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/
Spellbound
Katie Melua Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've gone through a mysterious change
People say you're secretive
And you've been acting strange
They say there's magic afoot stay away they all warn
But to me you were magical from the day that you were born
I have become spellbound
You lifted me up high
Now I don't know how to get down
No, I don't know how to get down (down, down)
You're very different
You are so rare
Some kind of witchcraft
Is flying through the air
I'll admit I can't explain why I feel how I do
So you must have cast a spell
That's why my life feels new
I have become spellbound
Spellbound
You lifted me up high
Now I don't know how to get down
No, I don't know how to get down
I have become spellbound
Spellbound
You lifted me up high
Now I don't know how to get down
No, I don't know how to get down
No, I don't know how to get down
No, I don't know how to get down
The song "Spellbound" by Katie Melua is a lovely piece of music about being captivated and entranced by someone who has recently undergone a mysterious change. The lyrics describe how the singer hears whispers about this person acting strangely and secretly, and how others warn her that magic might be afoot. Despite the warnings, however, the singer is drawn to this person, feeling as though she is under a spell that she cannot escape from.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes increasingly entranced by this person, describing them as rare and mysterious, some sort of enchantress who has cast a spell on her without explanation. She feels lifted up by them, literally spellbound, and doesn't want to come back down to reality. The chorus repeats this sense of being under a spell, and not knowing how to break free of it.
In many ways, "Spellbound" is about the power of love and attraction, and how it can feel like a magical force that we have no control over. At the same time, the song hints at the dangers of being too enchanted by someone or something, and how we can lose ourselves in the process.
Line by Line Meaning
I heard that lately
Recently I heard some rumors about you
You've gone through a mysterious change
People claim you have undergone a mysterious transformation
People say you're secretive
Rumors suggest that you have become a secretive person
And you've been acting strange
Your behavior has been strange according to those who know you
They say there's magic afoot stay away they all warn
Rumors warn that you possess some mysterious magical powers, and advise people to stay away from you
But to me you were magical from the day that you were born
From the day I met you, I felt that there was something magical and unique about you
You're very different
You stand out from others and have a unique quality
You are so rare
You possess some qualities that are extremely rare and hard to find
Some kind of witchcraft
Your unique qualities are so extraordinary that it seems like they can only be explained by the use of supernatural forces
Is flying through the air
It feels like your unique qualities are being transmitted through the air, like some kind of magic spell
I'll admit I can't explain why I feel how I do
I cannot explain why I am so drawn to you - it defies explanation or rational understanding
So you must have cast a spell
Your magical powers must have cast a spell on me, causing me to feel the way I do
That's why my life feels new
Since I met you and fell under your spell, my life feels transformed and new
I have become spellbound
I have become entangled in your magical spell and cannot escape it
You lifted me up high
Your magical spell has caused me to feel elevated and exhilarated
Now I don't know how to get down
I am so wrapped up in your spell that I feel lost and unable to come back down to reality
No, I don't know how to get down (down, down)
I feel so spellbound that I repeat myself, emphasizing my confusion and feeling of being trapped
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Katie Melua
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dennis Daniels
This is so Lovely, Katie is such a wonderful singer.
maria tereza Jesus
Katie Melua, uma das melhores cantoras de blues. O Timbre, a expressão e entrega à música fazem dela a menina de "Blues" da atualidade!
Finch Lysse
One of my favourites =D Thank you ^^
PimLos
dont know how to get down..... like i feel right now! this girl is just amazing. no words....
Steve Phillips
Nice song but not just a song, I now believe this can actually happen being spellbound. Beautiful Katie Melua X
bumbolo09
KATIE is my everything! <3
לירז בלטין
Lovely song ..
crisp3ta42
I love katie ^.^
BLACK LEE
너무 환상적인 노래 잘들었습니다 모두 원더풀입니다
mrmd graham
(FOR WHO'S ACTIONS THREATENS MY OWN) IM RUBBER AND YOUR GLUE EVERY THING YOU SAY BOUNCE OFF ME AND STICKS TO YOU.