Bryan Adams

**Bryan Guy Adams** OC OBC (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, composer, record producer, photographer, and philanthropist. With several No. 1 singles and albums in various countries, Adams has sold between 75 and 100 million records world-wide. According to Nielsen Music Canada's 2019 Year-End Report Adams was the most played artist of any nationality on radio stations in Canada between 2010 and 2019.

Adams joined his first band at age 15 and in 1980 at age 20 his eponymous debut album was released. He rose to fame in North America with his 1983 Top 10 album *Cuts Like a Knife*, with its well-known title track. His 1984 album, *Reckless*, made him a global star as it contained the rock songs "Run to You" and "Summer of '69", both Top 10 hits in the US and Canada, and the power ballad "Heaven", a No. 1 hit in the US. *Reckless* reached No. 1 in Canada and the US, No. 2 in Australia, and the Top 10 in several other countries, becoming the first album by a Canadian to reach Diamond in sales in Canada, going 6x platinum in the US, and selling 12 million copies world-wide. His 1987 follow-up, *Into the Fire*, went to No. 2 in Canada and the Top 10 in several other countries.

In 1991, Adams' *Waking Up the Neighbours* album reached No. 1 in Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe, being certified Diamond in Canada. "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" off the album was a world-wide multiple-week No. 1 smash that held the top spot in the UK for a record 16 consecutive weeks. Other hits off the album were the Canadian No. 1s "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" and "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven" which also reached the Top 10 in other countries. Beginning in 1993, Adams' hit songs were mostly ballads, including the world-wide hits "All for Love" and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?", which both topped the U.S. *Billboard* Hot 100, plus "Please Forgive Me" which reached No. 1 or 2 in Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe. "Please Forgive Me" was from his greatest hits album, *So Far So Good* (1993), which was a world-wide No. 1 album that went 11x, 7x and 6x platinum in Australia, Canada and the US, respectively, with total sales of 17 million.

In 1996, Adams' *18 til I Die* album went Top 5 in many countries, but only reached No. 31 in the US. He did duets with two female stars, "I Finally Found Someone" with Barbra Streisand in 1996, his last US Top 10 hit, and "When You're Gone" with Melanie C. in 1998, an international Top 5 hit. In the 1990s, he had 11 No. 1 singles in Canada for a total of 32 weeks, both highs for any artist. From 1998 to 2019's *Shine a Light*, Adams released seven albums, three going to No. 1 in Canada, and most reaching the Top 10 in the UK, Germany and elsewhere. Adams has had 25 Top 15 singles in Canada and a dozen or more in the US, UK and Australia, but none since 2002.

In 2008, Adams was ranked 38th on the list of all-time top artists on the *Billboard* Hot 100. Adams has won 20 Juno Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television amongst 15 Grammy nominations, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and three Academy Awards for his songwriting for films. Adams has been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Canada's Walk of Fame, the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. On 1 May 2010, Adams received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.