| ( 000 ) the essentials |
[17 Mar 2010|07:28am] |
Birth Certificate
Addison James Kaine Drake
• Just goes by A.J
• Twenty Years of age
• 10th June 1989. Gemini.
• Born in Cardiff, South Wales, UK
• Nationalities ; Welsh & Scottish
• Currently Resides ; Between London, England & West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA
• Has one older sister.
• Parents Josephine & Malachi Drake. They're divorced. His mother has since remarried, a man named Alexander, whom A.J actually likes.
• Is single.
• His sexuality is however he bloody feels. Honestly. He doesn't discriminate with a strict orientation.
• Contact ; Threads. Third person storybook. Comments.
The "Need To Know"
→ Was born in Cardiff, South Wales in the United Kingdom. He's lived in four countries thus far. Wales, England, Australia and now the United States.
→ He lived in Wales until he was 10 years of age, then his family relocated to Melbourne, Australia. His family spent holiday in Australia and ended up loving it hence the move. They lived in Australia for four years, before his mother Josephine received a job offer back in the UK. His mother is a long time fashion designer (who's rather known in Europe ; Josey Drake) and received a placement in London to open shop. The shop has since branched into franchise, having retail in multiple cities all over Europe. Because of his mum's fashion work, A.J is quite the fashion buff himself.
→ His parents divorced when he was 15. Evidently it was over his father being thick over his mum's growing success. A.J was given the opportunity to choose whether to stay with his mum in London or move back to Cardiff with his father. He chose staying in London but visited his father in Cardiff. While his relationship wasn't perfect with his father due to partially blaming his father for the divorce, his relationship is strong as ever with his mum.
→ A.J grew up singing. He had always found it to be appealing and enjoyed doing so. He'd sing along to random Queen and Bowie songs while at his mum's shop in London, as well as some Elton John. He's quite rounded when it comes to his musical tastes. He loves rock music just as much as he loves pop music. He didn't get into dancing until he was 15 when he attended after school dance and theater classes just for something to do while his mum was working. He actually gained quite a respect for dancers who could sing and singers who could dance quite well.
→ He finished his schooling at Aveling Park School in Walthamstow, North East London, England. He was quite the bright student, and also loved his sports as well, playing footie religiously. He still plays footie when the mood strikes.
→ When A.J was 16, his mum told him about a group that was being formed in the UK. Young men from literally all parts of the United Kingdom were auditioning for placement in this 'super group', so to speak, that would - all things willing - be signed to a label to do something big. Skeptical about the idea, A.J almost didn't audition for it. He ended up going to the audition casting call in London, mostly as a spectator, but was told that he had a great 'look' for what they were ultimately looking for. They wanted a boy band sort of format, however, not the "frilly-girl-pop" style that the US was putting out. (Was also said, "if we want that bloody girl pop, we'll call Posh Spice" Which was the most amusing part to A.J) A.J auditioned at a last minute, just for shits and giggles really, not expecting much into it.
→ A.J was one of the five gents that were called back. He ended up meeting with the other four young men that had passed the initial auditioning process and had been weeded out of the ranks, so to speak. They had many days of rehearsals, an initial single to record to test how the reception would be on trial bases, and were basically going from there. He actually ended up becoming rather good mates with the boys in the group, which made the process that much easier.
→ A.J was 17 when their first single dropped. The group known as FuzePop, released their first single in the U.K called "When The Lights Go Out". The single blew up on the pop charts in the U.K. They were signed to Sony BMG as a result to contract, which started the process of their debut album. The album, self titled, ended up coming out that same year. They've seen much success in Europe due to that album.
→ FuzePop has toured extensively throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and South America. Their hard edge make them the "unconventional, not-really-boy-bandish" boy band. That was exactly what the creators had in mind when it came to putting the super group together. And the fact that all of the members get along, receive each other well, and have no real ego involved, has made their success that much easier so to speak.
