Ben Lummis
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| Ben Lummis | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Born | June 1, 1978 | |
| Origin | New Zealand | |
| Genre(s) | Pop | |
| Years active | 2004-present | |
| Label(s) | SonyBMG | |
Ben Lummis, (born Benjamin Lummis on June 1, 1978), was the winner in season one of NZ Idol in 2004.
On May 10 Ben won New Zealand Idol, despite being in the bottom 3 multiple times. After winning NZ idol he released his first hit single 'They Can't Take That Away', which debuted in the NZ Top 40 Chart at #1 where it remained for seven weeks, selling over 4x platinum in the process. On June 15 saw the release of his debut album, One Road. Paul Ellis, later described the album as "the worst-sounding album of my entire career" [1]. One Road debuted at number one on the Top 40 Album Charts and stayed there for two weeks, making him the first ever local act to hold the top spot on the albums and singles chart simultaneously for more than a week.
The album contains 12 tracks and includes contributions from songwriters who have worked with Christina Aguilera, Jamelia, Atomic Kitten, Westlife, Britney Spears, and Kylie Minogue. Lummis co-wrote one of the tracks, It's All Good. Included on the album is also one of his standout performances from the New Zealand Idol programme, a cover of Seal's Kiss From A Rose. The album was recorded in just eleven days and Lummis sang all the back-up vocals himself.
Ben is of Tongan, Samoan, Māori (Ngati Porou) and Pākehā descent and is close with his mother, father, stepfather and five siblings. He is also a devout Christian and belongs to the Breakthrough Church.
Three months after winning New Zealand Idol, Lummis' music label, Sony BMG dropped him, due to poor sales. Ironically, his runner-up, Michael Murphy gained a contract and is still going strong with his band Fivestar fallout.
It is rumoured that Ben is currently working on a new album and has been performing a single from that at public events.
Contents |
[edit] Idol perfomances
- Judges Audition - ?, Babyface
- Top 60 - ?
- Top 36 - Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
- Top 24 - Back at One, Brian McKnight.
- Top 10 - Never Too Much, Luther Vandross (bottom 3)
- Top 9 - Oughta Be In Love, Dave Dobbyn (bottom 3)
- Top 8 - Hang on in There Baby, Johnny Bristol.
- Top 7 - Can Love You Like That, All For One (bottom 3)
- Top 6 - Kiss From A Rose, Seal
- Top 5 - Treat Her Like a Lady, The Temptations
- Top 4 - American Woman, Lenny Kravitz
- Top 4 - Living On A Prayer, Jon Bovi
- Top 3 - The Power Of Love, Huey Lewis
- Top 3 - Rhythm of the Night, El De Barge
- Top 2 - Kiss From a Rose, Seal
- Top 2 - I Believe I Can Fly, R. Kelly
- Top 2 - Living On A Prayer, Bon Jovi
- Top 2 - They Can't Take That Away (winners single)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- (2004) Homegrown, with the finalists of NZ Idol - #3 (Gold; 7,500+)
- (2004) One Road - #1 NZ (2 weeks) (2x Platinum; 30,000+)
[edit] Singles
- (2004) Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life, with the finalists of NZ Idol - #4 (Gold; 5,000+)
- (2004) They Can't Take That Away - #1 (7 weeks) (4x Platinum; 40,000+)
- (2004) I Love You, Love Me Love - Failed to Chart
[edit] External link
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