Bryn Christopher
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Bryn Christopher | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Skaar |
| Born | 8 November 1985 Great Barr, Birmingham, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | |
Bryn Christopher (born 8 November 1985[2]) is a British singer and songwriter, and the frontman of electronic music group I See Monstas. Born in Great Barr, Birmingham, England, he attended the Italia Conti Stage School and was a contestant on Popstars: The Rivals.[3][4] His debut single, "The Quest", was featured in the TV series Grey's Anatomy.[4]
Musical career[edit]
Early years[edit]
 |
Christopher was the support slot on the Amy Winehouse tour at the end of 2007, while he was still relatively unknown (he also supported U.S. soul artist Rahsaan Patterson at London's Jazz Café).[5] He has been picked up by the U.S. agency William Morris Agency. He also co-wrote the Leon Jackson hit song "Don't Call This Love" with British producer/writer Chris Braide. Christopher was also the opening act for Mary J. Blige on her European tour 'Growing Pains' in 2008.
"The Quest"[edit]
Christopher's first single release, "The Quest", was released on 8 June 2008 through Polydor Records. The single draws on his brother's personal experience as a soldier stationed in Basra. His brother two years later would be injured in Afghanistan losing both of his legs. "The Quest" was featured in the closing scene of Grey's Anatomy's season 4 conclusion, which caused the song to become more known in the US. The song was made into a music video for the show to promote its fifth season, with scenes of Christopher singing in London as well as scenes from the show. The song was also featured in an episode of the BBC school-based drama Waterloo Road.
It was also covered by Grigory Leps in Russian which became a popular version.
Christopher teamed up with co-writer/producer Jarrad Rogers and production team Midi Mafia to produce his debut album My World, which was released September 2008. Midi Mafia secured the exclusive rights to use samples from the Stax Records Catalogue, and has used some of these for the first time ever on Christopher's album.
His second single, "Smilin" was released on 2 September 2008. It peaked at No. 31. His third single "Fearless" was released on 18 January 2009 and failed to chart. His final single was "Taken Me Over", released on 4 August 2009 as a digital-only single. It also failed to chart.[6]
Christopher then left Polydor, and signed with Geffen Records UK.[1]
Festival appearances[edit]
Christopher hosted a residency at North London's live spot The Boogaloo throughout April 2007, and followed this with dates at London's Soho Revue Bar. He has also played at 2008's Wireless Festival in Hyde Park on the same day as Jay-Z, as well as Glastonbury, T in the Park, Oxegen and V Festival. Christopher has also appeared at the Capital Summertime and Jingle Bell Ball's as the vocalist of Sigala's "Sweet Lovin'"; he also has appeared at V Festival and appeared in many other places during 2015–2017.
2010–present[edit]
Christopher co-wrote the Sub Focus song "Out the Blue", which was released 27 April 2012. He co-wrote and provided uncredited vocals for "Superstar" by Knife Party, from their debut album Abandon Ship (2014). In 2015, he was a featured artist and co-wrote the song "City Lights" by Culture Shock. He also worked with Sigala on the track "Sweet Lovin'", a tropical house track that has over 245 million hits on YouTube (as of October 2021) and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. He also wrote "Came Here for Love" by Sigala and Ella Eyre with White N3rd and Klingande, which reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart and was the official London gay pride theme.
I See Monstas[edit]
In 2012, Christopher, under the pseudonym Skaar, joined producers Rocky and Rufio to form an electronic music group called MONSTA (subsequently renamed I See Monstas in 2013). The group charted at No. 48 in the UK with their first single "Holdin' On".
Personal life[edit]
Christopher is gay.[7] In an interview with Gay Times in October 2018, he revealed he had not come out to his family and dismissed the idea of doing so until he was in a relationship.[7]
Discography[edit]
| This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021) |
Studio albums[edit]
| Year | Album details | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK | ||
| 2008 | My World
|
18 |
Singles[edit]
As lead artist[edit]
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | GRE [8] | |||
| 2008 | "The Quest" | 45 | 2 | My World |
| "Smilin" | 31 | — | ||
| 2021 | "Never Love You Again"[9] (with Cheat Codes and Little Big Town) |
— | — | One Night in Nashville |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | ||||
As featured artist[edit]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS | AUT | FRA | GER | IRE | NLD | SCO | SWE | SWI | ||||
| "City Lights" (Culture Shock featuring Bryn Christopher) |
2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Sweet Lovin'" (Sigala featuring Bryn Christopher) |
3 | 11 | 7 | 115 | 15 | 6 | 23 | 1 | 29 | 31 | Brighter Days | ||
| "Me, Myself & I" (Blonde featuring Bryn Christopher) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "All Around the World"[14] (Matoma featuring Bryn Christopher) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "No Therapy"[15] (Felix Jaehn featuring Nea and Bryn Christopher) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | 56 | — | — | — | — | Breathe | |
| "Unconditional"[16] (Dillon Francis and 220 Kid featuring Bryn Christpher) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Happy Machine | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||
Promotional singles[edit]
