Posted November 25, 200618 yr Thought you might find this interestin g from the Daily record. 1 MILLION NOTES FOR SNEDDON Songwriter Sneddon makes fortune By Karen Bale FAME Academy winner David Sneddon has made his first million - despite turning his back on stardom. David, of Paisley, walked away from a £1million recording contract, a luxury London flat and a flash car. But now, three years later, David has made a fortune pursuing his first love of songwriting. The 27-year-old has raked in the cash after he penned a string of songs for soul star Nate James, including smash hit The Message. The track topped the charts across Europe and Asia. David has also written chart-toppers for Dutch star Van Velsen. And he has landed a deal with Polydor records to write songs for a host of new signings. David said last night: "I'm now officially a millionaire. "It's the songwriting that has made me the money and that has been one hell of a year. "It's incredible how successful a year it's been. And I'm still getting royalties from my album, which sold around 250,000 copies, and my two hit singles Stop Living The Lie and Don't Let Go." David shot to fame when he won BBC talent contest Fame Academy in 2002. Songwriting is where the money is. He won a £1million recording contract and a superstar lifestyle for a year - including a £900,000 flat, a sports car and a cameo role in the first Harry Potter film. But 10 months later, he quit his life as a pop star because he was sick of fame. Critics predicted David would vanish into obscurity and wrote him off as a has-been. But now, three years later, David has had the last laugh. David said: "All I ever wanted to do was be a songwriter." Last month, David was invited to sing at Scotland captain Barry Ferguson's MBE party. And he is hoping to perform a gig at Hogmanay. He said: "ITV have been on the phone asking what my plans are for New Year and it would be good to perform live on the TV. "Or else me and songwriting partner John Kielty might do an acoustic gig in Glasgow."
November 25, 200618 yr Turned his back on fame? Thought the prize was only to last for a year anyway. :unsure: His singing was rather bland in my opinion. -_- Well done on his song writing.
November 25, 200618 yr Well I was outraged at the time at this Wet Wet Wet wannabe beat the quite brilliant Lemar who finished in a distant third place on the first Fame Academy. (Not that the British public is subconsciously racist :rolleyes: ) I'm pleased he is doing well with his songwriting even if it is rather uninspiring, as he did come across as a really nice person on the show.
November 25, 200618 yr That's excellent, I really liked David, he came across as a real genuine guy and I'm glad he's become so successful :). xXx
November 25, 200618 yr Good on ya David. Proves that you can have success without the media circus most acts have to endure!
November 25, 200618 yr It's songwriting that earns the big bucks isn't it? Good for him. He was a nice guy. ^_^
November 25, 200618 yr I didn't rate him to be honest and was gutted when Lemar was voted out but think it's great that he has forged a career songwriting. Good luck to him.
November 26, 200618 yr Good on him. The songwriting is where the money is. I think that Fame Academy was a great show that actually gave the members a chance to show off their talents in the songwriting feild. It was so much better than the terrible X-Factor which is just plain karaoke. I mean how much talent does it take to get up on stage and sing someone else's song?
November 26, 200618 yr David was generally considered the best songwriter on Fame Academy, and although Lemar was vocally very strong, he was one of the weakest and didn't play instruments like David, Sinead and Ainsley, which I think was one of the main reasons he didn't do so well. It's easy in hind-sight to forget about all of that and blame racism, not that I'm saying it doesn't exist, because I'm sure it does. I didn't rate David as a performer and he is re-writing history ever so slightly with what happened after Fame Academy ended, but good for him if he is earning a good living within the music industry. His songs might be bland, but if it's selling it must have something going for it.
November 26, 200618 yr Glad he's doing well, songwriting was always his major strenght. Best of luck to him. Edited November 26, 200618 yr by truly talented
November 26, 200618 yr BTW, what is Ainslie doing? He was the best of that lot... Wikipedia entry for Ainslie. B)
November 26, 200618 yr Nate James 'The Message' IS a fantastic song, he deserves his million just for that...
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