Anastacia
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk (/ˌænəˈsteɪʒə/ AN-ə-STAY-zhə; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. Her first two studio albums, Not That Kind (2000) and Freak of Nature (2001), were released in quick succession. Spurred on by her globally successful debut single "I'm Outta Love", Anastacia was declared the "world's best-selling new female pop artist" at the World Music Awards in 2001. Her commercial success continued with the albums' other singles, such as "Not That Kind", "Paid My Dues" and "One Day In Your Life", as well as the official song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, "Boom".
This article is about the singer. For other uses, see Anastacia (disambiguation).
Anastacia
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk
- Singer
- songwriter
1983–present
- Epic
- Mercury
- BMG Rights
- Sony Music
- Universal Music Group
- Live Here Now
After recovering from breast cancer, she returned with her third album, 2004's Anastacia, which deviated from her two previous albums into a more rock sound. Peaking at number one in 11 countries, it became Europe's second-best-selling album of the year. These first three studio albums had reached combined worldwide sales of 20 million copies by 2006.
Her duet with Eros Ramazzotti, "I Belong to You (Il Ritmo della Passione)", was a chart-topping success throughout Europe in 2006. After switching labels, she released her fourth studio album, the R&B-infused Heavy Rotation, in 2008. Her 2012 album of male rock songs covers, It's a Man's World, was followed by two studio albums that marked a return to her own pop-rock sound: Resurrection (2014), which debuted in the top ten of several European charts, and Evolution (2017), which was preceded by its lead single "Caught in the Middle". In 2023, she released an album of German songs translated to English entitled Our Songs.
With 50 million records sold worldwide and number-one singles in 19 countries, Anastacia has established herself as one of the most successful female artists that emerged in the 2000s and become known for her intense and distinct mezzo-soprano voice and darkly-tinted glasses. She has won numerous awards, such as MTV EMAs, World Music Awards and NRJ Music Awards. During her life, Anastacia has battled many health problems, including breast cancer twice and Crohn's disease, which led to a scar on her abdomen that has become another of her trademarks. In recognition of her charitable efforts in breast cancer awareness, Anastacia became the second woman ever to receive the Humanitarian Award at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, in 2013.
Life and career[edit]
1968–1998: Early life and career beginnings[edit]
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk was born on September 17, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois;[4] her late father Robert Newkirk (of German descent) was a club-singer and her mother Diane Hurley (of Irish descent) an actress on Broadway.[5] When she was five years old, her parents split up and Robert abandoned the family, only attempting to make contact with her after she became famous—but she refused to see him.[6][7] The rest of the family moved to a one-bedroom apartment in New York City when Anastacia was a teenager.[8][9] She enrolled at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan.[10] After graduation, she worked jobs at restaurants and hair salons while pursuing a career in the music industry.[11]
Anastacia was diagnosed with Crohn's disease[8][12] when she was thirteen. Despite her ongoing health problems Anastacia continued to pursue her ambitions for the next decade. Anastacia started her career in 1983[13] as a dancer for hire. Her first claim to fame was as a professional dancer (dancer for hire), making regular appearances in the mid-1980s and early 1990s on MTV's Club MTV.[14] She appeared in two music videos for American hip hop trio Salt-N-Pepa ("Get Up Everybody (Get Up)" in 1988 and "Twist and Shout" in 1989).[10] In 1990, she started her musical career as a backing vocalist. She sang back-up vocals on pop star Tiffany's New Inside album in 1990. In 1991, she featured in the music video for "My Fallen Angel" by Dominican singer Coro. In 1992, she gained her first break as a solo singer on BET's television series ComicView, singing Oleta Adams' "Get Here".[15]
In 1993, she moved to Los Angeles to record the song "One More Chance" for the producer OG Pierce, but it brought no record deal. That same year, she recorded a collaboration with David Morales called "Forever Luv". Throughout the mid-1990s producers claimed to be intrigued by her voice's unusual tone, but Anastacia would be continuously told that "her sound just didn't quite fit into any category".[9] In 1994, she sang back-up vocals on Jamie Foxx debut album Peep This, and in 1995, Anastacia sang back-up on Paula Abdul's third studio album Head Over Heels. By 1997, Anastacia had become a member of a band called The Kraze which she remained a part of until 1999. In 1997, she also sang in the background choir for Kurt Carr's gospel vocal ensemble called The Kurt Carr Singers on their album No One Else.[16] She had two duet songs with Cuban composer Omar Sosa, "Mi Negra (1998), Tu Bombón" and "Tienes Un Solo" (1999).[17][18]
1998–2001: Not That Kind[edit]
In 1998, Anastacia was unemployed after being fired from a beauty salon for "being too loud" and she was disappointed after years of bad luck in the music industry.[9] She was considering switching to a career in child psychology.[9] Lisa Braude, who later became her manager, encouraged her to join MTV's talent show The Cut in 1998. Anastacia made her way to be one of the ten finalists, performing her own composition entitled "Not That Kind". Anastacia attracted the interest of record labels after appearing on The Cut hosted by rapper Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes .[8] Even though she did not win, she had impressed Elton John and Michael Jackson as well as the show's judges David Foster and Faith Evans. Anastacia signed a contract with Daylight Records, a custom label of Sony Music Entertainment's Epic Records in March 1999.
