Then and Now: We take a look at some of Downtown Radio's favourite artists
Take a trip down memory lane!
We love playing some of the biggest tunes around, from pop stars such as Adele, Ed Sheeran, P!nk, Taylor Swift, George Ezra, Lewis Capaldi and many more, so we thought we'd take a look at how the likes of Rihanna, David Guetta and Katy Perry have changed over the years.
So, from Beyoncé's Destiny's Child days to Little Mix on The X Factor, and Adele when she won her first BRIT Award, take look through some of Downtown Radio's favourite artists, then and now...
Popular Downtown Radio artists then and now:
Then: Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, better known as simply Adele, graduated from BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in 2006. Not long after she finished, she posted some of her early music on the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com.
The boss of XL Recordings then gave the young singer a call after hearing some of her music on MySpace after a friend posted her demos on the website.
In 2008, Adele became the first person to receive a Critics' Choice BRIT Award, now called BRIT Award for Rising Star.
Now: Adele
Four studio albums and 17 singles later, Adele is a multi-award winner with four Number 1 albums, 11 Top 10 singles, 12 BRIT Awards and 16 Grammy Awards to her name.
She also released 'Skyfall', the soundtrack for the James Bond film of the same name back in 2012.
Fans were overjoyed when Adele made a comeback in 2021 with her album '30'. The album featured her Number 1 single 'Easy on Me' and the follow-up 'Oh My God' which reached Number 2 in the UK.
In 2022 she was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, receiving the award for Best Pop Solo Performance in 2023.
Then: Anne-Marie
Anne-Marie started out as a guest vocalist for acts such as Rudimental, Gorgon City and Magnetic Man. It wasn't until 2016 that she started to make a name for herself as a solo artist after appearing on Clean Bandit's huge hit 'Rockabye'.
Now: Anne-Marie
Anne-Marie is best known for her songs 'Alarm', 'Ciao Adios', 'Friends', '2002' and 'Don't Play', but the singer, whose full name is Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson, has also been nominated for many awards, including nine BRIT Awards.
As well as singing, Anne-Marie has appeared in a YouTube documentary called How To Be Anne-Marie, and voiced a part in a Disney film called Turning Red.
She has now finished her third album and also released several songs over the past year. Her latest song is with David Guetta called 'Baby Don't Hurt Me'.
Then: Becky Hill
Back in 2012, Becky Hill auditioned as part of the first series of The Voice, where she joined Jessie J's team, after both her and will.i.am turned around for her. Becky got through to the semi-final, but was then eliminated from the competition.
Now: Becky Hill
BRIT Award winner Becky Hill has now had 11 Top 20 singles in the last decade. Her debut song 'Gecko (Overdrive)' with Oliver Heldens was her first Number 1.
In 2022, Becky won her first BRIT Award for Best Dance Act. Her song 'Remember' with David Guetta was also nominated for a BRIT Award for Song of the Year.
In 2023, Becky followed the previous year's success picking up the BRIT Award for Dance Act once again.
Then: Beyoncé
Way back in the 90s, Beyoncé started out as part of Destiny's Child.
The group, which originally had four members, consisting of Beyoncé, along with LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson and Kelly Rowland, later went on to have huge success with the best-known line-up of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.
Now: Beyoncé
After Destiny's Child announced their hiatus in 2001, Beyoncé started out on an incredibly successful career in music and on the big screen.
Beyoncé has now released seven studio albums, 83 singles, and won 32 Grammy Awards (including ones with Destiny's Child).
She's also appeared in several films including, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dreamgirls and The Lion King.
In 2021, Bey's daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, won her first Grammy for Best Music Video for her performance in 'Brown Skin Girl', she was only nine years and 66 days at the time.
Meanwhile, Beyoncé herself is also a Guinness World Record Holder. In 2021 she broke the record for Most Grammy Awards won by a female artist, having won a massive 28 awards throughout her career (at the time).
In 2022, she led the Grammy nominations in a massive nine categories including Record Of The Year and Song of The Year for 'Break My Soul', she then won a massive four Grammys, including Best Dance/Electronic Album.
Then: Coldplay
Coldplay, consisting of lead singer and guitarist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey, started out when they met at university in the 90s.
