Virginia to Vegas

Virginia to Vegas
Birth name Derik John Baker
Born (1990-01-31) January 31, 1990
Virginia, United States
Origin Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
Instruments
Years active 2013–present
Labels Wax Records
Associated acts
Website virginiatovegas.com

Virginia to Vegas (born Derik John Baker on January 31, 1990) is an American-born Canadian singer and songwriter. Raised in Guelph, Ontario, he attended high school at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI). Virginia to Vegas operates in Toronto.[1] He is best known for his Platinum-certified debut single, "We Are Stars", released through Wax Records in January 2014. His debut studio album, Utopian, was released in December 2016.

Music career

2013–14: Career beginnings and Vol. I

Virginia to Vegas was signed to Wax Records in July 2013, after label executive, Jamie Appleby, discovered him on YouTube. The first single "We Are Stars" was released on January 7, 2014, and entered the Canadian Singles Top 100 chart at 94 on week 5, February 1, 2014, peaked at 14 and stayed for one week.[2] Soon after Virginia to Vegas joined Alyssa Reid to open for Hedley's Wildlife Tour 2014.[3] On July 5, 2014, Virginia to Vegas was among Pitbull, Simple Plan, and American Authors, as supporting acts to Maroon 5 for Salmon Festival in Grand Falls-Windsor.[4] In the fall of 2014, Virginia to Vegas joined Alyssa Reid on a short Canadian tour.[5] On November 10, 2014, Virginia to Vegas released the Volume I EP, which includes his Platinum-certified debut single "We Are Stars".[6][7]

Virginia to Vegas performed at the 2014 Canadian Radio Music Awards where he was nominated for the Heartseeker Award, and was brought up by Alyssa Reid to perform a song together at the Chum FM FanFest.[8] In the summer, Virginia to Vegas performed at the MMVAs 2014 "We Are Stars" with Alyssa Reid.[9]

2015–present: Utopian

Virginia to Vegas released a new single, "Our Story", on May 4, 2015.[10] The song experienced modest airplay on adult pop radio, but failed to enter the Canadian Hot 100. His radio success with these three singles contributed to him being nominated for Pop Artist or Group of the Year at the 2015 Sirius XM Indie Awards.[11]

On September 2, 2016, he released a new single, "Lights Out", which samples Rockwell's 1984 single, "Somebody's Watching Me".[12] That fall, he announced that his debut studio album would be released by the end of 2016.[13] Utopian was released on December 2, 2016 and features all four of his singles released through that date.[14]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details
Utopian

Extended plays

Title EP details
Vol. I
  • Released: November 10, 2014
  • Label: Wax
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications Album
CAN
[16]
CAN
AC

[17]
CAN CHR
[18]
CAN
Hot AC

[19]
2014 "We Are Stars"
(featuring Alyssa Reid)
14 13 11 14 Utopian
"Don't Fight the Music" 97 30 33 36
2015 "Our Story" 47 32
2016 "Lights Out" 58 12 28

Promotional singles

Year Single Album
2014 "Colourful"[21] Vol. I

Christmas singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
CAN
[16]
CAN
AC

[17]
2014 "Baby, It's Cold Outside"
(featuring Alyssa Reid)
5 Non-album single

References

  1. "Virginia to Vegas in Studio". CHFI. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  2. "Virginia to Vegas and Alyssa Reid - We Are Stars". ACharts.us. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. "ISSUE 18 – Interview: Virginia to Vegas @ CMW". Into The Crowd Magazine. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  4. Gunn, Andrea. "UPDATED: Maroon 5 to headline Salmon Festival". Journal Pioneer. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  5. "Derik Baker and Alyssa Reid reveal how they met". CP24. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  6. "Virginia to Vegas". The Feldman Agency. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  7. Pham, Vivian. "Listen—Virginia To Vegas Releases New Single 'Colourful'". Pop Dust. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  8. Dun, Christina. "Virginia to Vegas: "We Are Stars" Singer is a Rising Star to Watch". Faze Magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  9. "Virginia to Vegas ft. Alyssa Reid set to perform". MMVA Muchmusic. Muchmusic.ca. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  10. "Don't Fight the Music - Virginia to Vegas | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  11. Delmar, Sari. "2015 INDIE AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED". INDIES. Sirius XM. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  12. Kennedy, John R (November 8, 2016). "Virginia to Vegas Channels Rockwell In 'Lights Out'". iHeartRadio. iHeartMedia. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  13. Doole, Kerry (November 25, 2016). "Virginia To Vegas: Lights Out". FYI Music News. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  14. "Utopian by Virginia to Vegas". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  15. "Vol. I - EP by Virginia to Vegas". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Virginia to Vegas - Chart history (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Chart Search". Billboard Canada AC for Virginia to Vegas. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  18. "Chart Search". Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Virginia to Vegas. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  19. "Chart Search". Billboard Canada Hot AC for Virginia to Vegas. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  20. "Canadian digital download certifications – Virginia to Vegas – We Are Stars". Music Canada.
  21. "Colourful - Virginia to Vegas | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 31, 2016.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.