Backed up by leading American producers and songwriters, she released her debut album, Not That Kind on June 13, 2000. The album reached the top ten in eight countries in Europe and Asia. It sold four times platinum in Europe and triple platinum in Australia;[19] her debut single "I'm Outta Love" was a global hit in 2000, topping the charts in Belgium, Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number two in France,[20] Switzerland, Italy and Ireland as well as also reaching number six both in Germany[21] and the UK.[22] In the U.S., it was only a minor radio hit. The second single "Not That Kind" reached number 11 in the UK[22] and became a top 10 hit in Italy. It also entered the top 20 in Switzerland and France.[23] "Cowboys & Kisses" was released as the third single from the album, charting in the top forty in some European countries. As the last promotional only single, "Made for Lovin' You" charted in the UK at number twenty-seven and in France at number seventy-two. While "I'm Outta Love" was a top ten hit on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States, "Not That Kind" did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100; however by the end of the year Anastacia became the World's Best Selling New Female Pop Artist at the 2001 World Music Awards.[24] The album had sold five million copies by 2006.[25]
Philanthropy[edit]
Anastacia has supported many nonprofit organizations and attended various charity events such as Life Ball in 2006 (Europe's largest annual AIDS charity event), Make a Difference and Challenge for the Children. Anastacia was one of the fifteen artists to record their take on a Disney song on the compilation album Disneymania (2002). Anastacia recorded "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is also included on the Collector's Edition of her second album. Anastacia performed "You Shook Me All Night Long" with Celine Dion at the VH1 Divas Las Vegas, a concert to benefit The VH1 Save The Music Foundation.[115] The song was featured on the Divas Las Vegas live album.
In 2003, Anastacia performed at the charity event, 46664, organized by Nelson Mandela to raise awareness of AIDS.[116] She sang with Beyoncé, U2 and Queen, and also contributed to the song "Amandla", such as recording the song and providing some of the lyrics. Annie Lennox joined forces with Anastacia and 22 other female artists to raise awareness of the transmission of HIV to unborn children in West Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa and Southeast Africa.[117] The single "Sing" was released on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007, in conjunction with Annie Lennox's appearance at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Anastacia created "The Anastacia Fund" in partnership with Estée Lauder. The organization helps raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of mammograms to women 35 and under.[118] She has expressed concerns that women under 40 are not generally targeted for screenings, except in situations where there is a family history of breast cancer, and she wants to help make a difference after a mammogram helped save her own life.[119]
Anastacia began selling her stage clothing on eBay, donating a portion to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The auctions were hosted by an eBay Trading Assistant and Certified Business Consultant. New listings began every Friday for 6 months.
In 2008, she performed at the "Pink Ribbon Gala" in Stockholm along with nine female artists who have fought breast cancer.[119] She also appeared on "Divas II", a benefit concert along with many other female artists as well as performing at the ChildLine Concert in Dublin.