Shannon Noll
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| Shannon Noll | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | September 16, 1975 |
| Origin | Orange, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genre(s) | Pop, Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG (2003–present) |
| Website | Official Website |
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Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Noll first came to prominence as runner-up of the first series of Australian Idol (2003) which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. Since Idol he has had more success than any other Idol contestant to date. He has gone on to release two number one, multi-platinum albums, That's What I'm Talking About and Lift and numerous top five singles including three number one debuts and an additional seven single releases reaching the top 10. Noll's style of music is pop-rock influenced by the likes of Bryan Adams.
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[edit] Early life
Noll grew up in the small town of Condobolin in central western New South Wales. He is the youngest of three children to parents Sharon and Neil Noll and along with brothers Damian and Adam, spent their entire childhood and teenage years on the family farm which ran sheep and cattle and grew cereal crops. At school, Noll enjoyed drama classes, performing in a number of school productions. For one of the plays Noll needed to grow a goatee which he has had ever since. Noll has since expressed a desire to continue his acting work.
During his adult years, Noll began working on other farms and properties shearing sheep amongst other tasks. It was during this time Noll and his brothers formed the band called "Cypress" (named for the fact that they rehearsed in a timber mill). Shannon provided vocals and played guitar. In numerous small gigs around the Australian outback, the band played in country pubs gaining a solid live reputation. Although they performed mainly covers, the group also wrote original music they would include as part of their set.
Father Neil was tragically killed during a farming accident in 2001, which left running the farm to Shannon and his brothers. After two years of extreme drought the brothers sold the farm and settled in Condobolin with their mother. Shannon often cites the death of his father as a major inspiration in his musical career, and penned a song on his latest album Lift titled "Now I Run" in memory of his father.
Noll and wife Rochelle Ogsten began their relationship in 1997. They have two sons Cody (2001) and Blake (2002). They wed in October 2004 and had a daughter, Sienna (2006).
[edit] Australian Idol
By 2003, Noll was in debt and out of work following the sale of the farm. His brothers encouraged him to travel to Sydney to audition for the 2003 debut season of "Australian Idol". Noll impressed the judges Mark Holden, Marcia Hines, and Ian Dickson with his audition in which he performed the Southern Sons' Hold Me In Your Arms. After his audition, Marcia Hines praised Shannon and told him that she had just discovered "a voice" and Ian Dickson informed Shannon that "...Australia will love you"
Following his initial audition, Noll made his way into the Top 32 semi-final where he performed a rendition of Robbie Williams' hit "Better Man". The viewing audience voted Noll into the Top 12. Over eight weeks of performance shows, Noll found himself in the bottom three only once – following his performance of Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" during The 80's theme night. Throughout the show, Noll impressed both the judges and audience with performances of songs as diverse as Powderfinger's "Already Gone", to The Beatles "Hey Jude" to Jimmy Barnes "Working Class Man".
During the 2003 Australian Idol series finals, Noll sang:
- Top 40 Semi-final - "Better Man" (Robbie Williams)
- Top 12 The 1970s - "Help Is On Its Way" (Little River Band)
- Top 10 #1 Hits - "What About Me" (Moving Pictures)
- Top 8 Australian Hits - "Already Gone" (Powderfinger)
- Top 6 The 1980s - "Livin' on a Prayer" (Bon Jovi)
- Up Close & Personal - "With or Without You" (U2)
- Top 5 R&B/Soul - "Higher and Higher" (Jackie Wilson)
- Top 5 R&B/Soul - "When A Man Loves A Woman" (Percy Sledge)
- Top 4 Big Band - "I've Got You Under My Skin" (Frank Sinatra)
- Top 4 Big Band - "New York, New York" (Frank Sinatra)
- Top 3 The 1960s - "One" (Harry Nilsson)
- Top 3 The 1960s - "Hey Jude" (The Beatles)
- Final 2 - "Please Forgive Me" (Bryan Adams)
- Final 2 - "Working Class Man" (Jimmy Barnes)
- Final 2 - "Angels Brought Me Here" (winners single)
In the weeks leading up to the Grand Final of Idol, Noll recorded his version of the winner's single "Angels Brought Me Here" and filmed the music video for the song, which was to be released the week after the winner was announced. Copies of Noll's version of the song were released to radio stations in anticipation of his win, however Nolls' version of the song was subsequently never aired on radio and the music video was never released for television broadcast.
