George Michael was a famous English singer and songwriter, and record producer. He was born on June 25, 1963, in North London, United Kingdom. His father was a Greek Cypriot, and his mother was a British.
His original name was “Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou” (Yorgos Kiriakos Panayiotu) but he is most known for his stage name as George Michael. He is considered one of the best singers in the history of world pop music.
At the age of 53, the famous singer died on December 25, 2016, at his home in Goring, Oxfordshire, England. The cause of death of Michael was heart failure.
Career:
The famous singer, whose real name was “Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou”, became interested in music at the beginning of his education years and took the first step into music life right after school.
In 1981, Michael founded the Wham! music group with his school friend Andrew Ridgeley.
After founding the Wham, they released their first album, “Fantastic”. Having achieved great success with this album, the group achieved great success in many countries of the world, especially in the USA, with their unforgettable songs such as “Wake Me Up Before You Go”, “Freedom” and “I’m Your Man”.
Many songs of the group, which became popular at once, peaked in the USA and the UK. The group took the stage in 1985 in the People’s Republic of China. Wham! became the first western group to give a concert in China.
In the year of 1986, the group disbanded. George Michael single-handedly maintained the great fame he had achieved after the disbandment of the Wham group.
Michael started his solo career right after the group disbanded. George Michael made his solo debut in 1987 with the single “I Knew You Were Waiting”, in which he performed a duet with Aretha Franklin, who is also one of his favorite musicians. This single was a huge hit and peaked at number one on the US and UK charts. This work earned the artist a Grammy award.
The famous artist released his first solo album “Faith” in 1987. The singer, who received positive comments with this album, was also evaluated as very good by many music authorities. Faith, the famous artist’s debut solo album, sold 25 million copies and won a Grammy Award for album of the year.
In 1990, Michael continued to appeal to a wider audience with his second solo album “Listen without Prejudice Vol.1”. This album of the artist sold about 8 million copies, selling less than his previous work. Although George Michael could not achieve the success of Faith with his second album, the song “Praying for Time” in the album topped the US charts.
Michael wanted to continue his music career with a new albüm. The famous singer had problems with the record company “Sony” and his new album work was canceled as a result of disagreements. The famous singer filed a lawsuit against Sony for viewing his contract with the production company as “professional slavery,” and through this lawsuit, he brought attention to the issue of musician rights.
The singer released the single “Jesus To A Child” in 1994. Michael stated that he wrote this song with melancholic lyrics after the death of his lover, whom he had been for two years.
In 1996, he released his third studio album, “Older”. The famous singer also included the song “Jesus To A Child”, which he had previously released (in 1994) in his third studio album. The album generally consisted of soul and pop songs with melancholic lyrics and melodies. The album sold eight million copies worldwide, mostly in the UK.
The artist’s fourth studio album, “Songs From The Last Century”, was released in 1999.
Awards:
George Michael, whose albums have sold more than 100 million copies, has proven this success with the awards he has received many times.
George Michael was one of the most famous names in the world of pop music. He won the Grammy Music Award twice and the American Music Award three times.
Albums:
- 1987 – Faith
- 1990 – Listen Without Prejudice
- 1993 – Five Live
- 1996 – Older
- 1998 – Ladies and Gentlemen & The best of George Michael
- 1999 – Songs From The Last Century
- 2004 – Patience
- 2006 – Twenty Five
Singles:
- 1984 – Careless Whisper
- 1985 – A Different Corner
- 1987 – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (ft. Aretha Franklin)
- 1987 – I Want Your Sex
- 1987 – Faith
- 1988 – Father Figure
- 1988 – One More Try
- 1988 – Monkey
- 1988 – Kissing A Fool
- 1990 – Praying For Time
- 1990 – Waiting For That Day (İngiltere)
- 1990 – Mother’s Pride (A.B.D.)
- 1990 – Freedom ’90
- 1991 – Heal The Pain
- 1991 – Cowboys & Angels
- 1991 – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (ft. Elton John)
- 1992 – Too Funky
- 1996 – Jesus To A Child
- 1996 – Fastlove
- 1996 – Spinning The Wheel
- 1997 – Older
- 1997 – Waltz away dreaming (ft. Toby Bourke)
- 1997 – Star People 97
- 1997 – Star People (A.B.D.)
- 1997 – You Have Been Loved/The Strangest Thing 97
- 1998 – Outside
- 1999 – As (ft. Mary J. Blige)
- 2000 – If I Told You That (ft. Whitney Houston)
- 2002 – Freeek!
- 2002 – Shoot The Dog
- 2004 – Amazing
- 2004 – Flawless (Go To The City)
- 2004 – Round Here (U.K.)
- 2005 – John And Elvis Are Dead
- 2006 – An Easier Affair
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