William George Sinclair (born 2 June 1989), better known by his stage name Willy Moon, is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

musician, singer, songwriter and producer. He is known for his 2012 single " Yeah Yeah" which appeared on the 2012 Apple iPod advert and peaked at 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 ...

. In March 2015, Moon and his 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 ...

, were fired as judges from The X Factor New Zealand for their harsh comments towards one of the contestants.

Early life

Moon was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He left school when he was 16 and left New Zealand when he was 18. He spent time in Berlin before moving to London, United Kingdom.Since 2014, Moon has been living in New York City.

Music career

2010–2013: ''Willy Moon EP'' and ''Here's Willy Moon''

In 2010, Moon released his first song "I Wanna Be Your Man" on Myspace, where he was first noticed and subsequently acquired a record deal with Island Records. He released his first two singles through Luv Luv Luv Records. He received buzz for his off the wall approach to production, being named as a "One to Watch" by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and one of the "Faces of 2012" by '' Q'' magazine. He has also been featured in '' GQ''s "Most Stylish Men", one of

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

's "Bright Young Things" and profiled by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. His music is described as "a brilliantly odd fusion of 50s rock'n'roll and modern production" using "hip-hop production techniques". Moon's single "Yeah Yeah" was playlisted on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

in early 2012. He and his band also performed live in session for

Huw Stephens Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music. Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...

for BBC Radio 1 at

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1 ...

in May 2012. He also performed on the television show Later... with Jools Holland for the BBC in October 2012. In July 2012, Moon released the singles "Railroad Track" and "Bang Bang" through

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

's label

Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...

. Moon's song " Yeah Yeah" was used in

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

's 2012 iPod lineup TV advertisement, including the 5th-generation Touch, 7th-generation Nano, and 4th-generation Shuffle. "Yeah Yeah" was also featured on the Sosh Orange 2012 advertisement that ran in France and as part of the Forza Horizon video game soundtrack. At part of his 2012/2013 US tour, Moon performed on the television show ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' for NBC. In April 2013, Moon released his debut album, '' Here's Willy Moon''. The album featured "Yeah Yeah", "Railroad Track" and "I Wanna Be Your Man". In August 2013, Rockstar Games included "Railroad Track" in the ''Grand Theft Auto V'' soundtrack list. Ubisoft also launched an '' Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'' trailer featuring "Railroad Track". His tracks continue to be utilised in advertising, "Working for the Company" was used in the "Mr. Selfridge" advert in early 2014, "Yeah Yeah" features in a global Nissan Altima commercial and his cover of "Shakin" was the backing track to the Q1 Sky Atlantic UK television commercial.

2016–present: Cruel Youth

In early 2016, Moon started a band,

Cruel Youth Cruel Youth is a band fronted by Teddy Sinclair, who previously recorded two solo albums under the name Natalia Kills. In 2016, Sinclair started the band with her husband, Willy Moon. The band's first extended play (EP), '' +30mg'', was released o ...

, with his wife Kills. The band's first song, "Mr. Watson", was released on Soundcloud in February, followed by "Diamond Days" in April, which was also released on iTunes. Their third single, "Hatefuck", was released in early September, along with the release of their debut EP, '' +30mg'', on 16 September 2016.

Television career

2015: ''X Factor New Zealand''

In 2015, Moon was a judge and mentor on '' The X Factor New Zealand'' alongside his wife,

. Both Moon and Kills were fired following the first live screening for bullying and humiliating Joe Irvine, a contestant. Moon compared Irvine to

Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main antagonist in his 1959 thriller novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes from the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, wh ...

, and Kills accused him of copying Moon's look. The comments led to widespread condemnation on social media, including a petition to have both Kills and Moon fired from the show, which reportedly received over 70,000 votes within 24 hours. The show's sponsors, franchise owner and fellow judges also voiced public disapproval of the incident.

Personal life

In May 2014, Moon married singer

in New York City. In May 2021, the couple lost their apartment along with all their belongings in a fire.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

Official websiteIsland Record artists page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Willy 1989 births 21st-century New Zealand male singers Living people New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Wellington City