Fefe Dobson | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Felicia Lily Dobson |
Born | Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | February 28, 1985
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2000–present |
Labels |
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Member of | Artists Against Bullying |
Spouse | |
Website | fefemusic |
Felicia Lily Dobson (born February 28, 1985) is a Canadian singer. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she began performing as a teenager, during which time she received and refused an offer from Jive Records for a recording contract. Dobson signed with Island/Def Jam soon after and released her self-titled debut album (2003), which saw the success of the singles "Bye Bye Boyfriend" and "Don't Go (Girls and Boys)" on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and for which she received two Juno Award nominations.
Dobson's second studio album Sunday Love was originally scheduled for release in 2005, but after complications during production, its mainstream release was cancelled and she left her record label due to creative differences (later made available for digitally in 2012). She was re-signed to Island Records during production of her third studio album Joy (2010), whose singles "Ghost" and "Stuttering" saw continued success in Canada. [1] [2]
Dobson was born on February 28, 1985, in Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. [3] Dobson's mother is of English, Dutch, First Nations, and Irish ancestry and her father is of Jamaican heritage. [4] She went to high school at Wexford Collegiate Institute. During her childhood, she took singing lessons at the New Conservatory of Music in Agincourt, Scarborough to improve her singing. Fefe Dobson graduated from Heritage Park Public School.
Dobson began sending demo tapes – recorded on a home karaoke machine – to many recording companies in North America when she was 11 years old. [5] Then at the age of 13, she started playing the piano. [6] Before Dobson was signed, she said that she had been stereotyped as a contemporary R&B or popular music singer instead of a rock musician due to her race, often being compared to Brandy Norwood and Britney Spears. [5] Dobson started writing music at the age of 13 years, and the company Jive Records attempted to develop her as a popular musician, which she eventually refused. [7] After that experience, Dobson met Jay Levine and contracted with Nelly Furtado's manager Chris Smith. Smith arranged showcases with several recording companies. Universal Music Canada president Randy Lennox showed interest in her, and persuaded Island Def Jam CEO Lyor Cohen and his manager of A&R, Jeff Fenster, to fly to Toronto for another showcase. [7] Dobson played a showcase for Island/Def Jam; about 30 seconds into the first song – a punk thrash track about longing, titled "Stupid Little Love Song" – the executives contracted her. [5]
Dobson's self-titled debut album was released December 9, 2003, by Island Records, and sold 307,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [8] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart. [9] Four singles were released from the album: "Bye Bye Boyfriend", "Take Me Away", "Everything", and "Don't Go (Girls and Boys)". Two of the album's tracks, "Everything" and "Unforgiven", were used in the film The Perfect Score . [10] During much of 2004, Dobson promoted her debut album, performing live on the program Total Request Live and appearing in numerous magazines. She was also the opening act of Justin Timberlake's European tour. [11] [12] That July, she released the single, "Don't Go (Girls and Boys)", which was featured in a Tommy Hilfiger commercial featuring the singer. [13] The album was later reissued with the single added. Dobson also had a new song, "If You Walk Away", on the soundtrack of Raising Helen . [14] Dobson was an endorser for the Got Milk? organization. [15] [16]
In April 2005, Dobson was nominated for two Juno Awards, Pop Album of the Year and New Artist of the Year. [17] During the summer of 2005, Dobson was in a public service ad: "Make Poverty History", which brings awareness to child poverty worldwide. [18]
In 2005, Dobson released the single "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" followed by "This Is My Life" the following year. [19] [20] When both singles failed to chart, Island Records dropped her from the label and canceled the major label release of Dobson's second studio album, Sunday Love . [21] "My real good fans, my hardcore fans, have it, so that's most important," Dobson said, referring to the album leaking on the internet. "But instead of sitting there and being depressed and begging people for the record, I went back to the studio, got people that I knew, friends that I knew, and I started again." [22] Sunday Love eventually received a wide digital release on December 18, 2012. [23] One song from the album, "Be Strong", featured on the soundtrack for the film It's a Boy Girl Thing . [24]
"Start All Over", a song co-written by Dobson [25] and featured her background vocals, [26] was recorded by Miley Cyrus for her album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus (2007) [27] and was released as a single, [26] reaching number 57 on the Billboard Pop 100. [28] "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" was covered by Rockett Queen on their album Kiss and Tell (2008) [29] [30] and Jordin Sparks on her second album Battlefield (2009). [31] [32] [33] Shortly after Sparks' album was released Dobson said, "She did kind of, like, a more R&B version of it, which I think is really nice, actually." [34] Sparks' version was released as a single in the UK on January 4, 2010. [35] The track "As a Blonde" [36] was covered on the Selena Gomez & the Scene album Kiss & Tell (2009). [37] [38]
