Amy Macdonald (singer)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Amy Macdonald


Img_capt = Amy Macdonald at the Amadeus Austrian Music Awards.
Img_size =
Background = solo_singer
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|df=yes|1987|08|25 [http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7276586 MSN Entertainment UK: Amy MacDonald] ]
Origin = Bishopbriggs, Scotland
Voice_type = Contralto
Instrument = Guitar, drums, piano, vocals
Years_active = 2007–present
Label = Vertigo
URL = http://www.amymacdonald.co.uk/

Amy Macdonald (born 25 August 1987 in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire) is a Scottish singer/songwriter.

Her debut album, "This Is The Life", was released on 30 July 2007 and has now sold over 1,500,000 copies worldwide. Her first single, "Poison Prince", was released on 7 May 2007. She has played shows at music festivals such as Glastonbury, Hyde Park, T in the Park, and V festival. Amy is signed to record company Vertigo, the same record label which hosts The Killers and Razorlight.

Macdonald started playing on-stage acoustic gigs at the age of 15. Her main influences include Travis and The Libertines. After playing several shows across mainland Europe, Macdonald plans to play at various festivals such as V Fest during the summer of 2008.

Early life

Macdonald attended Bishopbriggs High School. [cite web | title =Video week - Former Bishopbriggs High School pupil Amy Macdonald performs for Bishopbriggs Academy pupils at The Garage nightclub in Glasgow | work =The Herald | publisher =Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited | url =http://www.theherald.co.uk/videoweek/Amy |accessdate =2008-08-04 ]

She is a self taught musician and started to play her father's guitar after being inspired by Travis at the T in the Park Festival in 2000, where she heard Travis' song "Turn" and wanted to play it herself.cite interview
last = Macdonald
first = Amy
subjectlink = Amy Macdonald
interviewer = Scott Simon
title = Studio Sessions - Amy MacDonald: A Self-Taught Scot
program = National Public Radio
callsign = KGNU
city = Boulder, Colorado
date = 16 August 2008
accessdate = 2008-09-06
url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93641042]

Macdonald started her trade at various pubs and coffee houses in and around Glasgow at the tender age of 15. She regularly played open mic slots at the city's Brunswick Cellars on Sauchiehall Street.Fact|date=August 2008She sent a demo CD away to an advert in the back of NME magazine and was signed to production company 'Melodramatic'.Fact|date=August 2008

Media image

Reviewers often describe Amy Macdonald as softly spoken but with a booming singing voice. [Simpson, Dave (4 July 2007) [http://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2117703,00.html#article_continue "Amy Macdonald: The Lamp, Hull"] "Guardian Unlimited". Retrieved 30 September 2007. "Although her speaking voice seems almost shy, her vocals fire singing bullets against the rear wall.".] Despite her Scottish origins, her singing voice has been described as partly Irish. [ [http://icscotland.icnetwork.co.uk/whatson/whatson2/tm_headline=amy-macdonald--king-tut--8217-s--glasgow--march-13---review&method=full&objectid=18756621&siteid=50141-name_page.html isScotland's review of Amy Macdonald's gig at King Tut’s, Glasgow, 13 March 2007] ] She has also called herself a slight "tomboy". On her MySpace blog, she mentions cars, such as Audis, and video games as her interests. Macdonald has also expressed how fast her life is moving when she mentions her admiration when meeting other singers from the UK such as Travis's Fran Healy and Elton John (who is a fan of her work). [ [http://www.stv.tv/content/out/music/videointerviews/display.html?id=opencms:/out/music/video_interviews/amy_macdonald_la_video_interview "Amy Macdonald: This is the life", video interview with stv.tv, October 2007] ]

Controversy

Macdonald gained some press coverage when she questioned whether the 2007 winner of "The X Factor", Leon Jackson, was suffering from tonsillitis. This was because Amy Macdonald herself was suffering from tonsillitis at the same time but she was still able to perform on stage at Glasgow and at the BBC's "Hogmanay Live" show the same night. [ [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Tonsillitis-More-like-lazyitis-.3632276.jp "Tonsillitis? More like lazy-itis – star Macdonald attacks X Factor's Leon over cancelled concert", 2 January 2008] ]

Audio releases

Macdonald is also the first artist to have a single featured on Bebo/iTunes "Free single of the week" program starting 23 June 2007. The free single, "Youth of Today", was written when she was 15 years old. The video for her next single, "L.A." has been filmed in Malaga, Spain. She has also appeared as a musical performing guest on several popular British and foreign shows such as "The Album Chart Show", "Loose Women", "Friday Night Project", "Taratata" (France), and "This Morning". Her next single will be "This Is the Life" from the album of the same name. She won the best newcomer awards at the prestigious silver clef awards.Fact|date=August 2008

Discography

tudio albums

Singles

Notes

¹ - "Poison Prince" charted in the Swiss chart on downloads alone.

All Chart positions are taken from "acharts".

References

External links

* [http://www.amymacdonald.co.uk/ Amy Macdonald] Official Site
**myspace|amymacdonald|Amy Macdonald
** [http://www.youtube.com/user/amymacdonaldofficial Macdonald's YouTube page]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/music/connect/2008/artist/amy_macdonald/index.shtml#emp Amy MacDonald video interview at Hydro Connect Festival August 2008]
* [http://www.stv.tv/content/out/music/display?id=opencms:/out/hotnow/music/Amy_Macdonald T In The Park 2007] Interview at STV
* [http://www.insidersguides.net/musicguides/artists/AmyMacdonald/ThisIsTheLife.php "This Is the Life" Review at Insider Guides]