Simon Curtis
Encyclopedia
Simon Curtis is an American actor and singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma
. He gained fame for playing Royce Du Lac in the film Spectacular!
(2009).
Curtis released his debut extended play
Alter Boy [EP] in 2008 and his debut full-length studio album
, 8Bit Heart
on March 23, 2010, on his independent record label
BoyRobot Records for free via download on his official site. On June 7, 2011, he released his second album RA
(stylized as R∆, initials for "Robot Army"—a nickname for his fanbase) on his label through the iTunes Store
. RA debuted at number 20 on Billboard
s Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
, United States
, and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. At the age of ten, he was diagnosed with leukemia
. Curtis earned a coveted role in the national tour production of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
.
Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance.
After years of performing in at least seven professional-level operas or musicals a year, Curtis had shifted his sights to the realm of pop music
. Inspired by the current pop sensations Britney Spears
and *NSYNC, he decided to record his first demo. At fifteen years old, Curtis completed his first set of recordings. He encountered managers Matthew Knowles and Laila Bagge
later that summer. After meeting with them and singing for them, Curtis presented the two managers with his demo, and much to his dismay, was told that although he had stage presence and charisma beyond his years, he sounded like a Broadway kid and would not be signed with that kind of sound. Taking their advice, Curtis stopped performing in musicals altogether, began the process of breaking his voice down, and started to find one of his own.
At sixteen, Curtis met local producer Jadion, who offered Curtis his business card after watching him win the Britney Spears Superstar Karaoke tour in Tulsa. A few months later, Curtis finally felt he was ready to tackle the recording studio again, this time with a fresh approach, and contacted the producer. The producer’s fresh, Swedish-pop sound pleased Curtis and they soon began the process of recording his new demo. This was Curtis' first time seeing songs he had written himself come to fruition, and he soon became addicted to the process.
A few months before his nineteenth birthday, Curtis grew weary of pursuing his dream via phone and mail, and decided to accept the invitation his producer extended to live with him and his wife who had recently moved to Los Angeles
. He packed his bags and drove across the country to LA.
At 20, Curtis found his own voice in the tiny apartment recording studio with Jadion. There they began the sessions that would ultimately result in Curtis' upcoming, independent, debut album Alter Boy[EP] . Curtis and Jadion were commissioned by Disney to deliver a theme song for the annual Disneyland Resort event, Flashback, which later became a charity single benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.
's musical TV movie Spectacular!
in 2009.
In late 2009, Curtis once again began to work on his musical career. He teamed up with friend producer Jeff "Jadion" Wells and in about thirteen days, he wrote and recorded 8Bit Heart
. He chose to release the album for free on his official website after meeting the goal of eight thousand followers on his Twitter
profile. The album was well received by the pop community and was downloaded over 150,000 times in the two weeks following its release. Curtis has managed to do all this without the help of a manager or record label. He is currently hoping to get signed very soon and is promoting his album to various music blogs. He was also recently the opening act of Backstreet Boys
member AJ McLean on May 6, 2010, at the Roxy Theatre
in West Hollywood, California.
(stylized as R∆) titled "Superhero" as well as a remix titled "Superhero (The Remix)" on his independent label BoyRobot Records through the iTunes Store
. The second single from the album, titled "Flesh", was released May 31, along with a remix titled "Flesh (Future Freestyle Remix)". On June 7, he released the full-length album and it debuted at number 20 on Billboard
s Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The music video
for "Flesh" is tentatively scheduled to be released within the next few months.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. He gained fame for playing Royce Du Lac in the film Spectacular!
Spectacular!
Spectacular! is a 2009 Nickelodeon musical TV-movie. It stars singer Nolan Gerard Funk, Australian singer Tammin Sursok, Zoey 101 and Victorious star Victoria Justice, and Simon Curtis. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, it premiered February 16, 2009...
(2009).
Curtis released his debut extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Alter Boy [EP] in 2008 and his debut full-length studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, 8Bit Heart
8Bit Heart
8Bit Heart is the debut album by American singer-songwriter and record producer Simon Curtis. It was released March 23, 2010 for free download via Curtis' official website. Curtis co-produced the album with Jeff "Jadion" Wells...
on March 23, 2010, on his independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
BoyRobot Records for free via download on his official site. On June 7, 2011, he released his second album RA
R∆
-Charts:...
(stylized as R∆, initials for "Robot Army"—a nickname for his fanbase) on his label through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. RA debuted at number 20 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
Early life
Simon Curtis was born in the state of MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. At the age of ten, he was diagnosed with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. Curtis earned a coveted role in the national tour production of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
.
Early career: 2002–2006
Curtis won Popstar Magazine and Johnny Wright’s “Get Famous” contest, was named a national top ten finalist in the “Britney Spears Samsung Superstar Tour”, was commissioned by Disney to provide a theme song for an annual Disneyland event, was named an official Oklahoma Ambassador of Music, and won the University of TulsaUniversity of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance.