On August 11, 2009, Dobson presented a showcase performance at the Mercury Lounge in New York City. [39] [40] [41] Dobson performed during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards weekend at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on Friday night, September 11, [42] [43] at "A Concert with Fefe Dobson and Cobra Starship." [44] She was also one of the judges for a competition for MTV's "VMA Best Breakout New York City Artist Award" that occurred at the same event. [44] [45] Dobson attended the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards held on September 13 in New York City at Radio City Music Hall. [46] On Sunday, September 27, 2009, she performed the promotional single "I Want You" at the finale of the second season of the Canadian Cable TV show The Next Star . [47] The song was used in promotion for the movie Whip It . [48] She performed in Perth, Australia, at the One Movement Showcase Music Festival on October 17, 2009. [49] Dobson was the headline performer for one of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month events, [50] a benefit concert held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, CA on October 22, 2009. [51] [52] She performed at a 100 Day Countdown event to the 2010 Winter Olympics at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., USA on November 4, 2009. [53]
Dobson performed on February 20, 2010, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, Ontario, as part of CTV's national celebration of the 2010 Winter Olympics. [54] She was one of the opening acts for The Barenaked Ladies in the all Canadian show. [54] She participated in the Canadian all-star benefit song cover of K'naan's single "Wavin' Flag" for Haiti released under the collaboration name of Young Artists for Haiti; it was released on March 12, 2010. [55] Dobson's involvement with the Olympics continued on March 12, 2010, as she performed "I Want You" and "Watch Me Move" at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. [56] [57] She covered "River Deep – Mountain High" for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th annual induction ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on March 15, 2010. [58] [59] Dobson performed on a twenty city tour across Canada in March and April 2010 on Hedley's The Show Must Go...On The Road Tour. [60]
Joy , Dobson's third studio album, was released on November 22, 2010, after taking almost four years to complete. The album was preceded by the release of the two buzz singles "Watch Me Move" and "I Want You", which were then followed-up by the three top 20 singles "Ghost", "Stuttering" and "Can't Breathe". The singer performed her single "Stuttering" on the November 10, 2010, broadcast of The CW Television Network series, Hellcats . [61] [62] She released the album's third single, "Can't Breathe" in March 2011. It peaked at number 19 on the Canadian Hot 100.
She performed at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010. [63] That year, Dobson co-wrote Selena Gomez & The Scene's single "Round & Round", from their second studio album, A Year Without Rain .
On January 22, 2013, Dobson announced that recording had begun for her fourth studio album, later revealed to be titled Firebird. The album's intended lead single "Legacy" was released on August 6, 2013, [64] [65] while the song "Celebrate" was released February 11, 2014. [66] Firebird did not see a release and the project was canceled. [67]
In early July 2013, Dobson got engaged to American rapper Yelawolf; the pair were married on September 27, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee. On April 29, 2014, Dobson performed live during the Count Me In conference global broadcast, filmed at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. [68]
In early 2022, Dobson confirmed her return to music with the single "FCKN IN LOVE", [69] which was released on 25 February 2022. [70] In 2023, she participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "What I Wouldn't Do", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health. [71] Dobson released her fourth studio album, Emotion Sickness , on September 29, 2023. It was preceded by the single "I Can't Love Him (And Love You Too)". [72] [73]
Fefe Dobson's self-titled debut album is generally pop-rock, as well as some traces of punk music. Several songs on the album are also in an acoustic format, stripped down to just Dobson and the guitar. The music was different from most music put out at the time, such as recent releases by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. In fact, Dobson originally signed with Jive Records, who intended to make her the next big pop star. However, Dobson didn't want to be a pop-star and wanted to make her own type of music, and quickly left the label. [7] On Dobson's second album Joy, she worked with producers David Lichens, Jon Levine, Howard Benson and Bob Ezrin - living up to the portraits of her heroes she first hung during the recording of her first album: Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Coldplay, The Vines and Jeff Buckley. Dobson co-wrote most of the songs on the album - usually composing on guitar, her instrument of choice. "I play the few chords that I know," she says. "I try to write melodies off the same chords. Joy is written with about three chords, and an extra one in the bridge." Sonically the album was rooted alternative rock.
