To win two tickets to one of four Cody Simpson UK shows see WIN Cody Simpson UK Tour tickets.
AUSTRALIAN music phenomenon Cody Simpson has kept busy over the past three years. He has moved to the United States of America, signed to a major international record label, released two albums and had an almost non-stop touring schedule. He has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry and posters bearing his image adorn the bedroom wall of teenage girls across the world. He has had an amazing career so far, made even more impressive by the fact that Simpson has only just turned 16.
Cody Simpson burst onto the entertainment scene in 2010 after being discovered by Grammy-award winning producer Shawn Campbell and being signed to Atlantic Records. Campbell noticed the Gold Coast local, then 12-years-old, after Simpson posted videos of himself performing on YouTube.
Simpson told Australian Times: “Putting my music on YouTube was something that I was just doing for fun, and I never expected that it would lead to me going to America. I met with Atlantic Records, my current record label, on my 13th birthday actually and since then it has all been a whirlwind.”
His first single iYiYi, featuring perennial collaborator Flo Rida, was released in mid-2010 and launched Simpson’s career as an international pop-star. It was this breakthrough success that posed one of the most significant dilemmas of Simpson’s life: the moment that his record label told him that he would have to move to the USA in order to continue his career.
Simpson said: “It was a difficult decision because I have a younger brother and sister and I didn’t want to drag them across the world for my career. I have always had a really good relationship with my family though, and they made it 100% clear that they supported me and thought that it was something that we should do.
“I have worked hard for my career and I am working so many more hours than most people my age, so it was pretty overwhelming when it first happened. Girls started showing up where I was staying… I’m not complaining, but it was definitely overwhelming.”
After achieving gold certification with his first single in Australia, Simpson’s star has continued to rise. His album Coast to Coast reached 12th on the Billboard music chart in 2011, while his current album Paradise continuing to chart well around the world. Simpson has been touring with music megastar Justin Bieber in preparation for his first European tour.
Simpson said that he was looking forward to kicking off his European tour in Dublin on 17 February, and that it was “surreal” that he was only sixteen and had the opportunity to travel the world performing his music at an age where most people were only just becoming eligible for their driving licence.
Simpson said: “I have never been to Europe and so it will be good to get over there. My tour goes through all of Europe pretty much, and so I am looking forward to experiencing different cultures and seeing what it is like.”
Earlier this year Simpson launched his own webseries titled The Paradise Series on his official website, which gives fans a look “behind the curtains” as the pop-star goes on tour and continues to record his third album, which he will return to the US to work on at the end of his European tour.
Simpson will begin the UK leg of his next tour on 19 February at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. He will perform fourteen shows throughout the United Kingdom in cities including London, Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
Visit www.codysimpson.com for a full list of Simpson’s concerts and information about how to purchase tickets.
To win two tickets to one of four Cody Simpson UK shows see WIN Cody Simpson UK Tour tickets.