Fame Academy discography

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Fame Academy is a British television programme that ran for two series, in 2002 and 2004. The show was produced for the BBC in a reality television format. The winners of the show, David Sneddon [1] [2] and Alex Parks, [3] were awarded music recording contracts to allow them to release music and live like top recording artists for a year. Sneddon had a run of three top-20 hits, including his debut single "Stop Living the Lie", which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 2003. [4] David Sneddon signed to major music publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009 as a songwriter. Parks' debut single "Maybe That's What It Takes" charted at number three in November 2003. [5]

Contents

In addition to Sneddon and Parks, several other contestants have gone on to have successful music careers, while others were given record deals and released several songs before leaving the music industry. The runner-up from the first series, Sinéad Quinn, signed a record deal with Mercury Records, [6] the same company as Sneddon, and released her debut single "I Can't Break Down" in February 2003. The song charted at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Her second single, "What You Need Is..." peaked in top 20 in June 2003. Ainslie Henderson's debut, and thus far only single "Keep Me a Secret" ranked number five in February 2003. Malachi [6] and Alistair Griffin released self-penned songs in 2003 but were subsequently dropped from their record labels. [7] James Fox was chosen as the United Kingdom's representative for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest; he sang "Hold Onto Our Love", which charted at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2003, and received 29 points for his performance. [8] [9]

Lemar, who finished in third place in the first series, has been the most successful contestant from the show. He released his first single, "Dance (With U)", which charted at number-two on the UK Singles Chart, in August 2003; he has since recorded nine further top 40 hit singles, including six that charted in the top 10. [10] He has released four studio albums; The Truth About Love is the most successful, charting at number three on the UK Albums Chart in 2006.

As of March 2014, Fame Academy contestants have released 28 charting singles and 10 charting albums. Of the 20 singles that reached the top twenty, 13 were top-ten hits. Eight of the twelve releases peaked inside the top 20. Lemar is the only artist who is still releasing music.

Singles

David Sneddon won the first series of Fame Academy. His debut single, "Stop Living the Lie", was a number-one single while his album charted in the top ten. Pensive at Highbarn David Sneddon oass.jpg
David Sneddon won the first series of Fame Academy. His debut single, "Stop Living the Lie", was a number-one single while his album charted in the top ten.
Lemar, who finished third in the first series of Fame Academy, has had ten top-40 singles. Lemar.jpg
Lemar, who finished third in the first series of Fame Academy, has had ten top-40 singles.
Alistair Griffin's "Bring It On/My Lover's Prayer" charted in the top five. Dalby Forest - Alistair Griffin 18-08-2006.jpg
Alistair Griffin's "Bring It On/My Lover's Prayer" charted in the top five.
ArtistSeriesPosition in showSong titleRelease dateUK peak chart
position
Ref(s)
David Sneddon 1Winner"Stop Living the Lie"13 January 20031 [11]
Sinéad Quinn 1Runner-up"I Can't Break Down"10 February 20032 [12]
Ainslie Henderson 14th"Keep Me a Secret"24 February 20035 [13]
Malachi Cush 15th"Just Say You Love Me"14 April 200349 [14]
David Sneddon 1Winner"Don't Let Go"21 April 20033 [15]
Sinéad Quinn 1Runner-up"What You Need Is..."30 June 200319 [16]
David Sneddon 1Winner"Best of Order"11 August 200318 [17]
Lemar 13rd"Dance (With U)"18 August 20032 [18]
David Sneddon 1Winner"Baby Get Higher"27 October 200338 [19]
Lemar 13rd"50/50" / "Lullaby"17 November 20035 [20]
Alex Parks 2Winner"Maybe That's What It Takes"17 November 20033 [21]
Alistair Griffin 2Runner-up"Bring It On" / "My Lover's Prayer" B 29 December 20035 [22]
Lemar 13rd"Another Day"23 February 20049 [23]
Alex Parks 2Winner"Cry"16 February 200413 [24]
Alistair Griffin 2Runner-up"You and Me (Tonight)"15 March 200418 [25]
James Fox 25th"Hold Onto Our Love"19 April 200413 [26]
Lemar 13rd"If There's Any Justice"15 November 20043 [27]
Lemar 13rd"Time to Grow"28 March 20059 [28]
Lemar 13rd"Don't Give It Up"1 August 200521 [29]
Alex Parks 2Winner"Honesty"23 January 200656 [30]
Lemar 13rd"It's Not That Easy"4 September 20067 [31]
Lemar 13rd"Someone Should Tell You"20 November 200621 [32]
Lemar 13rd"Tick Tock"19 March 200745 [33]
James Fox 15th"Bluebirds Flying High" A 11 May 200815 [34]
Lemar 13rd"If She Knew"10 November 200814 [35]
Lemar 13rd"Weight of the World"2 March 200931 [36]
Alistair Griffin 2Runner-up"Just Drive"27 November 201038 [37]
Lemar 13rd"The Way Love Goes"14 February 20108 [35]

Albums

Only albums that charted in the Top 100 of the UK albums chart are included in this list.

ArtistAlbum titleRelease dateUK peak chart
position
Ref(s)
Malachi Cush Malachi 24 March 200317 [38]
David Sneddon Seven Years – Ten Weeks 28 April 20035 [39]
Sinéad Quinn Ready to Run 14 July 200348 [40]
Lemar Dedicated 24 November 200316 [41]
Alistair Griffin Bring It On 12 January 200412 [42]
Alex Parks Introduction 24 November 20035 [43]
Lemar Time to Grow 29 November 20048 [44]
Alex Parks Honesty 24 October 200524 [45]
Lemar The Truth About Love 11 September 20063 [46]
Lemar The Reason 24 November 200841 [47]
Lemar The Hits 8 March 201018 [46]
Lemar Invincible 8 October 201249 [46]
Lemar The Letter 9 October 201531 [46]

Fame Academy albums

At the end of both series, a compilation album was released featuring cover versions from the contestants. The first album reached number two on the UK Compilation Chart. A third album, Bee Gees Special, was released during the show's broadcast and featured cover versions of Bee Gees songs.

Album titleRecord labelSeriesRelease dateUK peak
chart position
Fame Academy Mercury Records 1December 20022
Fame Academy Bee Gees Special Polydor Records 2August 2003
Fame Academy - The Finalists Polydor Records 2October 2003

Other releases

See also

Notes

A Bluebirds Flying High was recorded by James Fox with Cardiff City F.C. as the club's official song for the 2008 FA Cup Final. [50]

B Alistair Griffin recorded "My Lover's Prayer" with Robin Gibb, who had appeared as a guest judge on Fame Academy. [51]

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References

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