After years of performing in at least seven professional-level operas or musicals a year, Curtis had shifted his sights to the realm of pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Inspired by the current pop sensations Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
and *NSYNC, he decided to record his first demo. At fifteen years old, Curtis completed his first set of recordings. He encountered managers Matthew Knowles and Laila Bagge
Laila Bagge
Laila Natali Bagge Wahlgren, born 15 December 1972 in Lund as Laila Natali Cahling, formerly Laila Bagge, is a Swedish manager and songwriter. Her mother is Swedish and her father is Palestinian. She worked for Sony BMG New York for three years as a talent scout. Laila also found the members and...
later that summer. After meeting with them and singing for them, Curtis presented the two managers with his demo, and much to his dismay, was told that although he had stage presence and charisma beyond his years, he sounded like a Broadway kid and would not be signed with that kind of sound. Taking their advice, Curtis stopped performing in musicals altogether, began the process of breaking his voice down, and started to find one of his own.
At sixteen, Curtis met local producer Jadion, who offered Curtis his business card after watching him win the Britney Spears Superstar Karaoke tour in Tulsa. A few months later, Curtis finally felt he was ready to tackle the recording studio again, this time with a fresh approach, and contacted the producer. The producer’s fresh, Swedish-pop sound pleased Curtis and they soon began the process of recording his new demo. This was Curtis' first time seeing songs he had written himself come to fruition, and he soon became addicted to the process.
A few months before his nineteenth birthday, Curtis grew weary of pursuing his dream via phone and mail, and decided to accept the invitation his producer extended to live with him and his wife who had recently moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He packed his bags and drove across the country to LA.
At 20, Curtis found his own voice in the tiny apartment recording studio with Jadion. There they began the sessions that would ultimately result in Curtis' upcoming, independent, debut album Alter Boy
2009–2010:
Spectacular! and 8Bit Heart Curtis made his film debut when he landed the role of Royce Du Lac on NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's musical TV movie Spectacular!
Spectacular!
Spectacular! is a 2009 Nickelodeon musical TV-movie. It stars singer Nolan Gerard Funk, Australian singer Tammin Sursok, Zoey 101 and Victorious star Victoria Justice, and Simon Curtis. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, it premiered February 16, 2009...
in 2009.
In late 2009, Curtis once again began to work on his musical career. He teamed up with friend producer Jeff "Jadion" Wells and in about thirteen days, he wrote and recorded 8Bit Heart
8Bit Heart
8Bit Heart is the debut album by American singer-songwriter and record producer Simon Curtis. It was released March 23, 2010 for free download via Curtis' official website. Curtis co-produced the album with Jeff "Jadion" Wells...
. He chose to release the album for free on his official website after meeting the goal of eight thousand followers on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
profile. The album was well received by the pop community and was downloaded over 150,000 times in the two weeks following its release. Curtis has managed to do all this without the help of a manager or record label. He is currently hoping to get signed very soon and is promoting his album to various music blogs. He was also recently the opening act of Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
member AJ McLean on May 6, 2010, at the Roxy Theatre
Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre is located in the historic downtown section of Clarksville, Tennessee in the United States. Standing on a corner of the Public Square it offers live theater shows to the public offering a wide variety of selection in the spirit of literary theater...
in West Hollywood, California.
2011–present: RA
On May 16, 2011, Curtis released the first single from his second album RAR∆
-Charts:...
(stylized as R∆) titled "Superhero" as well as a remix titled "Superhero (The Remix)" on his independent label BoyRobot Records through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. The second single from the album, titled "Flesh", was released May 31, along with a remix titled "Flesh (Future Freestyle Remix)". On June 7, he released the full-length album and it debuted at number 20 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Flesh" is tentatively scheduled to be released within the next few months.
Studio albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 8Bit Heart 8Bit Heart 8Bit Heart is the debut album by American singer-songwriter and record producer Simon Curtis. It was released March 23, 2010 for free download via Curtis' official website. Curtis co-produced the album with Jeff "Jadion" Wells...
|
| 2011 | R∆ R∆ -Charts:... |
Extended plays
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Alter Boy
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Delusional" | 8Bit Heart |
| "Diablo" | ||
| "8-Bit Heart" | ||
| "Beat Drop" | ||
| 2011 | "Superhero" | R∆ |
| "Flesh" |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "8Bit Heart"
|
8Bit Heart |
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | Spectacular! Spectacular! Spectacular! is a 2009 Nickelodeon musical TV-movie. It stars singer Nolan Gerard Funk, Australian singer Tammin Sursok, Zoey 101 and Victorious star Victoria Justice, and Simon Curtis. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, it premiered February 16, 2009... |
Royce Du Lac | Nickelodeon |
| Television series | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real... |
Tim | "Once, Twice, Three Times Afraidy" |