Lee Matthews (singer)

Last updated

Lee Matthews
Birth nameLee Mulhern
Also known asLee.M
Born (1988-06-12) 12 June 1988 (age 34)
Origin Strabane, Northern Ireland
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1995–present
Website www.leematthews.com

Lee Mulhern (born 12 June 1988), now known as Lee Matthews, is a singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland.

Contents

Starting age 8, Lee Mulhern (his birth name) had performed as a child star prodigy covering pop and country songs on many Irish and UK radio and television shows. At age 17, he embarked on a series of music projects like Streetwize, Streetside and Access All Areas, in a bid to be launched as an "international boy band" made up of singers from various nationalities. After the boy band projects fell through, he relaunched a solo music career adopting the name Lee.M, and for a short time formed NXT-GEN, an electropop duo collaboration with Pete Doherty.

In 2013, as Lee Matthews, he became part of the country music scene in Ireland in the Country and Irish genre releasing two albums, A Little Bitty Country in 2014 and It's a Great Day to Be Alive in 2015 and a string of singles releases.

Beginnings as a child star

Lee Mulhern was born in Omagh, Northern Ireland. He now lives in the County Tyrone town of Strabane. [1] [2] He started his career at age 7, making his first appearance on Irish television winning the top prize in Children at Heart. [3] He went on to sing live on the BBC for Children in Need appeal.

Aged 8, Lee released his first cassette album entitled Hey Good Looking a selection of pop, country and ballads. At age 9, he appeared on Hugo Duncan's BBC TV show Hugo and Friends as a child star. [4] At 10, he won top spot in an 'Esat Digifone' talent competition. In 1999, at age 11, Lee was chosen to represent Ireland at the World Championships for Performing Arts in Los Angeles. He travelled with 35 other Irish contestants to compete against 1500 hopefuls from around the world. He won a gold, a silver and two bronze medals. [5] His gold medal was for the song "I May Be Young", co-written by him and his mother Veronica, who was in Irish showbands in the 1980s. [2] He won the silver as well during the same competition with his cover version of "The River" from Garth Brooks.

In 2001, at age 13, he participated in a Las Vegas New Year's Eve concert that included Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel and Neil Diamond. [5] He made television appearances on TV3, BBC, ITV, RTÉ. [6]

In 2002, he performed at the Buncrana Music Festival and also in many TV shows in Ireland and in the UK. [7]

On 6 September 2002 in New York, Lee joined Ronan Tynon of the Irish Tenors and a host of other American artists at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for a concert to remember the victims of the 11 September attacks on New York. Lee also joined RTÉ's Gerry Ryan at Ground Zero on 9 September when he sang "Fields of Gold" at a special wreath-laying ceremony. [8] [9]

Songs from this early period performed by Mulhern include most notably "I May Be Young", "The River", "Fields of Gold" and "Bright Eyes". At various times, he appeared on various stages with well-established artists like Daniel O'Donnell, Hugo Duncan, Brian Coll, Philomena Begley, and Michael English. [4]

In 2004, he was the lead actor in the short film "Buy Rights" about shoppers rights in the UK. He also completed a one-year acting course in performing arts in Northern Ireland's NW Institute of Performing Arts. [6]

Lee Mulhern studied at St Colman's Secondary School in Strabane with music studies at North West Regional College in Derry. [10]

Lee Mulhern in bands and formations

Streetwize

In 2005, Lee Mulhern joined the band Streetwize, billed as the world's first "global boyband", as one of its original members, alongside Irish Donal Skehan, English Lee Hutton and Swedish Jonathan Fagerlund following successful auditions. [11]

The original members made a tour in Ireland, UK, Sweden, and appeared on the US television station CN8, [12] a cable television station where they performed "Room in Your Heart" during morning show hosted by Greg Coy. Streetwize (with the amended set-up of Lee Mulhern, Lee Hutton, Kyle Carpenter, Antonio Jones and Allan Cutler sang its signature song, a cover of Living in a Box's hit "Room in Your Heart" during the annual drive of the "ChildLine" charity in 2007 in Ireland. [13] Soon Streetwize disbanded without any actual hits.

