Ian Axel | |
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 Ian Axel in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | March 28, 1985 Fair Lawn, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | ianaxel |
Ian Axel (born March 28, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter. After becoming well-known with his song "This Is the New Year", he developed a solo career, eventually joining forces with long-time writing partner, Chad King, to form the duo band A Great Big World in 2012.
Axel grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. He graduated from Fair Lawn High School (Class of 2003). [1] He then moved to Manhattan, attending NYU. In 2006, Axel began performing publicly as a solo act. His song "This Is The New Year" became well-known originally when iTunes selected it as a Discovery Download and for its video on YouTube. [2] Later it was featured as the theme song for the MTV documentary series I Used to Be Fat , which premiered December 29, 2010. [3]
Axel's album, named after the title single, was initially released in 2010 as a self-release, then released a second time in partnership with tinyOGRE Entertainment. [4] The tinyOGRE version was released digitally on February 15, 2011 and on CD on April 12, 2011. Later "This Is The New Year" was used in the opening sequence of Garry Marshall's film New Year's Eve. The partnership with tinyOGRE ended when the company dissolved in December 2011.
In 2010, Axel's long-time writing partner, Chad King, began joining him on stage more frequently and in 2012 they formed the band A Great Big World. They rose to further prominence with worldwide hit "Say Something", particularly after recording it as a duet collaboration with Christina Aguilera. The duet peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. [5]
Axel's primary instrument is the piano. He is also known for playing a number of songs on the ukulele.
He made his national television debut on the Rachael Ray show [6] and NPR said in their Song of the Day feature that he had “a voice that possesses the sweetness of youth, the stubbornness of a teenager and the swagger of a rock star.” [7]
In April 2011, the song "Gone" was featured prominently in Episode 19 of Season 8 of One Tree Hill , titled "Where Not to Look for Freedom.". [8] As part of Tom's Shoes "One Day Without Shoes" campaign to raise awareness for children's poverty, Ian Axel performed two songs live on an advertorial website created in cooperation with La Blogotheque. [9]
In July 2011 Axel opened for Five for Fighting at the Alive at Five Concert Series in Stamford, Connecticut.
In August 2011 Axel and King opened for Matthew Morrison at the Beacon Theatre.
In January 2012 Axel and King were the musical guests at Amanda Stern's Happy Endings Music and Reading Series at Joe's Pub [10] On November 24, 2013, Axel performed at the American Music Awards with Christina Aguilera.[ citation needed ]
On January 31, 2013, "This Is The New Year" was the closing song on Glee's Season 4, Episode 12 titled "Naked".
Ian Axel also performed during the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion show.[ citation needed ]
Axel was born to a Jewish family and had a bar mitzvah but is a secular Jew. [11] [12]
In May 2015, he announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend and dancer Lina Kent. The couple later married in April 2016.
In November 2016, Axel publicly announced that he and his wife were expecting their first child, a baby boy due to be born in May 2017.
Christina María Aguilera is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Referred to as the "Voice of a Generation", she is noted for her four-octave vocal range and signature use of melisma. She is recognized as an influential figure in popular music, having been credited with paving the way for pop artists who incorporate controversial themes such as feminism, sexuality, and LGBT culture into their music.
"Beautiful" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera for her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). It was released as the album's second single on November 15, 2002. A pop and R&B ballad, "Beautiful" was written and produced by Linda Perry and discusses inner-beauty, as well as self-esteem and insecurity. Aguilera commented that she put "her heart and soul" into the track, which she felt represented the theme of Stripped.
"Genie in a Bottle" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera from her self-titled debut studio album (1999). It was written by Pam Sheyne, Steve Kipner and David Frank, and produced by Kipner and Frank. The song was released on May 11, 1999, by RCA Records as the album's lead single. It is a teen pop song which incorporates elements from R&B. Lyrically, "Genie in a Bottle" uses sexual references to talk about the theme of self-respect and abstinence.
"Dirrty" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera featuring American rapper Redman, released as the lead single from her fourth studio album Stripped. Despite Aguilera's first three years of commercial success, she was displeased with the lack of control over her image. In response, she desired to create a song that would represent her authentic persona. She approached hip hop producer Rockwilder and suggested using Redman's 2001 song "Let's Get Dirty " as a guide. The final result, "Dirrty", is an R&B and hip hop song that also features rapping verses from Redman and describes sexual activities.
"What a Girl Wants" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera for her self-titled debut album (1999). Written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche, the song was completed and pitched to RCA Records executive Ron Fair as "What a Girl Needs"; it was renamed "What a Girl Wants" and given to Aguilera.
"Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin from his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded (2000). Martin re-recorded the song along with American singer Christina Aguilera in December 2000. The album version was written by Desmond Child, Victoria Shaw, and Gary Burr and produced by Child; the duet received additional production from Walter Afanasieff. The duet was released by Columbia Records on January 16, 2001, as the second single from the album. A mid-tempo pop song and power ballad with elements of flamenco and Latin music, it is about heartbreak and longing.
