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Fefe Dobson
2007 MuchMusic Video Awards
Background information
Birth name	Felicia Dobson
Born	February 28, 1985 (1985-02-28) (age 24)
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s)	Pop rock, pop punk, alternative rock
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	Island Def Jam, Universal Music Canada, 21 Music

Felicia "Fefe" Dobson (born February 28, 1985)¹ is a Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter.

Early life

Felicia Lynn Dobson was born on February 28, 1985, in Scarborough, Ontario (east district of Toronto). Felicia became the second daughter to a mother of Irish, Dutch, Canadian Indian and English ancestry and to a father of Jamaican heritage.² Although her real name is Felicia, she has always been called Fefe. Her father left the family when she was young, and she only saw him periodically. She eventually stopped seeing and talking to him when she turned 13. Her anger is expressed in her song "Unforgiven". When she was young, Dobson attended a performing arts community center, in the fifth grade she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at her school. "After that, I felt a spiritual connection with Judy Garland," she said. She has also said that her biggest musical inspiration growing up was Michael Jackson, "I swore I was Michael Jackson. Then I found out I wasn't Michael Jackson and it broke my heart."³

When she was 11, her mother had given her a karaoke machine for her birthday. After she learned how to use the machine, she made a demo tape of 24 songs by such artists as Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Selena, and Madonna. She began sending the demo tape to record labels, but with little success. By this time Dobson had also begun writing her own songs.

She went to Wexford Collegiate Institute, a high school in Scarborough known for its performing arts program. She still kept looking for a record company that would make a record deal with her. Before signing with Universal Music Canada and Island Records, Fefe Dobson considered signing to her first record deal with Jive Records years earlier.

Music career

Debut album

In 2000, she was discovered and signed by Jive Records. The record label wanted to give her a traditional pop star image. Dobson, however, wanted more guitar and to include some of her own written songs. Jive rejected the idea, so she left the record company. She found herself singing in a Toronto bar at 8:30 in the morning. It turned out a CEO at The Island Def Jam Music Group was in the bar that very morning. He wanted to sign her. They signed her up on the wrong lyrics. She sang her song "Stupid Little Love Song" and what the people thought she sang was "Stupid Little Buzz Saw" which they thought was "genius". She met producer Jay Levine through Island Records and they began working on her music. “He just really let me be free. He found something in me that he really thought was special, it was just fate”. When in the recording studio, she hung up inspirational pictures of Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Coldplay, Jeff Buckley and the Vines, to help motivate her sound and to commemorate the artists who influenced her.

Dobson's self-titled debut album was released December 9, 2003 by Island Records and sold 307,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.⁴ Four singles were released from the album; "Bye Bye Boyfriend," "Take Me Away", "Everything", and "Don't Let Me Fall". "Take Me Away" and "Everything" were used in the film The Perfect Score.

During much of 2004, Dobson promoted her debut album, appearing for a live performance on TRL and numerous magazine covers and articles. Dobson made an appearance on NBC's TV series American Dreams where she played the role of Tina Turner, covering the song "River Deep, Mountain High".⁵ She was also the opening act on Justin Timberlake's European tour.⁶ That July, she released a new single, "Don't Go (Girls and Boys)", which was also featured in a Tommy Hilfiger commercial starring the singer. ⁷ The album was later reissued with that single added. Dobson also had a new song, "If You Walk Away", on the soundtrack of Raising Helen.

Dobson released "Truth Anthem" on the Much Dance 2005 CD compilation, a benefit for Canadian branch of War Child. In April 2005, Dobson was nominated for two Juno Awards, Pop Album of the Year and New Artist of the Year; both categories were won by Avril Lavigne.⁸ In the summer of 2005, Dobson was in a public service ad "Make Poverty History", which brings awareness to child poverty worldwide.⁹

Sunday Love

By 2006, Dobson returned to the studio to add some finishing touches to her second album, Sunday Love. Musicians and songwriters she collaborated with during the recording process include Nina Gordon, Kay Hanley, John 5, Billy Steinberg, Matthew Wilder, Cyndi Lauper, Courtney Love, Joan Jett, and Rancid's Tim Armstrong.

In February 2006 Dobson sang "O Canada" at All-Star Saturday Night, part of the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, Texas. In spring 2006, Dobson performed several shows around the United States, and began promoting Sunday Love in anticipation of its release. The first single, "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" did not chart.

Sunday Love was never released because Dobson was dropped from Island Records. The album was reviewed in both Spin and Vibe magazine.^{citation needed} "My real good fans, my hardcore fans, have it, so that's most important," Dobson says. "At least it got out there to a few hands, and now it's time to make a record on my own terms."¹⁰ "It was sad," says Dobson. "But instead of sitting there and being depressed and begging people for the record, I went back to the studio, got people that I knew, friends that I knew, and I started again."¹⁰

One song from the unreleased album, "Be Strong", appeared on the soundtrack for the film It's a Boy Girl Thing.

[[Media:#REDIRECT Example.ogg]===Going independent; Joy (2009)=== After being dropped by Island Records, Dobson decided to go back to her roots and create a new album on her own terms. Dobson said in an April 2007 interview that her new efforts were coming along nicely and should see the light of day sooner than later.¹⁰

"Start All Over", a song co-written by Dobson and featuring her in background vocals, was recorded by Miley Cyrus on her 2007 album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus and was released as a single, peaking at number 57 on the Billboard Pop 100.

In March 2008, Dobson performed three songs, including "Everything", at Toronto's Earth Hour concert.¹¹ In June 2008, Dobson hosted a segment for E! Canada's E! News Weekend which talked about fashion for petite women.¹²

"Watch Me Move" was released as a digital download on September 9, 2008. The song was also used as the theme for comedian Margaret Cho's The Cho Show.¹³
In October 2008, Dobson posted a video blog of updates in which she stated she would travel to Los Angeles to do some finishing touches to her as-yet-untitled third album.^{14not in citation given}

In an interview in January 2009, Dobson said that "Watch Me Move" was a "teaser to what's to come" and hinted that the first single and promotional video will be released soon and will have a "soft rock vibe".^{15not in citation given}

A song was posted by Dobson in February 2009, titled "I Want You" from her upcoming unnamed album. The song was featured on Dobson's official website for a time, and is now on her imeem. In April 2009, Fefe released a video blog of updates, stating that her album is finally complete, and that it should be available soon. In May 2009, Fefe then posted a mix of both "Watch Me Move" and "I Want You", entitled "I Want You 2 Watch Me Move" on her imeem, MySpace, and official website. Fefe then confirmed that the song is the first official single from her upcoming album, ''Joy'', which she confirmed via Twitter is scheduled for a September 2009 release. A music video had been shot for the single on May 23, 2009. Photos from the video shoot were recently released by MuchMusic and the video is scheduled for a July release along with a digital and radio release of the song.

In June 2009 the tracklisting for Jordin Sparks 2nd studio album, Battlefield was announced. People noticed that Track 3 "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" is the same title as a song by Fefe Dobson. The preview clip of Jordin's "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" reveals that it is indeed a cover of Fefe's song.

"I Want You" was released as a digital download on July 3, 2009.

Discography

• Fefe Dobson (Island, 2003)
• Sunday Love (unreleased)
• Joy (expected September 2009)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fefe Dobson

• Official website
• Fefe Dobson at MySpace
• Fefe Dobson at imeem
• Fefe Dobson at BestFan
• Fefe Dobson discography at MusicBrainz
• Fefe Dobson at Discogs