Description

The late 1990s saw the emergence of several notable female singer/songwriters, including Beth Orton, Jewel, and Dido. Combining elements of folk, pop, and alt-electronica, Dido scored a surprise hit with her debut effort NO ANGEL, which raced up the charts nearly two years after its initial 1999 release. A guest appearance on an Eminem album heightened her profile even further.

Biography

b. Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong, 25 December 1971, England. Armstrong is the sister of Faithless mastermind and leading UK dance music producer, Rollo. She sang "Flowerstand Man' on Faithless" 1996 debut, Reverence and contributed backing vocals to several other tracks, while maintaining a day job in a London office and studying for a law degree part-time. Like her peer, Sonique, Dido's first solo successes were in the USA, rather than her native UK.
Musically gifted from an early age, Dido (named after the Queen of Carthage) attended London's Guildhall School of Music and played recorder, piano and violin by the age of 10. Her teenage years were spent listening to her brother's record collection and touring with a classical ensemble. She began singing with various London-based bands before becoming involved in her brother's project, Faithless. After the million-selling success of Reverence, Dido toured with the band for 18 months and contributed to Faithless' second album, Sunday 8pm. At this stage, Dido was writing her own material and had assembled an album's worth of demo tapes. These demos led to a publishing deal in the UK with Cheeky Records and a deal with the US arm of Arista Records in 1999.
Dido's debut album, No Angel, was produced by Rollo and Youth and received its US release in June 1999. The track "Here With Me" was used as the theme for the hit US television series Roswell, and "Thank You" was used on the soundtrack of the Gwyneth Paltrow movie, Sliding Doors. Dido's media profile was raised enormously when rap star Eminem sampled "Thank You" for his single "Stan", which became a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic. With the emphasis very much on quality song writing, No Angel combined electronic and acoustic elements to create a lush, down-tempo style. It was released in the UK in October 2000 in conjunction with live performances on the east coast of the USA. Phenomenal sales followed as the album became the preferred listening at a million middle-class dinner parties.
The singer's long-awaited new album was promoted by her highest-charting UK single to date. "White Flag" debuted at number 2 in September 2003, while Life For Rent took up residency at the top of the album charts throughout most of the Christmas period on the way to sales in excess of 2 million. The album and single also enjoyed great commercial success in the US market.
DISCOGRAPHY: No Angel (Cheeky/Arista 1999)***, Life For Rent (Cheeky 2003)***.

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