Daniel de Bourg

Originally from Chelmsford, Essex, England, Daniel de Bourg was influenced by the videos of Michael Jackson to pursue dance at the age of four. By the time that de Bourg was eleven, he had been admitted to study at the exclusive Royal Ballet School, graduating top of his class with his final solo performance. Although dance was his primary interest, as a teen he was also fronting bands. He left school when given the opportunity to dance for the Rambert Dance Company, performing as a featured dancer all over the world. It was at the suggestion of a friend that heard him singing that de Bourg found himself in the position for a career in music.[1]

Influenced by artists such as Prince and Stevie Wonder,[2] de Bourg did not take to a singing career straight away. Dedicated to dance, de Bourg's early interest in singing was rediscovered after a knee injury caused some time out from his dance career.[3] de Bourg turned his hand to songwriting; recorded by songstress Jamelia in 2000, his song "Money" reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.[3][4] Remembering de Bourg's musical talents, he was encouraged by a friend to create several demos of his own singing. These attracted the interest of DreamWorks scout Robbie Robertson. de Bourg was introduced to then in house producers Tim & Bob and subsequently signed to the label and the duo produced his debut album, Tell the World. The high-production album, released in 2002, launched the single "I Need an Angel", which hit number 30 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[5]

In 2007, de Bourg auditioned for the fourth series of The X Factor and reached the final twelve acts to sing in the live rounds of the competition.[3] He was mentored by Louis Walsh, but was eliminated by the judges on 27 October 2007 after Simon Cowell prevented a 'deadlock' and cast the deciding vote. The official count of votes, published some time after the show had finished, revealed de Bourg received the most votes on week 1 and was 100,000 votes ahead of the contestant that he faced in the sing-off before he left the show.

In 2008, UK artist DJ Ironik presented de Bourg on his album, No Point In Wasting Tears.[6]

In 2010, The DDB Mixtape Vol. 1: The Prelude, a mixture of de Bourg's most popular covers and original material, received a nomination for 'Best R&B Mixtape 2010' and went on to win the award at The Official Mixtape Awards in early 2011.[7] He went on to win the same accolade another two years in a row with 'The DDB Mixtape Vol. 2 : The Bridge' in 2011 and 'Outro' in 2012.

In 2013, Daniel released his album, London Bread. featuring production from Drake and Lil Wayne hit maker, Boi-1da. The album hit the top 20 on iTunes in 21 countries in its first week of release.[8]

In 2015, de Bourg signed with TV, film and stage agent Keddie Scott in London, and was cast in the Broadway transfer of Disney's Aladdin that opens at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End in London, in 2016.[9]

• Daniel DeBourg at AllMusic
• Tell the World at AllMusic