DJ Ironik
Encyclopedia
James Christian Charters (born 18 January 1988 in Camden
, London
), better known as Ironik, is a British
musician, DJ and rapper. His genre of music varies from R&B
, grime
and hip hop
.
DJ Ironik has had three UK top 10 hits; Stay With Me
charted at #5, Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)
charted at #3 and also I Got Soul
A charity single which reached #10 in the UK charts and has also had several top 5 hits in other European countries.
, England
. He decided on a career in music at an early age when doing GCSE in music He started his career as a DJ working in clubs, initially in his home country but his talent was quickly spotted and he moved around Europe
then every record he released charted in the Top 40 UK Charts throughout 2008-2010.
for 20 weeks, however it had limited success elsewhere.
At the age of 20, he signed with Asylum Records
which is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group
.
The first hit was the single "Stay with Me (Everybody's Free)
", which went into the UK charts at number 11 on downloads alone, then number five on its physical release. It equally had success on Channel U
, remaining in the request chart top 10 for 26 weeks. The remix to "Stay with Me" features Chipmunk
and Wiley
.
His second single, "I Wanna Be Your Man
" was released in September 2008 and reached number 35 in the UK.
His début album No Point in Wasting Tears
was released on Warner UK on September 29, 2008 and charted at 21 in the UK Chart. Ironik has since left Warner UK and is now signed to independent label BPM Entertainment.
The third single taken from his début album is "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)
" which features grime rap artist Chipmunk
and Sir Elton John. The song was released in the UK on 26 April 2009 and it charted at number 3 in the UK chart This was followed by the re-release of his album on 11 May 2009.
He was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2008 MOBO Awards
and Best Newcomer and Best Music Video ("Stay with Me
") at the 2008 Urban Music Awards
. He was also nominated for Best Male Music in Film at the Screen Nation Film & TV Awards in November 2008, and voted by the public viewers of MTV UK the third favourite artist of the year 2008, coming after Katy Perry
and Duffy
.
Throughout October and November 2008, Ironik supported German Euro dance group Cascada
on their second UK tour - The Perfect Day Tour 2008.
In 2009 he was nominated for 'Best UK Act' at the 2009 Mobo Awards.
In late 2009 he collaborated with UK Rapper A.Y.O. and ex-X Factor contestant Joelle Moses for the song Far Away. It was released on 26 April 2010 on iTunes.
Ironik Second album is going to be called 'Ironik' and will be released under BPM Entertanment in 2011
The first single is called Falling in Love
and featuring 90210
Star Jessica Lowndes
and was released in UK on 24 October 2010 and charted at 40 in the UK charts.
The second single is called "Killed Me" and features Mclean
was released on 13 March 2011 but did not chart in the UK
On Monday 9 May 2011 Ironik performed for The Queen and other members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace with dance group Flawless & singer Sarah Jane Skeete.
from a gig in Essex
, Ironik became the victim of a stabbing attack at around 3 a.m. on 6 November 2010, when two men attacked him for his jewellery, knifing him in the right buttock. Ironik said of the stabbing: "It was something I've never experienced in my life before. Something that I've spoke about in a lot of my records - some of my records - actually. I find it very low that someone has to go take what you have and what you work for. I've kind of got over it and trying to get back on to living my life and being normal. The past is behind, and I'm trying to get on with my life. I'm back to normal, back to work 100% and I'm just happy that everyone was really supportive. I'll always be involved in charity work and especially the anti-gun and knife crime thing. It's a very important thing... I'll always be a part of supporting it, even before the incident, but obviously now more so." The DJ has been reported to have recovered now.
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1"| 2009 ||| Ironik || Mobo Awards - Best UK Act
||
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1"| 2009 ||| Ironik || Habbo Music Awards - Best UK Act
||
|-
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
), better known as Ironik, is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musician, DJ and rapper. His genre of music varies from R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
and hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
.
DJ Ironik has had three UK top 10 hits; Stay With Me
Stay with Me (Ironik song)
"Stay with Me" is the first single from Ironiks' debut album "No Point In Wasting Tears". The song peaked at #5 on the official UK singles chart.-Song information:...
charted at #5, Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)
Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)
"Tiny Dancer " is a 2008 song by Ironik, from his debut album No Point in Wasting Tears, released on May 11, 2009. The song heavily samples British singer Elton John's 1972 single "Tiny Dancer"...
charted at #3 and also I Got Soul
I Got Soul
"I Got Soul" is a 2009 charity single by charity group War Child UK, recorded by Young Soul Rebels. It was released on October 19, 2009. It is a cover of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done"...
