Amy Macdonald (25.8.1987)
Amy Macdonald is a Scottish singer-songwriter, who rose to fame with the release of her debut album, This Is The Life, in 2007.
Childhood: Amy Macdonald was born in Bishopbriggs in Glasgow and attended Bishopbriggs High School. She taught herself to play the guitar, after hearing Travis play their song 'Turn' at T in the Park Festival in 2000.
Macdonald first started performing acoustically in cafes and pubs around Glasgow, including Brunswick Cellars on Sauciehall Street.
Music Career: After seeing an ad in the NME for Pete Wilkinson and Sarah Erasmus' Melodramatic Records, Amy Macdonald sent in a demo tape of some of her songs. Wilkinson has since said that he was 'aghast' when he first heard her performing 'This is the Life' and 'Mr. Rock n Roll'.
Macdonald and Wilkinson spent eight or nine months getting the songs recorded properly at his own home studio and eventually secured her a recording deal with Vertigo in 2007.
Her debut album, This Is The Life, was released later that year and became the number one album in the UK, eventually selling over 3 million copies. The lead single from the album was 'Poison Prince', but was only released as a limited edition. The follow-up single, 'Mr. Rock n Roll' was her first Top 40 single.
Amy MacDonald's most successful single was her fourth, 'This is the Life'. It charted at number 28 in the UK but reached number one in five other European countries. 'Youth of Today' was selected as the first track to be used on iTunes' 'Free Single of the Week' promotion.
Macdonald has performed on a number of TV shows, such as Loose Women, Friday Night Project and This Morning.
Amy Macdonald's second album, A Curious Thing, was released in 2010. The lead single form the album was 'Don't Tell Me That It's Over, which she performed on Simon Mayo's Radio 2 program.
Vocally, Amy Macdonald's voice has been compared to that of Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries. Macdonald has stated that Travis are one of her biggest influences, as well as Pete Doherty and The Killers.
Personal Life: Amy Macdonald became engaged to the footballer Steve Lovell in 2008.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