In the week before the Grand Final, Noll and fellow finalist Guy Sebastian embarked on a whirlwind Australia-wide promotional tour. Tens of thousands of fans turned out in support, including 20,000 people in Adelaide and 15,000 in Melbourne.
Noll reached the Grand Final on November 19, 2003 alongside eventual winner Guy Sebastian. During the Grand Final show, Noll performed an encore performance of "What About Me", which helped cement the popularity of his version of the song and lead it to being chosen for release as his debut single.
[edit] 2003-2004: That's What I'm Talking About
Noll signed a multi-album deal with Sony BMG shortly after Australian Idol. It was announced in December 2004 that his debut single would be a cover of the Moving Pictures hit "What About Me" performed on Idol. Recording of the single took place during November/December 2004 at Eargasm Studios in Sydney and tracks were chosen and recorded for inclusion on Noll's debut album around the same time.
Shannon Noll's debut single "What About Me" was released on 25 January 2004 and debuted at number one on the ARIA singles chart the following week with sales exceeding 125,000 copies in its first week. At the time, these sales were the third highest one-week sales for a single in Australian chart history.[citation needed] The single earned Noll a nomination for Highest Selling Single at the 2004 ARIA Awards. Over its chart run, "What About Me" sold in excess of 300,000 copies and was certified 4x Platinum in March 2004.
Noll joined the other Australian Idol Top 12 finalists in January and February of 2004 on an arena tour which played to crowds in every Australian capital city. It was during these concerts that Noll premiered his upcoming single "Drive".
Following the success of "What About Me", Noll's full-length debut album That's What I'm Talking About was released on 9 February 2004 in Australia by Sony BMG. Containing a mixture of pop, rock and country tracks recorded over six weeks between December 2003 and January 2004, the album debuted at number one and was certified triple-platinum upon its release. By August 2004, the album was certified as a 5x Platinum seller and remained in the top 100 album charts for almost a year.
"Drive", an uptempo rock track written by Canadian singer Bryan Adams, was a successful second single from That's What I'm Talking About in March 2004. Noll undertook a large amount of promotion for the single including performances on television, including The NRL Footy Show and Sunrise. It reached the top five in Australia and was another Platinum seller. Noll later performed "Drive" at the 2004 TV Week Logie Awards ceremony.
[edit] Solo tour
Noll undertook his first full scale solo tour in May 2004 playing 40 shows in 47 days. Noll later stated in an interview that performing that number of shows in such a small amount of time was something he would never do again.[citation needed]
"Learn To Fly" was the third and final commercial release from That's What I'm Talking About. A limited edition release of 40,000 copies, the single was another success for Noll, debuting at the number one position on the ARIA singles chart on July 12, 2004. A mistake with ARIA sales figures occurred when it was announced that fellow Australian Idol contestant Paulini's debut single "Angel Eyes" had in fact debuted at the top of the singles chart and not Noll. It was later found that a multiple purchase of Paulini's single helped gain her the number one position and as such these sales were disqualified, leaving Noll with his second number one debut.
Increased popularity during this period saw him star in his own one-hour TV special on the Ten Network, Up Close with Shannon Noll, hosted by Australian Idol judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson, screened on 2 August 2004. During the show, Noll spoke candidly about his past and touched on topics including his experiences with drugs and the death of his father. Noll also performed several songs during the special, including "Learn to Fly" which he dedicated to his father, and a duet with Australian Idol judge Marcia Hines. The special rated reasonably well, with over one million viewers tuning in.
In October 2004, Noll achieved overseas success when his single "What About Me" reached number two in Ireland. High demand for the single meant the first shipment sold out within the first week. Also in October 2004, the Nine Network approached Noll to re-record the World Series Cricket song "C'mon Aussie C'mon" with updated lyrics with names of the current Australian cricket team, for release on 19 December 2004. The single peaked at number two on the ARIA singles chart, raising more than $A150,000 for children's charities.
In December 2004 it was announced that Noll would star in the stage musical production of Grease, which appeared in Australian theatres in May 2005, however, Noll opted out to concentrate on the recording of his second album release, Lift.
[edit] 2005-2006: Lift
In early 2005, Noll embarked on a songwriting trip in which he travelled to London, UK, and across America. It was reported early on in the process that Noll had met with hitmaking songwriters Desmond Child, responsible for writing hit songs for Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, and powerballad writer Dianne Warren. Noll later explained that whilst he appreciated the opportunity to work with big name international songwriters, he felt the material being written by local Australian songwriters was more connected to the type of album he wanted to create at the time and that they were the stronger songs.
