![]() |
Simon Curtis | |
---|---|
![]() Curtis in May 2011 | |
Background information | |
Born | [1] Michigan, United States | March 18, 1986
Genres | Electronic, dance-pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, novelist [2] |
Years active | 2006–present |
Website | www.simon-curtis.com |
Simon Curtis (born March 18, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Born in Michigan and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he first gained recognition for his role as Royce Du Lac in the 2009 film Spectacular! before venturing into pop music, during which he released his debut extended play Alter Boy in 2008, his debut full-length studio album, 8Bit Heart in 2010, and in 2011, he released his second studio album (and first commercial release) RA ; the two later releases were released through his independent label, BoyRobot Records.
RA debuted at number 20 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart. [3]
Simon Curtis was born in the state of Michigan, United States, and spent his earliest years in Alpena. [4] His family later moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. [5] At the age of ten, he was diagnosed with leukemia. [6] [7] He graduated from Jenks High School in 2004. [8] [9] Curtis earned a coveted role in the national tour production of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . [10] Curtis is gay. [11]
Curtis won Popstar Magazine and Johnny Wright's "Get Famous" contest, [12] was named a national top ten finalist in the "Britney Spears Samsung Superstar Tour", was commissioned by Disney to provide a theme song for an annual Disneyland event, was named an official Oklahoma Ambassador of Music, and won the University of Tulsa Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance.
At 20, Curtis began recording with local record producer Jadion. There they began the sessions that would ultimately result in Curtis' début album Alter Boy EP . Curtis and Jadion were commissioned by Disney to deliver a theme song for the annual Disneyland Resort event, Flashback, which later became a charity single benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.[ citation needed ]
In early 2009, Curtis made his film debut starring in the Nickelodeon musical TV film Spectacular! . He landed the role of Royce Du Lac, the lead singer of a show choir, Ta-da and Tammi's boyfriend. [13]
In late 2009, Curtis once again began to work on his musical career. He teamed up with friend producer Jeff "Jadion" Wells and in about thirteen days, he wrote and recorded 8Bit Heart . He chose to release the album for free on his official website after meeting the goal of six thousand followers on his Twitter profile. The album was well received by the pop community and was downloaded over 150,000 times in the two weeks following its release. Curtis did this without a manager or record label. [14] He was the opening act of Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean on May 6, 2010, at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California.
On May 16, 2011, Curtis released the first single from his second album RA (stylized as R∆) titled "Superhero" as well as a remix titled "Superhero (The Remix)" on his independent label BoyRobot Records through the iTunes Store. [15] The second single from the album, titled "Flesh", was released May 31, [16] along with a remix titled "Flesh (Future Freestyle Remix)". [17] On June 7, he released the full-length album [18] and it debuted at number 20 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart. [3] [19]
Curtis released a free EP, WWW', [20] on October 12, 2013. It consisted of eight new songs and three alternate covers. Although his sexuality had been questioned beforehand, it was the criticism towards this album's artwork for being "too gay" that led him to defend himself, saying "Love that I'm getting so much heat for my new album artwork being "too gay" on national coming out day." He followed this up with, "With that said, I am gay. *makes dance album, wears midriff-bearing tshirt, puts neon pink leopard font on cover, doesn't care*". [21]
According to an article published on Popjustice on March 20, 2014, Curtis is now part of an electropop duo called Wrathschild which has been working with producer Ray Reich over the past two years. The debut single "Fall Into Love" premiered on Billboard.com on March 24 and became available on iTunes on March 31. [22]
On December 1, 2014, Fuse Literary announced Curtis had joined the company. [23] Curtis later backed this up by stating through his Twitter "suffice it to say, books are coming". [2] He has published two books so far, Boy Robot and its sequel, Robot Army.
Curtis announced through Twitter on new years he would be returning to music with his third studio album. [24] The songs within his new album, titled as "Super 8-bit Heart", are various remixes of songs found in his previous album "8-bit Heart". So far, the remixes haven't been identified by Curtis, or anyone else .
