Donald Joseph Klang (born January 23, 1985) is an American singer. He won Making the Band 4 and was awarded his own solo contract by Diddy. He released his debut album, Just a Rolling Stone, in late 2008.
Donnie Klang | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Donald Joseph Klang |
| Born | January 23, 1985 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Bad Boy, Eight72, Twenty Two |
Life and career
editKlang was born in Brooklyn, New York.[1] He began modeling as a baby and doing television and film work from a young age, getting minor roles on NYPD Blue to The Nanny.[2] He was in a band in middle school, later attending chorus in high school.[3] He was part of pop groups in St. Dominic High School and Island Trees High School, namely Playa Deception and INT. The latter which released an independent record called Hip-Pop.[2] He attended Hofstra University briefly studying music management and business and minoring in music.[2][3][4] Klang decided to take a semester off of college to pursue a music career with his group.[3]
Klang had been in INT for nine years before it broke up because their parents wanted them to go back to school as the band was going nowhere.[4] He auditioned for American Idol twice but never got past the first round.[2] These events led to him being apprehensive of pursuing music further.[5] Not long after returning to Hofstra and working at a warehouse, the opportunity came for Making the Band 4 and he again took time off from college in 2007.[6][4] An acquaintance had entered his MySpace account into an audition which he later attended at the encouragement of his family.[5] He was awarded his own solo contract by Diddy instead of a spot in the group. Klang released his debut album, Just a Rolling Stone, in late 2008 which peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard 200. He later opened for Janet Jackson in the fall.[2]
Klang split with Bad Boy Records in mid-2010, signing with independent label Eight72 Entertainment.[7] He began working on his second album at the same time.[8] He later started his own record label, Donnie Klang Entertainment and released his first single "Falling 4U" in 2011. He also released a mixtape on Valentine's Day.[9] "X-Miss" was also released as a single for Christmas in 2011.
Artistry
editKlang has listed Boyz II Men, Dru Hill, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Usher, The Fray, OneRepublic, Justin Timberlake, Brian McKnight, Michael Jackson and James Brown as musical influences.[10][11] He co-wrote most of Just a Rolling Stone.[11]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US [12] | ||
| 2008 | Just a Rolling Stone
|
19 |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Take You There" (featuring Diddy) | Just a Rolling Stone |
Music videos
edit| Year | Song | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Take You There" | Ray Kay[13] |
| 2009 | "Prisoner Of Love" | Littles |
| 2011 | "Falling 4U" | Michael Dispenza[14] |
| "X-Miss" | Kraze[15] |
References
edit- ^ Collar, Matt. "Biography: Donnie Klang". All Media Guide. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e La Gorce, Tammy (September 21, 2008). "From Levittown, a New Voice Emerges". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c "Levittowner Competes on MTV's Making the Band 4". Antonnews.com. August 3, 2007. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ a b c "AMPED UP | The Re-Making of Donnie Klang « Full Blast Magazine". Fullblastmagazine.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ a b "Interview with Making the Band 4's Donnie Klang « Crushable". Crushable.com. August 21, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ Gamboa, Glenn. "Donnie Klang gets a push from Diddy < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ "Bits: Big Boi, Lollapalooza, Donnie Klang, Daniel Lanois and More". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ Date: 05/24/10 (May 24, 2010). "Bad Boy 'No More,' Donnie Klang Readies New Album". Singersroom.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Valentine's Day Mixtape Mixtape by Donnie Klang Hosted by DJ Spin King & DJ Swivet". Datpiff.com. February 14, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "Donnie Klang – Interviews – Entertainment". ALLOY.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ a b Date: 09/01/08 (October 7, 2008). "Donnie Klang: One Man Band". Singersroom.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "( Donnie Klang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )". allmusic. January 23, 1985. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ "Music Video News: SHOT: Donnie Klang f/ Diddy – Ray Kay, director". Video Static. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2020.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Donnie Klang – "X-Miss" (Official Music Video) Dir. By Kraze". YouTube. December 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2020.