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Fearless" | Non-album track |
| "Taken Me Over"[A] | My World |
Notes
Other appearances[edit]
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Superstar" (by Knife Party, uncredited vocals) |
Abandon Ship |
| 2015 | "Mine" (Kill the Noise featuring Bryn Christopher) |
Occult Classic |
| 2015 | "Deeper Love" (Botnek & I See MONSTAS featuring Bryn Christopher, uncredited; a part of I See MONSTAS), Released on Monstercat. |
Single |
Songwriting credits[edit]
| Year | Artist | Album | Song | Co-written with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Leon Jackson | Right Now | "Don't Call This Love" | Christopher Braide, Carl Falk |
| 2011 | The Saturdays | On Your Radar | "What Do You Want from Me" | Jarrad Rogers |
| 2012 | Sub Focus | Torus | "Out the Blue" feat. Alice Gold | Nicholas Douwma, Alice McLaughlin |
| Alexandra Burke | Heartbreak on Hold | "Devil in Me" | Peter Boxta Martin | |
| 2015 | Andrea Faustini | Kelly | "Kelly" | Matthew Prime, Timothy Woodcock |
| Kill the Noise | Occult Classic | "Mine" feat. Bryn Christopher | Jacob Stanczak, Kenneth Walker | |
| Sigala | Brighter Days | "Sweet Lovin'" feat. Bryn Christopher | Bruce Fielder | |
| 2016 | Mat Zo | Self Assemble | "Sinful" feat. I See Monstas | Matan Zohar, Rocky Morris, Rufio Sandilands |
| 2017 | Sigala | Brighter Days | "Came Here for Love" with Ella Eyre | Bruce Fielder, Cedric Steinmyller, Scott Wild, Ella McMahon |
| 2018 | The Vamps | Night & Day | "Too Good to Be You" with Danny Ávila | Philip Plested, George Tizzard, Richard Parkhouse, Colson Baker |
| Jamie Talbot | Non-album single | "Goldmine" | Jonatan Gusmark, Ludvig Evers, Karen Poole | |
| Blonde | "Me, Myself & I" feat. Bryn Christopher | Adam Eaglefield, Jacob Manson, Ashley Milton, Daniel Goudie | ||
| 2019 | Blithe | Don't Blink EP | "Don't Blink" | Rhiann Pitter, Fridolin Walcher |
| Louis Tomlinson | Walls | "Two of Us" | Louis Tomlinson, Andrew Jackson, Duck Blackwell | |
| Matoma | Non-album single | "All Around the World" feat. Bryn Christopher | Thomas Lagergren, Andrew Jackson, Matthew Zara | |
| Nea | Some Say EP | "Some Say" | Linnea Sodahl, Vincint Kottkamp, Hitimpulse | |
| Blithe | Non-album single | "Becoming You" | Rhiann Pitter, Fridolin Walcher | |
| Fleur East | Fearless | "Size" | Fleur East, Chiara Hunter, Tre Jean-Marie, Jacob Attwooll | |
| 2020 | Melanie C | Melanie C | "Who I Am" | Melanie Chrisholm, Ash Howes, Richard Stannard |
| Matoma | RYTME EP | "Don't Stop the Rhythm" feat. Bryn Christopher | Thomas Lagergren, Andrew Bullimore, Matthew Zara | |
| Felix Jaehn | Non-album single | "No Therapy" feat. Nea and Bryn Christopher | Felix Jaehn, Robbie McDade, Linnea Sodahl, Vincint Kottkamp, Hitimpulse | |
| Hotel Supernova | "Rhythm & Lights" feat. Bryn Christopher | Edward Burrows, Michael Kintish | ||
| 2022 | Tomorrow X Together | Minisode 2: Thursday's Child | "Opening Sequence" | Koda, Sam Klempner, Supreme Boi, Slow Rabbit, Lee Seu-ran, Huening Kai, January 8, Taehyun, Danke, Yi Yi-jin |
References[edit]
- ^ a b "hi van Bryn Christopher op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ Cairns, Dan (17 August 2008). "Pop stars reject, Bryn Christopher, is a winner after all!". The Times. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Bryn Christopher: the man's got soul". Metro. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Jones, Soul. "Concert Review on Soul Jones Presents "Shout Out to the Soulheds"". souljonespresents.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ "iTunes Store". Ax.itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ a b Corner, Lewis (October 2018). "Bryn Christopher". Gay Times. pp. 28–30. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via PressReader.
- ^ "IFPI Greek Singles Chart". Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Never Love You Again (with Little Big Town & Bryn Christopher) – Single by Cheat Codes, Little Big Town & Bryn Christopher on Apple Music". Apple Music. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "British certifications – Bryn Christopher". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 July 2023. Type Bryn Christopher in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sigala)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart – The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
- ^ Bein, Kat (28 August 2019). "Matoma and Bryn Christopher catch flights, not feelings, on breezy 'All Around The World': Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "No Therapy (feat. Nea & Bryn Christopher) - Single by Felix Jaehn on Apple Music". Apple Music. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ Weisband, Sami (4 June 2021). "Dillon Francis shines optimistic light on first original track of 2021, 'Unconditional'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
External links[edit]
- "Polydor Records website". Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Geffen Records website
- Bryn Christopher interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' September 2008
- Bryn Christopher French Site
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1985 births
- 21st-century Black British male singers
- Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
- British contemporary R&B singers
- English people of Barbadian descent
- English soul singers
- English tenors
- English gay musicians
- Geffen Records artists
- Gay singers
- Gay songwriters
- Living people
- Black British LGBT people
- English LGBT singers
- English LGBT songwriters
- Singers from Birmingham, West Midlands
- People from Great Barr
- Polydor Records artists
- Popstars contestants
- 20th-century English LGBT people
- 21st-century English LGBT people