Craig Smart (singer)
Craig Scott Smart is a Canadian singer songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was part of D-Cru and their lead vocalist and in the early 2000s, he joined The Underdog Project, a German-Belgian dance group as a vocalist and songwriter. He has written and co-written a number of songs that have become international hits. He also used the alter ego name Yardi Don for some releases particularly with Belgian producer DJ F.R.A.N.K., a co-member in The Underdog Project.
Career
In D-Cru
Craig Smart started his music career as a rapper.
He later on joined the Vancouver-based R&B band D-Cru as their lead vocalist. the group included Tanessa Tompkins, Tito Chipman, Damien Kyles, Aimee Mackenzie and Craig Smart and established in 1998 surviving a few years until early 2000s with changing line-ups. The initial album The Outer World was released in 1998. The band was signed to Electra Records. D-Cru had two notable charting hits in Canada, "Show Me" in 1999 and "I Will Be Waiting" in 2000. The latter featuring Craig Smart on vocals was nominated for Best Song at the Canadian Juno Awards in 2000 and was named second most played song in Canada during the West Coast Music Awards.
In The Underdog Project
However his most lucrative period came when included in the early 2000s in the band The Underdog Project. The 4-member band based in Belgium and Germany included Craig Smart and Vic Krishna on vocals, DJ Frank on remixes and AJ Duncan on keyboards. It released the commercially successful album It Doesn't Matter that reached number 2 in both German and Australian albums charts.
The project enjoyed big hits like "Summer Jam", "Saturday Night", "Tonight", "Girls of Summer" amongst many others. "Summer Jam' was certified gold in France and Germany, and double platinum in Belgium and the Netherlands. "Saturday Night" became a pan-European hit charting in Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Solo, songwriting and collaborations
Under his alter ego Yardi Don, he penned hits like "Unity", "Boom, Boom, Boom", and "It's da Music" in collaboration with Belgian DJ F.R.A.N.K. and was featured in the latter's recordings. His hit "One Love, World Love" credited as Frank Ti-Aya vs. Yardi Don (alternative names for DJ F.R.A.N.K. and Smart) appeared in more than 100 compilations. Smart was also featured on vocals of DJ F.R.A.N.K.'s charting hits "Blu Sky Holiday" and "Burning It Up".
His songwriting credits include "What Went On" and "Baby It's I" with Hipjoint Records, and "Faded" for soulDecision. Other collaborations includes acts like NBG (Natural Born Groove) where "Candy on the Dance Floor" became a pan-European hit on the dance charts in UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands. He also collaborated with Master P with "Pluto Nash", "Back on Top", "More than a Woman", with Longo in "One Life Stand" featuring Smart and Wainwright and with Tristan Garner (France) in the single "Freedom", with the House Keepers (Italy) in "Hanging On", with the Taiwanese f4 also known as JVKV in "No Escape" and with Fentura aka The Sunloverz (Germany). In 2014, he had a hit "Last Girl on Earth" featuring Ashley MacIsaac.
Discography
Albums
- as part of D-Cru
- 1998: The Outer World
- as part of The Underdog Project
- 2000/2001: It Doesn't Matter
Singles
(selective)
- Solo
| Year | Single | Peak positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN |
FR [1] |
2003 | "What Went On" | – | – | |
| 2008 | "Freedom" (with Tristan Garner) |
– | 36 | |||
| 2011 | "I Miss You" | – | – | |||
| "123" | 33 | – | ||||
| 2014 | "Last Girl on Earth" (feat. Ashley MacIsaac) |
– | – | |||
- as part of D-Cru
- 1999: "Show Me"
- 2000: "I Will Be Waiting"
- as part of The Underdog Project
(selective)
- 2000: "Summer Jam"
- 2000: "Tonight"
- 2002: "Saturday Night"
- 2003: "Summer Jam (2003)"
See more details and chart positions in discography of The Underdog Project article
- Featured in
| Year | Single | Peak positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN |
BEL (Vl) [2] |
BEL (Wa) [3] | ||
| 1998 | "I Will Be Waiting" (D-Cru feat. Craig Smart) |
– | – | – |
| 2010 | "One Life Stand" (Longo feat. Wainwright and Craig Smart) |
22 | – | – |
| 2012 | "Blu Sky Holiday" (DJ F.R.A.N.K. feat. Craig Smart) |
– | 46 | 24* (Ultratip) |
| 2013 | "Burning It Up" (DJ F.R.A.N.K. feat. Craig Smart & Tom-E) |
– | 26 | 3* (Ultratip) |
| 2014 | "Good Life" (DJ F.R.A.N.K. feat. Craig Smart) |
– | 47* (Ultratip) |
21* (Ultratip) |
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
- Featured in as Yardi Don
| Year | Single | Peak positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL [2] |
BEL [3] |
FIN [4] | ||
| 2006 | "One Love, World Love" (Frank Ti-Aya feat. Yardi Don) |
12 | 7* (Ultratip) |
6 |
| 2007 | "Unity" (Frank Ti-Aya feat. Yardi Don) |
42 | – | 5 |
| 2008 | "It's da Music " (Frank Ti-Aya feat. Yardi Don) |
24* (Ultratip) |
– | – |
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
- Songwriting
- 2000: soulDecision - "Faded"
- 2004: The Underdog Project - "Summer Jam"
- 2004: The Underdog Project - "Saturday Night"
- 2006: Frank Ti-Aya vs. Yardi Don - "One Love, World Love" (also vocals)
- 2013: R.I.O. - "Megamix"
References
- ↑ "Craig Smart discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Craig Smart discography". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Craig Smart discography". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ↑ "Craig Smart discography". finnishcharts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2014.