In November 2003, at the age of 19, Melua released her first album, Call off the Search, which reached the top of the United Kingdom album charts and sold 1.8 million copies in its first five months of release. Her second album, Piece by Piece, was released in September 2005 and to date has gone platinum four times. Melua released her third studio album Pictures in October 2007, which has been announced to be the last of her albums in collaboration with Mike Batt. According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, Melua has a fortune of £18 million, making her the seventh richest British musician under thirty.
In the summer of 2003, aged just 18 and still studying at the Brit School of Performing Arts in leafy Surrey, no-one, least of all Katie, would have predicted what the next few years would hold for the teenager. Four years later, Katie has sold more than 7.5 million albums becoming, in 2006, the year’s best selling British female in the world along the way.
Georgian born Katie relocated from Tbilisi to Belfast at the age of 8 due to her father’s profession as a heart surgeon and 5 years later moved to South East London. After her GCSEs Katie joined the Brit School for Performing Arts where she undertook a BTEC and Music A-level and discovered different styles of music including Queen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Irish folk music and Indian music. On hearing an Eva Cassidy song Katie was blown away and when she discovered that Eva was no longer alive wrote the song ‘Faraway Voice’ as a tribute to her. It was this song that attracted the attention of the composer and producer Mike Batt. Katie signed to Batt’s record label Dramatico but stayed at the Brit School to complete her studies – she graduated with distinction in July 2003.
During the summer of 2003 her debut single, ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’, attracted the attention of British station BBC Radio 2 and upon its release entered the charts at number 10. Released in November, Katie’s debut album ‘Call Off The Search’ hit the UK number 1 spot in January 2004 and has subsequently scored top 10 positions throughout Europe. The album has since been certified gold in Holland, Hong Kong and Switzerland, platinum in Denmark, New Zealand and Australia, 2 x platinum in Germany, Ireland, Norway and South Africa and received the IFPI Double Platinum Award for 2 million European Sales. In March 2005 ‘Call Off The Search’ hit the number 1 spot in Denmark, a year after its initial release and became a top five album in Japan. Katie was awarded Best International Newcomer at Germany’s ECHO Awards in April 2005. In Britain, Katie was the highest selling female artist in 2004 – ‘Call Off The Search’ has now sold 1.8 million copies and is 6 x platinum (in Britain alone) and worldwide sales exceed 3.5 million.
Katie joined the line up for the Band Aid 20 single to record a new version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’. As an ambassador for Save The Children this was particularly poignant for Katie. In March 2005 Katie was invited by Nelson Mandela to perform at his 46664 concert in aid of Mandela’s AIDS foundation. In addition to performing a full live set, Katie joined Queen on stage to perform a moving version of ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’. Katie flew from South Africa to Sri Lanka where she experienced the work that is being done by Save The Children, particularly with child soldiers.
In August 2005 Katie and her family swore allegiance to The Queen and became British Citizens following a ceremony in Surrey, England. Katie was asked to perform at the Royal Wedding of Prince Pieter-Christiaan in Holland and at the Norwegian Royal Gala Concert in the presence of the Crown Prince Of Norway. Continuing the royal theme, the American TV show ‘Good Morning America’ broadcast live from Buckingham Palace and Katie was invited by the show to perform ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ and ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’. Katie performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Norway.
In between her overseas travel Katie recorded her new album, ‘Piece By Piece’, which was released in Europe on September 26th 2005. The album comprises more self-penned songs including the title track as well as a cover of the 1987 Cure hit ‘Just Like Heaven’ that Katie recorded for a new DreamWorks film starring Reese Witherspoon. The first single, ‘Nine Million Bicycles’, preceded the album release and gave Katie her highest UK single chart entry at number 5. One week later and Katie entered the UK album charts at number 1 and Europe swiftly followed with the album reaching #1 in Norway, Denmark and Holland, #2 in Ireland, #2 in Iceland, #3 in South Africa, #4 in Poland and #2 in Germany giving an overall chart position of #2 on the Billboard European Top 100 Chart.
Katie was nominated for two Brit Awards in the “Best Female” and “Pop” categories, for the “Best International Female” at the Edison Awards in Holland and was awarded “Best International Female (Rock & Pop)” at the Echo Awards in Germany. Once again Katie was pronounced the highest selling female artist in Britain in 2005 selling more than 1 million albums.