Dobson has said that John Lennon and Judy Garland are her primary musical influences, and that her biggest musical inspiration growing up was Michael Jackson: "I swore I was Michael [Jackson]. Then I found out I wasn't Michael [Jackson] and it broke my heart." [11] [74] She also mentions Janet Jackson as a primary influence. [75] At the same time, she went to "every 'N Sync concert there was." [76] Dobson indicated that she would like to work with Jack White, the White Stripes/Raconteurs frontman, because she admires him for his ability to make his ragged rock music become radio-style. [77]
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Home Again | Cherry C. | [78] |
Christmas in Compton | Kim | [79] | |
2024 | Morningside | Steph | [80] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | All That | Musical Guest | Season 9, Episode 5 | |
2004 | American Dreams | Tina Turner | Episode: "Stewart's Charge" | [81] |
2010 | True Jackson VP | Herself | Episode: "Mad Rocks"' | |
Hellcats | Herself | Episode: "Finish What We Started" | [82] | |
2011 | Wingin' It | Herself | Episode: "Best Before Date" | [83] |
2012 | The Listener | Jade | Episode: "Curtain Call" | [84] |
2013 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Herself | Episode: "Summertime: Part 1" | [85] |
2021 | Canada's Drag Race | Guest judge | Episode: "Screech!" | [86] |
Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
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2003 | CASBY Award for Favourite New Single [87] | "Bye Bye Boyfriend" | Nominated |
2004 | Canadian Radio Music Award for Best New Solo Artist [CHR (Top 40)] [88] | "Take Me Away" | Nominated |
MuchMusic Video Awards for Best Pop Video [89] | "Take Me Away" | Won | |
Muchmusic Video Awards for People's Choice Favourite Canadian Artist [89] | "Take Me Away" | Won | |
2005 | Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year [17] | Fefe Dobson | Nominated |
Juno Award for New Artist of the Year [17] | Herself | Nominated | |
2011 | Much Music Video Awards for Video of the Year | "Ghost" | Nominated |
Much Music Video Awards for Pop Video of the Year | "Ghost" | Nominated | |
Much Music Video Awards for International Video by a Canadian | "Stuttering" | Nominated | |
Much Music Video Awards for "Ur Fave Video" | "Stuttering" | Won | |
2012 | Canadian Radio Music Awards – Chart Topper | Fefe Dobson | Won |
Canadian Radio Music Awards – Fan Favourite | "Stuttering" | Won | |
Canadian Radio Music Awards – SOCAN Song of the Year | "Stuttering" | Won |
Fefe Dobson is the debut album of Canadian singer-songwriter Fefe Dobson. It was released on December 9, 2003. The album was co-written by Dobson with producers Jay Levine and James Bryan McCollum. The album consists mainly of pop rock and punk music, and deals mainly with the topics of love and heartbreak. Several songs on the album are done acoustically while the remaining tracks feature prominent guitar and drum beats.
Sunday Love is the second studio album by Canadian singer Fefe Dobson. The album was released digitally on the iTunes Store and to streaming services on December 18, 2012.
Jordin Sparks is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of American Idol at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her 2007 self-titled debut studio album was met with critical and commercial success; it peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200, received platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold over two million copies worldwide. The album was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "Tattoo" and "No Air" —the latter received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and remains the third highest-selling song by an American Idol contestant—with three million digital copies sold in the United States.
"Take Me Away" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Fefe Dobson from her eponymous debut studio album (2003). It was sent to radio as the second single from the album on 18 August 2003, by Island Records. The song was written by Dobson and Jay Levine, whilst production was helmed by Levine and James Bryan McCollum. "Take Me Away" debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 15, 2003 and later peaked at 87.
"Everything" is a song written by Fefe Dobson, Jay Levine, and James Bryan McCollum and recorded by Dobson for her self-titled debut album (2003). It was released to American radio as the album's second international single and third overall single on January 19, 2004. "Everything" was the only single from the album to miss the Canadian Singles Chart, but it did reach number nine on the Radio & Records Hot AC chart and number 13 on the CHR/Pop chart. The song is Dobson's only track to chart in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 42.
The discography of Fefe Dobson, a Canadian pop rock singer-songwriter, consists of four studio albums, fourteen singles, fifteen music videos and a number of other appearances.
"No Air" is a song by American singer Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Harvey Mason Jr., Steve Russell, Erik Griggs and Damon Thomas. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2008, and serves as the second single from Jordin Sparks, her first album.
"Start All Over" is a song recorded by American singer Miley Cyrus for her debut studio album Meet Miley Cyrus (2007). The song was written by Fefe Dobson, Anne Preven and produced by Annetenna. It was released by Hollywood Records on March 11, 2008, as the second single from the album only in Australia. An accompanying music video, directed by Marc Webb was also released. A live version is available on Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert and as an instrumental in Cyrus's karaoke series. The song was originally recorded by Fefe Dobson, who passed the song to Cyrus, because she did not desire to include it on Sunday Love. The uptempo song is lyrically about having a second chance in a romantic relationship.
