All about this artist
Biography:
Born Ketevan Melua, 16 September 1984, Kutaisi, Georgia, Russia. UK-based singer-songwriter Melua emerged in 2003 as a potential rival to US singer Norah Jones, whose jazzy Come Away With Me was the previous year's surprise commercial success.
Melua was born in Georgia in the former USSR, spending some time in the Russian capital Moscow before relocating to the Georgian town of Batumi. Her family moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland when Katie was eight, and then London, England when she was in her early teens.
At the age of 15 Melua appeared on the ITV television channel in a talent contest, and shortly afterwards joined the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon, Surrey. She began playing the guitar and writing her own material during this period and came to the attention of producer Mike Batt when he visited the school.
After playing the UK music veteran a tribute song she had written for the late Eva Cassidy, Melua was signed to Batt's Dramatico label on a five-album recording contract. Batt and Melua began working together on tracks for the singer's debut album.
Call Off The Search was recorded with the help of several veteran studio musicians, and in addition to the Melua/Batt originals included pop standards such as "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" and "Lilac Wine". The single "The Closest Thing To Crazy", a lilting, bluesy ballad, reached the UK Top 10 in December, owing in no small part to the support of influential disc jockey Terry Wogan on his BBC Radio 2 show and veteran television broadcaster Michael Parkinson.
Call Off The Search completed its climb to the top of the album charts a month later. After touring extensively in support of Call Off The Search, Melua became a British citizen in August 2005. A month later she released her eagerly anticipated second album, Piece By Piece.
The album followed its predecessor to the top of the UK charts and spawned the Top 5 hit single, "Nine Million Bicycles". In October 2006, the singer entered the Guinness Book Of Records for playing the deepest underwater concert when she performed with her band 303 metres below the North Sea (the gig was celebrated on the DVD Concert Under The Sea).
The following year she released Pictures, her third album in collaboration with Batt.
