Alex Parks
Encyclopedia
Alex Parks is an English
singer-songwriter
. She is best known for winning Fame Academy
in 2003, for her singles
, and for the albums, Introduction and Honesty.
, Cornwall. She went to college at The Hub in St Austell
and studied theatre studies, dance, acrobatics and clowning. In 2003 when she was 19, her father entered her into BBC
television talent competition Fame Academy
which she eventually won.
the following week. Her debut album Introduction was subsequently released and sold over 500,000 copies.
Honesty was eventually released in October 2005, preceded by the lead single, "Looking For Water", in October 2005. The album peaked at #24 in the UK Albums Chart
.
1 On downloads only
Reviews
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. She is best known for winning Fame Academy
Fame Academy
Fame Academy is a televised competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one...
in 2003, for her singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, and for the albums, Introduction and Honesty.
Biography
Parks was born in 1984, the youngest of four children. She was born and grew up in the village of Mount HawkeMount Hawke
Mount Hawke is a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately seven miles west-northwest of Truro, three miles northeast of Redruth, and two miles south of St Agnes....
, Cornwall. She went to college at The Hub in St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
and studied theatre studies, dance, acrobatics and clowning. In 2003 when she was 19, her father entered her into BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television talent competition Fame Academy
Fame Academy
Fame Academy is a televised competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one...
which she eventually won.
Recording career
Her song "Maybe That's What It Takes" was released on 17 November 2003 and peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
the following week. Her debut album Introduction was subsequently released and sold over 500,000 copies.
Honesty was eventually released in October 2005, preceded by the lead single, "Looking For Water", in October 2005. The album peaked at #24 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Sales and certification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
Ireland Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
|||||||||
| 2003 | Introduction Introduction (Alex Parks album) Introduction is Alex Parks' debut album, released on 24 November 2003. Recorded and released within only two weeks of Parks winning the BBC's Fame Academy, it included seven original compositions, mostly co-written with songwriters Helen Boulding, Gary Clark and Boo Hewerdine, as well as six cover...
|
BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... sales: 600,000+ BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... certification: 2x Platinum Also went Gold in Italy, Germany, Greece and Australia among others. |
||||||||
| 2005 | Honesty
Studio album A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or... 24 October 2005 (UK) Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... sales: 50,000+ BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... certification: N/A |
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| " — " denotes albums that were released but did not chart. | ||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Ireland Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
|||
| 2003 | "Maybe That's What It Takes Maybe That's What It Takes "Maybe That's What It Takes" is a song by Alex Parks, taken from her debut album Introduction. It was released as a single on 17 November 2003, shortly after she won the second series of Fame Academy, and peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart.... " |
Introduction | 3 | 26 |
| 2004 | "Cry Cry (Alex Parks song) "Cry" is the second and final single from Alex Parks' debut album Introduction. It was released in February 2004 and peaked at #13 in the UK Singles Chart.-Track listing:# "Cry" # "Maybe That's What It Takes"... " |
13 | 32 | |
| 2005 | "Looking for Water Looking for Water (Alex Parks song) "Looking for Water" the first single from Alex Parks' second album Honesty. It was written by Parks, Judie Tzuke and Graham Kearns. A physical single was cancelled a few weeks before the release date, so it was only released as a digital download, and could not survive on downloads alone and had a... "1 |
Honesty | — | — |
| 2006 | "Honesty" | 56 | — | |
1 On downloads only
See also
- List of singer-songwriters
- List of people from Cornwall
- List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people: P-Q
- List of Polydor Records artists
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
External links
Feature ArticlesReviews
- Shakenstir - Introduction review
- Guardian Unlimited - Introduction review
- Playlouder - Introduction review
- Shakenstir - Honesty review
- musicOHM.com - Honesty review
- BBC Pop/Chart Reviews - Honesty review
- Shakenstir - Shepherds Bush Empire gig review, February 2006
- Shakenstir - Special Awards for 2006, December 2006