Streetwize band members were successful individually. Besides Mulhern's solo musical career, two other original members of Streetwize project, Donal Skehan and Lee Hutton went on to form a 4-member boy/girl Irish band named Industry (2009–2010) with two number one singles in Irish Pop Charts. Another Streetwize member, Jonathan Fagerlund became a successful solo singer in Sweden with two albums, the single "Playing Me" and a participation in Melodifestivalen 2009 with "Welcome to My Life".

Stateside

After many member changes, Streetwize was reformed and renamed Stateside. [14] The main vocalists were Lee Mulhern and Venezuelan Antonio Jones, a young singer in a popular Latin American musical formation Fuera de Clase. Lee Mulhern left the band in August 2008 preferring a solo career. Other members included Chris Johnson and Ben Hazlewood

Access All Areas

In 2009, Lee Mulhern became part of a 4-member boy band project called Access All Areas alongside former Stateside member, the Venezuelan Antonio Jones in addition to 2 new recruits, Mali-Michael McCalla, the UK X Factor Final 24 contestant from series 5 and another UK recruit Tom Pepper. McCalla was later replaced by the Irish/Welsh/Australian Brandon Kemeny. The band broke up in 2011.

In NXT-GEN duo

NXT-GEN
OriginIreland
Genres Electropop, danse music
Years active2012–2012
MembersLee.M
Pete Doherty

In 2012, Lee Mulhern now adopting the stage name Lee.M joined forces with Pete Doherty previously the frontman of The Libertines and also a part of the indie musical project Babyshambles. The two formed the Irish electropop danse duo NXT-GEN (Next Generation), releasing an electrodance demo titled "Magnetic". [15]

Other materials co-written as a result of Mulhern / Doherty collaboration included "Invincible", "Rescue", "Hypnotized", "FTMN (Feel the Music Now)", "Painkillers", "We Can Rescue This", "Same as Me" and "Better Man". [16] [17] Lee.M also engaged in a 2012 tour to promote his music.

Solo career as Lee.M and collaborations

Lee.M collaborated with New York singer J Pearl as well as Iyaz and Snoop Dogg in his official debut single release in "Slow Motion" credited to Lee M & J Pearl featuring Iyaz and Snoop Dogg. [1] [3] [10] [18] The opportunity for collaboration arose when Lee was spotted performing at a Kool and the Gang 60th birthday party in Orlando and was asked months later if he would be interested to do a track involving Snoop Dogg and Iyaz. The track was produced by Swiss producer David May and was on an international release with Strictly Rhythm label who has signed J. Pearl to its label. The music video was shot in Milan, Italy and Snoop Dogg parts in Los Angeles and is directed by renowned Italian music video director Claudio Zagarini. [10]

In early 2013, Lee was approached by several of the mentors of "Eurosong 2013" to be in the Irish competition for choosing the Irish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 and he suggested "Magnetic". But due to his commitments with the launch of "Slow Motion" with his record label, Lee had to decline for this year. [19]

Solo career as Lee Matthews

During visits to the United States in 2012–2013, Lee's love of country music was reignited, after he saw the upsurge of a new generation of young country singers as crossover pop stars with a country flavour. Changing his name to Lee Matthews, he started giving gigs with a country flavour. He explains his decision in an interview with the Strabane Chronicle :

In America I got a buzz from seeing the country scene explode with a new generation of young country artists making country cooler. When I got back to Ireland I was so excited to see that Derek Ryan and Nathan Carter were also making country cool again here [in Ireland]. It's such a buzz to be back on stage again singing great songs that people love and enjoy dancing to. The people in Ireland appreciate good country music and they go out of their way to make you feel welcome. The first couple of gigs I did this year people were coming up and thanking me and just talking country music, it's great. [4]

Later on in 2013, he released "Sadie's Got Her New Dress On", a bluegrass classic by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. Lee also released a music video that features Chloe Coyle. [20] Lee followed that up with "That Country Girl". On 8 February 2014, Matthews launched a tour with a live band to promote his new country music career. In May 2014, he released a charity single in support of the Join Our Boys Trust in Ireland, a charity for those suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [21] The song "Love Shine a Light, is a cover of a Katrina and the Waves song, the UK entry and eventual winner of Eurovision Song Contest 1997. It appears also on his 2014 album A Little Bitty Country.

