Damien Leith

by Jason Ankeny
Damien Leith was one of the myriad young singers launched to success via the international television phenomenon Pop Idol. Born January 18, 1976, in County Kildare, Ireland, Leith spent his childhood in locales as far-flung as Libya and Botswana thanks to his father's work as an engineer. As a teen he and his siblings formed the band Leaf, later recording in New York City under the name Releaf. After marrying an Australian native, Leith relocated down under and fronted the band Revelate, which enjoyed a fervent fan following on the Sydney nightclub circuit. Leith was working as a chemist when friends convinced him to audition for the fourth season of Network Ten's amateur showcase Australian Idol in 2006. Selected as one of 24 finalists from a pool of over 25,000 contestants, he won praise from the series judges for his distinctive falsetto, also accompanying himself on guitar for renditions of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Considered a dark-horse candidate by fans and handicappers, Leith ultimately triumphed against rival Jessica Mauboy in the November 26, 2006, final. At 30, he was the second-oldest competitor to claim victory on any of the global Idol franchises, trumped only by 31-year-old French champion Steeve Estatof. Upon signing to Sony BMG, Leith issued his debut single, "Night of My Life," two days after the Australian Idol finale. The record debuted at number one and remained atop the Aussie charts for four weeks, setting the stage for the LP The Winner's Journey, which spent a month at number one as well.
生于1976年的1月18日，來自愛爾蘭的都柏林)是一位愛爾蘭裔的澳洲歌手兼詞作者。他是06年澳洲“網(wǎng)絡(luò)十大人氣音樂偶像”的冠軍獲得者。 Where We Land 是他的第一張錄音室專輯。由Sony唱片公司于07年的8月18日在澳洲發(fā)行。Leith花了7個(gè)月的時(shí)間制作這張專輯，其中選用的都是用原聲樂器伴奏的歌曲。他親自或與他人合作制作了12首歌中的9首，其余的幾首都是由制作人Alex Lloyd與音樂導(dǎo)演Paul Gray (Wa Wa Nee)負(fù)責(zé)制作。 　　這張專輯中所有的歌曲的靈感均來源于Leith的朋友與家庭生活，其中還包括兩首招牌歌曲，翻唱自Fleetwood Mac 專輯“Rumours”中的 “Songbird”與愛爾蘭的民歌“Danny Boy”(題外話：據(jù)說只要是愛爾蘭歌手都唱過這首膾炙人口的作品，有一張專輯就是這首歌的不同翻唱版本的合集，不妨一試) Where We Land 獲得了評論界的多數(shù)評價(jià)，在澳洲地區(qū)首發(fā)后不久就獲得了澳洲唱片協(xié)會(huì)白金專輯的評定。在這張專輯發(fā)行不久后的11月 Leith 將進(jìn)行宣傳巡演