Fefe Dobson
Fefe Dobson Live
Background information
Birth name	Felicia Lynn Dobson
Born	February 28, 1985 (1985-02-28) (age 23)
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s)	Pop punk Rock Pop
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	Island Def Jam (2003–2006) Universal Music Canada (2003–present)

Felicia Lynn "Fefe" Dobson (born February 28, 1985) is a Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength Image:Toronto, Ontario Location. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Pop punk is used for two separate subgenres of punk rock music: the kind typically found on Lookout! Records, which stray very little from the three-chord formula that The Ramones pioneered, as well as a newer subgenre of melodic, more emotional punk, which includes by bands like NOFX and... This article is about the genre. ... This article is about the genre of popular music. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Island Records is a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. ... Universal Music Group (UMG) is the largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... For other uses, see Pop rock (disambiguation). ...

Early life

Felicia Lynn Dobson was born on February 28, 1985, in Scarborough, Ontario. Fefe Dobson is biracial. Her mother is of Irish, Dutch and English ancestry, while her father is of Jamaican heritage^[1] Dobson has three siblings, two younger brothers, and an older sister, and a boyfriend, Canadian actor Michael Seater. Often at school Dobson and her older sister Tanya were picked on because of unnatural feet color. Although her real name is Felicia, she has always been called Fefe. Her father left the family when she was young, and she only saw him periodically. She eventually stopped seeing and talking to him when she turned 13. After a brief stint in the Quad City DJ's she began to craft her debut album. Her anger is expressed in her song "Unforgiven". Dobson went to a performing arts community center when she was young. In the fifth grade, she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at her school. "After that, I felt a spiritual connection with Judy Garland," she said. She has also said that her biggest musical inspiration growing up was Michael Jackson, "I swore I was Michael Jackson. Then I found out I wasn't Michael Jackson and it broke my heart."^[2] is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The Dutch (Ethnonym: Nederlanders meaning Lowlanders) are the dominant ethnic group[1] of the Netherlands[2]. They are usually seen as a Germanic people. ... This article is about the English as an ethnic group and nation. ... Michael Bruce Patrick Seater (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian actor. ... The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 stage play based on the book by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900. ... Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was an Academy Award-nominated American film actress and singer, best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). ... For other persons named Michael Jackson, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation). ...

When she was 11, her mother had given her a karaoke machine for her birthday. After she learned how to use the machine, she made a demo tape of 24 songs by such artists as Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Selena, and Madonna. She began sending the demo tape to record labels, but with little success. By this time Dobson had also begun writing her own songs. This article is about the singer. ... This article is about the singer. ... For the movie based on the life of the singer, see Selena (film). ... This article is about the American entertainer. ...

She went to Wexford Collegiate Institute, a high school in Scarborough known for its performing arts program. She still kept looking for a record company that would make a record deal with her. Before signing with Universal Music Canada and Island Records, Fefe Dobson considered signing to her first record deal years earlier. Wexford Collegiate Institute Website Wexford Collegiate Institute, soon to be renamed Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, is a public secondary school located in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. ... Universal Music Group (UMG), formerly MCA Music Entertainment (see Music Corporation of America), is the largest major label in the record industry. ... Island Records is a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. ...

In the year 2000 she was discovered by Jive Records and they signed her immediately. The record label wanted to give her a traditional pop star image. Dobson, however, wanted more guitar and to include some of her own written songs. Jive rejected the idea, so she left the record company. She found herself singing in a Toronto bar at 8:30 in the morning. It turned out a CEO at The Island Def Jam Music Group was in the bar that very morning. He wanted to sign her. They signed her up on the wrong lyrics. She sang her song "Stupid Little Love Song" and what the people thought she sang was "Stupid Little Buzz Saw" which they thought was "genius". She met producer Jay Levine through Island Records and they began working on her music. “He just really let me be free. He found something in me that he really thought was special, it was just fate”. When in the recording studio, she hung up inspirational pictures of Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Coldplay, Jeff Buckley and the Vines to help motivate her sound and to commemorate the artists who influenced her.^[3] Jive Records is an American record label, owned by Sony BMG, and operates as a quarter of the Zomba Label Group. ... For other record labels with the Island name, see Island Records (disambiguation) The Island Def Jam Music Group is a record label group formed in 1999, when Universal Music Group merged together its two companies, Island Records and Def Jam Recordings, to create a super label. ... Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. ... Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was an Academy Award-nominated American film actress and singer, best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). ... Coldplay are an alternative rock band formed in London, England in 1997. ... Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scotty Moorhead,[1] was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... The Vines are an Australian garage rock band notable for producing a raw musical hybrid of 60s rock and 90s alternative music. ...