Simon Curtis discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 3 |
EPs | 3 |
Compilation albums | 1 |
Singles | 16 |
Music videos | 1 |
Year | Album |
---|---|
2010 | 8Bit Heart
|
2011 | RA
|
2023 | Angel Aura [25]
|
Year | Album |
---|---|
2006 | Alter Boy
|
2013 | WWW
|
2015 | Love, S
|
Year | Album |
---|---|
2016 | Super 8-Bit Heart |
Year | Title | Album |
---|---|---|
2010 | "Joystick" | 8Bit Heart |
"Diablo" | ||
"8-Bit Heart" | ||
"Beat Drop" | ||
2011 | "Delusional" | |
"Superhero" | R∆ | |
"Flesh" | ||
2019 | "Love" | Angel Aura |
"Graduate" | ||
2022 | "Ketamine" | |
"I'm Not Sorry" | ||
"Fairyboy" |
Year | Title | Album |
---|---|---|
2010 | "8Bit Heart"
| 8Bit Heart |
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
2009 | Spectacular! | Royce Du Lac | Nickelodeon |
Television series | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2009 | Hannah Montana | Tim | "Once, Twice, Three Times Afraidy" |
Ari Gold was an American pop singer and songwriter. He was openly gay, and regularly addressed being both Jewish and gay. He starred in an autobiographical theater production Ari Gold– Untitled: The Making of a Gay Pop Star.
Anna-Catherine Hartley, known professionally as Uffie, is an American-French singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and fashion designer formerly signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records.
Jonathan Barry Gooch, more commonly known by his stage names Feed Me,Spor and seventh stitch, is a British drum and bass, dubstep and electro house producer and DJ. He is currently managed by Three Six Zero Group.
Brittany Nicole Waddell, better known by her stage name Britt Nicole, is an American singer and songwriter. She has mainly charted as a Christian pop artist, but in 2012 found her debut mainstream single, "Gold" and in 2013, "Ready or Not", in the Mainstream Top 40. Her fourth studio album, Gold, was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 55th Grammy Awards. She is signed to Sparrow and Capitol Records.
Yelle is a French electronic band founded by lead singer and namesake Yelle and GrandMarnier. A third member, Tepr, joined the band before the recording of their debut album. Yelle and GrandMarnier began working on music together in 2000. The band came to prominence when it posted an early version of the song "Je veux te voir" on MySpace in September 2005, which later reached the top five in France. The success of the song on MySpace attracted the attention of a record label, which set them to work on their debut album, Pop Up, which was released in 2007. The group's second album, Safari Disco Club, was released in 2011, their third, Complètement fou, in 2014, and their fourth, L'Ère du Verseau in 2020.
Samuel Falson, better known by his stage name Sam Sparro, is an Australian singer, songwriter and record producer. He was signed to the British record label Island Records. Sparro is best known for his 2008 single "Black and Gold".
SafetySuit is an American rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their 2008 major label debut album Life Left to Go featured songs "Stay" and "Someone Like You", the former first achieving fame by climbing to No. 1 on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. In January 2012, SafetySuit followed with their second album These Times, notable for its songs "Let Go" and "These Times". The album peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and topped the iTunes album chart. Later that year, the band released an EP titled "Hallelujah" which included the hit single "Never Stop ". The single has been featured in People Magazine with multiple celebrity weddings using it as the soundtrack for their first dance. Several singles from each of their albums have charted and have been featured on television shows such as Kyle XY, Imaginary Mary, and The Hills. The band's releases have been met highly favorably by critics, and they are known for their very energetic live performances. They have toured with many notable artists including 3 Doors Down, The Script, Collective Soul, Hoobastank, Parachute, Daughtry, and the Goo Goo Dolls.