During his time in America in early 2005, Noll played a handful of small "showcase" style gigs both for Sony BMG executives and the general public. Following the trip, Noll returned to Australia to complete the writing and recording of Lift.
Noll was asked by Canadian artist Bryan Adams to support him on Adams' Australian tour throughout February and March of 2005. It was during these concerts that Noll premiered two songs he had written for his new album, Lonely and the unreleased The Winner Takes It All.
On 25 August 2005, the first single from his second album Lift, entitled Shine was released to Australian radio. The track premiered simultaneously Australia wide and quickly became one of the most requested songs. The uptempo bouncing pop-rock track moved away from Noll's prior releases and it was commented that Noll's voice and vocal technique had improved since his last recording. Shine was released as the first single from the album Lift on 23 September 2005, and debuted at number one on the ARIA singles chart the following week. Shine was later nominated as Highest Selling Single at the 2005 ARIA Awards.
A week after the release of Shine, Noll's second album Lift was released on 16 October 2005, and debuted at number one on the ARIA charts the following week. First week shipment and sales of Lift ensured the album a platinum certification. The album, with 11 out of 13 tracks co-written by Noll, contained some of Noll's most personal songs to date, ranging in topic from finding love to death, overcoming the odds and self belief. Highlight tracks were third and fourth singles Now I Run and Lonely.
Noll made a special guest appearance at the final of the 2005 season of Australian Idol, where he performed his new single Lift. After the performance, Noll was presented a plaque in honour of sales exceeding one million units in Australia over the previous 18 months.
The title track of Noll's second album, Lift, was released in December 2005. The single was Noll's first not to debut in the top ten, however two weeks after its release, it jumped to number ten, remaining there for several weeks. The track, an uplifting rock influenced song about overcoming the odds and fighting adversity, achieved a gold certification. Lift spent 35 weeks in the top 100 singles chart, the longest running chart single for an Australian Idol related release. Lift is the theme song of the Australian version of The Biggest Loser.
In January 2006, Noll performed the song Shine at the 2006 Australian Open tennis final. The performance sparked renewed interest in the Lift album which returned to the top ten. It was reported that men's finalist Roger Federer commented that the song was "inspirational"[citation needed].
In support of the album's third single release, Now I Run, Noll embarked on a 72-date concert tour across Australia including a gig during the annual Gympie Muster. Once again he focused on some of the more remote and isolated country and rural areas during this tour, one of the few Australian touring acts to do so, and at completion of the tour had played to more than 200,000 people.
In 2006, Noll was courted for a role in an Australian movie based loosely on the life of now-deceased Australian racing legend Peter Brock, but he declined, preferring to focus on his music.
Noll released a further two singles from Lift, Now I Run and Lonely. Both singles were top 10 hits, increasing his run of top 10 successes to eight. With the release of Lonely, Noll rewrote Australian chart history by having so far achieved nine consecutive top 10 singles (10 including his contribution to the #1 hit Rise Up with the Australian Idol Final 12, 2003). To the end of 2006, Noll has been the only former Australian Idol contestant to have ever been nominated for a music industry-voted award by ARIA. As of January 2007, the Lift album remains in the Top 100 ARIA album chart after 64 weeks. It has now charted over a three year period from 2005–2007.
In September 2006, Noll decided not to continue with his managers since his first album, Sydney firm Caplice Management, and signed with Worldwide Entertainment Group. The decision was seen as a positive move in Noll's desire to gain success in America. Worldwise Entertainment Group's press release stated that Noll is a "high priority artist" for them and that an extensive promotional and songwriting trip was organised for America in early 2007.
Noll was chosen as support act for American rock group Live in October 2006, playing each capital city across Australia. Including the tour with Live, Noll has now performed in excess of 300 concerts in the last two and a half years.
On 9 December 2006, Noll released a duet with Rogue Traders singer Natalie Bassingthwaithe. It is a cover of the Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush hit Don't Give Up. The single was yet another success for Noll, peaking at number two on the ARIA singles charts and being certified Platinum with 12 consecutive weeks in the top 10. Proceeds from the single went to the charity "Beyond Blue", which deals with depression.
