Arwyn Knight
| Arwyn Knight | |
|---|---|
|
Recent promo, 2007. Recent promo, 2007. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Chorleywood, England |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 2006-present |
| Notable instruments | |
| Piano | |
Arwyn Knight (born 30 May, 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, best known for her piano playing. She is most notable for her Tango Challenge-winning duet with Christine Tyler, "Race Against The Clock", and her number one singles "Better Left Unsaid", and "Your Beautiful Mind". Knight has sold over 3.3 million records in the UK alone and over 20 million worldwide. Knight has also broken into film and produced the television shows Later... and Uraps: Unsigned.
Childhood and discovery[edit | edit source]
Born into an upper middle class family, Arwyn never really wanted anything when she was a child. It wasn't until her parents bought Arwyn a piano for her fifth birthday that Arwyn knew exactly what she wanted to do. She practiced religiously until the age of seventeen when an unknown music manager Elizabeth Colmore, a friend of Arwyn's father Reginald Knight, took Arwyn under her wing. There was little luck; for many years, Arwyn toured the country playing jazz clubs and small venues but never amounted to anything until five years later, in 2006, when she joined Alias Records.
Music[edit | edit source]
Misguided Judgement[edit | edit source]
See also: Misguided Judgement
Arwyn's first chart success was with her debut, "The Smoke" EP. The single was put back a week at the last minute due to the printed records being stolen and ransomed. Despite the hassle surrounding the release, the EP charted just outside of the top ten at number 13, making it a success for Knight. The next single from her debut album Misguided Judgement was a duet with another newcomer Natasha Hilton, entitled "Beautiful Innocence". It scored a suprisingly high entry at number six, a success for the both artists.
The third release from Misguided Judgement was Arwyn's most successful single at the time. The duet with Christine Tyler, "Race Against The Clock", was written by both artists for the new Tango Challenge event, which saw many duets going head to head for the highest position. At the beginning Arwyn and Christine were merely one of the 'other' acts releasing; the focus was on higher-profile collaborations like X3D & Nikki, AJ Hutton & Vivian and Ben Parker & Alesha. Just as promo first started, it immediately came to a halt when Arwyn fell ill. Luckily, Christine took Urapopstar by the horns and battled on for two weeks until Arwyn was back to full health. The couple finally aired the new single and it was instantly a fan favourite, receiving rave reviews. The two wrote, directed and starred in the music video together which was premiered twice, due to a fake ending being aired on TRL.
Arwyn and Christine came out on top, reaching number two and beating all the other duet partners for the title of Tango Challenge winners. Until "The Dancer Upstairs", "Race Against The Clock" was Arwyn's most successful single. Knight and Tyler formed a close friendship due to its success. The pair later set up Wired Records together, now co-owned by Ryan Dawson after Tyler briefly stepped away from the industry.
Arwyn rush released her next single due to the succses of "Race Against The Clock". The Paul-penned Insanity was seen as a turn around for Arwyn's solo career, peaking at number five. "Insanity" was quite different from Arwyn's normal music, which may have been the reason it attracted the attention of Buffi, who featured on an exclusive remix. They also appeared together in Time Out magazine. Many believe it was the help of Buffi that lead to the single's success. After the release of "Insanity", Arwyn went on her first solo tour, The Piano Diaries Tour. This consisted of nine sold-out venues, including London's Wembley Arena. All of the album tracks were performed along with some new tracks, including the Russ Hooch-penned "Life Insurance" and the Kati-penned "The Dancer Upstairs", both later released on Fate Of A Dirty Pianist. The last single released from Misguided Judgement was an AA-side of "My Time to Loathe/Follow"; promotion was virtually non-existent and thus the single failed to reach the top ten, peaking at number 16.
Misguided Judgement sold 409,577 copies and has been certified platinum.
Fate Of A Dirty Pianist[edit | edit source]
See also: Fate Of A Dirty Pianist
Fate Of A Dirty Pianist, Arwyn's sophomore album was released on 19 November 2007 and debuted at number one. The album includes duets with Innocent and Sleazy Sisters.
On 23 September 2007, Arwyn announced that she would be making her return to music. The album's lead single "The Dancer Upstairs" was to be released on the 12 November. The promotion was vast and included sex scandals, touring with Emblaze, and a drive-through marriage with a member of Splinter. The single entered the charts at number three and climbed to number two the following week, making it her highest-charting solo single at the time. "The Dance Upstairs" has also sold over 370,000 copies, making it Arwyn's most successful single to date.
The second single released from the album was "Better Left Unsaid", a collaboration with best-selling girl group Innocent. The song initially appeared on Innocent's greatest hits with piano from Kniht, but the song was re-written to include vocals from Arwyn. The single, originally meant only to include a featuring role from Arwyn, became a full-on collaboration after recording the duet version. The promotion was much more low- key than that for "The Dance Upstairs"; however, it still managed to reach number one, becoming Arwyn's first song to top the charts.
