Shawn_Desman

Shawn Desman

Shawn Desman

Canadian singer, songwriter (b. 1982)

This article is about the Canadian singer. For his self-titled album, see Shawn Desman (album).

Shawn Bosco Fernandes (born January 12, 1982), known by his stage name Shawn Desman, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and choreographer.

Quick Facts Background information, Birth name ...

Early life

Shawn Desman attended St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Toronto. After discovering his passion for performing, Desman's parents encouraged him to pursue a career in music. From age nine to 16, he made Portuguese albums and toured under his legal name, Shawn Fernandes. In 1998, Shawn was in The Boomtang Boys video for their song "Squeeze Toy" as a dancer.

Career

2002–2005: Debut Album and Back for More

At 18, Desman was signed to BMG Music Canada and started recording an album, which was released in 2002. The self-titled breakthrough album featured three top ten singles ("Shook", "Spread My Wings" and "Get Ready") on the Canadian charts. The album went on to achieve gold certification in Canada.[1] The single, "Spread My Wings", is a cover of the unreleased group Vega, featuring Chilli of TLC.

His follow-up album, Back for More garnered a Juno Award for Best R&B Recording#R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (2003_-_Present) which featured the single "Let's Go". After the release of his second album, BMG dropped him from the label. He was then signed to Universal Music Canada.

Desman performing at the Mod Club in Toronto, November 2013

2010–2015: Fresh and Alive

His 2010 album Fresh garnered two gold singles, one platinum single, Video of the Year at the Much Music Video Awards, Canadian Dance/Pop Song of the year at the Stylus Awards, as well as SOCAN Number 1 Award for Electric/Night Like This.

Desman is also a producer and has worked with various artists producing hit singles for Nick Carter, Kreesha Turner, Keshia Chanté as well as contestants on YTV's The Next Star, where he produced the song (One More First Chance) for Brock Zanrosso in 2009 and "It Might Be You" for contestant Parker Schmidt in 2011.

In 2013, Shawn Desman released his fourth studio album, Alive, along with an accompanying short film of the same name. The album spawned two singles; "Nobody Does It Like You" and "Dum Da Dum". In 2015, he released the songs "Victoria" and "Obsession",[2] and was dropped by Universal Music.

2020–present: Resurgence

After coming to terms with the end of his music career, he received a call from Canadian country music singer Tebey, who suggested they collaborate on a project called RadioClub. With RadioClub, Desman released a dance remix of Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up".

In July 2022, Desman performed at Drake's All Canadian North Stars concert at OVO Fest, featuring a dozen Canadian hip-hop and R&B artists. After the show, Drake approached him in the hallway outside of the green room, praising him for his performance and had encouraged him to continue making music.[3] A few months later he released a new single called "Maniac", his first single since 2015's "Obsession".[4]

In 2023, he participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "What I Wouldn't Do", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.[5]

Personal life

Desman is of Portuguese and Italian descent. He has two younger brothers. He is also a cousin to another Canadian singer Tyler Medeiros.

In 2015, Desman's wife became ill, so he made the difficult decision to step away from his music career to focus on his family.

Accolades

Discography

Studio albums

More information Title, Album details ...

Singles

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Notes
  1. "Moneyshot" and "Something Stupid" were released as a dual-single in 2011.[17]

Features

  • 2003: "Movie Star (Remix)" Rascalz feat. Shawn Desman
  • 2006: "All Eyes on Me" Puppet feat. Shawn Desman
  • 2010: "Feel It" Danny Fernandes feat. Shawn Desman

Collaborations

Filmography

References

  1. [1]
    "Music Canada - Gold/Platinum". musiccanada.com. February 20, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Songs of Summer brings variety of headliners". Sudbury.com. July 27, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  3. [3]
    Shawn Desman Says Drake Spurred His Comeback, Gets Emotional: ‘It’s Been Really Tough’
  4. [4]
    "Shawn Desman is back with a new sound after stepping away from music nearly a decade ago | CBC Radio". CBC News. October 26, 2022. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023.
  5. [5]
    Brent Furdyk, "Feel Out Loud: Alessia Cara, Serena Ryder & More Canadian Artists Collaborate On New Single Promoting Youth Mental Health Initiative". Entertainment Tonight Canada, March 2, 2023.
  6. [6]
    Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:
  7. [7]
    "Canadian certifications – Shawn Desman". Music Canada. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Shawn Desman Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  9. [9]
    "Shawn Desman Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  10. [10]
    "Shawn Desman Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  11. [11]
    "Shawn Desman Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  12. [12]
    Steffen Hung. "Shawn Desman – Get Ready". australian-charts.com. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  13. [13]
    Peak positions on German Singles Chart:
  14. [14]
    "Shawn Desman – Spread My Wings (Vinyl)". discogs. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  15. [15]
    "Sexy – Shawn Desman | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  16. [16]
    "Promo Only – Promo Only – Chart Radio 096 – 2005 07 Jul :: Various Artists [CHRRADIO_096]". University of British Columbia Music Database. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  17. [17]
    Collins, Leah (June 15, 2011). "MMVAs Profile: Shawn Desman on 'Electric/Night Like This'". Ottawa Citizen. Postmedia Network. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  18. [18]
    "Virgin Radio 96 :: Shawn Desman – Too Young To Care". CJFM-FM. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  19. [19]
    "Stuck (Version Francaise) – Single by Shawn Desman". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. January 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  20. [20]
    "Victoria – Single by Shawn Desman". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  21. [21]
    "Obsession – Single by Shawn Desman". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. June 16, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  22. [22]
    "Maniac – Single by Shawn Desman". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  23. [23]
    "Love Me With The Lights On – Single by Shawn Desman". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  24. [24]
    "Beautiful Day – Single by Shawn Desman". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
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