Simone Andrea Denny is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is best known as a vocalist with the dance music groups Love Inc. and Widelife, appearing most prominently on the hit dance singles "Broken Bones", "You're a Superstar" and "All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)".[1]
Simone Denny | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Simone Andrea Denny |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Website | www.simonedenny.com |
Background
editBorn and raised in Toronto, her parents are of Guyanese heritage. She discovered her passion for music while competing in a talent show in grade six,[2] later training as an opera singer but choosing instead to pursue pop music.[3] She quickly developed a following in local bands, landed the role of "Mama" in the Canadian production of Mama, I Want to Sing! opposite Deborah Cox,[3] and performed as a backing vocalist for artists such as Maestro Fresh Wes[4] and Devon.[5]
After meeting DJ Chris Sheppard, she contributed as a guest vocalist to several songs by his band BKS, as well as the songs "Tonight It's Party Time" and "I Can't Take the Heartbreak" by Barry Harris and Rachid Wehbi's group Outta Control (a.k.a. Killer Bunnies).[3]
Love Inc.
editIn 1997 Sheppard and Brad Daymond formed Love Inc., in which Denny was a full member.[6] They released their self-titled debut album in 1998;[7] the album spawned the chart hits "Broken Bones" and "You're a Superstar", with the former song winning the Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 1999,[8] and became the first dance music album by Canadian artists ever to receive platinum certification for Canadian sales.[1]
Despite the band's initial success, the 2000 followup album Into the Night was more poorly received,[9] performing poorly on the charts and containing only one noteworthy hit single,[10] although the band did again win the Juno for Dance Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2001,[11] and critics praised Denny's vocals as the best thing about an otherwise weak album.[12] In this era, Sheppard was also beginning to develop a reputation for egotism: in early 2001, Denny had to back out of a previously-unannounced surprise appearance as a special guest who would perform several live songs at one of Sheppard's DJ shows at a dance club in Regina, Saskatchewan. The club cancelled the show outright since it considered Denny to be the real star of the event, but Sheppard tried to use legal threats to force the club to pay him anyway.[13]
The band did not release any further recordings, and broke up after Into the Night, with Denny attributing the breakup to Sheppard mistreating her because he felt like he was the true creative force behind the band even though Denny was generally considered its star.[1] Denny later noted that she had remained on friendlier terms with Daymond right up until his death in 2018.[1]
Widelife and solo career
editDenny then began collaborating with Widelife, performing on that band's singles "I Don't Want You" and "All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)", the latter of which was best known as the theme song to the original version of Queer Eye.[3]
In 2005 she released "Cliché", the first single on which she was directly credited as a solo performer. She subsequently appeared as a featured vocalist on several other dance singles before finally releasing her own full-length debut album, The Stereo Dynamite Sessions, Vol. 1, in 2015.[14]
In 2020 Denny appeared on CBC Television's New Year's Eve special, performing "You're a Superstar" with Tyler Shaw.[15] She has also continued to perform live shows, notably as part of an Electric Circus reunion bill of dance acts from the 1990s and 2000s.[16]
Discography
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Warner, Andrea (March 3, 2020). ""Then and now: Simone Denny looks back on the 20th anniversary of Love Inc.'s debut"". CBC.
- ^ Beats, Canadian. "Interview – Simone Denny | Canadian Beats Media". Retrieved 2023-02-27.
- ^ a b c d Rule, Doug (June 9, 2004). "Simone Denny". Metro Weekly. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- ^ Peter Howell, "Fresh-Wes makes formal request for unity". Toronto Star, June 8, 1991.
- ^ Peter Howell, "Nostalgic Neil Young proves you can go home again". Toronto Star, October 24, 1992.
- ^ Lenny Stoute, "Chris Sheppard comes back to the future". Toronto Star, October 16, 1997.
- ^ Andrew Flynn, "Shep's club no longer exclusive: Renowned DJ wants to take his beats to the mainstream". Halifax Daily News, September 11, 1998.
- ^ Finnbarr O'Reilly, "Juno audience gasps as Dion says `it's time to stop': Diva wins 5 awards; Hip, Cuddy, Rascalz, Cox also honoured". National Post, March 8, 1999.
- ^ Sandra Sperounes, "Love Inc. stale as a month-old bagel". Edmonton Journal, August 6, 2000.
- ^ Larry LeBlanc, "BMG Canada Ventures 'Into the Night' With Radio-Friendly Dance Act Love Inc.". Billboard, August 26, 2000.
- ^ Andrew Flynn, "Nelly Furtado and Barenaked Ladies earn Juno haul". Moose Jaw Times-Herald, March 5, 2001.
- ^ Nick Krewen, "Love Inc. salutes disco; Plus Stacey Earle, KRS-One, Molly Johnson, Carlos Del Junco". Waterloo Region Record, September 7, 2000.
- ^ Gerry Krochak, "Quest for community radio getting closer". Regina Leader-Post, February 15, 2001.
- ^ Ryan B. Patrick, "Simone Denny The Stereo Dynamite Sessions Vol. 1"]. Exclaim!, October 19, 2015.
- ^ Craig Takeuchi, "Vancouver singer Tyler Shaw (葉銘恆) among performers for CBC's New Year's Eve countdown to 2021". The Georgia Straight, December 29, 2020.
- ^ Eva Wasney, "Concertgoers treated to entertaining time travelling". Winnipeg Free Press, September 21, 2021.