Corinne Bailey Rae 'self-titled' album

When singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae’s self-titled debut album entered the U.K. album chart at #1 in March, she made chart history as the first female British artist to do so with a debut album of original songs. Corinne Bailey Rae is currently certified double Platinum there, and Gold in numerous other countries, with worldwide sales already well over one million. Now Bailey Rae is poised to take North America, launching the album with performances on “Good Morning America” (June 19th) and “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (June 27th) as well as a series of sold-out shows in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. While in the States, Bailey Rae will also tape appearances on PBS’ “The Tavis Smiley Show” and A&E’s “Breakfast with the Arts.” Dates are being finalized for a full North American summer tour.

Early reaction has been astounding with Starbucks signing on to carry Corinne Bailey Rae at its Company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada, a cross-platform “You Oughta Know” campaign at VH1, VH1 Soul and VH1.com and a BET award nomination. And this week iTunes is featuring an acoustic version of lead single “Put Your Records On” as Single of the Week. “Rae's music sticks in your mind like a pleasant scent you wish would linger," said Blender while Entertainment Weekly said “Corinne Bailey Rae is so 5 minutes from now….Think a warm, sultry blend of Norah Jones Cool and Macy Gray Soul, with songwriting that shows flashes of Fiona Apple.”

“Put Your Records On” spent three weeks atop the U.K. Airplay chart and is now climbing the charts at Smooth Jazz and AAA radio in the States. The accompanying video has already been added by VH1 Soul, where it was recently the #1 most played video. Now it’s going into rotation at VH1 and Bailey Rae will be the focus of a massive cross-platform (VH1, VH1 Soul, vh1.com) “You Oughta Know” campaign beginning June 5th, which will include coverage on VH1 News, live performances, a VH1 Soul Listening Party and an appearance on VH1’s Top 20 Countdown. Bailey Rae will also play her favorite videos in a Top 10 Countdown on VH1 Soul. “Put Your Records On” has been bumped up to “Very Cool” rotation at BETJ and has already earned her a nomination for the “BETJ Cool Like That” award. The BET awards will take place on June 27th.

Bailey Rae is one of six new emerging artists hand-picked by AOL Music for its innovative “Breakers” program. The four-month series of promotions includes an “AOL Sessions” performance, prime placements throughout the network and heavy rotation on AOL Radio. Clear Channel has also singled out Bailey Rae as one of today’s most notable new artists, tapping her for its Spring 2006 “NEW!” program, which features three rising artists from five formats on its stations’ websites.

In addition to carrying the album in its Company-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada, Starbucks’ customers will be introduced to Corinne Bailey Rae with overhead in-store play; web site promotion (www.hearmusic.com); programming and promotional spots on Hear Music™ Channel 75 on XM Satellite Radio; and a special contest in which Starbucks Hear Music, XM Satellite Radio and Capitol Records are offering the chance to win a trip for two to see one of Corinne’s performances on her European tour.

Biography

IT BECOMES SELF-EVIDENT THE MOMENT you hear her sing the very first note of her very first EP. It's called ‘Like A Star’, and it's a slice of sublime blues delivered with a voice that pins you, in the softest but most persuasive of ways, to the wall; a voice that floats up effortlessly, full of caress, subtlety and the very purest quality. It is wonderful, this voice, and surely a discovery to treasure, but it belongs to a young woman not from somewhere musically exotic - say, Mississippi or even Manhattan - but just east of the M1: Leeds. Her name is Corinne Bailey Rae, and she was born to do this.

"I started off singing in church, I suppose, but people think it must have been a gospel church because of the whole, you know, black assumption," she says in reference to her mixed-race background. "But it wasn't gospel at all, it was just your regular brethren church, very middle-class, where we would sing these harmonies every Sunday. It was always my favourite part of the service, the singing."

A move to a down-at-heel Baptist church followed, where the choir alternated between traditional hymns and the slightly less orthodox Primal Scream wig-outs. "We changed the words though," explains Corinne. "We didn't want to offend the regular churchgoers, now did we?" Singing in this way every week led to a broadening of Corinne’s tastes and when her youth leader offered to buy her an electric guitar she grabbed the opportunity, quite literally, with both hands. So began her love affair with making music, and she soon developed a healthy appetite for one of the most innovative bands that rock and roll had to offer, namely, Led Zeppelin.

