Cody Robert Simpson (born 11 January 1997) is an Australian pop singer from
Gold Coast, Queensland, who is currently signed to US record label
Atlantic Records.
Early life
Simpson was born to Brad and Angie Simpson. He has two younger siblings, Tom and Alli.
He is also a talented swimmer, winning two gold medals at the Queensland Swimming Championships.
Simpson trained at the
Miami Swimming Club under coach Ken Nixon.
Simpson's mother Angie works as a volunteer at the club.
Simpson began to record songs in his bedroom during the summer of 2009 on
YouTube, performing "
I'm Yours" by
Jason Mraz, "
Cry Me a River" and "
Señorita"
by
Justin Timberlake, "
I Want You Back" by the
Jackson 5,
and his own songs, "One"
and "Perfect".
He was subsequently discovered on YouTube by Shawn Campbell,
a Grammy-nominated record producer who has produced for
Jay-Z and other artists.
Career
Simpson's rise to recognition was featured on
The 7.30 Report in December 2009.
He released his debut single, "
iYiYi" (which features American rapper
Flo Rida), on 15 May 2010. It was digitally released on 30 May 2010.
The music video for "iYiYi" was released on 30 June 2010. The music video for Simpson's second single, "Summertime", was released on 20 September 2010.
Simpson relocated to Los Angeles in June 2010 with his family to record his songs with
Atlantic Records and his producer Shawn Campbell.
His manager is Michael 'Blue' Williams.
That same month, Simpson appeared on
Sunrise.
On 22 June 2010, it was announced that Simpson would participate in the
Camplified 2010 Tour,
along with other artists, touring across the United States. The tour
began on 5 July 2010 and ended on 14 August 2010. It was also Simpson's
first public tour.
While on tour, Simpson performed a song called "Love So Strong". In an interview with
Popstar Magazine, Simpson stated that his inspiration for the song was "A girl, back home. That's all I can say."
On 4 December 2010, it was announced on Simpson's official website that an
EP entitled
4 U
would be released through iTunes on 21 December 2010. The EP includes
five tracks in total, four of them being previously unreleased.
Simpson recorded a remake of the song "
I Want Candy" by
The Strangeloves as the main theme song for the Easter-themed live-action/
CGI-animated film
Hop.
On 23 April 2011, Simpson released the single "On My Mind" through
his website. It was released on iTunes on 23 May 2011 and the music
video was released on 17 June 2011.
Simpson is currently working on tracks for an upcoming EP on Atlantic
Records. It will be released on 20 September 2011. Simpson's best
friend, Campbell Carsley announced the release date on twitter on 18
July 2011. It will be called Coast To Coast, the same name as his
current mall tour. On 22 September, it was announced that Cody Simpson
hired
Justin Bieber's manager,
Scooter Braun as his manager.
In December 2011
The Wish Factory released a Cody Simpson doll in two formats.