Julian Remo Perretta[1] (born 13 January 1989) is an English singer-songwriter and producer. Perretta first gained attention in 2010 with the single "Wonder Why", released in the UK by Columbia Records.

Julian Perretta
Background information
Born (1989-01-13) 13 January 1989 (age 35)
London, England
Genres
Years active2008–present
Labels

Perretta has worked with artists across many genres, notably Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, and Atlanta-based hip-hop artist Lil Baby.[2]

Perretta has sold more than 15 million records globally, as a writer and vocalist.

In 2022, Perretta's vocals were featured on the global hit single “Miss You”, by German producer Southstar.[3]

In 2023, Perretta collaborated with Purple Disco Machine and Kungs on the single "Substitution".

Personal life

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Perretta was born in London to an Italian father and an Irish mother, having one sister.[4] Perretta left school at 15 to pursue a career in music. He developed a fan base while playing regular live sets at The Water Rats in Kings Cross and other pubs and bars around central London.

In May 2008, he joined Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse on a European tour, and sang the Smiths' song, "Stop Me". In November 2009, Beyoncé invited Perretta to be special guest on her "I Am" Arena Tour. In July 2017, Beyoncé invited Perretta on the Formation Tour as her special guest.

Music career

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Shortly after leaving school, he met the members of the band Jamiroquai and began working on demos. Two members from Jamiroquai—keyboardist Matt Johnson and guitarist Rob Harris—went on to produce Perretta's debut LP, and Universal Music Group signed him in 2010. Although a British artist, Perretta found greater success in continental Europe, notably France, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Germany. In January 2010, the debut single "Wonder Why" received its first play on national radio. BBC Radio 1 presented the single by host Annie Mac to a positive response by the public. In October 2010, Perretta performed on French television shows Le Grand Journal and Taratata.

"Wonder Why" received large radio airplay and charted within the top 5 on multiple iTunes charts around Europe, reaching platinum status. His debut album, Stitch Me Up, was released on 27 March 2011 and received positive reviews from critics. The album was certified platinum a year later, charting at number 1 in France and performing reasonably well in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Holland.

In March 2011, Perretta toured Europe, playing a total of 104 shows.

In October 2011, Universal released a deluxe edition of the album Stitch Me Up as a Christmas re-edition. It contained 7 new tracks including acoustic versions and behind the scenes videos of the singer on tour. A promotional video for Perretta's single "Ride My Star" was released online on 19 October 2011. Perretta has also appeared on Ed Sheeran tours on various occasions throughout Europe in late 2012, playing some original material and covers.

Perretta also collaborated with Los Angeles–based producer Zhu, most known for the single "Faded", which found fame.

Perretta released a single from his second album, Karma, on 13 November 2015, entitled "Miracle", a collaboration with Belgian producer Lost Frequencies. The song became Perretta's biggest solo hit to date, selling over 1.2 million copies and reaching number 1 in over 14 countries.

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
BE
(WA)

[5]
FRA
[6]
Stitch Me Up 6 30
Karma
  • Released: 17 June 2016[7]
  • Label: Play On
  • Formats: CD, digital download
29

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Single Year Peak chart positions Album
BEL
(FL)

[8]
BEL
(WA)

[5]
FRA
[6]
NLD
[9]
SWI
[10]
"Wonder Why" 2010 32
(Ultratip)
11 8 68 64 Stitch Me Up
"Stitch Me Up" 10
(Ultratip)
81
"If I Ever Feel Better" 2011 8
(Ultratip)
82
"Generation X" 2012 12
(Ultratip)
159 Non-album singles
"Naked" 35
(Ultratip)
"That's All" 2013
"Wildfire" 2014 9
(Ultratip)
82
"Miracle" 2015 21 5 5 13 Karma
"I Cry" 2016 3
(Ultratip)
19
"Karma" 32
(Ultratip)
74
[11]
"Private Dancer"
(with Feder)
2017 41
[12]
Non-album singles
"On the Line" 2018 20 20
"Perfect Melody"
(with Jonas Blue)
2022 Together
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Featured in

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Single Year Peak chart positions Album
AUT
BEL
(FL)

[8]
BEL
(WA)

[5]
FRA
[6]
"Body Talk (Mammoth)"
(Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, (Moguai) feat. Julian Perretta)
2014 2 25 106 Non-album singles
"Tales of Tomorrow"
(Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. Fedde Le Grand feat. Julian Perretta)
2015 64 2 21
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Videography

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Year Single Director
2010 "Wonder Why" David Yarvoroski
2010 "Stitch Me Up" JCT
2011 "If I Ever Feel Better" David Yarvoroski
2012 "RIde My Star" Blac Ionica
2013 "That's All"
2014 "All I Need"
2015 "Tales of Tomorrow"

Further reading

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  • Paul Lester (8 July 2009). "New band of the day No 580: Julian Perretta". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  • "Julian Perretta Interview". MTV.co.uk. 19 January 2009. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  • Natasha Richardson (6 April 2009). "Perez Hilton's Three Musical Acts to Watch in 2009". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 29 April 2010.

References

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  1. ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2004. Gives name at birth as "Julian Remo Perretta".
  2. ^ "Julian Perretta Feat. Lil Baby - Pony [WSHH Heatseekers Submitted]". www.worldstarhiphop.com. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Southstar Feat. Julian Perretta - Miss You".
  4. ^ "Julian Perretta Talks Paris, Perez and Kazoos on Spoonfed – Things to do in London". Spoonfed.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "Julian Perretta dans l'Ultratop Wallonie". ultratop.be (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  6. ^ a b c "Julian Perretta dans les chart français". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Karma: Julian Perretta: Amazon.fr: Musique". Amazon.fr. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Julian Perretta in Ultratop Vlaanderen". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Zoekresultaten (2): Julian Perretta" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  10. ^ "Julian Preretta in Swiss charts". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  11. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 49, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 30, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
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