"I loved that band during my teens," she says. "I wanted, somehow, to follow in their footsteps, and to create music of my own."

This she has duly done. Via a faltering indie band, an English literature degree and a determination that simply would not wane, she has now arrived fully-formed, and with a musical poise that sets her head and shoulders above pretty much anybody you could call her peer. Her forthcoming debut album is sublime, full of tiptoeing delicacy and wraparound warmth, and one that merges the spirit of Billie Holiday with the statuesque soul of Erykah Badu. Even a cursory listen will tell you that its creator is something rather special.

Corinne Bailey Rae was born and raised in Leeds, the oldest of three daughters to a West Indian father and a Yorkshire mother. At school, she studied classical violin to a high standard, but any ambitions to take this to a higher level were quickly scotched when the afore-mentioned Zeppelin adoration took hold. By the time she turned 15, Corinne was also obsessing over female-led, indie noiseniks like Veruca Salt and L7, and wanted to start her own band. And so she did. Its name was Helen.

Helen? "I know, I know," she says in defence. "What can I say? We were 15 years old, and thought that Helen was a cheeky, indie kind of thing to do. It seemed clever at the time." She smiles. "Admittedly, it seems less so now."

Uninspiring name notwithstanding, Helen began attracting considerable local attention. Good enough to elicit an offer of a deal from the home to all manner of guitar abusers, Roadrunner Records, all was going well until the bassist fell pregnant, and the band fragmented.

"Disappointed? I was gutted," Corinne says now. "I had no idea what to do next."

And so she went off to Leeds University where she studied English literature and spent evenings working as a modern-day hatcheck girl in a local jazz club. Every now and then she was allowed to sing with the band, and from those evenings new ideas began to form. By now, Corinne was writing songs that she wanted to perform solo, and was moving away from all things indie into more soulful territory. By the time EMI signed her in the spring of last year, she had 10 years of experience tucked neatly under her belt, knew exactly what she wanted and just how to get it.

"I am a fan of jazz, but not the muso kind," she says. "I hate all the noodling, which is why I love classic songs: because they are so pure and succinct. That's what I tried to do with my own songs. They are short and sweet, to the point. I like the idea of leaving people wanting more, not less, you know?"

And so, inspired as much by Björk and Massive Attack as, say, Jill Scott, she went into the studio and came up with her debut album. It is in Corinne's own words, "a little bit of everything: it's chilled out, acoustic, kooky, atmospheric and soulful. I'd also be tempted to say it comes from a very organic place, but that would sound pretentious, so I won't."

And if she writes about the staple of all great soul songs - love - then she does so with less emphasis on its pink fluffiness than its unwritten complexities and multiple challenges. "I'm interested in the things that no one ever tells you about in relationships, about how love works in terms of expectation versus reality."

Because of this, songs like ‘Till It Happens To You’, ‘Like A Star‘ and ‘Choux Pastry Heart’ are unusually intimate, each sparkling with a storytelling honestly that her peers can only dream of.

"The response so far has been amazing," she says, "and that has been very satisfying, because all this feels so right to me. Writing songs - playing music - is, I know, precisely what I should be doing with my life."

And the response has been truly amazing. With her first very limited edition EP ‘Like A Star’ entering the UK Top 40 in November 2005 and the first single proper ‘Put Your Records On’ becoming a Europe-wide smash, the world is at her feet. Added to that a mountain of incredible press articles singing her many praises, magazine front covers, topping the BBC poll of ‘Sound Of 2006’, sold-out tour dates and the kind of radio and TV play that established artists can only dream of, there seems to be no stopping Corinne. The release of her debut album at the end of February 2006 will cement the fact that here is a brand new superstar, one whose voice will be heard for many years to come.

Her name is Corinne Bailey Rae. She is 26 years old, talented and, by the by, very cute as well. She also has a firm handshake, and that's always a good sign, isn't it?

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Corinne Bailey Rae - self-titled