Luke Ramada

Luke Ramada (born December 12, 1985) is an American pop singer, songwriter and guitarist. Luke has performed various styles of music throughout his career, though he is primarily classified as an alternative artist.

Luke's greatest commercial success to date came with his sophomore album, the 2-disc release Invalid Opinions, critically acclaimed as a strong effort distancing himself from his reality TV days and defining his musical identity. The album sold over 720,000 copies in its chart run and spawned the hits "Please Don't Put My Pieces Back Together/She's Only Sane When She Sleeps" and "Red Bull Afternoons & Irish Coffee Evenings". In November 2008, his single "Scapegoat" debuted at #1 on the singles charts and went on to sell over 300,000 copies.

Luke released his fifth studio album, Decibel Wars, in July 2010. The album earned Luke the best reviews of his career for its musical experimentation and lyrical growth, and its lead single "Melodic Suicide" was praised for its unpolished production and creative lyrics. Both Decibel Wars and "Melodic Suicide" debuted and peaked at #1, and Luke earned another #1 single from the album, "My Friends Are My Estate", in November 2010.

On April 23, 2011, Luke announced he would retire from the music industry. His final release will be the greatest hits compilation Armistice, and its title track will be released as a single.

Early life
Ramada was born in Palm Springs, California. As a child, he wanted to learn guitar, and he eventually signed up for lessons at the age of eight. He didn't master it immediately - it took him a couple of years to get accustomed to playing the instrument right. However, by the time he was 12, he mastered both acoustic and electric guitar. Though he plays both on his music and his tours, he prefers to play his music acoustically.

When he was 13 he wrote his first song, and many more soon followed, as he made a hobby out of crafting his own compositions, which he described as "catchy yet clever, and sometimes meaningful, pop-rock songs".

Career beginnings: early failure
In 2004, the rise of Ben Parker and Justin Case as two of the hottest male music stars inspired Luke to seek a record deal, in hopes he could join the soon-to-be-increasing crowd aiming to compete in a female-dominant industry. However, he was shot down by all the major labels, calling his writing and music style "old-fashioned", likening him to an Elvis Presley impersonator.

U Factor
In early 2005, he gave looking for a major label contract another try, this time trying out for a new reality show, U Factor, which searched for the best new undiscovered talent among a shortlist of males, females, and groups. The audition was a success, and he made it to the preliminary stage. After the first show aired, the public voted for the acts they wanted to see make the final 12, and Luke was among the male acts who made it into the next stage.

However, the show saw a significant ratings drop when there was a month-long wait between shows. The favorite to win, Jake, dropped out of the competition before it even started as a result of the long wait, but Luke decided to be patient and see if the show was going somewhere. He made it as far as the fifth round of the semifinals, but the voters did not seem to favor him, as he had made multiple trips to the bottom 3. Luke was desperate to get what he wanted so he called up labels to see if they'd reconsider him, and received a call from Justin Case, whose label Spike Records was open to new acts at the time. Soon after Luke announced his withdrawal from the competition.

Luke, Jake, and Rita Repulsa are the only acts related to U Factor to have released singles; all three have at least reached as high as #2. As of July 2010, Luke is the only one still releasing today.

Picture Perfect era
Before releasing his first single, Luke wanted to release a music DVD, Birth Of A Star, which served as a proper introduction to his career and showed what he was all about. The DVD was shelved after the Urapopstar DVD charts were canceled, but were included as a bonus to the first 500,000 fans who got the CD2 format of Luke's debut single, "Insomniac Love", released in October 2005, backed by a strong promotional campaign. But tough competition thwarted his efforts and the single had to settle for a #10 entry; regardless, it proved to be a strong showing for someone who had to struggle to get into the music industry.

He quickly followed that up with his next single "Asleep At The Wheel On Route 66", a song written about a real life experience where he almost fell asleep at the wheel. The single was well-liked by fans and the single managed to do what his past single couldn't and fend off tough competition when it placed as the week's second highest debut at #7. The album Picture Perfect soon followed, peaking at #7 on the charts and selling over 700,000 copies in its chart run.

Luke established himself as a must-see live act when he co-headlined the Piano & Guitar Tour with Louise Harlow in February 2006. Featuring Ben Johnston and the3stars as opening acts, in addition to boasting special guests Olivia Dimuzio, Amy Marshall, and Melissa Grey, all of the dates on the European tour sold out.

The next single, "If I Got The Death Penalty For Loving You Too Much", was his first release with Alias Records. It was much hyped to go top 5 following the effort Luke put into his previous singles, but it had to just barely settle, reaching #6.

Life Imitates Fiction EP
Between his first and second albums, Luke released the EP "Life Imitates Fiction", led by the title song about a fictional Urapopstar PR who uses the game as an escape until he lives out the negative promo topics. This served as a preview of his as-yet-untitled second album, and to close the first album era, including re-recorded versions of two of the tracks. The EP, which almost never got released due to many controversies surrounding the subject matter, reached #8 on the singles charts.

Invalid Opinions era
Luke announced he would release his second album, Invalid Opinions, on March 12, 2007. Luke had a hand in writing all but two of the 31 tracks on the two-disc album, and all 31 give him a production credit. The first disc, Miscommunications, featured songs with controversial and political themes, while the second, Anti-Aphrodisiacs, dealt primarily with romance and relationships.

The first single, "Extinction Of The Shy", a collaboration with Paulo Araujo, was written as a metaphor for how Luke stood out from the crowd of his industry peers with a more laid back personality and lack of interest for being a tabloid phenomenon, though it also became an anthem of sorts for people with social problems. The single suffered from a lack of inspiration from both parties and debuted at a very low #13 position; despite that, Invalid Opinions managed to reach #2 on the album charts, selling over 72,000 copies in its first week.

The second single, "Please Don't Put My Pieces Back Together/She's Only Sane When She Sleeps", was Luke's attempt at reviving album sales as the album dropped like a rock due to the flop of his previous single, rush-released in May 2007. Though promotion was far better than the previous single, featuring Luke mingling on the singles scene, the single debuted at #14 - a position lower than the last single. It did manage to be a blessing in disguise, matching his personal best peak of #6 the following week and going on to become his best seller at the time.

In August 2007, Luke planned to release "Red Bull Afternoons & Irish Coffee Evenings" as the album's third single, but plans fell apart due to a lack of commitment on his management's part.

Management switches and More Invalid Opinions
Luke was traded off to a new manager in fall 2007 and he recorded his third album The Saline Tears Of A Lost Career while visiting his long distance lover Julia Margolis in New York. The album and its lead single "A Stitch In Nine Saved Time" were released in February 2008, but despite high initial chart positions, both fell extremely fast. He was traded back to his original management in June 2008; after Luke offered Julia a position on his PR team with the changeover, the two began a full-time relationship.

He was originally asked to begin writing his fourth studio album, but plans soon changed when Lindsay Belle approached him to perform the song "Anymore", a song from Invalid Opinions she included on her third album Sunset Next To Oklahoma, at the summer concert Urabeachstar, as she was considering releasing the song as the lead single. This opened a window of opportunity to revive Invalid Opinions, so Luke's management penciled in the release of two singles from the album, which would also appear on an upcoming B-sides album. Lindsay backed out of the release due to other commitments, so Luke moved on on his own. He picked up where his management left off by releasing "Red Bull Afternoons & Irish Coffee Evenings" in August 2008 - coincidentally, exactly a year from when it was originally scheduled to be released - and it proved to be the right career move when the single charted in at #4, becoming his first top 5 single after almost three years of releasing, and brought the album back into the charts.

Following his move from longtime label Alias to the newly founded Saturdays Records, Luke made plans to release a B-sides and rarities collection, More Invalid Opinions, featuring B-sides from past singles and unreleased tracks meant for Invalid Opinions that were never released. The album was backed by the release of the single "Scapegoat", a political song about media spin and bandwagoning which was musically and lyrically praised as a return to the style of Invalid Opinions. "Scapegoat" and More Invalid Opinions both debuted at #1 upon their releases - the first chart-toppers of Luke's career. "Scapegoat" has since sold over 300,000 copies.

Luke participated in the third Tango Challenge on February 23, 2009, releasing a collaboration with URAPS Idol 9 third place finalist Amy Cooper; the collaboration was Amy's debut single, a first for the Tango Challenge. The collaboration, "Bonnie & Clyde", an indie-electro song centered around the notorious bank robbers of the early 1930's, reached #13 in March 2009.

Valentines Gathering Dust era
Luke's fourth studio album (fifth overall), Valentines Gathering Dust, was released on May 11, 2009 and debuted and peaked at #3. The album, described as Luke's most autobiographical effort, was mostly about Luke's romantic relationships in high school and thoughts he had of the times.

The lead single "Kill Me" was released May 4 and charted at #4, becoming Luke's highest charting lead single to date. The second single, "Bail Me Out", was released July 20 and reached #8. He followed those successes by embarking on his first headlining tour in three years, Shredded Love Notes, supported by adult contemporary superstar Ana Simpson. Following the tour, he felt overloaded by working nonstop over the course of the past few months and decided not to release a third single from the album.

Decibel Wars era
Luke released his fifth studio album, Decibel Wars, on July 26, 2010. The album was an advancement in his sound and focused more on the instrumentation than the lyrics, a change in Luke's method of album production. Like Valentines, the album was written and produced entirely by Luke himself; however, it did not retain its personal tone. Decibel Wars was critically acclaimed by music reviewers, citing not only the musical experimentation, but also more mature lyricism; it is considered to be a more musically diverse version of Invalid Opinions.

Decibel Wars and its lead single "Melodic Suicide" both debuted at #1, becoming some of the most successful releases of Luke's career.

On October 18, 2010, Luke released "Nature's Greatest Regrets", a duet with Mark Charlie Wilson, as a download-only single as a benefit for anti-bullying organizations in the wake of several suicides of gay teens during the month of September.

Luke released the album's second single, the critically-acclaimed "My Friends Are My Estate", on November 8, 2010, backed by a strong promotional campaign and a retrospective television miniseries chronicling the Picture Perfect era to mark the five year anniversary of the release of his debut album. Despite going in with minimal expectations, "My Friends Are My Estate" became Luke's third #1 single and the second from the Decibel Wars era.

The album's third single "Gun Shy" was released on February 14, 2011, timed to be released near Urapopstar's 10th anniversary chart. It was released in the UK as a double A-side with "Life Imitates Fiction" to commemorate the occasion. Instead, the release was marred by controversy that resulted in Luke's lowest charting in two years; it performed well below expectations, entering at #10 and climbing to #7 the following week.

Following the single's release, Luke toured as one of three support acts, along with Sandi Cohen and Ace Rejects, on the European leg of Alesha's Heathen Tour.

Other projects
Partly due to the critical acclaim of Decibel Wars, Luke became an in-demand collaborator in the later part of 2010. In October of that year he remixed Beastette's debut single "California", adding distortion into the production and contributing a guest verse. He also has plans to perform guest vocals on an upcoming song by Esmeralda Dimuzio and contribute songwriting to upcoming albums by Vinyl Dolls, Phoenix Rising and TWISTED DISCO!

Retirement
On April 23, 2011, Luke announced he would retire from the music industry to focus on other interests. He will release a greatest hits compilation, Armistice, on June 13, 2011. It will be backed by the title track "Armistice", which will be released the same day. Luke will also headline a greatest hits tour, The End of Wartime, over the summer.

Songwriting
Luke is popular among pop and indie audiences alike because he combines accessible lyrics with varying song structures. He does not stick to one specific songwriting style in his creative processes, leading to his lyrics to be as simple ("It takes its toll, it leaves its scars / never vanishing as time continues to tick") or complex ("Wallflowers blossom in a garden of empty promises / Where gold diggers roam looking for gilded affection") as possible.

He also finds that balance by varying the lengths of his hooks and choruses on his songs. The stark contrast can be seen in his first two #1 singles; his first, "Scapegoat", uses one-sentence hooks throughout the song ("They don't like you" and "They're out to get you"), while the second, "Melodic Suicide", contains a bridge and two choruses.

Many of Luke's album tracks carry experimental structures, with some being drastically radical. "The Last Confessions Of A Writer's Block Sufferer" is a spoken ramble written to take the form of a journal entry, while Valentines Gathering Dust contains four interludes containing only six words, based on Smith Magazine's concept of six-word memoirs.

A distinctive feature of Invalid Opinions was, keeping in touch with its title, for Luke to add an opinion at the end of many of the songs based on the lyrics; for example, in "Creating White Lies Is The Most Powerful Form Of Art", Luke said in response to white lies being the antidote to the painful truth, "Perhaps we could live forever in good health / But then again, I wouldn't want to live forever like that / Because I never really liked you much from the beginning", as such, ending a song about white lies with a moment of truth.

One of the most common themes of Luke's songs is acceptance. Many of his songs revolve around a theme of trying to fit in, whether it's to find a romantic relationship, make friends, or even build a political career. Luke bases these songs around his experiences throughout his life and career; he described this theme by saying, "when it all comes down to it, that's what we as humans try to seek in our lifetimes, to find people to build personal connections with. Nobody wants to be alone."

Television
In addition to his stint as a contestant on U Factor, Luke has made several other television appearances.

Luke was a contestant on the second season of There's Something About..., where male celebrities competed for a date with London. He was maligned by the judges and critics during his tenure on the show, especially following his performance in the first task where he offered to give London's dog Coochie a playmate named Chi-Chi who was mauled and beheaded by Coochie. Luke dropped out of the competition after three rounds.

He competed in Celebrity Big Brother in January 2009, becoming the butt of many jokes from his housemates for being caught appearing to defecate on the floor as well as for making repeated statements about his girlfriend. Even though he freaked out the other housemates, he managed to go as far as fifth place.

Luke also served as a guest judge on URAPS Idol 9.

Due to Luke's reality TV connections, his songs are popular song choices for URAPS Idol finalists. URAPS Idol 10 winner Troy Rivers notably performed a cover of "Six Haiku Describing A Story Of Doomed Love". During duets week on URAPS Idol 11, three of Luke's songs were selected as song choices. Alumnus Mark Charlie Wilson covered "Bonnie & Clyde" as a duet with Cassie Fox in 2010.

Personal life
Luke struck up a friendship with Justin Case when he was first signed to his label Spike, which eventually led to him taking over Spike's acts when Justin closed it to new signings. Luke created the new label H2O, which was a large failure because nearly all the acts abandoned ship because of rumors that the scum of the earth Tania Nelsen would co-run the label, an idea even Luke was against from the beginning. Luke behaved erratically since forming the label, failing to appear at a victory party to celebrate the3stars' single he featured on in February 2006, and later getting into a heated argument with Rocco Varens. The label was forced to close and Luke suffered a major financial loss.

He also became close friends with Nate Brown, the younger brother of Emma Brown, who was introduced to the world in URAPS Idol 7. During his tenure on the show, Nate opened some of Luke's shows and the two went out for dinner many times. But Nate's childish personality soon led Luke to publicly express his feelings of "outgrowing" him. He noted that in his endorsement of Jack Stevens' single "Popstars By Numbers" for #1 over Nate's "I Blame MSN" when they were released against Luke's single "Life Imitates Fiction".

He released his first three singles against Tom Fletcher, who has had relatively mixed feelings about him. Though Tom invited Luke to be a part of his Children In Need special in November 2005, Tom sent out PETA activists to attack Luke in April 2006 as part of a campaign where he pulled pranks against his competition. The attack soon revealed that Luke had swiped items from his hotel room.

As a frequent guest on the now-defunct variety show CD:UK, Luke was playfully referred to as "Ramadadadadadingdong" by the presenters during his introductions on the show.

Relationships
Luke dated Maria Benz while the two were competing against each other on U Factor; Maria later wrote the song "Simple Goodbye" for Luke's debut album. The couple split after Maria cheated on Luke, and after she ended her relationship with her new boyfriend, she asked Luke to return to her side, to which he declined. This inspired his song "Please Don't Put My Pieces Back Together".

In the early stages of his career he was romantically involved with Trish and Sophie Ramone, and confessed he had sex with Kate Hart from ENVY multiple times.

Beginning in March 2006, Luke was involved in an on-off relationship with Julia Margolis, a woman who worked at Penn Station in New York City. The two met during a tour stop in New York and spent only a week together. While Luke believed he'd never hear from her again, she continued staying in communication with him and he kept on keeping in touch right back. After years of dating only once every so often and going back and forth from just friends to a couple and back again, Luke and Julia are entered the spotlight as a couple in the summer of 2008, as their relationship continued to grow stronger since Julia was brought into Luke's management team that July. However their relationship began to suffer due to rumors swirling out while Luke was on Big Brother that Julia was imaginary, most memorably, as a result of Luke's attempt to communicate with Julia through a spoon. The media had since referred to Julia as "Luke's girl in the spoon".

The couple tried to distance themselves from the incident but in April 2009 Luke began seeing Syd Wolfe and it abruptly took its toll on Julia. The two split up on April 26, 2009 after Syd and Julia had a confrontation at Urapopstar Awards 16. Following the breakup, Julia threatened to protest against a cult themed around Luke's career known as the Gospel of Luke, who referred to Julia as "Jezebel in a spoon" and held a spoon burning event shortly after the breakup.

A year later, Syd Wolfe announced she split with Luke. Luke wrote the song "Last Words" on his Decibel Wars album about the aftermath, and later spilled embarrassing secrets about the couple's sex life to GQ Magazine. Syd retaliated, using her third album Monsters as an outlet to defame Luke, such as in the song "Bumblebees" which accuses Luke of being homosexual.

Following the breakup, Luke focused on getting his musical career back on track, but became intimately involved with indie-pop newcomer Beastette and began dating Sandi Cohen while the two toured as support acts for Alesha.

Politics
Several of Luke's songs hint towards liberal-leaning politics. The most obvious example is his 2008 #1 single "Scapegoat"; its lyrics are a word of warning to a Republican politician that the media is out to victimize him through spin and bandwagoning, but at the very end of the song, the narrator reveals he is one with the critics, declaring, "And I don't like you too."

Luke's song "Pain At The Pump" was written in response to the mid-2000's energy crisis, a narrative about a woman who struggles to support herself and her family due to rising gas prices; the song became a part of Luke's setlist when he supported Alesha on her Heathen Tour in 2011, as unrest in Libya caused a surge in gas prices. Several lyrics in his single "Kill Me" criticized the Iraq War, while its follow-up "Bail Me Out" criticized Wall Street and corporate bailouts.

Luke's extreme viewpoints generated controversy upon the release of Decibel Wars, when the track "Fashionable Fascism" was leaked to the Internet. The song, containing harshly critical lyrics about Sarah Palin, was attacked by the conservative media and several prominent Republican and libertarian figures. The album's other political songs "Shoot The Gatekeeper" and "Charlatan" were also the subject of debate on Fox News because of the songs' discussion of questionable ethics in the media. Earlier in his career, Luke criticized what he believed was a culture of fear created by the media in his song "Anticlimax".

In October 2010, Luke covered the Eagles' "Witchy Woman" as a satirical dedication to Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, in light of her remarks that she "dabbled in witchcraft" and addressed those comments in one of her campaign ads.

Controversy
Luke has received a generous amount of controversy and criticism among his peers during his career. In April 2006, his peers overwhelmingly felt he overreacted to missing the top 5 with his single "Death Penalty"; he has since disowned the single, stating his management forced him to release it because it was considered "safe" and "a fan favorite". Months later, he was widely criticized for saying "#1s just happen" while discussing the prospect of his former U Factor rival Jake surpassing his chart successes.

During his time on There's Something About London, animal rights activists called for a boycott of his music after he offered a gift of a pet dog named Chi-Chi as part of a task involving spending the day with London's pet dog Coochie. Although Luke thought giving Coochie a companion would be a good idea, Coochie mauled and beheaded Chi-Chi. Shortly after the episode aired, many animal shelters across Luke's home state of California banned him from adopting pets.

In July 2008, CHRIS, one of Luke's greatest influences, criticized him and other artists who give songs long titles by referring to their efforts as "lazy". Luke responded with a defensive blog posting where he said, "Let me make one thing clear - I'm by no means starting nor following a trend. I wrote the song back in 2006 and released it on Invalid Opinions last year, before anyone even knew who Sandi York was. Anyone who knows me really well understands I'm not in the business just to follow trends. I choose the titles for my songs based on what fits the story in the lyrics best. You call it lazy, I call it art."

Luke once again became the target of criticism due to chart results when his album Valentines Gathering Dust entered the charts at #3 in May 2009, a spot higher than Shell Ruin's Never Stop, which was predicted not only to outsell Luke, but debut at #1. Most chart commentators overshadowed Luke's entry by sympathizing with Shell for her lower than expected chart position and saying she should have been higher. Luke blogged about the reaction to the charts by criticizing Shell's obsessive following: "I believe Shell Ruin is a fine act and immensely talented songwriter, and I really enjoyed her new album. It's a shame she has such a rude-minded following ... to undermine my accomplishments by completely overshadowing me with such remarks as 'Shell should have done better', I mean how is that supposed to make me feel? It really hurts to know there's people out there who paint you as the enemy if the charts don't turn in their favor." Never Stop eventually became one of the best selling albums of the year, earning over triple the sales of Valentines Gathering Dust.

In November 2010, Luke discussed the controversy he faced throughout his career in the television special Picture Imperfect, in which he said several controversial events could have turned out differently (at the end of the special, he claimed his collaboration with Paulo Araujo, "Extinction Of The Shy", would have reached #1 if released three years later than its original release).

In February 2011, several management-related controversies caused "Gun Shy/Life Imitates Fiction" to chart below expectations, causing tension among posters on Luke's official message board and Facebook pages.

Discography
Main article: Luke Ramada discography

Studio albums
2005: Picture Perfect 2007: Invalid Opinions 2008: The Saline Tears Of A Lost Career 2009: Valentines Gathering Dust 2010: Decibel Wars