Des'ree is a London-born English pop, R&B and soul singer, born Desiree Weeks in 1968. She grows up in Croydon, Southeast London, and later changes her stage name because she prefers a shorter, two-syllable version of her birth name.

Career

Des'ree signs to Sony 550 in 1991 and releases her debut single, “Feel So High,” later that year. Her first album, Mind Adventures, follows in 1992 and reaches number 26 in the UK. She tours as the support act for Simply Red in July 1992.

In 1993 she records “Delicate” with Terence Trent D’Arby, a UK top 20 single. That same year she performs at the Vatican City’s inaugural concert of secular music, Concerto di Natale, for Pope John Paul II. Her single “You Gotta Be” becomes her biggest international hit in 1994, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a major UK hit after several releases. The song also gains a new UK top 10 placement in 1999 after use in a Ford Focus campaign. She performs it on Saturday Night Live and at the closing ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Her second album, I Ain’t Movin’, is released in 1994 and sells more than 2.5 million copies worldwide. She then tours North America with Seal between November 1994 and July 1995. In 1995, she appears on the song “Plenty Lovin’” with Steve Winwood.

Film and soundtrack work

Des'ree writes and performs “Kissing You” for Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in 1996, and appears in a cameo role as “Diva” in one of the film’s key scenes. The song receives a Satellite Award nomination for Best Original Song. Other recordings associated with her appear in films including “Silent Hero” in Clockers, “Feel So High” in Set It Off, “Crazy Maze” in Nothing to Lose, and “You Gotta Be” in The Next Karate Kid, The Object of My Affection and the opening sequence of Cinderella (2021).

Later 1990s and 2000s

Her 1998 single “Life” becomes a major hit in Europe and Japan, and the album Supernatural reaches the top 5 in Italy and the Netherlands, number 16 in the UK, and number 185 on the US Billboard 200. In 1999 she wins the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist. Later that year she performs “Blackbird” at Concert for Linda and records “Ain’t No Sunshine” with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which reaches number 42 in the UK.

Des'ree then steps back from music. She releases Endangered Species, a collection of B-sides and live tracks, in 2000, sings on the charity single “Wake Up the Morning” in 2001, and contributes a sung sonnet from The Merchant of Venice to When Love Speaks. Her fourth album, Dream Soldier, arrives in 2003, with “It’s Okay” reaching number 69 in the UK. After leaving Sony, she studies naturopathy and trains as a nutritionist.

Return to recording and other activities

In 2008 she performs at the O2 Arena for Young Voices’ “Big Sing” charity concert and helps lead a world record singalong with 600,000 schoolchildren singing “You Gotta Be.” In 2011 she sings a lullaby on the sleep therapy CD Sleep Talk Lullaby. Her first album in sixteen years, A Love Story, is released in 2019 on her own label, Stargazer Records.

Des'ree is vegetarian, and in 2002 she takes courses in photography and ceramics at Camberwell College of Arts.

Legal disputes

Her work becomes involved in two disputes over uncredited or unauthorised use. “Feel So High” is interpolated into Janet Jackson’s “Got ’til It’s Gone,” and later releases credit Des'ree as a writer after legal action. In 2007 she files a lawsuit concerning Beyoncé’s cover of “Kissing You,” retitled “Still in Love (Kissing You),” which is later dismissed.

Memberships

Des'ree is also listed as a member of Diva's Of Dance and T.O.T.B.