Dido
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong, (born 25 December 1971), is an English BRIT Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated singer and songwriter.
Early recordings: (1995-1997)
In 1995, Dido began recording demo tracks which were put together on a collection entitled Odds and Ends and sent out by Nettwerk management. Nettwerk had signed her after she was brought to their attention by her collaborations with Faithless (Dido co-wrote and provided vocals for album tracks, such as "Flowerstand Man" and "Hem of His Garment") and the UK dance act spearheaded by her brother, Rollo Armstrong. The collection was released by Nettwerk on CD-R acetate in 1995 and featured a mixture of finished productions and demo versions which she later considered for release on her debut album, released in 1999 as No Angel. Odds and Ends brought her to the attention of Arista Records, who signed her in the USA, striking a deal with her brother's record label, Cheeky Records, to co-sign her. Of the tracks included on Odds and Ends, "Take My Hand" was included on all editions of No Angel as a bonus track; "Sweet Eyed Baby" was remixed and renamed to "Don't Think of Me", while "Worthless" and "Me" were released exclusively on the Japanese edition.
Breakthrough: (1998-2000)
Cheeky Records, to which Dido was signed, was sold to BMG records in 1999. This delayed the release of No Angel in the United Kingdom, but also allowed her to concentrate on promoting the album No Angel in the United States, including a slot on Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour. Through touring, both before and after the album was available, Dido's music began to receive more exposure. The first official single chosen by Dido and her label, "Here with Me", was used as the theme music for the television programme Roswell. Arguably it was this, as well as the airplay on MTV throughout Europe of the Single's video, which brought her attention from the masses.
In 1998, the music producer for the film Sliding Doors picked her track "Thank You" for the soundtrack. No Angel was first released in 1999, and Dido toured extensively to promote the record.
Eminem helped introduce Dido to the US audience in 2000 when he sampled the first verse of "Thank You" in his UK number-one single "Stan", after seeking permission from Dido herself; she also appeared in the music video as Stan's long-suffering girlfriend and lip-synched the line. She reportedly did not want to do the video at first, as she was uncomfortable with the scene in the video where she had to be tied up and have her mouth covered with duct tape, but later agreed to it and got along well with Eminem and the crew on set. Interest soared in her debut album, leading it to hit charts in Europe on import sales alone, charting in the top five on the UK albums chart before its official UK re-release.
No Angel (1999-2002)
Her No Angel went on to become the top-selling album of 2001 in the United Kingdom, debuting at, and returning to, number one in the official UK albums chart many times throughout the year. It spawned two top ten hit singles, "Here with Me" and "Thank You", and a further top twenty hit, "Hunter" and a fourth and final single release 'All You Want which went top 25. It was certified platinum in over thirty-five countries, and is estimated to have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Dido's widely emulated hairstyle at this time became known as the "Dido flip". After a sold-out worldwide tour (which featured hip-hop artist Pete Miser as her live band's DJ), Dido announced she was taking a sabbatical in 2002, in which time she began to write and record her second album.
Life for Rent and Live 8: (2003-2005)
Life for Rent was released on 29 September 2003 (world), 30 September 2003 (USA and Canada) and became one of the fastest selling albums in UK music history, debuting at number one in the UK, Ireland, France, Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, Greece, Mexico, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand and in the top five in the USA, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Preceded by the number-two hit single "White Flag", the music video for which features Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Bones star David Boreanaz, the album sold over 152,000 copies in the first day alone in the UK, and went on to sell over 400,000 in the first week. Three further singles-"Life for Rent", "Don't Leave Home" and "Sand in My Shoes"-were lifted from the album, with Dido embarking on a worldwide tour in support of the album.
Following her sold-out world tour of 2004, Dido was asked to perform at three of the Live 8 concerts on 2 July 2005-performing in London, then at the Eden Project in Cornwall, before flying over to Paris, performing both solo ("White Flag") and duetting with Youssou N'Dour ("Thank You" and "Seven Seconds").
Upcoming Third Album: (2006-2008)
Dido's long awaited new project is coming this year according to Sony BMG.
Dido started working on her third album by October 2005 in Los Angeles. The album has been produced by Jon Brion and herself. Some collaborators so far have been Brian Eno, Matt Dunkley, Questlove, Jim Keltner, Mick Fleetwood, James Gadson, Rollo Armstrong and Matt Chamberlain.
Recording sessions have been held at London`s Abbey Road and at Jon Brion's home studio in Los Angeles. The status of the album is still "in-production" as Dido continues studio work on it with her brother Rollo in London, England.
Some songs to be included in this album are: It Comes And It Goes, The Day Before, Never Want To Say It's Love, Look No Further, the grief-sticken Grafton Street (Brian Eno) and there might be a song called Never Far From Home.
Dido's official website has been relaunched to coincide with the release of the album, and Sony BMG says 'Dido is coming back. She is currently in the studio creating her third album due out soon (more details to follow)'.
The release of the album has been postponed several times due to Dido`s father`s death in December 2006. The album is now due September 23, 2008 according to direct-current.net.