Cover Drive | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Barbados |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2010–2018 |
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| Past members |
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| Website | wearecoverdrive |
Cover Drive were a four-piece Barbadian band consisting of Amanda Reifer, T-Ray Armstrong, Barry "Bar-Man" Hill and Jamar Harding. They have gained commercial success in theUnited Kingdom. They are best known for their 2012 single "Twilight", which peaked atop theUK singles chart.
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 anopening act duringRihanna'sLoud Tour.[1][2][3][4] The band were featured in upcoming promotions by the Barbados Tourism Authority, an international tourist-marketing agency of the Barbados government.[5][6] The group released their debut albumBajan Style on 7 May 2012 in theUnited Kingdom, peaking at number 14. "Lovesick Riddim" was announced as their lead single from their EP,Liming in Limbo on 13 December 2013.[7] The group's second and final albumFall Forward was released on 10 April 2017. The group later disbanded in 2018.
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The band formed in their native countryBarbados.[8] The band consisted of four members: Amanda, the lead singer; T-Ray, the drum/backing vocals; Barry "Bar Man" Hill, the keyboardist/guitarist; and Jamar, the bassist.[9] 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-Mon at college because they were in the same year.[10]
Cover Drive gained a lot of subscribers onYouTube with videos of them covering popular songs. In April 2011, the band signed a publishing deal withSony and a recording deal withPolydor Records.[11] After the band was signed they began writing and recording material for their debut album. Whilst in the studio, they met American producerJ. R. Rotem who produced their debut single, "Lick Ya Down", which was released on 28 August 2011. After receiving heavy airplay and support on both the Radio and Music channels in theUnited Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at number 9 on theUK Singles Chart and number 3 on theUK R&B Singles Chart.
They later released their second single "Twilight" on 22 January 2012, which was their first single to chart inIreland, debuting at number 40.[12] The song peaked at number 1 on the UKiTunes chart within hours of its release. The song was produced byQuiz & Larossi. On 29 January 2012, "Twilight" debuted at number 1 on the charts in theUnited Kingdom for the week ending 4 February 2012. On 8 March 2012, they announced "Sparks" as the third single from the album.[13] Sparks was released on 29 April and debuted and peaked at number 4 on theUK Singles Chart. Their debut album,Bajan Style, was released on 7 May 2012 and debuted on theUK Album Chart at number 14.[14] The fourth release fromBajan Style, "Explode" was re-worked with vocals from formerN-Dubz member,Dappy, and was released from the album on 26 August 2012, entering at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.[15]
The group also featured onFar East Movement's "Turn Up the Love", which was released on 21 June 2012. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. They toured withKelly Clarkson on the UK & Ireland leg of herStronger Tour.
A lyric video for a song called "All My Love" was uploaded to the band's officialYouTube channel on 14 February 2013. The music video was uploaded to YouTube on 1 March 2013.[16]
The band was featured in a May 2013 episode of theHGTV seriesHouse Hunters International as they searched Barbados for a house together as a band, preparing for their next album.[17]
A lyric video for their lead single off of their EP, called "Lovesick Riddim", was uploaded to the band's officialYouTube channel on 7 August 2013. The music video was uploaded to YouTube on 10 August 2013.[18] Their EP, titled "Liming in Limbo",was a taster of what was to come on their second album,Fall Forward.[19] The EP was released 13 December 2013.[20]
Cover Drive was misattributed as the artist for the formerLostwave song nicknamed “One Love”, which they later denied making it in a tweet. The song was actually a demo made by Kamille.[21]
Cover Drive released a song forCrop Over 2014 called "Dis Ain't Love". A lyric/music video was released via theirYouTube 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 theirYouTube account on 3 June. The music was uploaded on toVevo on 27 June. The song was released on 27 July (UK/Europe) and 29 July (rest of world).[22] The group released their long-awaited second studio album on 10 April 2017. The group disbanded in 2018. According to Reifer, she left the band because it was "not a healthy environment".[23]
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