Donnie Klang
Donnie Klang | |
---|---|
Birth name | Donald Joseph Klang |
Born | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | January 23, 1985
Genres | |
Occupation | Singer |
Years active | 2005–present |
Labels | Bad Boy, Eight72, Twenty Two |
Donald Joseph Klang (born January 23, 1985) is an American singer. He won Making the Band 4 and was awarded his own solo contract by Diddy. He released his debut album, Just a Rolling Stone, in late 2008.
Life and career
[edit]Klang was born in Brooklyn, New York.[1] He began modeling as a baby and doing television and film work from a young age, getting minor roles on NYPD Blue to The Nanny.[2] He was in a band in middle school, later attending chorus in high school.[3] He was part of pop groups in St. Dominic High School and Island Trees High School, namely Playa Deception and INT. The latter which released an independent record called Hip-Pop.[2] He attended Hofstra University briefly studying music management and business and minoring in music.[2][3][4] Klang decided to take a semester off of college to pursue a music career with his group.[3]
Klang had been in INT for nine years before it broke up because their parents wanted them to go back to school as the band was going nowhere.[4] He auditioned for American Idol twice but never got past the first round.[2] These events led to him being apprehensive of pursuing music further.[5] Not long after returning to Hofstra and working at a warehouse, the opportunity came for Making the Band 4 and he again took time off from college in 2007.[6][4] An acquaintance had entered his MySpace account into an audition which he later attended at the encouragement of his family.[5] He was awarded his own solo contract by Diddy instead of a spot in the group. Klang released his debut album, Just a Rolling Stone, in late 2008 which peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard 200. He later opened for Janet Jackson in the fall.[2]
Klang split with Bad Boy Records in mid-2010, signing with independent label Eight72 Entertainment.[7] He began working on his second album at the same time.[8] He later started his own record label, Donnie Klang Entertainment and released his first single "Falling 4U" in 2011. He also released a mixtape on Valentine's Day.[9] "X-Miss" was also released as a single for Christmas in 2011.
Artistry
[edit]Klang has listed Boyz II Men, Dru Hill, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Usher, The Fray, OneRepublic, Justin Timberlake, Brian McKnight, Michael Jackson and James Brown as musical influences.[10][11] He co-wrote most of Just a Rolling Stone.[11]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
US [12] | ||
2008 | Just a Rolling Stone
|
19 |
Singles
[edit]Year | Single | Album |
---|---|---|
2008 | "Take You There" (featuring Diddy) | Just a Rolling Stone |
Music videos
[edit]Year | Song | Director |
---|---|---|
2008 | "Take You There" | Ray Kay[13] |
2009 | "Prisoner Of Love" | Littles |
2011 | "Falling 4U" | Michael Dispenza[14] |
"X-Miss" | Kraze[15] |
References
[edit]- ^ Collar, Matt. "Biography: Donnie Klang". All Media Guide. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e La Gorce, Tammy (September 21, 2008). "From Levittown, a New Voice Emerges". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c "Levittowner Competes on MTV's Making the Band 4". Antonnews.com. August 3, 2007. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ a b c "AMPED UP | The Re-Making of Donnie Klang « Full Blast Magazine". Fullblastmagazine.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ a b "Interview with Making the Band 4's Donnie Klang « Crushable". Crushable.com. August 21, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ Gamboa, Glenn. "Donnie Klang gets a push from Diddy < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ "Bits: Big Boi, Lollapalooza, Donnie Klang, Daniel Lanois and More". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ Date: 05/24/10 (May 24, 2010). "Bad Boy 'No More,' Donnie Klang Readies New Album". Singersroom.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Valentine's Day Mixtape Mixtape by Donnie Klang Hosted by DJ Spin King & DJ Swivet". Datpiff.com. February 14, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "Donnie Klang – Interviews – Entertainment". ALLOY.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ a b Date: 09/01/08 (October 7, 2008). "Donnie Klang: One Man Band". Singersroom.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "( Donnie Klang > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )". allmusic. January 23, 1985. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ "Music Video News: SHOT: Donnie Klang f/ Diddy – Ray Kay, director". Video Static. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
- ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2020.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Donnie Klang – "X-Miss" (Official Music Video) Dir. By Kraze". YouTube. December 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2020.