Shelton Woolright is a drummer, musician and photographer. Born and raised in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, he became the drummer of

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band

Blindspott Blindspott is an alternative metal band from West Auckland, New Zealand. After performing under the name Blacklistt for several years, the original line-up got back together in 2018.Kellman, Andy " Blindspott Biography, Allmusic, Macrovision ...

in 1997, before leaving the group in 2008. Later that year, Woolright formed the group

I Am Giant I Am Giant is a rock band based in London, United Kingdom. They formed in West Auckland, New Zealand in late 2008 and released their debut album '' The Horrifying Truth'' on 1 August 2011 in Australia and New Zealand, where it has been certif ...

in the United Kingdom, before the group returned to New Zealand to produce their music career. Woolright launched his solo project Deadbeat in November 2017. In March 2015, it was announced that Woolright would become a judge on the second series of ''

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 ...

'', replacing the sacked

Willy Moon William George Sinclair (born 2 June 1989), better known by his stage name Willy Moon, is a New Zealand musician, singer, songwriter and producer. He is known for his 2012 single " Yeah Yeah" which appeared on the 2012 Apple iPod advert and peak ...

. He mentored

Brendon Thomas and The Vibes Brendon Thomas and The Vibes is a New Zealand rock band consisting of members Brendon Thomas (born 1995), Timothee Nolier (born 1995), and Michael Anderson (born 1995). They formed in Auckland in 2013 and placed third on the second series of th ...

to the final, where they finished in third place. ''The X Factor'' was later cancelled following the airing of the second series.

Early years

Woolright was born in New Zealand. He is of Tongan and French Canadian heritage. Woolright was the original drummer for the New Zealand band Blindspott whose 2002 debut album reached No 1 and went platinum in New Zealand in its first week. Blindspott broke up in 2007, although Woolright retained an interest in the band. On 15 May 2010, it was announced on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

that Blindspott had reunited and were writing new material. As Woolright was not involved this eventually ended with him taking legal action. On 5 March 2011, the Blindspott lead singer Damian Alexander announced it would be releasing its new single ''From The Blind Spot'' under the name

Blacklistt Blacklistt is a New Zealand rock band formed by four of the original members of the New Zealand-based group Blindspott, Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell (guitar, backing vocals), Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini (turntables, keyb ...

for legal reasons. Entertainment lawyer Mick Sinclair was handling the case for Blindspott.

Later career

I Am Giant

Following his departure from

, Woolright formed the band

in 2008 with Paul Matthews, Ed Martin and Max O'Donnell. The band currently consists of Woolright, Matthews and Aja Timu.

Deadbeat

Woolright launched new solo project Deadbeat in November 2017. Deadbeat is a high energy drum DJ set, which involves Woolright layering live drums over a mashup of the biggest party tunes on the planet.

Photography

On 14 March Shelton put on exhibition of his photography ''L’Art reflète la vie'' at the Viaduct in Auckland. The Auckland exhibition was to raise funds for Cure Kids, a child cancer sponsor. He had first put his photography on display in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

at The Hub, 5 rue Montorgueil on 12 February 2015.

''The X Factor''

In March 2015, it was announced that Woolright would replace the sacked

on the second series of the New Zealand version of ''The X Factor'', along with

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian recording artist, actress, and television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an acting car ...

replacing Moon's wife,

Natalia Kills Natalia Noemi "Teddy" Sinclair (née Cappuccini; born 15 August 1986), is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She has recorded music under various aliases, most famously as Natalia Kills and Verbalicious. She is currently the lead vocali ...

, who was also sacked from the show.Mixed reaction to new X Factor judges
Published: 5:06AM Friday March 20, 2015 Source: ONE News, retrieved 17 June 2015 Woolright mentored

to the final where they finished in third place.

Discography

References

External links

Shelton Woolright YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolright, Shelton New Zealand drummers Male drummers Living people 1980 births