American singer Jordin Sparks has released five studio albums, five extended plays, one mixtape, 27 singles, 14 soundtrack appearances and seventeen music videos. At the age of 17, Sparks won the sixth season of American Idol in 2007 and earned a record deal with Jive Records. She made her chart debut with the season's coronation song, "This Is My Now", which peaked at number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Anjulie Persaud, known by the mononym Anjulie, is a Canadian singer and songwriter who has released one self-titled album, and has collaborated with Diplo, Zedd, Boombox Cartel, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, TheFatRat, and Benny Benassi, among others. Her music has been featured on HBO, ABC, NBC and MTV.
"Battlefield" is a song by the American singer Jordin Sparks, taken from her sophomore studio album of the same name. It was written by Louis Biancaniello, Ryan Tedder, Sam Watters and Wayne Wilkins, while production of the song was helmed by Tedder and The Runaways. "Battlefield" was released digitally in the United States on May 8, 2009, as the album's lead single. "Battlefield" is a mid-tempo ballad which draws from the genres of pop, R&B, pop rock and soft rock. The song's lyrics revolve around "a tumultuous relationship where neither side wants to compromise." The song's lyrical theme received comparisons to Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield" (1983), and its production was compared to Benatar's "We Belong" (1984).
Battlefield is the second studio album by American singer Jordin Sparks, first released on July 17, 2009 through Jive Records and 19 Recordings. The album debuted at number 7 in the United States, number 11 in the UK, number 34 in Australia and top 20 in many territories.
"Don't Let It Go to Your Head" was the first single released in anticipation of what was expected to be Fefe Dobson's second album, Sunday Love. The album release was pushed back a number of times before its eventual cancellation. The single is available for digital download at online retailers.
Joy is the third studio album released by Canadian singer-songwriter Fefe Dobson. It was released on November 22, 2010 on Island Records in Canada and November 30, 2010 on 21 Music in the United States after taking almost four years to complete. It candidly follows Dobson's evolution as an artist as well as transition from the indie type of music she originally put together for Joy, to the mainstream pop hits. The album was preceded by the release of the two buzz singles "Watch Me Move" and "I Want You", which were then followed-up by the three top 20 official singles "Ghost", "Stuttering" and "Can't Breathe", all of which have at least one music video.
"Round & Round" is a song by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene. The song was written and produced by Kevin Rudolf, Andrew Bolooki, and Jeff Halavacs, and co-written by Jacob Kasher and Fefe Dobson. It was released on June 22, 2010, as the lead single from the band's second album, A Year Without Rain (2010). "Round & Round" is a dance-driven electro-pop rock song with techno beats. The song received positive reviews, with critics taking note of the song's instant attraction beyond the expected demographic. It peaked at number twenty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's highest-charting single in the United States at the time. It charted moderately in several international markets, including Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Gomez & the Scene performed the song multiple times.
"Ghost" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Fefe Dobson from her second (released) studio album, Joy (2010). It was produced by Kevin Rudolf, and co-written by Dobson, Rudolf, Kara DioGuardi and J. Kasher. The song officially impacted American mainstream radio on May 11, 2010, and was released as a digital single on June 21, 2010, by 21 Music and Island Records.
"Stuttering" is a song by Canadian singer–songwriter Fefe Dobson from her second (released) studio album, Joy. It was produced by J. R. Rotem, and co-written by Dobson, Rotem, and Claude Kelly. The song was released as a single on September 7, 2010, by 21 Music and The Island Def Jam Music Group and officially impacted mainstream radio on October 12, 2010. The song has achieved success in Canada, becoming Dobson's first top ten hit on the Canadian Hot 100 and being certified Platinum by Music Canada. A remix featuring rapper Pusha T was released in November 2010.
"What I Wouldn't Do" is a song performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, which was released as a single in November 2012. The song was written by Ryder and Jerrod Bettis for Ryder's fifth studio album, Harmony. The song was released as the second single from the album in Canada. The song was featured in a 2013 episode of Grey's Anatomy and Rookie Blue, however, release of the single in the United States was delayed due to the success of Serena's previous single "Stompa".
"Legacy" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Fefe Dobson, originally intended for a studio album tentatively titled Firebird. Dobson co-wrote the song with Hasham Hussain, Denarius Motes, and Edwin Serrano. It was released August 6, 2013 through independent label imprint 21 Entertainment as the album's lead single. "Legacy" premiered on the popular Canadian teen drama series, Degrassi.
Emotion Sickness is the fourth album of Canadian singer-songwriter Fefe Dobson. It was released on September 29, 2023.
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