Benjamin Frederick Bledsoe (born May 11, 1982) is an American pop singer, formerly of the
band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
*Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
Natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
. He is currently an actor, voice actor, and solo singer living in Los Angeles, California.
Early life and education
Bledsoe was a
child model {{unsourced, date=August 2020
A child model refers to a child who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art, such as photography, painting and sculpture.
Practice
Artists have used ...
and acted in several commercials and television shows throughout the 1990s while growing up in California. He was an active member of "Odyssey of the Mind" – A creative problem solving competition for students from Kindergarten through College. His teams went to world competition several times and placed top 10 in the world multiple years in a row. This later translated into him becoming a member of
MENSA, which boasts a 1% acceptance rating. He guest starred on shows such as the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
TV series ''
The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo
''The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo'' is a children's mystery television series that ran on Nickelodeon between 1996 and 1999. A total of 41 episodes of 30 minutes each were produced. Episodes from the first three seasons were taped at Nickelodeon St ...
'' in 1997.
[ In his teen years he moved to ]Longwood, Florida
Longwood is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 15,087 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Longwood is located at .
According t ...
, a suburb of Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
, where he met future bandmate Marc Terenzi
Marc Eric Terenzi (born June 27, 1978) is an American pop singer and reality show participant. He was a member of the boy band Natural and was married to German pop/soul singer Sarah Connor from 2005 to 2008. They have a son named Tyler and a ...
. At 16 he helped formed the band Natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
, with fellow members Patrick King, Michael Johnson, and later Michael 'J' Horn.[Biography]
on Ben Bledsoe's official website
Career
Natural
After his move to Florida, Bledsoe worked as a teen actor, but after meeting Terenzi, he decided to shift his career path and start a band. The band was a mix of rock and pop. Although they were a full band when performing live, they would perform a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
renditions of their music at local venues to help gain recognition and expand their fanbase. Their first show at the House of Blues
House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...
in Orlando completely sold out.
Producer Veit Renn signed the band and they started recording new music. Natural obtained a following in Orlando, and Veit decided to send them on a promotional tour of Germany. Lou Pearlman
Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American record producer. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC. ...
saw them perform at the German Festival "Popkomm
Popkomm was an international trade show for the music and entertainment business during the 1990s and 2000s, and also integrated a congress and festival. It was held in Cologne for most of its existence, later moved to Berlin with entries from at ...
" in Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
while they filled in for the headlining act who missed their flight. It was a show in front of 150,000 people who decidedly loved the young band that added an edge to the pop world. Pearlman was there promoting another act and very soon after they were signed with Transcontinental Records
Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American record producer. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC. ...
.
Pearlman promoted the first single with Claire's
Claire's (formerly known as Claire's Boutiques, Claire's Boutique and Claire's Accessories) is an American retailer of accessories, jewelry, and toys primarily aimed toward tween and teen
girls. It was founded in 1961 and is based in Hoffman E ...
and sent the band on a tour with the Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
, traveling by private jet and tour bus. The first single " Put Your Arms Around Me" became RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
-certified Gold, and reached the Billboard Sales Chart Position of No. 8.
Soon thereafter, Natural was signed to BMG International BMG may refer to:
Organizations
* Music publishing companies:
** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008
*** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
, based in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. The band immediately started touring in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Scotland, Italy, Spain, France, and Sweden. They had success with such hits as "Put Your Arms Around Me", "Will It Ever", "Runaway", "Let Me Just Fly", "What If", and the number-one collaborative hit with Sarah Connor, "Just One Last Dance
"Just One Last Dance" is a song by German recording artist Sarah Connor from her third studio album, ''Key to My Soul'' (2003), featuring guest vocals by Connor's then-husband Marc Terenzi's former band, Natural. The song, written and produced ...
".
The life of an Insomniac
Natural finished their last tour in Europe and Asia in September 2004. Bledsoe wrote new music with band members Terenzi and Michael Johnson for a project and he taught himself guitar and piano as a way to enhance his compositional skills.
Bledsoe's new songs were a mixture of pop and rock. He wrote all of the songs himself for his first album and played the guitar and piano (as well as other instruments) in most of the recordings and performances. The CD was named ''An Insomniac's Guide to a Lonely Heart
Benjamin Frederick Bledsoe (born May 11, 1982) is an American pop singer, formerly of the band Natural. He is currently an actor, voice actor, and solo singer living in Los Angeles, California.
Early life and education
Bledsoe was a child mode ...
'' due to his lack of sleep while creating the album, and the first song he wrote for it, titled "Lonely Heart". He released ''An Insomniac's Guide to a Lonely Heart'' on his own record label, 44th Floor Records. It was No. 1 on Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
for exports to Germany, and was in the top 5% of sales overall. It was simultaneously No. 1 and No. 2 on Awarestore.com, beating out Aware's own artists such as John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...
, Five for Fighting
Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock ballads, such as the top 40 hits "Superman (It's Not ...
, and Wheatus
Wheatus are an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag", which appeared in the films '' Loser'' and ''Bully'', as well as the HBO miniseries ''Generation Kil ...
.[ The first single release was the tongue-in-cheek song "Boyfriend".
]
Acting
After the release of his solo album, Bledsoe sought to do more acting work. He did some Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
shows, such as ''Hairspray
Hairspray may refer to:
* Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind
* ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters
** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album
** ''Hairspray ...
'' and ''Cry-Baby
''Cry-Baby'' is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. It was the only film of Waters's over which studios were in a bidding war, coming off the heels of the successful ''Hairspray''. The film sta ...
''. He studied at The Groundlings
The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques ...
and the Lesley Kahn School of Acting, and has guest starred on TV shows such as ''House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
'', ''CSI'', ''CSI: NY
''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seaso ...
'', ''Hawaii Five-0
Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to:
* Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series
* Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an Ame ...
'', ''The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fol ...
'', ''Castle'', and much more.[ Bledsoe guest starred in the pilot episode of the TV show '']Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
''.[ He also starred in the Disney Channel show ''Jessie'' as Jessie's love interest Brody Winton in an episode called the "Princess and the Pea-Brain" in 2012. Along with television, Bledsoe has filmed several feature films such as ''Riddle'' with ]Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...
and William Sadler among others.
Voice acting
Bledsoe has been behind the microphone for most of his life, but in the most recent years he has been in the booth as the voice of all sorts of projects. Commercials, Animated Films and television shows, Video Games; he has made a stamp on all of the major niches within the industry. His company. Unireach Media. has made a vast imprint in the interactive media world by creating custom messages, greetings, and songs for consumers to download which are completely customizable... something that has never been attempted previously.
Filmography
Film
Television
Discography
References
External links
Official website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bledsoe, Ben
1982 births
Living people
American male child actors
American male film actors
Male models from Florida
American male pop singers
American male voice actors
Singers from California
Singers from Florida
Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state)
Natural (band) members
American male television actors
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American singers
21st-century American male actors
People from Snellville, Georgia
Mensans
Male models from Georgia (U.S. state)
People from Longwood, Florida
21st-century American singers
20th-century American male singers
21st-century American male singers