It wasn't until they'd finished university and had a couple of name changes, that the band finally settled on the name Coldplay, and signed a five-album deal with Parlophone, releasing their debut single 'Brothers & Sisters'.
Now: Coldplay
More than two decades later, Coldplay, still with the original line-up, have a very successful career in music. The band have won nine BRIT Awards, including British Group in 2001, 2003, 2012 and 2016.
Each of their nine studio albums have reached Number 1, and they've had nine Top 5 singles.
Coldplay had their first TV performance following the pandemic opening The BRIT Awards 2021. They performed their song 'Higher Power' and wowed fans with an incredible light show and fireworks.
Then: David Guetta
In his 20s, David Guetta started working at a club called Broad Club in Paris, before becoming manager at Le Palace nightclub in the city.
During his time as a club DJ he played pop music followed by house music which he later became famous for.
Now: David Guetta
Now, David Guetta has worked with many very popular artists including Kelly Rowland, Sia, Ne-Yo, Akon, Zara Larsson and more recently, RAYE, Joel Corry, Becky Hill and Anne-Marie.
Some of his biggest hits are, 'Titanium' with Sia, 'When Love Takes Over' with Kelly Rowland and 'Remember' with Becky Hill.
In 2022, the DJ received BRIT Award nominations for 'Heartbreak Anthem' (Best International Song), and both 'Bed' and 'Remember' were nominated for Best British Single.
Then, in 2023 David won Producer of the Year.
Then: Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa started out when she was 14-years-old uploading songs to YouTube, but that wasn't the way she got noticed, it was more of a way for her to share her talent.
It was when she was 17-years-old, that she had a meeting with Tap Management who offered her a monthly salary to leave her job in a cocktail bar to focus on writing music.
During one of her songwriting sessions she co-wrote 'Hotter Than Hell' which would result in her being signed to Warner Bros. Records the following year.
Now: Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa is now a multi-award winning artist, with six BRIT Awards from 16 nominations and three Grammy Awards from eight nominations, under her belt.
She's also had some massive hits, namely 'New Rules', 'One Kiss' with Calvin Harris and 'Cold Heart (Pnau remix)' with Elton John.
Then: Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran started out busking in the early days. In 2004, Ed Sheeran started recording his music, independently releasing his first collection of work, 'Spinning Man'.
By the following year, he had released his EP 'The Orange Room', which featured four tracks, 'I Love You', 'Addicted', 'Misery' and 'Moody Ballad Of Ed'.
However, it wasn't until 2010, when the singer started to upload his work to YouTube that he really begun to get popular.
Now: Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran has released five studio albums, 37 singles and won seven BRIT Awards including Songwriter Of The Year in 2022.
Each of Ed's albums has hit the top spot and he's also had 10 Number 1 singles.
Ed released his album '=' ('Equals') in 2021, which included his Number 1 hits 'Bad Habits', 'Shivers' and 'Merry Christmas' with Elton John.
In 2022, Ed embarked on his 'Mathematics Tour', which saw him perform in the UK and Europe before going on to Oceania.
Now in 2023, the singer took his new album 'Subtract' on a mini tour and releases his Disney+ documentary on 3rd May.
Then: George Ezra
George Ezra studied songwriting at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2011, before playing the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2013.
He signed a record deal with Columbia, 12 days after his 19th birthday and released his debut album 'Wanted on Voyage' in 2014. The album featured two Top 5 hits from the singer, 'Budapest' and 'Blame It on Me'.
Now: George Ezra
George Ezra followed the success of 'Wanted on Voyage' with the release of his 2018 album 'Staying at Tamara's', and the massive hits, 'Shotgun' and 'Paradise'.
In 2022, George has released 'Anyone for You (Tiger Lily)', which is featured on his latest album 'Gold Rush Kid'.
He's been nominated for several BRIT Awards, winning British Male Solo Artist in 2019.
Then: Katy Perry
Katy Perry, real name Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, originally pursued a career in gospel music, but after having little success with her debut album in 2001, she moved to LA and decided to use her stage name Katy Perry (her mother's maiden name).