"Falsas Esperanzas" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera for her second studio album Mi Reflejo (2000). Written by Jorge Luis Piloto, the uptempo Latin record was produced by Rudy Pérez and features instrumentation from a horn. It was released as the third and final single from Mi Reflejo on April 9, 2001, by RCA Records.
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.
Back to Basics is the fifth studio album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on August 9, 2006, in the United States by RCA Records as a double album. Serving as executive producer, she enlisted a wide range of producers, including DJ Premier, Rich Harrison, Rob Lewis, Mark Ronson, and Linda Perry. Recording sessions took place between February 2005 and April 2006 at several studios in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Christopher Braide is an English songwriter, record producer and singer, formerly based in Malibu, Los Angeles, California, United States. Braide is known for being a pianist.
Linda Perry is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for several other artists. They include: "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera; "What You Waiting For?" by Gwen Stefani; and "Get the Party Started" by Pink. Perry has also contributed to albums by Adele, Alicia Keys, and Courtney Love, as well as signing and distributing James Blunt in the United States. Perry was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.
Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera. It was released on November 6, 2008 by RCA Records. The album contains Aguilera's singles from all of her studio albums released up to 2008. It also featured four new additions: two remakes of her previous singles—"Genie in a Bottle" (1999) and "Beautiful" (2002)—and two original songs "Keeps Gettin' Better" and "Dynamite". In the United States, the album was released on November 11, 2008, exclusively via Target.
"Keeps Gettin' Better" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera from her first greatest hits album, Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits (2008). It was released as the album's lead single on September 22, 2008, by RCA Records. The song was written by Aguilera and Linda Perry, with the latter producing the song. After giving birth to her son Max, Aguilera looked to "come up with something new and fresh", developing a "futuristic" era of her career. "Keeps Gettin' Better" is an electroclash and electropop song, and was inspired by the likes of Andy Warhol and Goldfrapp. Its lyrics portray Aguilera as a superheroine.
Bionic is the sixth studio album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on June 4, 2010, by RCA Records. Inspired by Aguilera's taste for electronic music, Bionic is characterized as an electropop, futurepop and R&B record. The first half consists of electronic songs incorporating synthesizers and electronic beats, while the second half displays a balladic production. The album's main themes include sex and feminism. Bionic received mixed reviews from music critics upon its debut. The record opened at a peak of number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 110,000 copies, selling 500,000 album-equivalents as of June 2018. Internationally, the album peaked inside the top ten in most countries, including a number-one debut on the UK Albums Chart. At the time of its release, Bionic was the lowest-selling UK Albums Chart number-one album of the last eight years.
Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name, released by Screen Gems, Inc and RCA Records on November 19, 2010. The soundtrack consists of ten songs sung by the film's stars, American singers Christina Aguilera and Cher; Aguilera sang eight of the tracks, while Cher performed the remaining two. The album is inspired by jazz music style, in style with Aguilera's fifth studio album Back to Basics (2006), but contrasting to her then-recent release Bionic (2010), which was recorded concurrently with Burlesque. Burlesque served as Cher's first album since the release of Living Proof nine years earlier.
A Great Big World is an American musical duo from New York made up of singer/songwriters Ian Axel and Chad King and signed to Epic Records. The group is best known for their single "This Is the New Year", which was performed by the cast in an episode of Glee and reached the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart in May 2013, and their worldwide hit "Say Something", particularly after recording it as a duet collaboration with Christina Aguilera. The duet peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
Morten Harket is a Norwegian singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of the synthpop/rock band a-ha.
"Say Something" is a song by American pop duo A Great Big World from their debut album, Is There Anybody Out There? (2013). Written by the duo members—Ian Axel and Chad King—alongside Mike Campbell, the song was originally recorded by Axel for his solo album This Is the New Year (2011). It was later released as a single by the duo on September 3, 2013, by Epic Records. Following its usage on American reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance, the track gained attention from singer Christina Aguilera, who wanted to collaborate with A Great Big World on the song. Soon afterwards, a re-recorded version of "Say Something" with Aguilera was released on November 4, 2013.
Is There Anybody Out There? is the debut album from American pop duo A Great Big World. Its single "Say Something" achieved considerable success after Christina Aguilera heard the song, decided to collaborate and a re-recorded version was released.
"Fall on Me" is a song by Italian singer Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo Bocelli. It was released as a single on September 20, 2018. The song was written by the members of the American duo A Great Big World, and produced by Bob Ezrin. Matteo and Fortunato Zampaglione provided the Italian lyrics. Both the Italian and English versions were included on Bocelli's 2018 album, Sì. A music video was released for the soundtrack of the movie The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. The song played over the movie's end credits.
Axel, who grew up in Bergen County and graduated from Fair Lawn High School, isn't a showy pianist. He doesn't take lengthy solos or call attention to his considerable technique.... Ian Axel, who grew up in Fair Lawn and Alameda County, makes his Bowery Ballroom debut on Tuesday.
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