With Island Records

Dobson's first album, Fefe Dobson, was released on December 9, 2003 by Island Records which has sold 304,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Her first two singles, "Bye Bye Boyfriend" and "Take Me Away", were released well before that date. The second single, "Take Me Away", received more radio airplay than "Bye Bye Boyfriend" in the United States. Fefe Dobson is the eponymous debut album of Canadian singer-songwriter Fefe Dobson. ... See also: 2003 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2003 Record labels established in 2003 // January - following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It... Island Records is a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. ...

Dobson joined the Camplified Tour, along with Skye Sweetnam. She also appeared on the soundtracks for Raising Helen (If You Walk Away) and The Perfect Score (Everything). Skye Alexandra Sweetnam (born May 5, 1988) is a Canadian singer/songwriter. ... Raising Helen is a 2004 American comedy/drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

During much of 2004, Dobson did a lot of promotion for her debut album, appearing for a live performance on TRL, and numerous magazine covers and articles. She was asked to open for Justin Timberlake for his European tour. In July 2004, she released a single, "Don't Go (Girls and Boys)", which was also featured in a Tommy Hilfiger commercial starring the singer. Her album was later reissued with the single added. Dobson received considerable attention throughout 2004, appearing, for instance, as a spokesperson for the Got Milk? ad campaign. See also: 2004 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2004 Record labels established in 2004 2000s in music. ... Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981[1]), sometimes known as JT, is an American pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Thomas Jacob Hilfiger (born March 24, 1951 in Elmira, New York) is a world-famous American fashion designer and creator of the eponymous Tommy Hilfiger and Tommy brands. ... Got Milk? is an American advertising campaign encouraging the purchase of cows milk, which was created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993 and later licensed for use by milk processors and dairy farmers. ...

As 2005 rolled around, Dobson recorded a song, titled "Truth Anthem", on the Much Dance 2005 CD, where the profits would benefit the Canadian branch of the charitable organization War Child. In April 2005, Dobson was nominated for two Juno Awards, one for album of the year and the other, Fan Choice Award; both categories were won by Avril Lavigne that year. In the summer of 2005, Dobson was in a public service ad called "Make Poverty History" which brings awareness to child poverty worldwide. Dobson is devoted to this campaign, due in part to her having grown up in a poor family. // January 1 - In most of Europe, copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier, including Bill Haleys Rock Around the Clock, and Only You by The Platters. ... For other uses of the name War Child, see the disambiguation page. ... The Juno Awards are awards of achievement presented to Canadian musical artists and bands. ...

By 2006, Dobson had returned to the studio to add some finishing touches to her second album Sunday Love. During the recording process, early in the studio, she collaborated with many of the music industry's legends such as Nina Gordon, Kay Hanley, Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5, Billy Steinberg, Matthew Wilder, Cyndi Lauper, Courtney Love, Joan Jett, and Rancid's Tim Armstrong. Alternate Cover The original cover for Sunday Love Sunday Love is Fefe Dobsons second album. ... Nina Gordon (full name Nina Rachel Shapiro Gordon) was born November 14, 1967 and is an American rock singer. ... Kay Hanley (born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on September 11, 1968) is an alternative rock musician. ... This article is about the person. ... // John 5 was born John Lowery in Grosse Point Michigan USA, on July [31st 1971]. His stage name was bestowed upon him back in 1998 when he joined shock rock troupe [Marilyn Manson] as their guitarist taking over from Zim Zum (Mike Linton). ... Billy Steinberg is an American songwriter. ... Matthew Wilder (born Matthew Weiner on January 24, 1953 in New York City) is an American musician best known for his 1983 hit Break My Stride. ... Cynthia Ann Stephanie Cyndi Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an American Emmy and Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, and actress in film, television, and theater. ... This article is about the person. ... Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin on September 22, 1958 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress. ... Rancid is a punk band, formed in 1991 in Albany, California, by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong. ... Timothy Lockwood Armstrong (born November 25, 1966) is a American musician and songwriter best known for his work with punk rock bands Rancid, Operation Ivy, and Transplants, and the Dance Hall Crashers. ...

In February 2006 Dobson sang "O Canada" at All-Star Saturday Night, part of the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, TX. In spring 2006 Dobson performed several shows around the United States, and began promoting her new album. The first single Don't Let it Go To Your Head stalled on the charts most likely because the video wasn't released until 3 months after the single and it was only available online. The second single This is My Life was edited by her label to make it sound more pop but it had virtually no promotion which led to its flop. For other uses, see O Canada (disambiguation). ... The National Basketball Association (NBA) holds an All-Star Weekend every February, with a variety of basketball-related events, exhibitions, and performances culminating in the NBA All-Star Game held on Sunday night. ... Houston redirects here. ...