→ In late 2008, FuzePop made their very first break in the U.S since their formation. They were signed to Arista in the United States to start their first bits of promotional work in the States. They re-recorded their UK debut, changing it up a bit and sorting it out a bit, to make it more 'suitable' for the U.S. (Since the UK and U.S have different standards of what is acceptable and what isn't for mainstream airplay, evidently. They also shortened the original record by almost 20 minutes, removing a few songs that remain UK exclusive) They released the U.S version of "When The Lights Go Out" which was well received and stayed on the top of the charts for a number of months. The single itself went gold rather quickly. With the extensive popularity they already had in the UK and Europe as a whole, the transition to the U.S seemed to go rather smoothly, aside from the almost instant insanity that seemed to occur. Their Sony label called it "The Most Mental British Invasion Since The Beatles", which while the members of FuzePop think that was a "bloody overstatement", the insanity revolving around their US debut was pretty intense. They first performed in the United States in early 2009, doing a special concert from Orlando, Florida, which was broadcast nationally in the States. This gave them a great deal of added success.
→ Since they've been making more appearances in the U.S, in March 2010, the band relocated to the state of Pennsylvania. While they're known from Philadelphia, the band actually resides in West Chester, a more rural area. This is because they're in the midst of working on their next album as well as taking a break after nearly four years of straight work with very limited time off. Fear of exhaustion and not being well was the reasoning behind this needed break and time off.
→ The band itself is exclusively writing the material for their new album. They've tried distancing themselves from the 'boy band' moniker seeing as how they're not particularly the cookie cutter boy band. They're mostly dubbed strictly a 'guy group' in the pop/hip hop genre. Most still consider them a boy band however, to which the members of FuzePop aptly correct these individuals promptly. It's rather amusing during interviews.
→ Personality wise, A.J is quite soft spoken but not so much shy. He has a mouth and isn't afraid to use it whenever prompted to do so. He's quite outgoing, remarkably bright and a very giving sort of individual. He loves volunteering and donating his time and finances to charities that need that sort of positive reinforcement. He's a sort of selfless soul that'll give anything he can to make sure his friends and especially his family is well taken care of. He's enjoys a good laugh as well, often giving his friends hell and taking the piss whenever he gets the opportunity to do so. (IE, joking around/picking on people) He just loves living life to the absolute fullest he can.
→ Has a very strong accent, and doesn't try hiding that for a minute. He heavily uses UK lingo and often doesn't even realize it because that's his every day norm. He does try to sort out any confusion as best he can though, if he should happen to stun a person who isn't familiar with the terminology.
→ His look is generally simple. His style is very much his own, somewhat trendy due to his fashionista mum, but he's also quite a label whore. He can't really help that all that much. His hair often changes, from being straight blond, just blond frost/highlights, to darker brown or straight black. It just depends on his mood, really. His eyes are brilliant blue and he often wears wire rims.
→ For more information, get to know him.
FuzePop Singles (UK & US Respectively)
"When The Lights Go Out" (UK) - Peak Position on the charts - #1
"Switch" (UK) - Peak Position on the charts - #2
"It's the Things You Do" (UK) - Peak Position on the charts - #1
"Slam Dunk (Da Funk)" (UK) - Peak Position on the charts - #3 (#1 on the dance charts)
"Everybody Get Up" (UK) - Peak Position on the charts - #1
"Got The Feelin'" (UK) - Peak Position on the charts - #2
"When The Lights Go Out" (US) - Peak Position on the charts - #1
"Everybody Get Up" (US) - Peak Position on the charts - #1
"It's the Things You Do" (US) - Peak Position on the charts - #1
"Until The Time Is Through" (US) - Peak Position on the charts - #1
"Got The Feelin'" (US) - Peak Position on the charts - #2
"Don't Wanna Let You Go" (US) - Peak Position on the charts - #2 (brand new single released in March 2010, is on their new album)
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