Conrad Sewell
Conrad Ignatious Mario Maximilian Sewell (born 31 March 1988) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Sewell is best known for his vocals on Kygo's single "Firestone" and his number-one single "Start Again".
Conrad Sewell | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Conrad Ignatious Mario Maximilian Sewell |
Born | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 31 March 1988
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
|
Years active | 2007–present |
Labels | Sony Music |
Associated acts | |
Website | conradofficial |
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015, he won Song of the Year for "Start Again" and was nominated in two other categories: Breakthrough Artist and Best Pop Release. His debut studio album Life was released in May 2019.
Early life
Growing up in Brisbane, Sewell started pursuing a music career from a young age, sending around demos since he was 8 years old.[1] He later tried his luck with short-lived rock band Sons of Midnight.[2] He is the brother of Australian pop singer Grace. In 2004, Sewell auditioned for season 2 of Australian Idol, but did not initially pass the audition stage, needing to travel to a different state and re-auditioning before making it into the Top 100 singers for that season.[1] In 2006, he moved to the United Kingdom.[1]
Sewell comes from a family of musicians; his grandparents toured with the Bee Gees and the Gibb Brothers. His sister Grace is a singer best known for her version of the 1963 Lesley Gore song "You Don't Own Me", which hit number one on the ARIA Charts in May 2015. When "Start Again" hit number one on the ARIA Charts in June 2015, Conrad and Grace became the first Australian-born siblings in the history of the charts to hit number one as separate acts.
Career
2007–2017: Sons of Midnight, solo career beginnings, All I Know
In 2007, Sewell and guitarist Matthew Copley formed a pop rock group called The Frets, who were later joined by three more members before changing their name to Sons of Midnight. The band released their debut single "The Fire" in 2012, achieving moderate success. The song currently has over 3.3 million plays on Spotify. The band released their debut self-titled album in 2013, but disappeared from the public shortly before the planned release of their second album.[3]
In 2014 Sewell wrote and featured on Kygo's hit, "Firestone". The single was a top five hit across Europe.[4][5] His debut single "Hold Me Up" was written and produced by Brian Lee, The Euroz and Louis Bell. On 2 March 2015, Sewell announced his opening slot on Ed Sheeran's Australian tour via a video posted on his Facebook page. He joined Sheeran on 13 dates throughout Australia.[6] On 12 June 2015, Live Nation confirmed that Sewell would join Maroon 5 on the Maroon V Tour in September as well as posting several tour dates.[7] Sewell supported Jess Glynne on her "Ain't Got Far to Go" UK tour in October and November 2015. In October, Sewell announced that his debut extended play, All I Know would be released on 13 November 2015.[8] He also posted various Australian and New Zealand tour dates throughout November.[9] In March 2015, he was picked as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month and was featured on American TV network NBC's Today show hosted by Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb and broadcast nationally across the United States where he performed live his single "Start Again". In November 2015, at the ARIA Music Awards of 2015, Sewell won Song of the Year for "Start Again".[10] In February 2016, Sewell released "Remind Me" as the final single from All I Know. The following month, Coca-Cola released a song and video for their new campaign, "Taste the Feeling". It features Sewell's vocals and production from Avicii.[11]
2018–present: Sony Music Australia and Life
In May 2018, Sewell announced he had signed with Sony Music Australia. In a statement, AO, chairman and CEO of Sony Denis Handlin said, "Conrad Sewell is an incredibly talented artist and I am thrilled to welcome him to the Sony Music family. This exciting next phase of his career will see him reach new heights and we are honoured to be a part of it."[12][13]
On 18 May 2018, Sewell released the Ghosts & Heartaches EP, containing "Come Clean" and "Healing Hands".[14] In February 2019, Sewell announced the release of his debut studio album Life which was released on 17 May 2019[15] and debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts. Sewell had performed the Australian national anthem at the 2019 AFL Grand Final.
Discography
Albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
AUS [16] | ||
Life |
|
1 [18] |
Extended plays
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
AUS [16] | ||
All I Know |
|
9 |
Ghosts & Heartaches |
|
—[upper-alpha 1] |
As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [16] |
AUT [20] |
FRA [21] |
GER [22] |
SWE [23] | ||||||||||
"Hold Me Up" | 2015 | 39 | — | — | — | — | All I Know | |||||||
"Start Again" | 1 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
"Who You Lovin" | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| ||||||||
"Remind Me"[26] | 2016 | 22 | — | — | — | — |
| |||||||
"Taste the Feeling" (with Avicii) |
— | 17 | 136 | 53 | 60 | Non-album single | ||||||||
"Healing Hands" | 2018 | 7 | — | — | — | — |
|
Life | ||||||
"Changing" | 91 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
"Love Me Anyway"[29] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
"Life"[30] | —[upper-alpha 2] | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
"Big World"[32] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [16] |
AUT [20] |
FRA [21] |
GER [22] |
NL [33] |
NOR [34] |
SWE [23] |
SWI [35] |
UK [36] |
US [37] | |||||
"Firestone" (Kygo featuring Conrad Sewell) |
2014 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 92 | Cloud Nine | ||
"Braver Love"[45] (Arty featuring Conrad Sewell) |
2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Glorious | ||
"Little Love"[46] (Kilian & Jo featuring Conrad Sewell) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||
"Secrets"[47] (Cid featuring Conrad Sewell) |
2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
"Sex, Love & Water"[48] (Armin van Buuren featuring Conrad Sewell) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
"Who Am I"[49] (Enzo Ingrosso featuring Conrad Sewell) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
"Kingdom"[50] (ARTY featuring Conrad Sewell) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Notes
- In Australia, sales of the Ghosts & Heartaches EP counted towards the song "Healing Hands" and therefore could not chart separately.
