Amy Macdonald

Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter.

Amy Elizabeth Macdonald was born on 25 August 1987.

She attended Bishopbriggs High School in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.

After being inspired by Travis at the T in the Park festival in 2000, she heard Travis' song "Turn" and wanted to play it herself.

She bought a Travis chord book, and started playing on her father's guitar, teaching herself how to play at only 12 years old.

Soon afterward she began composing her own songs, the first being called "The Wall".

She started playing in pubs and coffee houses around Glasgow at the age of 15, including the Brunswick Cellars on Sauchiehall Street.

Macdonald sent a demo CD in response to an advertisement placed in the NME by a new production company set up by songwriters Pete Wilkinson and Sarah Erasmus.

Wilkinson said he was "literally aghast" at her songwriting abilities when first he heard Macdonald play the songs "This Is the Life" and "Mr Rock n Roll".

He then spent around eight or nine months recording demos with Macdonald at his home studio with a view to securing a record deal for his new client.

In 2007, she released her debut studio album, This Is the Life, which respectively produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll" and "This Is the Life"; the latter charting at number one in six countries, while reaching the top 10 in another 11 countries.

The album reached number one in four European countries – the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland – and sold three million copies worldwide.

In 2007 she signed a contract with Vertigo when she was 18 years old.

In 2007 Macdonald released her debut album, titled This Is the Life.

The album sold three million copies, and reached No. 1 in the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark.

This Is the Life reached No. 92 on the US Billboard 200.

The single, "This Is the Life" reached No. 25 on the US Billboard Triple-A radio airplay charts.

The first single from the album, "Poison Prince", was only a limited release.

The second single, "Mr. Rock and Roll", became Macdonald's first top 40 song, charting at No. 12 in the United Kingdom.

However the third single, "LA", missed the top 40 at No. 48.

The fourth and most successful single, "This Is the Life", charted at No. 28 in the UK, and was No. 1 in five other European countries.

The single was awarded Platinum in Germany and Belgium and Gold in Spain and Switzerland.

It was also the theme song of True Law (Prawo Agaty), a Polish legal drama TV series.

The fifth single, "Run", gave Macdonald her second lowest chart position in the UK at No. 75.

However, "Run" charted at No. 36 in Germany.

The sixth and final single was the re-release of "Poison Prince"; it charted at No. 148 in the UK, Macdonald's lowest chart position.

The album's track "Youth of Today" was chosen as the first single featured on Bebo/iTunes' "Free Single of the Week" program.

She appeared as a musical performing guest on British and foreign shows including The Album Chart Show, Loose Women, Friday Night Project, Taratata (France), and This Morning.

She won the best newcomer award at the Silver Clef Awards.

Moderate success in the American music market followed in 2008.

Macdonald has sold over 12 million records worldwide.

She has appeared on several US talk shows such as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2008), where she performed "Mr. Rock and Roll" and also The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2008) where she performed her hit single, "This Is the Life".

Macdonald's second studio album, A Curious Thing, was released in 2010.

Its lead single "Don't Tell Me That It's Over" peaked at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart, and reached the Top 10 in several mainland European countries.

In 2010, she collaborated with Ray Davies on his album, See My Friends; she sang with him on a cover of the Kinks' 60s hit "Dead End Street".

Her third studio album, Life in a Beautiful Light, was released in 2012 and supplied three singles: "Slow It Down", "Pride" and "4th of July".

In 2017, Macdonald released her fourth studio album, Under Stars, which entered at number two on the Scottish and UK Album Charts, and peaked within the top 10 of the album charts in Germany and New Zealand.

It spawned three three singles, with the lead single "Dream On" achieving chart success in European charts such as Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and her native Scotland.

In 2020, she released her fifth studio album, The Human Demands, which spawned four singles and one promotional single.

The lead single "The Hudson" reached number twelve in her native Scotland, whilst The Human Demands performed favourably in European album markets.