Vincent James Turner, better known by his stage name Frankmusik, is an English synth-pop musician. Since 2010 he is based in Los Angeles as remixer and producer.
"In My Head" is a song by American singer Jason Derulo, released as the second single from his self-titled debut studio album. It was first released on December 10, 2009. "In My Head" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "In My Head" topped the charts in Australia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several other countries, including Canada, Germany, and New Zealand. The song's official remix has a heavier R&B sound and features rapper Nicki Minaj. Derulo performed the song on the ninth season of American Idol.
Samuel Adams Wisner is an American rapper, singer and songwriter.
8Bit Heart is the debut album by American singer-songwriter and record producer Simon Curtis. It was released March 23, 2010 for free download via Curtis' official website. Curtis co-produced the album with Jeff "Jadion" Wells. The album was downloaded 80 thousand times in its first week of being released.
Greyson Michael Chance is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to national attention in 2010 as a child singer, after his performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" went viral on YouTube and gained over 72 million views. Two of his original songs, "Stars" and "Broken Hearts", gained over six and eight million views respectively on his channel the following year. He signed a joint-venture recording contract with Ellen DeGeneres' eleveneleven – an imprint of Maverick, Streamline, and Geffen Records – to release his debut commercial single, "Waiting Outside the Lines" in October 2010. His debut studio album, Hold On 'til the Night (2011) was released the following year and peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200, remaining his only charting release.
"Red Nation" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip hop artist Game featuring vocals from rapper Lil Wayne, from his anticipated fourth studio album The R.E.D. Album. Released as the album's lead single on April 12, 2011, the song was written by Game and Lil Wayne, and it was produced by Miami-based production duo Cool & Dre, noted for producing three of Game's singles including the 2005 smash hit single "Hate It or Love It" which featured vocals from former fellow G-Unit member rapper 50 Cent. The single also marks the second collaboration between Game and Lil Wayne, their first collaboration being on Game's 2008 international hit single "My Life" from his third studio album LAX (2008), which featured vocals from Lil Wayne during the song's chorus. The song features a music sample of the nightclub hit "Kernkraft 400" (2000) performed by German techno and electro band Zombie Nation from their debut album Leichenschmaus (1999).
Steven Adam Markowitz, known professionally as Hoodie Allen, is an American rapper from Plainview, New York. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he began working at Google before ultimately quitting to pursue a full-time career in hip hop music.
"This City" is a song by American musician Patrick Stump from his debut solo album Soul Punk (2011), released on Island Records. A remix featuring rapper Lupe Fiasco was released as the album's first single. After finishing his album, Stump decided to re-write Soul Punk after coming up with "This City".
Jam Rahuoja Rostron, better known by their stage name Planningtorock, is an English electronic musician and record producer who lives in Tallinn, Estonia. Rostron is transgender and non-binary, and uses they/them and he/him pronouns.
Scandroid is an American electronic music project created by Klayton, which previously included Varien in 2013. The project released its debut single, "Salvation Code", on August 6, 2013. Scandroid can be described as encompassing the retro synth melodies of the 1980s while still adapting to modern production, thus creating a new retro sound.
Stephen Samuel Wrabel (born January 7, 1989), known mononymously as Wrabel, is an American singer, songwriter and musician based in Los Angeles.
Makonnen Kamali Sheran, better known by his stage name iLoveMakonnen, is an American former rapper and singer. He is best known for his 2014 single "Tuesday", which initially gained recognition following its remix with Canadian rapper Drake. After its release in August of that year, he signed with Drake's record label OVO Sound, an imprint of Warner Records that same month; the song was re-released by the label shortly after and subsequently peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Tuesday" also received a nomination Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, and served as the lead single for his likewise re-issued self-titled debut extended play (2014), which moderately entered the Billboard 200. He parted ways with OVO in 2016, and his following releases have failed to chart.
Tim Heng Wu, better known by his stage name Elephante, is an American musician, DJ and music producer based in Los Angeles.