Warren Stacey (born Warren Jituboh) is a British singer from

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who came into prominence on the UK television show '' Popstars'', the

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, re ...

programme that created the pop band

Hear'Say Hear'Say were a British pop group. They were created through the ITV reality TV show '' Popstars'' in February 2001, the first UK series of the international '' Popstars'' franchise. The group, who were signed to Polydor Records, originally ...

. Despite not making it into the group, Stacey went on to be signed by

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

and released his debut single " My Girl, My Girl" in March 2002, which made number 26 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 ...

Life and music career

Stacey's first experience of performing music was singing in a church choir at a young age. In 2001, while working at a London branch of

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, i ...

, he auditioned to become a member of

, the pop group that was being formed from the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

programme '' Popstars''. He impressed the show's judges with a rendition of "

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" by

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

and progressed on to the " boot camp" stage of the competition. During the second day of boot camp, Stacey opted to perform a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

rather than a pop song for the judges.

Nigel Lythgoe Nigel Lythgoe OBE (; born 9 July 1949), also known as Nasty Nigel, is an English television and film director and producer, television dance competition judge, former dancer in the Young Generation and choreographer. He was the producer of the ...

, one of the show's judges, informed him that the final band was obviously not going to perform hymns and that, at that stage in the competition, the judges were looking for small reasons such as this to eliminate contestants. However, Stacey's part in a group performance of "

Monday, Monday "Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, using background instruments played by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album ''If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears''. It was the grou ...

" by

The Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

was seen as sufficient to keep him in the competition for another day. Stacey was ultimately eliminated from the ''Popstars'' competition on the fourth day of boot camp, with the show's judges saying that he was "more gospel-influenced and

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were after something altogether more poppy". He originally intended to form a trio with Taz and Raymond, two other ''Popstars'' contestants who had been eliminated the same day as him. Within weeks of his elimination, Stacey was signed as a solo artist by

, who flew him to

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to write and record his debut single "My Girl My Girl" with production team Red Zone. He played alongside Hear'Say and fellow ''Popstars'' contestants

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at the 2001

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tour in December, before releasing "My Girl My Girl" in March the next year. The single peaked at Number 26 on the

, with Stacey's sound being favourably compared to that of fellow British R&B singer,

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has re ...

. Stacey provided

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at the final night of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's Five Night Stand in April and went on to support

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

on their UK tour in June.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

Warren Stacey
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stacey, Warren British contemporary R&B singers English soul singers 21st-century Black British male singers Living people People from Wapping English people of Sierra Leonean descent Singers from London Def Jam Recordings artists Year of birth missing (living people)

Life and music career

Discography

Singles

See also

References

External links