Matthews has gone on to have five Irish Country download number one hits in just one year 2014–2015 including the self penned tracks "That Country Girl" from his album A Little Bitty Country and "There's Irish in Our Eyes" from the follow-up album It's a Great Day to Be Alive. The latter also included a new version of "Cotton Eye Joe", a Rednex global hit two decades earlier, based on a 200-year-old traditional instrumental song. His original hit single "The Irish Way" won "Best Original Single" at the Irish Hot Country Awards.

Discography

Albums

As Lee Mulhern
As Lee Matthews
Title and detailsNotes
A Little Bitty Country
  • Type: Studio album
  • Released: 10 October 2014
  • Label: Lee Matthews Music
Tracklist
  1. "Sadie's Got Her New Dress On" (3:05)
  2. "Mirror on the Wall" (3:11)
  3. "Brokenheartsville" (3:54)
  4. "Not a Day Goes By" (4:05)
  5. "Little Bitty" (2:23)
  6. "Drink, Swear, Steal and Lie" (3:02)
  7. "Don't Shut Me Out" (5:34)
  8. "Mud on the Tires" (3:12)
  9. "That Country Girl" (3:09)
  10. "The Voyage" (3:20)
  11. "There's Irish in Our Eyes" (3:05)
  12. "Love Shine a Light (2:45)
It's a Great Day to Be Alive
  • Type: Studio album
  • Released: 20 November 2015
  • Label: Sharpe Music
Tracklist
  1. "Cotton Eye Joe" (3:07)
  2. "Your Sweet Loving" (2:46)
  3. "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" (3:21)
  4. "Bang On the Ear" (4:10)
  5. "The Irish Way" (3:16)
  6. "Buy Me a Boat" (2:54)
  7. "Here I Go Again" (3:16)
  8. "Norma Jean Riley" (2:43)
  9. "Then" (4:14)
  10. "Got My Mind Set on You" (3:01)
  11. "Girl Next Door" (3:28)
  12. "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (3:54)

Singles

as NXT-GEN
as Lee.M
as Lee Matthews
YearSinglePeak positionsAlbum
IRE
Irish Singles
Chart
[22]
2013"Sadie's Got Her New Dress On" –A Little Bitty Country
2014"That Country Girl" –
"Love Shine a Light"68
"There's Irish in Our Eyes" –
"The Voyage" –
2015"The Irish Way" –It's a Great Day to Be Alive
2018"Marie" –
Others

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snoop Dogg</span> American rapper (born 1971)

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper and actor. His fame dates back to 1992 when he was featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, "Deep Cover", and then on Dre's debut solo album, The Chronic. Broadus has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide. His accolades include an American Music Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and 17 nominations at the Grammy Awards.

<i>R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece</i> 2004 studio album by Snoop Dogg

R&G : The Masterpiece is the seventh studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 16, 2004, by Doggystyle Records, making its first on Star Trak Entertainment and Geffen Records. Recording sessions took place from November 2003 to September 2004 in each of several recording studios. The album's production was handled from The Neptunes, The Alchemist, Lil Jon, Hi-Tek, Warryn Campbell, and L.T. Hutton, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drop It Like It's Hot</span> 2004 single by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell

"Drop It Like It's Hot" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg featuring fellow American musician Pharrell Williams. It was released on September 27, 2004, as the lead single from Snoop Dogg's seventh studio album, R&G : The Masterpiece (2004). The song was produced by the Neptunes. It is regarded as an iconic song, with Snoop performing the chorus and the second and third verses while Pharrell performs the first verse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">From tha Chuuuch to da Palace</span> 2002 single by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams

"From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg featuring fellow American musician Pharrell Williams from the former's sixth studio album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$ (2002). Produced by The Neptunes, it contains re-sung elements from "Contagious" performed by The Isley Brothers. The song lyrics reference their lead singer Ron Isley. The music video was directed by Diane Martel and includes cameo appearances by Tony Cox, Tommy Davidson, Lauren London and rappers Soopafly, Goldie Loc, Uncle Junebug, Daz Dillinger and Warren G. The video includes Pharrell wearing make up to look like Bill Gates. The song was featured in the films Malibu's Most Wanted & 50 First Dates and video game MTV Music Generator 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Fagerlund</span> Swedish singer

