In the category of
Wildcard Singer, Neon Dion And The Iggy Pops select
Darren Hayes.
Darren Stanley Hayes (born
May 8,
1972) is an
Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes debuted in 1996 as the frontman and singer of the
pop duo
Savage Garden, whose 1997 album
Savage Garden propelled them to stardom. It spawned the singles "
I Want You", "
To the Moon and Back", and the airplay number-one "
Truly Madly Deeply". The duo followed the success of their debut album with
Affirmation (1999), which also produced several hits such as "
I Knew I Loved You", "
The Animal Song" and "Crash and Burn". Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting ways in 2001.
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Hayes released his first solo album
Spin in 2002. The album sold two million copies worldwide, debuted at #2 in the UK album charts and spawned the hit single "
Insatiable". The album was supposed to continue the success of Savage Garden and make Hayes an even bigger star. However, it failed to meet the expectations of Hayes' record company at the time, despite selling several million copies worldwide. Hayes' second solo album
The Tension and the Spark marked a big change of direction for the singer-songwriter, showing him experimenting with
electronica and dark, depressing lyrics. This ultimately became the reason why Hayes and his record label parted ways in 2006. Hayes then started his own independent record label
Powdered Sugar, from which he would release his third solo album
This Delicate Thing We've Made (2007). Including his work with Savage Garden, Hayes has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.