the UK Albums Chart. It was certified platinum in the U.S.

Lewis recorded "At the Beginning" with Richard Marx for the 1997 film Anastasia. Her second LP, Blue Planet (1998), won critical acclaim, but it was largely overlooked by the public. Although it produced a minor hit in continental Europe and Asia, "I Could Be the One", and a U.S. No. 1 dance single, "Love Him", Lewis parted ways with Atlantic Records and independently produced her third LP, Be Still (2002), which featured her on an almost entirely acoustic set. During the early 2000s, Lewis was featured as a guest vocalist on several trance music/house music recordings. Her fourth LP, In the Pink, was released in 2008; its first single was "Shout," which was included in the soundtrack to the Marian Quinn film 32A. Lewis also sang lead vocals for her side project, Chute, which released their debut EP in April 2010. In March 2015, she released Brand New Day, her first full-length LP in nearly a decade.

Personal life

Lewis is married to Martin Harris, who is also her business manager. She resides in Boiceville, New York and has one son.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Featured singles

Collaborations

• The Seduction of Claude Debussy – Art of Noise [guest vocalist] (2000)
• Take Me Over – Dino Lenny [guest vocalist] (2001)
• When the Rain Comes Down – [guest vocalist] (2001)
• Dancing Angel – Ryan Farish [guest vocalist] (2010)
• Chute (EP) – [lead singer] (2010)
• "Running Up That Hill" – David Baron [vocals] (2019)
• "Distance" - Michael Whalen [vocals] (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

1. [http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/donna-lewis Donna Lewis BRITS Profile] {{webarchive. link. (16 February 2013 . BRIT Awards Ltd. Retrieved 26 January 2013)
2. Prisco, Jaime. (19 December 2014). "Donna Lewis to Release New Album 'Brand New Day' Featuring David King, Reid Anderson and Ethan Iverson With Covers of David Bowie, Neil Young, Damien Rice and More". Classicalite.
3. Scholz, Ben. (10 March 2015). "Donna Lewis: Brand New Day". All About Jazz.
4. (23 February 2015). "Donna Lewis: Brand New Day". Benjamin Scholz.
5. (2016). "Donna Lewis. Biography by Matt Collar". Billboard.
6. "Biography by John Bush". Allmusic.com.
7. "Biography by Matt Collar". Allmusic.
8. (2016). "How does an artist get added to AllMusic?". AllMusic.
9. (1 August 2009). "BBC Wales – Music – Donna Lewis". bbc.co.uk.
10. (4 November 1996). "The No. 1 That Got Away". Time Inc..
11. Whitburn, Joel. (2004). "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits". Billboard Books.
12. "Donna Lewis – Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and pictures at". Last.fm.
13. (6 August 1973). "Donna Lewis | Awards". [[AllMusic]].
14. link. (26 June 2007 Search "Donna Lewis")
15. (13 September 1996). "Donna Lewis chats with us about her hit single". Entertainment Weekly.
16. "Chart Log UK: DJ Steve L. – LZ Love". [[The Official Charts Company]].
17. "austriancharts.at – Austria Top 40". Hung Medien.
18. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts – German Albums". Hung Medien.
19. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hung Medien.
20. "Donna Lewis Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200".
21. {{cite certification
22. "RIAA – Gold & Platinum – April 15, 2011: ''Now in a Minute'' certified awards". [[Recording Industry Association of America]].
23. "austriancharts.at – Austria Top 40". Hung Medien.
24. "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". RPM Magazine.
25. "German charts portal".
26. "charts.nz – New Zealand charts portal". Hung Medien.
27. "norwegiancharts.com – Norwegian charts portal". Hung Medien.
28. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hung Medien.
29. "Donna Lewis Chart History – Hot 100".
30. "Donna Lewis Chart History – Pop Songs".
31. {{cite certification
32. "ARIA Full Accreditations List". Australian-Charts.
33. {{cite certification
34. {{cite certification
35. (31 May 1997). "Billboard".
36. (29 May 1999). "Billboard".