Jonathan Fagerlund, sometimes just Jonathan, is a Swedish singer. He has released two albums Flying and Welcome to My World and five singles. He is signed to Dreamline Music record label. In 2009, he took part in Melodifestivalen with the song "Welcome to My Life". Before his solo career, he had taken part in a television series and was, for a brief time, a member of Streetwize, an international boy band project. In the 2010s he developed a fitness training career under the name By Jonny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industry (Irish band)</span> Irish band

Industry were a pop group formed in Ireland in 2009. The band comprised Donal Skehan, Morgan Deane, Michele McGrath and Briton Lee Hutton. Industry made their recording debut in 2009 under the independent record label MIG Live, and broke up in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donal Skehan</span> Irish singer, TV personality, cook, cookbook writer

Donal Skehan is an Irish television personality, presenter, food writer, cook, photographer and former singer. He is known for his television series, cookbooks, popular YouTube channel and use of toast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Hutton</span> English singer

Lee Andrew Hutton is an English singer-songwriter.

<i>Manns World</i> 2011 studio album by Mann

Mann's World is the debut studio album by American rapper Mann, released through Def Jam Records and Beluga Heights on August 2, 2011. The album is preceded by the singles "Buzzin'" and "The Mack" which were released in October 2010 and May 2011, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young, Wild & Free</span> 2011 single by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars

"Young, Wild & Free" is a song by American rappers Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, featuring vocals from American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released on October 11, 2011, by Atlantic Records as the lead single from the soundtrack of the film, Mac & Devin Go to High School. The track was co-written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, along with Cristopher Brown, Snoop Dogg, and Wiz Khalifa. Since the track samples two other songs, "Toot It & Boot It" (2010) and "Sneakin' in the Back" (1974), songwriting credits were added for a total of seventeen. Produced by the Smeezingtons, its composition began during a Smeezingtons freestyle studio session; when progress on the song stalled, Aaron Bay-Shuck considered it a potential hit and asked them to finish it. After the song was finished, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa were added.

<i>Doggumentary</i> 2011 studio album by Snoop Dogg

Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 29, 2011 on the Priority Records record label. The album was produced by Battlecat, The Cataracs, Gorillaz, David Banner, THX, DJ Khalil, Fredwreck, Jake One, David Guetta, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Lex Luger, Meech Wells, Mr. Porter, Rick Rock, Rick Rude, Scoop DeVille, Scott Storch, Warryn Campbell, Kanye West, DJ Reflex, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slow Motion (Lee.M and J. Pearl song)</span> 2012 single by Lee.M & J. Pearl featuring Iyaz & Snoop Dogg

"Slow Motion" is a single by Lee.M and J. Pearl featuring additional vocals from Iyaz and rap by Snoop Dogg. The "electro house" dance tune is the debut single of Lee Mulhern who took the stage name Lee.M and is credited to "Lee.M & J. Pearl featuring Iyaz and Snoop Dogg".

J. Pearl is a New York City-based American singer signed to Simply Delicious record label which is part of Strictly Rhythm Musical Group. Her music is described as "electro house" dance music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Dolan</span> Musical artist

Ryan Dolan is an Irish pop singer from Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He is known for representing Ireland in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with "Only Love Survives".

1500 or Nothin' is an American musical ensemble composed of record producers, songwriters, musicians and music videographers, formed in 2006, in Los Angeles, California. With headquarters located in Inglewood, California, 1500 or Nothin' is composed of three internal divisions: 1500 Or Nothin’ Music, 1500 Or Nothin’ Video, and 1500 Or Nothin’ Ancillary. In 2006, 1500 or Nothin' began to create "a variety of music genres including Hip-Hop Rap, Rhythm & Blues, Alternative Rock, Urban and New Adult Contemporary. The collective 1500 or Nothin' has lent their writing, production or instrument skills to records for Justin Timberlake, Asher Roth, Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I., Bruno Mars and B.o.B.