The singer then released her second album 'One of the Boys' in 2008 and begun to have a lot more success with hits such as, 'I Kissed a Girl', 'Hot n Cold', and 'Waking Up in Vegas'.
Now: Katy Perry
Katy Perry has now released four more albums, all reaching the Top 10 in the UK, spawning 10 Top 10 songs, including: 'Firework', 'Part of Me', 'Roar' and 'Chained to the Rhythm'.
The singer also holds Guinness World Records for the most Twitter followers (2014), and the most viewed Super Bowl Halftime Performance (2015).
Then: Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga, or Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, to use her real name, had huge success with her debut song 'Just Dance' in 2008, having written for many artists beforehand, including Britney Spears, Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls.
'Just Dance' was followed by 'Poker Face' cementing the singer firmly at the top of the charts.
Now: Lady Gaga
Since her initial success, Lady Gaga has continued to ride high in the charts with hits such as 'Bad Romance', 'Telephone' with Beyoncé, 'Shallow' with Bradley Cooper, and 'Rain on Me' with Ariana Grande.
Lady Gaga has also had five Top 5 albums (four at Number 1) in the UK, and has won three BRIT Awards, 13 Grammys, an Academy Award (Oscar), two Golden Globes, and a BAFTA! Quite the success story.
The unstoppable force has also appeared in several films including House of Gucci, where she played the role of Patrizia Reggiani.
As well as her success as a pop star, Lady Gaga has also had success collaborating with Tony Bennett. In 2022, Lady Gaga was nominated for five Grammy Awards with Tony, winning one for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, for 'Love for Sale' with Tony Bennett, the second album the pair have released together.
In 2022 she wrote the song 'Hold My Hand' for Top Gun: Maverick.
Then: Lewis Capaldi
Scottish singer-songwriter, Lewis Capaldi, was discovered at the age of 18, by his manager Ryan Walter, after he came across a SoundCloud recording Lewis had uploaded from his phone.
Lewis released his debut single 'Bruises' on 31st March 2017, followed by his debut EP 'Bloom'.
Now: Lewis Capaldi
Fast forward a few years and Lewis has won two BRIT Awards, for Best New Artist and Song of the Year, for 'Someone You Loved', both in 2020.
Lewis was also was nominated for The BRITs 2019 Critics' Choice Award in the year that Sam Fender won.
He scored a Number 1 album in 2019 for 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent', and five Top 10 songs in total including, 'Before You Go' and 'Hold Me While You Wait'.
The singer has also announced that his second album is called 'Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent' and will be released in May 2023.
So far he has released 'Forget Me' and 'Pointless' from the album and in early 2023 Lewis started his tour, which he will finish in the summer as some huge outdoor gigs.
The 'Pointless' singer will also release his Netflix documentary on 5th April.
Then: Little Mix
Little Mix, consisting of Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and former member Jesy Nelson, are one of The X Factor's biggest success stories. They were created as part of the competition and became the first group to win the show.
The girls' winner's single, 'Cannonball', went straight to Number 1 in the UK and became the fastest-selling single of 2011.
Now: Little Mix
Fast forward just over a decade and Little Mix is now a trio, after Jesy Nelson left the group in 2020. In the 11 years since they won The X Factor, the girls have won three BRIT Awards, for British Single of the Year ('Shout Out To My Ex' in 2017), British Video of the Year ('Woman Like Me' in 2019) and British Group in 2021.
In 2021 Little Mix announced that after their 'Confetti' tour they would be starting a hiatus. The band's members are still very much involved with their solo projects. Jade and Leigh-Anne have signed solo record deals and Perrie has her own clothing line Disora.
Then: Olly Murs
Olly Murs is another X Factor success story, despite not winning the competition in 2009 (he came second), he has gone on to have huge success in both music and presenting.
Before his success on The X Factor, Olly performed as part of a covers band. After The X Factor he released his debut single, 'Please Don't Let Me Go', which was nominated at the 2011 BRIT Awards for Best British Single.
Now: Olly Murs
Olly Murs has now had eight Top 10 hits including 'Dear Darlin', 'Troublemaker', 'Wrapped Up' and 'Up' featuring Demi Lovato.