The next single released was "Stain Glass Window", which continued Knight's success when it peaked at number two and went on to sell over 240,000 copies. This was Arwyn's first single to be solely written by her, as "My Time to Loathe" was accompanied by the Brandi Carlile cover "Follow". The single did not have a long promotional campaign, with less than a month between the introduction of the single to the release date.
After this release, Arwyn disappeared from the public eye for nearly six months. Fate Of A Dirty Pianist eventually went on to sell over a million copies, achieving a highly-coveted diamond certification.
The Scattering of Ashes[edit | edit source]
Arwyn made her comeback on the 26 April 2009 at the 16th Urapopstar Awards. She performed her new single "Your Beautiful Mind", which was released on the 1 June. The single became Arwyn's first solo number one upon its release. After less than a couple of weeks back on the scene, Knight brought Wired Records back from bankruptcy and announced her third album The Scattering Of Ashes would be released on 29 June.
The second single has been confirmed and will be I Choose The Corduroy it has been scheduled to b e released on 10 August 2009.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Thanks to Dillon Burns, Arwyn was given the nickname Borewyn, due to her non-existent social life and her predictability. At Red Nose Day 2007, Arwyn and a fan were locked in a London telephone box. For every minute the fan managed to stay awake, more money was donated.
Arwyn dated Andre from Indigo Peak for a short period and has recently been romantically linked to Ryan Dawson.
Film and television[edit | edit source]
Arwyn's first television show saw her taking over as the host of Later...with Jools Holland. The first and only series of Later... aired in 2006. Production of the second series is set to start sometime this year.
Other television roles have seen Knight as a vocal coach for the URAPS Idol franchise, a role she will be returned to in 2009 for URAPS Idol 10. Knight also produced and judged on the television show Uraps: Unsigned.
Arwyn has also broken out into the film industry. Knight scored the leading role in Mistaken Identity, in which she played a vampire hunter who had been mistaken for a vampire herself. The film was based on her escape and hunt of the people who tortured her. She is currently starring in a small independant movie called Snow Angels which follows the relationships of a few couples. Knight plays a women who is going through some mentally hard times with her husband and daughter.
Films[edit | edit source]
| Year | Title | Role | Gross revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Mistaken Identity | Cornelia | £52 million |
| 2008 | Snow Angels | Alex | £2 million |
| 2009 | Winged Creatures | Carrie | — |
| 2010 | Sabriel | Sabriel | — |
Television[edit | edit source]
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-2009 | Later... | Host/Producer | BBC2 |
| 2006 | URAPS Idol 8 | Vocal Coach | ITV |
| 2007 | Uraps: Unsigned | Judge/Producer | C4 |
| 2009 | URAPS Idol 10 | Vocal Coach | ITV |
| 2009 | Friday Night In | Host/Producer | C4 |
Tours[edit | edit source]
| Year | Tour | Support | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Piano Diaries Tour | None | UK |
| 2008 | The Songs Of A Dirty Pianist Tour | Romo | Worldwide |
Discography[edit | edit source]
See also: Arwyn Knight Discography
Albums[edit | edit source]
- MJWIKI.jpg
Misguided Judgement
#5 - 2006
Platinum - FOADWIKI.jpg
Fate Of A Dirty Pianist
#1 - 2007
Diamond - TheScatteringOfAshes.jpg
The Scattering Of Ashes
#1 - 2009
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Singles[edit | edit source]
2006: The Smoke EP - No.13
2006: Beautiful Innocence w/ Natasha Hilton - No.6
2006: Race Against The Clock w/ Christine Tyler - No.2
2006: Insanity - No.5
2007: My Time to Loathe/Follow - No.16
2007: The Dancer Upstairs - No.2
2008: Better Left Unsaid w/ Innocent - No.1
2008: Stain Glass Window - No.2
2009: Your Beautiful Mind - No.1
2009: I Choose The Corduroy - TBR
Songs Penned for Others[edit | edit source]
2007: "Boys" for Lavina
2007: "Mums The Word" for Sleazy Sisters
2008: "Cardiac Arrest" for Venus Vegas
Production Credits[edit | edit source]
2006: (I Wannabe Your) Spice Girl for Lindsay Belle
2007: Bittersweet for Lindsay Belle
2007: Lindsey for Lindsay Belle
2007: Beautiful Hands for Lindsay Belle
2007: Country Girls for Lindsay Belle
2008: Patsy Cline for Lindsay Belle
2008: Hail Me Like A Queen for Lindsay Belle
2008: Vinita for Lindsay Belle
Features[edit | edit source]
2006: "Pose" with Lisa Spears
2007: "Better Left Unsaid" with Innocent
2007: "Boat Alone Into Infinity" with Sandi York
2008: "Spinning Wheels" with Innocent
2008: "Praise The Load" with Malena, Izzy, Alesha, Putanovska, Sophie Ramone
Awards[edit | edit source]
2006: TRL Awards - Best Collaboration (Won)
2007: Urapopstar Awards 13 - Best Collaboration (Won)
2008: Urapopstar Awards 15 - Best Female (Nominated), Best Promotion (Nominated)
