Keidran Kenmore Jones (born 15 April 1987), better known by his stage name Iyaz (pronounced /ˈaɪjæz/ EYE-yaz), is a British Virgin Islands singer and songwriter, formerly signed with the record label Warner Music Group. He is known for his singles "Replay", "Solo", and "Pretty Girls". He released his debut album Replay in 2010.
people.comLife and career
1987–2009: Early life and career beginnings
Keidran Jones, known by his stage name Iyaz, was born in 1987 into a musical family. He was born and raised on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.2 Iyaz studied digital recording at New England Institute of Technology.3 He was featured on the track "Island Girls" by Out Da Box Family, which achieved radio success in the Caribbean.4 Sean Kingston found Iyaz through his Myspace page in 20085 and later signed him to a recording contract with Time Is Money/Beluga Heights. Kingston also introduced him to producer and Beluga Heights head J.R. Rotem.
2009–present: Replay and Aurora
In 2009, he released "Replay" which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 1 in several territories, including the United Kingdom.6 His second single "Solo" was released in February 2010, and peaked at number 32 on the Hot 100. He also took part in recording the Haiti charity single, "We Are the World 25 for Haiti". His debut album, Replay, was released in 2010, and he was also featured on Jake Zyrus’s single "Pyramid". In an interview with HitQuarters, Rotem described Iyaz's creative perfectionism:
"Where as [sic] others might work on several songs in one day, he might sit there and work on one song for days. The end result that he gets is usually an absolute gem, so heartfelt and genuine."7
Iyaz also appeared on the fourth season of Hannah Montana, Hannah Montana Forever and made a song with Miley Cyrus called "Gonna Get This", which is featured on the Hannah Montana Forever soundtrack album. In 2011, Iyaz played his part in Big Time Rush's song "If I Ruled the World". Iyaz released "Last Forever" with David Guetta as the producer,8 and its follow-up, "At Last". Iyaz was featured on New Boyz's single "Break My Bank" and Akon's "My Girl".
Later, Iyaz did a duet called "You're My Only Shorty" with Demi Lovato, which is from Lovato's third studio album, Unbroken. He released a song with Travie McCoy titled "Pretty Girls" and later in the year a song titled "My Heart Broke" surfaced. Iyaz uploaded a duet song named, "Christmas Time" featuring Sha Sha Jones on to YouTube, A Christmas song which his grandparents requested.
In 2013, a slew of tracks credited to Iyaz surfaced online, namely "Da Da Da", along with "Congrats", "What Is This Feeling" and "Too Sexy".
In 2014, after leaving his previous labels the year prior, Iyaz signed with new Los Angeles-based independent record label Rekless Music, which is distributed by the Alternative Distribution Alliance and Warner Music Group. Iyaz made a cover of Chris Brown's "Loyal" named "Comin' for Ya", followed by another cover months after of Magic!'s song "Rude", which he shared on SoundCloud. Iyaz tweeted in December 2014 he would release a single titled "One Million", and released a snippet of the song on SoundCloud. Iyaz released "One Million" on iTunes in Japan on 12 December 2014, the first single from his second album Aurora, released exclusively in Japan on 8 April 2015.9
On 24 July 2015 Iyaz released the second single from Aurora, "Alive", featuring Nash Overstreet of Hot Chelle Rae. It was produced by J.D. "Boy Rekless" Salbego, the President/CEO of Rekless Music, Iyaz's new label, and Stuart Hart. On 23 September 2015, MTV exclusively premiered the official video of "Alive".
Discography
Studio albums
List of albums, with selected chart positions| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK10 | BEL11 | GRE12 | NLD13 | SWI14 | ||
| Replay |
| 26 | 68 | 18 | 61 | 35 |
| Aurora |
| — | — | — | — | — |
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| USHeat.15 | ||
| So Big |
| 15 |
Singles
As lead artist
List of singles, with selected chart positions| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK16 | AUS1718 | CAN19 | GER20 | IRE | NLD21 | NZ | NOR | SWI | US22 | ||||
| "Replay" | 2009 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 2 | Replay | |
| "Solo" | 2010 | 3 | 48 | 54 | 25 | 26 | 20 | 35 | — | — | 32 | ||
| "We Are the World 25 for Haiti"(as part of Artists for Haiti) | 50 | 18 | 7 | — | 9 | — | 8 | 1 | — | 2 | Non-album single | ||
| "So Big" | 40 | — | — | — | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | Replay | ||
| "Look at Me Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Pretty Girls"(featuring Travie McCoy) | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 43 | Non-album single | |
| "One Million" | 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Aurora | |
| "Alive"(featuring Nash Overstreet) | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "One Puff"(with B-Case and Jowell & Randy) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Destiny"(featuring Kabaka Pyramid) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS27 | CAN | US | ||||
| "Island Girls"(Out Da Box Family featuring Iyaz, Diction and Shotta)28 | 2008 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Pyramid"(Jake Zyrus featuring Iyaz) | 2010 | 17 | 45 | 41 | 56 | Charice | |
| "La, La, La"(Auburn featuring Iyaz) | — | — | — | 51 | N/A | ||
| "Break My Bank"(New Boyz featuring Iyaz) | — | 67 | — | 68 | Too Cool to Care | ||
| "Gonna Get This"(Hannah Montana featuring Iyaz) | — | 75 | — | 66 |
| Hannah Montana Forever | |
| "The Mack"(Mann featuring Iyaz and Snoop Dogg) | 2011 | 28 | 68 | — | — | Mann's World | |
| "If I Ruled the World"(Big Time Rush featuring Iyaz) | — | — | — | —30 | Elevate | ||
| "Fight for You"(Stevie Hoang featuring Iyaz) | — | — | — | — | Unsigned | ||
