Fefe Dobson
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Felicia Lynn (Fefe) Dobson (born February 28, 1985) is a Canadian singer and entertainer.
Early life
Felicia Lynn Dobson was born on February 28th 1985, in a suburb of Toronto, Canada called Scarborough. Fefe is biracial. Her mother is of Irish and Dutch ancestry, while her father is Jamaican. Fefe has three siblings,two younger brothers they are 13 and 10.And,an older sister who is 28. Often at school Fefe and her older sister Tanya were picked on because of her skin color. Although her real name is Felicia, she has always been called Fefe. Her father left the family when she was young, and she only saw him periodically. She eventually stopped seeing and talking to him when she turned 13. Her anger is expressed in her song "Unforgiven".Fefe's mother loved music and Fefe did too, she went to a performing arts community center when she was young, and eventually realized music was her thing. In the fifth grade, she played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz play at her school. “After that, I felt a spiritual connection with Judy Garland,” she said.
When all the other kids she knew were listening to Puff Daddy, she was listening to R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”. Kids at her school said she didn’t stay true to herself. But that didn’t stop her, the huge gap in musical taste inspired her to express herself in who she was as an individual. The album “Neon Ballroom” by Silverchair inspired her to actually get serious about music. When she was 11, her mother had given her a karaoke machine for her birthday. After she learned how to use the machine, she made a demo tape of 24 songs by such artists as Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Selena, and Madonna. She began sending the demo tape to record labels. She was already writing her own songs by this time. Fefe just couldn't understand why she was getting so many rejection letters from all the labels; she really wanted to make it in the music business.
She eventually ended up going to Wexford Collegiate Institute, a high school in Scarborough known for its performing arts program. She still kept looking for a record company that would make a record deal with her. In the year 2000 she was discovered by Jive Records and they signed her immediately. The record label wanted to give her a traditional pop star image. Things weren't going the way she wanted them to go. Fefe wanted more guitar and to include some of her own written songs. Jive rejected the idea, so she got upset and left the record company. She was so depressed she found herself singing in a Toronto bar at 8:30 in the morning. She was luckier than she thought. It turned out a CEO at The Island Def Jam Music Group was in the bar that very morning. He wanted to sign her right there in the bar. The funny thing is that they signed her up on the wrong lyrics. She sang her song "Stupid Little Love Song" and what the people thought she sang was "Stupid Little Buzz Saw" which they thought was "genius". She met producer Jay Levine through Island Records and they began working on her music. “He just really let me be free. He found something in me that he really thought was special, it was just fate”. When in the recording studio, she hung up pictures of Kurt Cobain and Judy Garland, to help motivate her sound and commerate her fallen heroes.
Self-titled debut
Dobson's first album, Fefe Dobson, was released on December 9, 2003 by Island Records which has sold 304,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Her first two singles, "Bye Bye Boyfriend" and "Take Me Away", were released well before that date. The second single, "Take Me Away", received substantially more radio airplay than "Bye Bye Boyfriend" in the United States.Dobson joined Camplified 2003, along with Skye Sweetnam. She also appeared on the soundtracks for Raising Helen with the song "If You Walk Away", and The Perfect Score with a revision of "Everything".
During much of 2004, Fefe did a lot of promotion for her debut album, appearing for a live performance on TRL, and numerous magazine covers and articles. She was asked to open for Justin Timberlake for his European tour. In July 2004, she released a download-only digital audio single, "Don't Go (Girls and Boys)". Her album was later reissued with the single added. Dobson received considerable attention throughout 2004, appearing as a spokesperson for the Got Milk? ad campaign.
As 2005 rolled around, Fefe recorded a song, titled "Truth Anthem", on the Much Dance 2005 CD, where the profits would benefit the Canadian branch of the charitable organization War Child. In April 2005, Dobson was nominated for two Juno Awards, one for album of the year and the other, Fan Choice Award; both won by Avril Lavigne. In the summer of 2005, Dobson was in a public service ad called "Make Poverty History" which brings awareness to child poverty worldwide. Dobson is very devoted to this campaign, due in part to her having grown up in a poor family. Though extremely busy throughout the year, Dobson found time to work on the follow-up to her 2003 disc.
Sunday Love
By 2006, Fefe had returned to the studio add some finishing touches to her sophomore album Sunday Love. In February 2006 Dobson sang "O Canada" at All-Star Saturday Night, part of the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend weekend in Houston, TX. In spring 2006 Fefe performed several shows around the United States, and began promoting her new album.Sunday Love, which has been pushed back several times over the past year, is now on hold, due to the fact that Fefe is no longer with Island Records. However, because she is still signed to her Canadian label, a Canadian release for the album is expected before Fall 2006. One speculated release date is July 25, 2006, although a close source to Universal Music Canada has denied this statement.
Don't Let It Go To Your Head was released as the first single in July 2005, and was followed by an online video for the song in October of that year. The song was followed by This Is My Life in early 2006, but it has yet garnered minimal airplay. A video is expected sometime in the near future, but this information cannot be confirmed at this time.
Discography
Singles
- 2003 Bye Bye Boyfriend
- 2003 Take Me Away #87 US, #7 TRL US
- 2004 Everything #42 UK, #7 TRL US
- 2004 Don't Go (Girls And Boys) #15 TRL US
- 2005 Don't Let It Go To Your Head
- 2006 This Is My Life
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