A charity single which reached #10 in the UK charts and has also had several top 5 hits in other European countries.
Early life
"DJ Ironik" (born James Charters) was born in North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He decided on a career in music at an early age when doing GCSE in music He started his career as a DJ working in clubs, initially in his home country but his talent was quickly spotted and he moved around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
then every record he released charted in the Top 40 UK Charts throughout 2008-2010.
Career
His first single, "So Nice", was released in summer of 2007. It achieved popularity on the British music channels, including remaining in the top 3 of the viewer request chart on Channel UChannel U TV
Channel AKA is a British digital satellite TV channel, owned by Mushroom TV Ltd, available through Sky within the UK and Ireland on channel 370...
for 20 weeks, however it had limited success elsewhere.
At the age of 20, he signed with Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
which is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
.
The first hit was the single "Stay with Me (Everybody's Free)
Stay with Me (Ironik song)
"Stay with Me" is the first single from Ironiks' debut album "No Point In Wasting Tears". The song peaked at #5 on the official UK singles chart.-Song information:...
", which went into the UK charts at number 11 on downloads alone, then number five on its physical release. It equally had success on Channel U
Channel U
Channel U may refer to these television channels:*MediaCorp TV Channel U, a Chinese-language channel in Singapore*SPH MediaWorks Channel U, a predecessor of the above channel until 2005...
, remaining in the request chart top 10 for 26 weeks. The remix to "Stay with Me" features Chipmunk
Chipmunk (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London....
and Wiley
Wiley (rapper)
Richard Kylea Cowie , better known by his stage name Wiley is a prolific British music producer, MC and recording artist, and rapper with roots from Trinidad...
.
His second single, "I Wanna Be Your Man
I Wanna Be Your Man (Ironik song)
"I Wanna Be Your Man" is the second single from Ironiks' debut album No Point in Wasting Tears. The song peaked at No. 35 on the official UK Singles Chart.-Music video:...
" was released in September 2008 and reached number 35 in the UK.
His début album No Point in Wasting Tears
No Point in Wasting Tears
No Point in Wasting Tears is the debut album by Ironik and was released on September 29, 2008. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21 but fell to number 36 in its second week...
was released on Warner UK on September 29, 2008 and charted at 21 in the UK Chart. Ironik has since left Warner UK and is now signed to independent label BPM Entertainment.
The third single taken from his début album is "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)
Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)
"Tiny Dancer " is a 2008 song by Ironik, from his debut album No Point in Wasting Tears, released on May 11, 2009. The song heavily samples British singer Elton John's 1972 single "Tiny Dancer"...
" which features grime rap artist Chipmunk
Chipmunk (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London....
and Sir Elton John. The song was released in the UK on 26 April 2009 and it charted at number 3 in the UK chart This was followed by the re-release of his album on 11 May 2009.
He was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2008 MOBO Awards
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
and Best Newcomer and Best Music Video ("Stay with Me
Stay with Me (Ironik song)
"Stay with Me" is the first single from Ironiks' debut album "No Point In Wasting Tears". The song peaked at #5 on the official UK singles chart.-Song information:...
") at the 2008 Urban Music Awards
Urban Music Awards
The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually...
. He was also nominated for Best Male Music in Film at the Screen Nation Film & TV Awards in November 2008, and voted by the public viewers of MTV UK the third favourite artist of the year 2008, coming after Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
and Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
.
Throughout October and November 2008, Ironik supported German Euro dance group Cascada
Cascada
Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...
on their second UK tour - The Perfect Day Tour 2008.
In 2009 he was nominated for 'Best UK Act' at the 2009 Mobo Awards.
In late 2009 he collaborated with UK Rapper A.Y.O. and ex-X Factor contestant Joelle Moses for the song Far Away. It was released on 26 April 2010 on iTunes.
Ironik Second album is going to be called 'Ironik' and will be released under BPM Entertanment in 2011
The first single is called Falling in Love
Falling in Love (Ironik song)
"Falling in Love" is the fourth official single by Ironik, featuring vocals from Canadian actress and singer Jessica Lowndes. It is the first single from Ironik's second untitled album. The single was released on October 24, 2010 for digital download...
and featuring 90210
90210 (TV series)
90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
Star Jessica Lowndes
Jessica Lowndes
Jessica Lowndes is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Adrianna Tate-Duncan on TV series 90210.-Personal life:Jessica Suzanne Lowndes was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
and was released in UK on 24 October 2010 and charted at 40 in the UK charts.
