| Conrad Sewell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sewell in 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Conrad Ignatius Mario Maximilian Sewell |
| Born | (1988-03-31)31 March 1988 (age 37) Brisbane,Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Sony Music |
| Formerly of | Sons of Midnight |
| Website | conradofficial |
Conrad Ignatius Mario Maximilian Sewell (born 31 March 1988) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He is best known for his vocals onKygo's single "Firestone" and his number-one single "Start Again".
At theARIA Music Awards of 2015, he wonSong of the Year for "Start Again" and was nominated in two other categories:Breakthrough Artist andBest Pop Release. His debut studio albumLife was released in May 2019.
Growing up in Brisbane, Sewell started pursuing a music career from a young age, sending around demos since he was 8 years old.[1] He later tried his luck with short-lived rock band Sons of Midnight.[2] He is the brother of Australian pop singerGrace. In 2004, Sewell auditioned forseason 2 ofAustralian Idol, but he did not initially pass the audition stage, needing to travel to a different state and re-auditioning before making it into the Top 100 singers for that season.[clarification needed][1] In 2006, he moved to the United Kingdom.[1]
Sewell comes from a family of musicians; his grandparents toured with theBee Gees and the Gibb Brothers. His sister Grace is a singer best known for her version of the 1963Lesley Gore song "You Don't Own Me", which hit number one on the ARIA Charts in May 2015. When "Start Again" hit number one on the ARIA Charts in June 2015, Conrad and Grace became the first Australian-born siblings in the history of the charts to hit number one as separate acts.
In 2007, Sewell and guitarist Matthew Copley formed a pop rock group called The Frets, who were later joined by three more members before changing their name to Sons of Midnight. The band released their debut single "The Fire" in 2012, achieving moderate success. The song currently has over 3.3 million plays on Spotify. The band released their debut self-titled album in 2013, but disappeared from the public shortly before the planned release of their second album.[3]
In 2014 Sewell wrote and featured onKygo's hit, "Firestone". The single was a top five hit across Europe.[4][5] His debut single "Hold Me Up" was written and produced byBrian Lee, The Euroz and Louis Bell. On 2 March 2015, Sewell announced his opening slot onEd Sheeran's Australian tour via a video posted on his Facebook page. He joined Sheeran on 13 dates throughout Australia.[6] On 12 June 2015, Live Nation confirmed that Sewell would joinMaroon 5 on theMaroon V Tour in September as well as posting several tour dates.[7] Sewell supportedJess Glynne on her "Ain't Got Far to Go" UK tour in October and November 2015. In October, Sewell announced that his debut extended play,All I Know would be released on 13 November 2015.[8] He also posted various Australian and New Zealand tour dates throughout November.[9] In March 2015, he was picked asElvis Duran'sArtist of the Month and was featured on American TV networkNBC'sToday show hosted byKathy Lee Gifford andHoda Kotb and broadcast nationally across the United States where he performed live his single "Start Again". In November 2015, at theARIA Music Awards of 2015, Sewell wonSong of the Year for "Start Again".[10] In February 2016, Sewell released "Remind Me" as the final single fromAll I Know. The following month,Coca-Cola released a song and video for their new campaign, "Taste the Feeling". It features Sewell's vocals and production fromAvicii.[11]
In May 2018, Sewell announced he had signed withSony Music Australia. In a statement, AO, chairman and CEO of SonyDenis Handlin said, "Conrad Sewell is an incredibly talented artist and I am thrilled to welcome him to the Sony Music family. This exciting next phase of his career will see him reach new heights and we are honoured to be a part of it."[12][13]
On 18 May 2018, Sewell released theGhosts & Heartaches EP, containing "Come Clean" and "Healing Hands".[14] In February 2019, Sewell announced the release of his debut studio albumLife which was released on 17 May 2019[15] and debuted at number 1 on theARIA Charts. Sewell had performed the Australian national anthem at the2019 AFL Grand Final.
On 9 September 2022, Sewell released "God Save the Queen"; the first new music from Sewell since 2019. The single described as "high-octane rock and roll, and a riot of energy."[16] That month, he performed as a support act for Irish bandThe Script on their Australian tour.[17] On 14 October 2022, Sewell released "Make Me a Believer", a proclamation of unwavering devotion from the singer-songwriter. In October 2022, Sewell announced three headline East Coast shows in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne throughout November and December as well as the title of his second studio album,Precious, released in March 2023.[18]
In 2023, Sewell competed as Bouncer on thefifth season ofThe Masked Singer Australia. He placed third, behindDarren Hayes andDami Im.[19]
Sewell comes from a largeCatholic family and wasconfirmed in 2005, shortly after his success onAustralian Idol.[20][21]
"Pop singer Conrad Sewell was on the cusp of global stardom when his life unravelled due to drug and alcohol addiction."[22] -ABC News (Australia)
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [23] | ||
| Life |
| 1 |
| Precious |
| 67 |
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [23] | ||
| All I Know |
| 9 |
| Ghosts & Heartaches |
| —[A] |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [23] | AUT [27] | FRA [28] | GER [29] | SWE [30] | ||||||||||
| "Hold Me Up" | 2015 | 39 | — | — | — | —[B] | All I Know | |||||||
| "Start Again" | 1 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Who You Lovin" | 17 | — | — | — | — |
| ||||||||
| "Remind Me"[34] | 2016 | 22 | — | — | — | — |
| |||||||
| "Taste the Feeling" (withAvicii) | — | 17 | 136 | 53 | 60 | Non-album single | ||||||||
| "Healing Hands" | 2018 | 7 | — | — | — | — |
| Life | ||||||
| "Changing" | 91 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Love Me Anyway"[37] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Life"[38] | —[C] | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Big World"[40] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "God Save the Queen"[16] | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | Precious | |||||||
| "Make Me a Believer"[41] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Caroline"[42] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Rolling Thunder"[43][44] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Ferris Wheel"[45] | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "All Life Long"[46] | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||
| "Different Kind of Love"[47] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [23] | AUT [27] | FRA [28] | GER [29] | NL [48] | NOR [49] | SWE [30] | SWI [50] | UK [51] | US [52] | |||||
| "Firestone" (Kygo featuring Conrad Sewell) | 2014 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 92 | Cloud Nine | ||
| "Braver Love"[60] (Arty featuring Conrad Sewell) | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Glorious | ||
| "Little Love"[61] (Kilian & Jo featuring Conrad Sewell) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "Secrets"[62] (Cid featuring Conrad Sewell) | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Sex, Love & Water"[63] (Armin van Buuren featuring Conrad Sewell) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | Balance | ||
| "Who Am I"[64] (Enzo Ingrosso featuring Conrad Sewell) | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Kingdom"[65] (ARTY featuring Conrad Sewell) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
TheAPRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by theAustralasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "Healing Hands" | Pop Work of the Year | Nominated |
TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music. Sewell had one win from 4 nominations.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Start Again" | Best Pop Release | Nominated | [67] |
| Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | Won | |||
| 2018 | "Healing Hands" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
TheQueensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebratingQueensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.[68]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result(wins only) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Life | Highest Selling Album | Won | [69] |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