- "Life" did not enter the ARIA Singles Chart, but peaked at number 15 on the ARIA Digital Track Chart.[31]
Tours
- Headlining
All I Know Tour (2015–16)[51]
Life Tour (2019)
- Opening act
- Cloud Nine Tour (2014–16) (Kygo)
- x Tour (2015) (Ed Sheeran)
- Maroon V Tour (2015) (Maroon 5)
- I Cry When I Laugh Tour (2015–16) (Jess Glynne)
- Cheers To The Fall Tour (2016) (Andra Day)
Awards
APRA Awards
The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | "Healing Hands" | Pop Work of the Year | Nominated |
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Sewell had one win from 4 nominations.[52]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Lost to |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | "Start Again" | Best Pop Release | Nominated | Jarryd James - "Do You Remember?" |
Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit & Think, & Sometimes I Just Sit | ||
Song of the Year | Won | N/A | ||
2018 | "Healing Hands" | Song of the Year | Nominated | 5 Seconds Of Summer - "Youngblood" |
References
- "Meet Pop's Hair-Flipping, Rock-Loving Rising Star Conrad".
- Mike Wass (1 April 2015). "Popping Up: Conrad Sewell". www.idolator.com. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- "Sons of Midnight". www.facebook.com.
- "Kygo Releases 'Firestone' Featuring Conrad On Spotify".
- "Firestone (feat. Conrad Sewell)".
- "Conrad Sewell".
- "ANNOUNCED: Conrad Sewell Joins Maroon 5 Tour". Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- "Conrad Sewell drops hot new single Who You Lovin from upcoming EP All I Know". chartshaker.com. 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- "Conrad Sewell To Tour November". krock.com.au. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- "ARIAS - Conrad Sewell Wins Song Of The Year".
- "Taste The Feeling - Coca-Cola".
- "Conrad Sewell Signs With Sony". Noise11. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "Conrad Sewell Joins Sony Music Entertainment". The Music AU. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "Ghosts & Heartaches – Single by Conrad Sewell on iTunes". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- "CONRAD SEWELL'S NEW LIFE". auspOp. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- Peaks in Australia:
- All except noted: "Discography Conrad Sewell". australian-charts.com.
- "Changing": "ARIA Chart Watch #497". auspOp. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- "Life". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- "Ghosts & Heartaches (Single)". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- "Discography Conrad Sewell". austriancharts.at.
- "Discographie Conrad Sewell". lescharts.com.
- "Discographie Conrad Sewell". offiziellecharts.de.
- "Discography Conrad Sewell". swedishcharts.com.
- "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- Ryan, Gavin (19 December 2015). "ARIA Singles: Justin Bieber 'Love Yourself' Racks Up Second Week at No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- "Remind Me - Single". iTunes UK. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2016 Singles". ARIA. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2019 Singles". ARIA. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- "Love Me Anyway - single". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- "Singles to Radio ISSUE 1237". The Music Network. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- "ARIA Australian Top 40 Digital Tracks W/C 5 August 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 August 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- "Singles to Radio ISSUE 1254". The Music Network. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- "Discografie Conrad Sewell". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discography Conrad Sewell". Norwegian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discographie Conrad Sewell". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Firestone". Officialcharts.com/. Official Charts Company.
- "Music: Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
- "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 29 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
- "British single certifications – Kygo". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 June 2015. Select singles in the Format field. Type Kygo in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Kygo)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- "Troféoversikt – Kygo" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- "Austrian certifications – Conrad" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "Kygo Feat. Conrad – Firestone" (in Swedish). Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- "American single certifications – Kygo feat. Conrad Sewell – Firestone". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 October 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.
- "Braver Love feat. Conrad Sewell". iTunes [Australia]. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- "Little Love feat. Conrad Sewell". iTunes [Germany]. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- "Secrets CID feat. Conrad Sewell". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- "Sex, Love & Water feat. Conrad Sewell". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- "Who Am I feat. Conrad Sewell". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- "Kingdom - single". Apple Music. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- "ALL I KNOW TOUR OF AUSTRALIA'S EAST COAST & NEW ZEALAND NEXT MONTH ANNOUNCED". frontiertouring.com. Frontier Touring. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- "ARIA Awards Search Results - Conrad Sewell". ARIA Awards. ARIA Awards. Retrieved 5 May 2018.