The second single is called "Killed Me" and features Mclean
McLean
MacLean, McClean, or McLean can refer to:- Places :Australia* Maclean, New South Wales* Maclean Island, TasmaniaCanada* McLean Island , Nunavut* McLean, SaskatchewanUnited States of America...
was released on 13 March 2011 but did not chart in the UK
On Monday 9 May 2011 Ironik performed for The Queen and other members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace with dance group Flawless & singer Sarah Jane Skeete.
Personal life
While returning to his home in North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
from a gig in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, Ironik became the victim of a stabbing attack at around 3 a.m. on 6 November 2010, when two men attacked him for his jewellery, knifing him in the right buttock. Ironik said of the stabbing: "It was something I've never experienced in my life before. Something that I've spoke about in a lot of my records - some of my records - actually. I find it very low that someone has to go take what you have and what you work for. I've kind of got over it and trying to get back on to living my life and being normal. The past is behind, and I'm trying to get on with my life. I'm back to normal, back to work 100% and I'm just happy that everyone was really supportive. I'll always be involved in charity work and especially the anti-gun and knife crime thing. It's a very important thing... I'll always be a part of supporting it, even before the incident, but obviously now more so." The DJ has been reported to have recovered now.
Awards and nominations
|-| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1"| 2009 ||| Ironik || Mobo Awards - Best UK Act
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
||
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1"| 2009 ||| Ironik || Habbo Music Awards - Best UK Act
Habbo
Habbo is a social networking site aimed at teenagers. The website is owned and operated by Sulake Corporation. The service began in 2000 and has expanded to include 11 online communities , with users in over 150 countries. As of August 2011, over 230 million avatars have been registered...
||
|-
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| No Point in Wasting Tears No Point in Wasting Tears No Point in Wasting Tears is the debut album by Ironik and was released on September 29, 2008. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21 but fell to number 36 in its second week... |
|
21 |
| Ironik |
Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
— |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
UK R&B UK R&B Chart The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week... |
AUS | IRE Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
|||
| "Stay with Me Stay with Me (Ironik song) "Stay with Me" is the first single from Ironiks' debut album "No Point In Wasting Tears". The song peaked at #5 on the official UK singles chart.-Song information:... " |
2008 | 5 | 2 | — | 8 | 16 | No Point in Wasting Tears No Point in Wasting Tears No Point in Wasting Tears is the debut album by Ironik and was released on September 29, 2008. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21 but fell to number 36 in its second week... |
| "I Wanna Be Your Man I Wanna Be Your Man (Ironik song) "I Wanna Be Your Man" is the second single from Ironiks' debut album No Point in Wasting Tears. The song peaked at No. 35 on the official UK Singles Chart.-Music video:... " |
35 | 20 | — | — | — | ||
| "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer) Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer) "Tiny Dancer " is a 2008 song by Ironik, from his debut album No Point in Wasting Tears, released on May 11, 2009. The song heavily samples British singer Elton John's 1972 single "Tiny Dancer"... " (featuring Chipmunk Chipmunk (rapper) Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London.... & Elton John Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor... ) |
2009 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 17 | — | |
| "Falling in Love Falling in Love (Ironik song) "Falling in Love" is the fourth official single by Ironik, featuring vocals from Canadian actress and singer Jessica Lowndes. It is the first single from Ironik's second untitled album. The single was released on October 24, 2010 for digital download... " (featuring Jessica Lowndes Jessica Lowndes Jessica Lowndes is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Adrianna Tate-Duncan on TV series 90210.-Personal life:Jessica Suzanne Lowndes was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada... ) |
2010 | 40 | 3 | — | — | — | Ironik |
| "Killed Me" (featuring McLean McLean MacLean, McClean, or McLean can refer to:- Places :Australia* Maclean, New South Wales* Maclean Island, TasmaniaCanada* McLean Island , Nunavut* McLean, SaskatchewanUnited States of America... ) |
2011 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Spotlight" |
2012 | — | — | — | — | — |
As a featured performer
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
UK R&B UK R&B Chart The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week... |
AUS | IRE Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
|||
| "I Got Soul I Got Soul "I Got Soul" is a 2009 charity single by charity group War Child UK, recorded by Young Soul Rebels. It was released on October 19, 2009. It is a cover of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done"... " (with Young Soul Rebels) |
2009 | 10 | 5 | — | 19 | — | Young Soul Rebels single |