Cover Drive were a four-piece band from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

consisting of Amanda Reifer, T-Ray Armstrong, Barry "Bar-Man" Hill and Jamar Harding. They have gained commercial success in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. They are best known for their UK number one single "

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...

". The band was signed by record label Global Talent, a division of Polydor Records. The band obtained one of its major breaks by performing as an

opening act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

during

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

Loud Tour The Loud Tour was the fourth overall and third world concert tour by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. Performing in over twenty countries in the Americas and Europe, the tour was launched in support of Rihanna's fifth studio album '' Loud'' ...

. The band were featured in upcoming promotions by the Barbados Tourism Authority, an international tourist-marketing agency of the Barbados government. The group released their debut album ''

Bajan Style ''Bajan Style'' is the debut studio album from Barbados-based pop group Cover Drive, released on 7 May 2012 through Polydor Records. The band enlisted a variety of producers such as Future Cut, Quiz & Larossi, J.R. Rotem, Aliby, Orange Factory ...

'' on 7 May 2012 in the

, peaking at number 14. "Lovesick Riddim" was announced as their lead single from their EP, ''Liming in Limbo'' on 13 December 2013. The group's second and final album ''Fall Forward'' was released on 10 April 2017. The group later disbanded in 2018.

History

Stronger tour, Manchester Arena Cover Drive (8083271892)

2010: Formation

The band formed in their native country

. The band consists of four members: Amanda, the lead singer; T-Ray, the drum/backing vocals; Barry "Bar Man" Hill, the keyboardist/guitarist; and Jamar, the bassist. Amanda met T-Ray when she became his babysitter despite being only two years older, T-Ray was in the same year as Jamar at school although they did not attend the same school, and Amanda met Bar-Man at college because they were in the same year.

2011–2012: Commercial success and ''Bajan Style''

Cover Drive gained a lot of subscribers on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

with videos of them covering popular songs. In April 2011, the band signed a publishing deal with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and a recording deal with

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. After the band was signed they began writing and recording material for their debut album. Whilst in the studio, they met American producer

J. R. Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem is a South African-born record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israeli immigrant parents. He moved to Canada at the age of two an ...

who produced their debut single, "

Lick Ya Down "Lick Ya Down" is the debut single released by Barbadian pop group Cover Drive. The single was released on August 28, 2011 as a digital download in the United Kingdom, taken from their debut album '' Bajan Style''. On September 4, 2011, the song ...

", which was released on 28 August 2011. After receiving heavy airplay and support on both the Radio and Music channels in the

, the song debuted and peaked at number 9 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 3 on the

UK R&B Singles Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

. They later released their second single "

" on 22 January 2012, which was their first single to chart in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, debuting at number 40. The song peaked at number 1 on the UK

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

chart within hours of its release. The song was produced by

Quiz & Larossi Andreas Romdhane (a.k.a. Quiz) and Josef Larossi are a Swedish production duo. They have a studio based in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. They have worked together since 1999 when they wrote songs for Lutricia McNeal. During their partnership ...

. On 29 January 2012, "Twilight" debuted at number 1 on the charts in the

for the week ending 4 February 2012. On 8 March 2012, they announced " Sparks" as the third single from the album. Sparks was released on 29 April and debuted and peaked at number 4 on the

. Their debut album, ''

'', was released on 7 May 2012 and debuted on the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

at number 14. The fourth release from ''Bajan Style'', "

Explode An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

" was re-worked with vocals from former

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the Wor ...

member,

Dappy Costadinos Contostavlos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Κοντόσταυλος; born 11 June 1987), better known by his stage name Dappy, is a British rapper and singer. He is the lead singer of the Camden-based hip hop and grime trio N- ...

, and was released from the album on 26 August 2012, entering at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart. The group also featured on

Far East Movement Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and as of August 2018 consists of Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh), DJ Virman (Vi ...

's "

Turn Up the Love "Turn Up the Love" is a song by American group Far East Movement from their fourth studio album ''Dirty Bass''. It features vocals from Barbadian group Cover Drive. The song was released on June 21, 2012, as the album's third single. The song was ...

", which was released on 21 June 2012. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. They toured with

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

on the UK & Ireland leg of her Stronger Tour.

2013–18: ''Fall Forward'' and disbandment

A lyric video for a song called "All My Love" was uploaded to the band's official

channel on 14 February 2013. The music video was uploaded to YouTube on 1 March 2013. The band was featured in a May 2013 episode of the

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...

series House Hunters International as they searched Barbados for a house together as a band, preparing for their next album. A lyric video for their lead single off of their EP, called "Lovesick Riddim", was uploaded to the band's official

channel on 7 August 2013. The music video was uploaded to YouTube on 10 August 2013. Their EP, titled "Liming in Limbo",was a taster of what was to come on their second album, ''Fall Forward''. The EP was released 13 December 2013. Cover Drive released a song for

Crop Over Crop Over is a traditional harvest festival which began in Barbados, having had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during slavery. History The original crop-over tradition began in 1687 as a way to mark the end of the yearly harves ...

2014 called "Dis Ain't Love". A lyric/music video was released via their

account on 6 June 2014. Cover Drive also announced in June 2014 that they were recording the music video for the lead single off of their upcoming second single. It was later announced to be called "Love Junkie". A lyric video was uploaded on their

account on 3 June. The music was uploaded on to

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on 27 June. The song was released on 27 July (UK/Europe) and 29 July (rest of world). The group released their long-awaited second studio album on 10 April 2017. In 2018 the group disbanded, the group never made an official announcement.

Members

* Karen Amanda Reifer –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Barry Hill –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

keytar The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboard ...

* Jamar Harding –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Thomas Ray Armstrong (T-Ray) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2012) * ''Fall Forward'' (2017)

EPs

* ''Liming in Limbo'' (2013)

References

External links

* *
YouTube
{{Authority control Pop music groups Barbadian musical groups Reggae fusion groups 2010 establishments in Barbados