"Imagine" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg, featuring guest vocals from rapper Dr. Dre and singer D'Angelo, taken from Snoop Dogg's eighth studio album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006). The song was written by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Mark Batson, with production handled by Dr. Dre and Mark Batson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peaches N Cream (Snoop Dogg song)</span> 2015 single by Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson

"Peaches N Cream" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg, featuring vocals from American singer Charlie Wilson. was released on March 10, 2015, as the first single of his thirteenth studio album Bush, with the record labels I Am Other and Columbia Records. The song was produced by Pharrell Williams, who also participated in the band composition, along with the interpreters and Nelly, Garry Shider, George Clinton, James Brown, Robert Ginyard, Jr., Mary Brockert, and Walter Morrison.

"The Voyage" is a very famous modern Irish classic song by the Irish musician, singer-songwriter Johnny Duhan. Unsure of his own vocal capabilities, he offered it to the Irish singer Christy Moore who recorded a version in 1989 that became the definitive and most well-known version of the song. Johnny Duhan went on to record his own version for his similarly titled album The Voyage that was released much later in 2005. The song has been interpreted by a great number of artists and translated into other languages

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Wilson (singer)</span> American singer and musician

Charles Kent Wilson, also known as Uncle Charlie, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and the former lead vocalist of the Gap Band. As a solo artist Wilson has been nominated for 13 Grammy awards and 11 NAACP Image Awards, received a 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, and was a recipient of a BMI Icon Award in 2005. In 2009 and 2020, he was named Billboard magazine's No. 1 Adult R&B Artist, and his song "There Goes My Baby" was named the No. 1 Urban Adult Song for 2009 in Billboard Magazine.

Fuera de Clase also known by its initials as FDC was a Venezuelan pan-Latin musical formation of youth with its own repertoire of songs and dance routines. The formation formed in the early 2000s by artist development producers Ruben Ferrer Rubio and Johnny Nuñez, had a lineup made up of six young performers, Silverio Lozada, Emilio Vizcaino, Luis Fernando Sosa, Hector Astudillo, Marco Verde and Richard Anthony Jones.

References

  1. 1 2 Scally, Aisling (27 October 2012). "The former Castlederg crooner recording with Snoop Dogg". Belfast Telegraph . Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 Carton, Donna. "Child star Lee finds Mum knows best", Daily Mirror , 1999-10-05, p. 8.
  3. 1 2 "New Lee-verage with the Dogg". Ulster Herald. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Lee's new major". Strabane Chronicle. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 Regan, Claire. "It's viva Las Vegas for teenager: Singer Lee to jet off for date with the stars", The Belfast Telegraph , 22 December 2001.
  6. 1 2 "Lee Mulhern". StarNow. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "NorthWest: Rock scene hots up at Buncrana", The Belfast Telegraph , 11 July 2002.
  8. ↑ McEntee, Myles. "Fire hero tribute by Gerry", The Sun, 2002-09-10, p. 7.
  9. ↑ Archived 21 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  10. 1 2 3 "Local singer's debut with rap legend Snoop Dogg". Derry Journal. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  11. ↑ Clements, Andrea. "Fame is beckoning for Streetwize Lee: teen signs for boyband", The Belfast Telegraph , 5 September 2005.
  12. ↑ CN8 performance and interview with Streetwize band members including Donal Skehan
  13. ↑ "Streetwize performing at Childline 2007". YouTube. 21 February 2007. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Stateside (statesideofficial) on Myspace". Myspace.com. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  15. ↑ Soundcloud: NXT-GEN - Magnetic (demo)
  16. ↑ Soundcloud: NXT-GEN music
  17. ↑ Soundcloud: Lee Mulhern (Lee M.) music
  18. ↑ "Lee Mulhern". StarNow. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Ireland 2013 : Eurosong could have had this amazing Irish Act in 2013! " Eurovision Ireland". Eurovisionireland.net. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Lee Matthews Sadie's got her new dress on". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Lee Matthews Love Shine A Light cover". Wiwibloggs.com. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "Lee Matthews – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.