As well as music, Olly has presented a number of TV shows including, The Voice UK, Starstruck and The Xtra Factor. He's also released six albums, four of which have been chart-toppers.
Then: P!nk
P!nk started performing in clubs when she was just 14, when she started using her stage name, that's still known by today.
It was in 2000 that she released her debut single 'There You Go' followed by her debut album, 'Can't Take Me Home'.
Now: P!nk
Over two decades later, with nine studio albums and 30 Top 20 singles later, it's safe to say that P!nk has had a successful career in music so far!
The singer has had Number 1 singles with 'Lady Marmalade' with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim and Mýa, 'Just Like a Pill', and 'So What'.
The singer, who also has three Grammys to her name, has also appeared in films such as Rollerball, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Happy Feet Two (voice).
P!nk has also been making wine for several years. The singer has her own winery in Santa Barbara, California and sells wine called Two Wolves wines.
In 2023, P!nk released her album 'Trustfall' along with several singles from it. She is also set to go on a UK tour.
Then: Rihanna
Way back in 2003, Rihanna started out in a group with two friends from school, when she was discovered by an American record producer. The 'SOS' singer was eventually signed, and released her debut album 'Music of the Sun' in 2005, along with her debut song 'Pon de Replay'.
Now: Rihanna
Throughout the last 15 years, Rihanna has continued to have success with Number 1 hits, 'Umbrella' with Jay-Z, 'Take a Bow', 'Only Girl (In the World)', 'What's My Name?' featuring Drake, 'We Found Love' featuring Calvin Harris and 'Diamonds'.
Rihanna has also had six headline concert tours, along with a co-headline tour with Eminem, as well as winning nine Grammys.
2022 was a pretty big year for the singer - not only did she give birth to her and A$AP Rocky's son in May, but she also revealed that she will be performing at the 2023 Super Bowl Half-Time show - AND she dropped her first single in six-years, 'Lift Me Up' for the Black Panther 2 soundtrack.
While performing at the Super Bowl in 2023, Rihanna announced to the world that she was pregnant with her second baby!
Then: Rita Ora
Rita Ora started out doing open mic sessions, before appearing on DJ Fresh's song 'Hot Right Now' which was a Number 1 hit. Rita's debut single 'How We Do (Party)' was also released in 2012, followed by her debut album 'Ora'.
Now: Rita Ora
Rita Ora has now had three Number 1 singles in the UK along with several collabs with the likes of Liam Payne, Calvin Harris, Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX, Tiësto and Jonas Blue and Sigala.
Rita has also appeared on the big screen playing the role of Mia Grey in the Fifty Shades films and the crime film Twist, where she played the role of Dodge.
Then: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift started out in country music. The singer released her debut, self-titled album 'Taylor Swift' in 2008, which was a country album, followed by 'Fearless' in 2008, described as country pop.
'Fearless' featured Taylor's big hit 'Love Story' which saw her enter the mainstream charts, reaching Number 2 in the UK.
Now: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift has had quite the career. In 2022 she released her 10th studio album 'Midnights' and announced an upcoming UK tour. The album is her 12th overall as she has now re-recorded two of her albums.
She has been re-recording her old songs much to her fans' delight as her songs, which were recorded many years ago, were acquired by another label and the pop star wanted to take back the ownership of her music.
Over the years, Taylor has won countless awards, including one for All Too Well: The Short Film, a short film written and directed by herself, based on the 2012 song of the same name.
Then: Britney Spears
Fresh-faced Britney Spears entered the music scene in 1999, releasing her first album '...Baby One More Time' when she was just 17-years-old.
Following her hugely successful debut album, she went on to release amazing albums like 'Oops!... I Did It Again' (2000), 'Circus' (2008) and 'Femme Fatale' (2011) and remained highly influential as a pop artist in the early 2000s.
Now: Britney Spears
Britney continued to release music in the following years and now has an impressive nine studio albums in her discography, with her 2016 album 'Glory' being her latest.
Following a break from music, Britney collaborated with Elton John to create the song 'Hold Me Closer' which came out in August 2022. This is the first song she has released since her conservatorship ended in 2021, and she was met with massive support from her fans.
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