Kavana (born Anthony Kavanagh, 4 November 1977) is an English singer and actor who scored a number of hit singles in the late 90s also winning Smash Hits ‘Best male artist’ His second album ‘Instinct’ went platinum in Asia followed by a tour of Australia and Japan. Kavana moved to Los Angeles in 2001 where he appeared in cult MTV soap opera ‘Undressed’ In 2014, he became part of the supergroup 5th Story, who took part in the second series of ''

The Big Reunion ''The Big Reunion'' is a British reality-documentary series that began airing on ITV2 on 31 January 2013. The show featured chart-topping bands who were big in the UK pop music scene between the 1990s and early 2000s, and the programme followed ...

'' followed by a major arena tour in the U.K.In 2015, he took part in the fifteenth series of the Channel 5 reality series ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

'' making the final week.

Career

He released two albums ''Kavana'' (1997) and ''Instinct'' (1999) and enjoyed a number of chart singles including "I Can Make You Feel Good" (his debut UK Top 10 hit, reaching #8), "MFEO" (another No.8 hit) and " Will You Wait for Me?". Other songs included "Crazy Chance", "Thank You" and "Special Kind of Something". He resided in Los Angeles, California for several years where he appeared in

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

s, the MTV series ''

Undressed ''Undressed'' is an American anthology series that aired on MTV from July 26, 1999, to September 5, 2002. The series was created and executive produced by British director Roland Joffé. Synopsis The series follows the relationships (both roma ...

'', and had a publishing deal as a songwriter. In 2005, he appeared in the music video for ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' , by his friend

Melanie Brown Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed S ...

, before returning to the United Kingdom. In 2006, Kavana played a recurring role in a number of episodes of E4's '' Hollyoaks: In the City''. He also began working with

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

and backing vocalist. He appeared as a contestant on ''

Grease Is the Word ''Grease Is the Word'' is the United Kingdom version of NBC's '' Grease: You're the One That I Want!''. It aired during 2007, and was produced by Syco TV (the production company of Simon Cowell). The winning couple, Susan McFadden & Danny Bayne ...

'' in April 2007 and got put through to 'boot camp', where he was paired with Alison Crawford. Although Crawford was eliminated, Kavana booked a place in the final of the competition, where he was declared runner-up on 9 June 2007. In 2008, he appeared in the theatre production ''The Extra Factor'', a fictional on-stage musical based on the ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. In 2011 he toured with G*Mania, a musical show inspired by the TV series ''

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 ...

''. The cast then recorded a Christmas single, a cover of "

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey (band), Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Escape (Journey album), Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Reco ...

" by

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

. Kavana appeared in the music video for the song. He appeared on the 2013 series of BBC Saturday night singing show ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

'' where he failed to progress past the audition stage. In December 2013, it was announced that Kavana,

Dane Bowers Dane Leon Bowers is a British singer, songwriter, DJ and producer. He was a part of pop boy band Another Level between 1997 and 2000 when he performed on seven Top 10 singles, before taking up solo projects with True Steppers and Victoria Beckh ...

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

, Kenzie and

Adam Rickitt Adam Peter Rickitt (born 29 May 1978) is an English actor, singer and model. He portrayed the role of Nick Tilsley in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 1997 to 1999, and again from 2002 to 2004. He later joined the pop group 5th Sto ...

would join together to form a supergroup called 5th Story for

series 2 Series 2 could refer to: * Apple Watch Series 2, a smart watch by Apple * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 2, the automobile model * BMW 2 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 2 series, line of nV ...

of ''

''. In January 2015, he took part in the Channel 5 reality series

where he came 7th. Later that year he released a new single "Deja Vu"—his first for many years.

Personal life

In February 2014, Kavana came out publicly as being

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and said his biggest regret was never telling his parents.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

References

{{Authority control 1977 births Living people English gay actors Singers from Manchester People from Moston, Manchester English people of Indian descent British expatriates in the United States The Voice UK contestants English gay musicians 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singers 5th Story members British LGBT singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people