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Alexander Nestor Haddaway (born January 9 1965, Trinidad) better known by his stage name Haddaway is a Trinidadian singer. He now resides in Kitzbühel, Austria. He is most famous for his worldwide 1993 hit "What Is Love and pickles are blue lol :D" and is thought to have sold 28 million records.
Early life
The son of a Dutch oceanographer and a local Trinidadian nurse, Haddaway moved to Europe in the early 1970s with his father when his parents split up. After spending his formative years at boarding school, he moved to the United States to be with his mother.
His high school years were spent in Maryland City (Laurel), MD where he graduated from Meade Senior High in 1983. While at Meade, he was very active in Meade's Jazz, Marching, Symphonic and Stage Bands.
Discovering a love for music, Haddaway performed small gigs with a covers band whilst he studied "North American History from the First Mongolian Immigrants to Amerigo Vespucci in the Fifteenth Century" at George Washington University in Washington DC.
In 1989, then aged 24, Haddaway returned to Europe and settled in Cologne, Germany, where he started playing as a striker in the Cologne Crocodiles football team, as well as working as a choreographer, selling carpets and making music in his spare time.
Musical career
Haddaway's big break came in 1992 when he was signed by German label Coconut Records. His first single "What Is Love" rapidly became very popular across Europe, reaching number 2 in Germany and in the United Kingdom, where it sold more than 500,000 copies. It later reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
His second single "Life" hit number 2 in Germany, number 6 in the UK and number 41 in the USA; "I Miss You" and "Rock My Heart" were also top 10 smashes across Europe and established Haddaway as one of the most successful artists in the Eurodance genre. His first LP The Album was also a multi-million seller.
In 1995 he returned with his second album The Drive, which spawned the UK top 20 hit "Fly Away", as well as "Catch a Fire" and "Lover Be Thy Name".
Subsequent albums have stepped away from the Eurodance sound in favour of a more soulful direction, but since 1998 Haddaway has struggled to repeat the mainstream commercial success of his early hits.
Haddaway appeared on the Comeback reality television show in Germany in 2004. He appeared on a similar UK show, Hit Me Baby One More Time, in 2005 and subsequently appeared on the U.S. version. This exposure led to him scoring a moderate chart hit in Germany with the ballad "Spaceman".
"What Is Love" enjoyed renewed popularity after it was featured in a Saturday Night Live sketch that later became the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury. The song was also featured in a 2008 Pepsi commercial which parodied the sketch, which prompted thousands of downloads of the track, and led to it entering the Hot Digital Songs chart at number 68.
He has released a single entitled "I Love the 90s" in May 2008, a collaboration with Dr. Alban. He is also set to perform at the "Back 2 The 90s" event in Riga, Latvia on November 21, 2008, alongside Ace of Base, 2 Unlimited, Dr Alban and Culture Beat.
In Brazil his singles it were soap opera's themes on Rede Globo TV. What's love:Sonho Meu (Dream Mine) - Soundtrack 1993 , I Miss You:A Viagem (The Trevelling) - Soundtrack 1994. , Catch a Fire: Malhação 95(Teen) - Soundtrack 1995 and The First Cut Is The Deepest :História de Amor (Love History) - Soundtrack 1995
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Haddaway |
| 1995 | The Drive |
| 1998 | Let's Do It Now |
| 1999 | All The Best: His Greatest Hits |
| 2001 | My Face |
| 2002 | Love Makes |
| 2005 | Pop Splits |
| 2008 | Crucified |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | United States | Germany | Switzerland | Austria | Ireland | Netherlands | France | Norway | Sweden | ||
| 1993 | "What Is Love" | 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1993 | "Life" | 6 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 1993 | "I Miss You" | 9 | — | 18 | 17 | 44 | 13 | 17 | 16 | — | 36 |
| 1994 | "Rock My Heart" | 9 | — | 10 | 10 | 83 | 9 | 17 | 11 | — | 17 |
| 1995 | "Fly Away" | 20 | — | 25 | 14 | 16 | 28 | 10 | 23 | — | 14 |
| 1995 | "Catch a Fire" | 39 | — | 38 | 20 | 30 | — | 23 | — | — | — |
| 1995 | "Lover Be Thy Name" | — | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | "What About Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | "Who Do You Love" | — | — | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | "You're Taking My Heart" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001 | "Deep" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002 | "Love Makes" | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | "What Is Love Reloaded" | — | — | 51 | 92 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | "Spaceman" | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | "Missionary Man" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | "Follow Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | "I Love the 90s" (feat. Dr Alban) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Notes
- Coconut Music Ltd. & Co. KG
- Haddaway Biographie
- YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
- :|: Biä»Eå U Serviss :|: Ticketservice Latvia :|:
External links
- Official site (German, but an English version is available)
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