With the debut of Don't Give Up, Noll set a new Australian record with being the only Australian male singer to achieve 10 successive top 10 singles (not including his contribution to ensemble release Rise Up)
[edit] 2007: Turn It Up
Noll spent several months in early 2007 travelling to America to write songs for his upcoming third album. During Noll's "Now I Run" tour in mid 2006, he premiered a new composition entitled "The World Outside" which may find a place on his next album.
It was reported that Noll would be spending time in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles collaborating with US writers Jon Ingoldsby, Desmond Child, Richie Sambora, and Richard Marx on tracks for possible inclusion on his third album, which has been slated for release in September 2007.
28 February brought nomination for the third consecutive time as "Best Male Artist" at the Australian Video Music Awards (AVMAs), an award he won for the previous two years. Noll performed his hit singles "Shine" and "Don't Give Up" at the opening ceremony of the FINA World Swimming Championships, in Melbourne, Victoria. Noll was the lead act at a a large-scale annual public function held on the Queensland Gold Coast.
Noll appeared as Parson Nathaniel in the live stage performance of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, which toured successfully in the UK and throughout Europe.
The first single from Noll's third album Turn It Up was a track called "Loud". A one-minute teaser of the track premiered on the website for the Daily Telegraph. The single included the previously unreleased track "The World Outside". Turn It Up was released on September 15, 2007.
On September 21, it was confirmed by Noll that his second single from Turn It Up will be "In Pieces". Shannon states, "this song is such a strong ballad and has a personal message for me. I think many people will be able to relate to the message in it."[cite this quote] Release dates in November are expected.
Noll performed as part of the National Rugby League season 2007 Grand Final's pre-match entertainment. He was awarded Best Male in the Australian Nickelodean Kid's Choice Awards. And the album Turn It Up received Gold sales status.
[edit] 2008
In January 2008, Noll stated on radio show Take 40 that the third single from the album would be "Everybody Needs a Little Help". Promoted on television, itt would be released to radio in 2008.
[edit] Controversies
In 2006, Noll challenged comedian Wil Anderson to a charity boxing match after Anderson made jokes about Shannon's late father Neil Noll at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Although $A50,000 had been pledged to charity if the match went ahead, Anderson refused, prompting Noll to jibe: "Reach down in your trousers and see if there's a bit of manhood there. If you're lucky enough to find it, then stand up and be counted", to which Anderson replied: "The last thing this country (Australia) needs is a singing version of Anthony Mundine." Anderson eventually donated $A2,000 to a charity of Noll's choice, a sum of money which was matched and also donated by Noll. In 2008, Shannon and Wil finally sorted things out during a radio interview on Triple M.
In 2008 Noll issued an apology to fans over a drunken performance at "CMC Rocks The Snowy" festival at the Thredbo ski resort, saying “There is nothing more important to me than performing live, and I have always prided myself on giving 100 per cent to my fans.”
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 2004: That's What I'm Talking About
- 2005: Lift
- 2007: Turn It Up
[edit] Top five singles
| Year | Song[1] | AUS | IRE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "What About Me" | 1 | 2 |
| "Learn to Fly" | 1 | - | |
| "C'mon Aussie C'mon" | 2 | - | |
| 2005 | "Shine" | 1 | - |
| 2006 | "Don't Give Up" (with Natalie Bassingthwaighte) |
2 | - |
| 2007 | "Loud" | 3 | - |
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 2004: Nominated - Highest Selling Single - "What About Me"
- 2004: Nominated - Highest Selling Album - "That's What I'm Talking About"
- 2006: Nominated - Highest Selling Single - "Shine"
- 2006: Nominated - Best Pop Release - "Lift"
ARIA #1 Chart Awards
- 2004: Won - #1 Album - "That's What I'm Talking About"
- 2004: Won - #1 Single - "What About Me"
- 2004: Won - #1 Single - "Learn To Fly"
- 2005: Won - #1 Album - "Lift"
- 2005: Won - #1 Single - "Shine"
MTV Australian Video Music Awards (AVMAs)
- 2005: Won - Best Male Artist
- 2005: Nominated - Video of the Year - "Drive"
- 2006: Won - Best Male Artist
- 2005: Nominated - People's Choice - "Shine"
- 2007: Won - Best Male Artist
APRA Awards
- 2007: Won - Most Played Australian Work - "Lift"
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards
- 2004: Won - Favourite Australian
- 2004: Won - Favourite Song - "Drive"
- 2007: Won - Best Male Artist
[edit] References
- ^ Music Square - Peak Positions. Retrieved on September 10, 2006.
[edit] External links
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