Sunday Love was never released because Dobson was dropped from Island Records. A "Sunday Love" promo CD went for sale on eBay. It sold for over $1,000. Sunday Love will not be released due to Dobson being unable to obtain rights to the album. The album was reviewed in both Spin and Vibe Magazine. It received 4/5 from Vibe magazine who loved the new sarcastic rocker approach Fefe adopted for this album. Unfortunately, her label didn't like the image switch and they made her re-record songs on Sunday Love before dropping her days before Sunday Love was due to be released. "My real good fans, my hardcore fans, have it, so that's most important," Dobson says. "At least it got out there to a few hands, and now it's time to make a record on my own terms."^[4] Island Records is a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. ... For the Pontiac brand car Vibe, see Pontiac Vibe. ...

"It was sad," says Dobson. "But instead of sitting there and being depressed and begging people for the record, I went back to the studio, got people that I knew, friends that I knew, and I started again."^[5]

Independently (3rd Studio Album)

Currently, as Dobson tries to find a new label and tours independently, she continues to write new material and stays optimistic about new opportunities. She recently did a photo shoot with photographer Matt posted on her MySpace page. She wrote a song for Miley Cyrus on the Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus album called, Start All Over. MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ... Miley Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus[1] on November 23, 1992 in Franklin, Tennessee) is an American actress and singer. ...

Song titles mentioned on her personal blog include: "Paranoia", "Somewhere my Lover", "BlackHaired Boy", "Set me Free", "Shame", "Distant Lover", and the unreleased "Troubled Girl" originally set to be on Sunday Love.

After being dropped by Island Records, Fefe decided to go back to her roots and create a new album on her own terms. Dobson says her new efforts, still at the demo recording stage at this point, are coming along nicely and should see the light of day sooner than later.^[6] She has been writing new songs with Jon Levine, whose brother, Jay Levine, worked with her on Fefe Dobson. She describes the songs as cool and different. She will finish up writing in Los Angeles, and finish up the production in Toronto. She is looking at a spring release for the new album. Three songs have surfaced from her new upcoming album "I'm a Lady"(which she revealed to be released soon via her myspace blog), she recently sang "I'm a Lady" during a live performance, and a new song called "Catch Me" has leaked as well. The song "Set Me Free" was performed live in Toronto. The song "Watch Me Move" was to be the first single off her upcoming album and was played in promotional advertising for the new NBC series Lipstick Jungle Fefe recently added a 40 second clip of "Watch Me Move" to her official myspace. In May of 2008, a 2 minute clip of the song was leaked and could be found on Youtube. A demo version of "He Smiled" (assumed to be called "Take My Heart"), is another leak from her new album. ^[7] This article is about the television network. ... Lipstick Jungle is an American TV comedy-drama created by DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler for NBC Universal Television Studio. ...

Her song "Be Strong" featured on the soundtrack for the 2006 romantic comedy It's a Boy/Girl Thing. She sang "I'ma Lady", "Set Me Free", and "Everything" in Toronto for Earth Hour. On a Fefe interview on MTV Canada^[8], she states that her album will be out in July 2008, her first single will be a ballad titled "Set Me Free" and she will be shooting a video in the near future. Its A Boy/Girl Thing is a 2006 romantic comedy film starring Samaire Armstrong and Kevin Zegers. ...

Trivia

• Fefe dedicated the song "8x10" to her "not so secret crush" Craig Nicholls of The Vines. The song is featured on her debut album.

• Won the Smooth Operator Award at the 2nd Annual TRL Awards (2004).

• Nominated for 3 Muchmusic Video Awards in 2004, "Best Pop Video", "Boldest Breakout Award", and "People's Choice Favourite Canadian Artist".

• Won the "Best New Solo Artist (CHR)" at the Canadian Radio Music Awards (2004).

• Self-titled debut album hit record stores (December 9th 2003).

• Lists Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland and Kurt Cobain as some of her biggest influences.

• Toured with Justin Timberlake in the UK (December 2003).

Craig Robert Nicholls, (born August 31, 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the rock group The Vines. ... The Vines are an Australian garage rock band notable for producing a raw musical hybrid of 60s rock and 90s alternative music. ...

Discography

Albums

Fefe Dobson is the eponymous debut album of Canadian singer-songwriter Fefe Dobson. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alternate Cover The original cover for Sunday Love Sunday Love is Fefe Dobsons second album. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Fefe Dobson

Official Sites

• Official Website (Archived)
• Official Fansite
• Fefe Dobson at MySpace
• Fefe @ umusic.ca
• Fefe Fan (new fansite)

MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ...

Discography Sites

• Fefe Dobson at Allmusic
• Fefe Dobson at Discogs
• Fefe Dobson at Last.fm
• Fefe Dobson discography at MusicBrainz
• Fefe Dobson at the Internet Movie Database