| "Slow Motion"(Lee.M and J.Pearl featuring Iyaz and Snoop Dogg) | 2012 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Superhero"(DJ Kiss featuring Iyaz and Afrojack) | 2016 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
Other appearances
List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released and album name| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Like This" | 2010 | Jessica Mauboy | Get 'Em Girls |
| "Slow Motion" | Lil' Uno | Non-album single | |
| "Runnin' Back" | 2011 | Mýa | K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sexy & Simple) |
| "You're My Only Shorty" | Demi Lovato | Unbroken | |
| "Bad Dream" | 2017 | Bone Thugs-n-Harmony | New Waves |
Notes
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award show | Nomination | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best Reggae Video — "Replay" | Won |
| BMI Awards | 50 Most Performed Songs of the Year — "Replay" | Won |
External links
References
"DANCE ALL NIGHT". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 6 January 2025. https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/924399170 ↩
Lipshutz, Jason (6 November 2009). "Young island-pop singer Iyaz hits "Replay"". Billboard. Reuters. Retrieved 20 November 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSTRE5A601820091107 ↩
David Caplan, "5 Things to Know About Singer Iyaz", People, 2 April 2010 https://people.com/celebrity/5-things-to-know-about-singer-iyaz/ ↩
Lipshutz, Jason (6 November 2009). "Young island-pop singer Iyaz hits "Replay"". Billboard. Reuters. Retrieved 20 November 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSTRE5A601820091107 ↩
"Artists | Replay – Big Top 40 Music moms". Bigtop40.com. Retrieved 9 August 2010. http://www.bigtop40.com/artists/h-j/iyaz/replay/ ↩
Lipshutz, Jason (6 November 2009). "Young island-pop singer Iyaz hits "Replay"". Billboard. Reuters. Retrieved 20 November 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSTRE5A601820091107 ↩
"Interview With JR Rotem". HitQuarters. 4 April 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20120314061738/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_JR_Rotem_Interview.html ↩
"IYAZ - Last Forever (Prod. By David Guetta)". HotNewHipHop. 3 June 2011. https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/iyaz-last-forever-prod-by-david-guetta-song.313693.html ↩
"Iyazの「Aurora (Bonus Track Version)」" – via music.apple.com. https://music.apple.com/jp/album/aurora-bonus-track-version/975814324 ↩
"Iyaz songs and albums | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 April 2024. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/5995/iyaz/ ↩
"Iyaz – Replay". ultratop.be. https://www.ultratop.be/nl/album/209bc/Iyaz-Replay ↩
"greekcharts.com – Greek charts portal". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2010. https://archive.today/20120530085052/http://greekcharts.com/search.asp?search=Iyaz&cat=a ↩
"dutchcharts.nl – Dutch charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2010. http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=Iyaz&cat=a ↩
"Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2010. http://www.hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=Iyaz&cat=a ↩
"Iyaz Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 16 October 2020. https://www.billboard.com/artist/iyaz/chart-history/tln/ ↩
"Iyaz songs and albums | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 April 2024. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/5995/iyaz/ ↩
"Rushing to the big time". The West Australian. Vol. Today. 7 April 2010. p. 5. /wiki/The_West_Australian ↩
Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 139. ↩
"Iyaz > Album & Song Chart History > Canadian Hot 100". Billboard Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 1 July 2019. https://www.billboard.com/artist/iyaz/chart-history/canadian-hot-100 ↩
"Chartverfolgung / Big Time Rush / Longplay" (in German). musicline.de PhonoNet. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20121017213333/http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Big+Time+Rush/?type=longplay ↩
"Dutch Top 40 > Adele" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110724171313/http://www.top40.nl/search.aspx?keyword=Adele ↩
"Iyaz Chart History: Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 1 July 2019. https://www.billboard.com/artist/iyaz/chart-history/hot-100 ↩
"BRIT Certified - bpi" (To access, enter the search parameter "Iyaz" and select "Search by Keyword"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 September 2018. https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/ ↩
"American certifications – Iyaz". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 November 2023. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Iyaz&ti=&format=&type=#search_section ↩
"BRIT Certified - bpi" (To access, enter the search parameter "Iyaz" and select "Search by Keyword"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 September 2018. https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/ ↩
"American certifications – Iyaz". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 November 2023. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Iyaz&ti=&format=&type=#search_section ↩
Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 139. ↩
"Island Girls (feat. Iyaz, Diction, & Shotta) - Single by Out Da Box Family" – via music.apple.com. https://music.apple.com/us/album/island-girls-feat-iyaz-diction-shotta-single/278414280 ↩
"American certifications – Iyaz". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 November 2023. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Iyaz&ti=&format=&type=#search_section ↩
"If I Ruled the World" did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100 but did peak at number 6 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 extension chart.[27] /wiki/Bubbling_Under_Hot_100 ↩