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Pop singer/songwriter Donna Lewis was born in Cardiff, Wales, and began playing the piano at the age of six. Thanks to inspiration from her father, a jazz pianist, Lewis began writing songs while still a young teenager. She studied at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, majoring in classical composition for piano and flute. After teaching music in Sussex for a year, Lewis moved to Birmingham to sing in a bar band. After setting up her own studio, she began recording her own songs and became a popular live attraction around the area as well. Donna Lewis began shopping her demo tape around in late 1993, and jumped at the opportunity to sign with the American major label Atlantic. Her first single, "I Love You Always Forever," an infectious uptempo pop song, became a hit on VH1 and with adult contemporary audiences; the song pushed her debut album, Now in a Minute, to number 31 on the album charts and helped it earn a platinum distinction. Blue Planet followed in 1998, and Lewis returned with In the Pink in 2008.
from Wikipedia:
Donna Lewis (born 6 August 1973, Cardiff) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and record producer, best known for the 1996 pop hit single "I Love You Always Forever", and the adult contemporary chart-topper "At the Beginning" with Richard Marx. After releasing her second LP Blue Planet, Lewis left Atlantic Records and independently released LPs Be Still and In the Pink. Currently, Lewis is working on her next LP, as well as performing with her side project, Chute.
Biography
At the age of six, Lewis began playing the piano. Her father, a jazz pianist lent encouragement, and while still a teenager, she began composing original songs. Her formal training was at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales, where she majored in classical composition for piano and flute. Lewis then went on to teach music for a year in Sussex before moving to Birmingham to sing in a bar band. During that time she set up a home studio and began recording demos. Before long she became a popular live attraction and circa 1993 began sending her demos to record labels.
The U.S. based Atlantic Records took an interest in Lewis and subsequently released her first single, "I Love You Always Forever", a synthpop-driven love song which went on to become a major hit on VH1. It was also successful on U.S. radio, staying at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks, and spending 13 consecutive weeks at #1 on the airplay chart. It exceeded one million "spins" on radio, to claim its place in music industry history as the most-played single up to that point, until Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" broke the record two years later. The single reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart in 1996, and spent 14 weeks in the chart. It helped her debut album, Now in a Minute, to #6 in the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and #52 in the UK Albums Chart.It was certified platinum in the U.S.
In 1997 Lewis appeared as herself in the Season 7 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, "The Phantom of CU".
Lewis recorded "At the Beginning" with Richard Marx for the 1997 film Anastasia. Her second LP, Blue Planet (1998), won critical acclaim, but it was largely overlooked by the public. Although it produced a minor hit in continental Europe and Asia, "I Could Be the One", and a U.S. #1 dance single, "Love Him", Lewis parted ways with Atlantic Records and independently produced her third LP, Be Still (2002), which featured her on an almost entirely acoustic set. During the early 2000s Lewis was featured as a guest vocalist on several trance music/house music recordings. Her fourth LP, In the Pink, was released in 2008; its first single was "Shout," which was included in the soundtrack to the Marian Quinn film 32A. Lewis also sang lead vocals for her side project, Chute. which released their debut EP in April 2010. She is currently working on her next studio album, and an EP with Ryan Farish.
