Donna Lewis
Last updated: 19 August 2009
Born and raised in Cardiff, Donna Lewis emerged from the Welsh College Of Music And Drama with flute and piano qualifications and a voice that set her on the path to world stardom.
Born in 1973, she was working in local bands by the late 80s, and by 1990 was performing solo in Britain and across Europe in small bars and clubs. Showing the maturity to maximise her chances, she also invested in a home studio and began recording demos.
In time-honoured fairytale fashion, Atlantic Records chairman Doug Morris got to hear one of the demos and in 1993 he flew her to New York. He offered her a deal on the spot. It took three years for Lewis' debut album, Now In A Minute, to see the light of day, but once it did, it seemed there was no stopping her momentum.
It was all down to the lead single, a devastatingly catchy pop song called I Love You Always Forever, and it shot to the upper reaches of the charts worldwide. It spent nine weeks at number two (behind Macarena) in the US and 11 weeks in the UK top 40. It also set airplay records as radio stations fell in love with its catchy refrain. Without Love was another UK top 40 hit.
Two years later, she released the Blue Planet album. Two hits were taken from it, but neither had the sheer global impact of her debut. I Could Be The One was a European hit, while Love Him topped the Billboard dance charts.
Lewis split with Atlantic despite selling over 2 million albums, and settled into something of a rest period in 1999. She worked with Richard Marx on the soundtrack of the Disney film Anastasia, and contributed to The Art Of Noise's The Seduction Of Claude Debussy, on Trevor Horn's request.
She was back making music at the end of the year, however, with Italian producers Souled Out who stormed to Ibiza success in 2000 with the Donna Lewis-sung Take Me O. In 2001 she appeared on the Utopia benefit album, and most recently has been collaborating with Hollywood film score writer David Torn.
A third album of her original solo material, Be Still, was released through Donna's official website in March 2002.