It is fair to say that 2006 was yet another extraordinary year for 22 year old Katie. In addition to the awards nominations, Katie had a Dutch tulip named in her honour, toured America coast to coast, raced at 160mph round Grand Prix circuit Silverstone, flew a plane, launched Save The Children’s ‘Rewrite The Future’ campaign, made the headlines with a Guinness World Record for the deepest concert when she performed 303 meters beneath the North Sea in the leg of a gas rig and was awarded the World Music Award for Britain’s Biggest Selling Female. Whilst in 2004 and 2005, Katie was the greatest selling female artist in Britain, in 2006 Katie was the highest selling European female artist in the world selling more than 3 million copies of her second album ‘Piece By Piece’.
Awarded the Golden Camera Award for International Pop Artist at the start of 2007, Katie was presented with the Echo Award for International Female Artist in March 2007.
October 2007 saw the release of Katie’s third album ‘Pictures’ – a record which has delighted her legions of fans, confirmed Katie’s status as a unique and remarkable vocalist, and revealed the third chapter in what is destined to be a long musical career.
Katie’s fourth album, “The Katie Melua Collection”, is a musical summary of the 24 year old’s journey so far and is being released to coincide with Katie’s arena tour in October and November 2008.
www.katiemelua.com/
I Do Believe in Love
Katie Melua Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's no wind there, they assume
I guess conspiracies are nothing new
But I'm sure I've been there with you
And I don't believe that in space
The only life is here on earth
How could we be the only race
But I do believe in love
Though I should never rely on love
Nothing else excites me
But loving you
Is it true a politician's heart
Can rust away and fall apart?
I guess it must be hard
It must be hard
To know what's good
And to know what's easy
You might think it's strange
For all my wild ideas
But I do not believe that change
Can ever happen without tears
But I do believe in love
Though I should never rely on love
Nothing else excites me
But loving you
Katie Melua's song "I Do Believe in Love" is a contemplative piece that broods upon the various mysteries that surround the human perception of the world. The overall premise of the song seems to be that there's more to the universe than what meets the eye, and that love provides a kind of meaning that we sorely crave. For instance, the first stanza interrogates the moon landing conspiracy theory, stating that while conspiracies are nothing new, the singer knows that she's "been there" with her lover. It seems as if the moon landing and its veracity has taken on a significance akin to the nature of existence itself, and the mention of "wind" might suggest that these are ultimately peripheral concerns that are dwarfed by matters of love.
The second stanza takes on the question of life on other planets, and emphasizes the absurdity of assuming that we are the only beings capable of loving and hating. In this way, Melua seems to be suggesting that the question of the meaning of human existence is bound up in the existence of other life forms, and that the reality of love is something that transcends all boundaries. The third stanza takes a more political turn, and the differentiation between what is good and what is easy is the key issue, with politicians being singled out as those who have to make difficult moral choices while their hearts rust away. Finally, in the last stanza, the singer acknowledges that tears and pain are necessary preconditions for change, and that love is the primary thing that excites her.
Overall, "I Do Believe in Love" is a song that is highly personal and introspective, with Melua interrogating some of the deepest mysteries of existence while finding solace in the simple fact of loving someone. Its laid-back and musing tone makes for a song that is ideal for quiet contemplation and introspection.
Line by Line Meaning
They say we never landed on the moon
Many people doubt the reality of the moon landing
There's no wind there, they assume
The lack of wind on the moon supports the idea that the landing was faked
I guess conspiracies are nothing new
Conspiracy theories have been around for a long time
But I'm sure I've been there with you
Despite the doubts, the singer is convinced that she has experienced something similar with her loved one
And I don't believe that in space
The singer questions the idea that life only exists on Earth
The only life is here on earth
She thinks it's unlikely that Earth is the only planet with intelligent life
How could we be the only race
It doesn't make sense that humans are the only life form capable of love and hate
That loves and hates 'til death from birth?
Love and hate are universal emotions that exist across different species and cultures
But I do believe in love
Despite her doubts about other things, the singer has faith in love
Though I should never rely on love
She recognizes that love can be unpredictable and unreliable
Nothing else excites me
Love is the only thing that truly excites her
But loving you
Specifically, her love for her partner
Is it true a politician's heart
The singer wonders if politicians are capable of genuine emotion
Can rust away and fall apart?
Politicians may become jaded and lose their capacity for empathy
I guess it must be hard
It's understandable that being a politician is a difficult job
It must be hard
The singer repeats her sympathy for politicians
To know what's good
Politicians must balance the needs of different groups and make tough decisions about what's best for society
And to know what's easy
They may be tempted to take the easy way out instead of doing what's right
You might think it's strange
The people around the singer may find her ideas unusual
For all my wild ideas
She acknowledges that she has unconventional beliefs
But I do not believe that change
The singer doesn't think that progress can be made without pain
Can ever happen without tears
Change is often accompanied by hardship and struggle
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Katie Melua
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind