Ashton Stone

Stone in 2011

**Ashton Hunter Stone** (Born January 12, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. He gained a following in 2007 when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Youtube. The following year he caught the attention of the A&R representative, Robert Lane at A1 Records, which lead to him signing a deal with the record label. Stone's debut single was released in May 2008, followed by his debut studio album in November, *Starlight (2008)*. *Starlight* debuted atop the US *Billboard 200* chart, making Stone one of the youngest artist to achieve this feat, being 16 at the time. The album reached number one in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Belgium & Sweden. The single *Let's Go* reached number one in Europe, UK, US, Canada, and top ten in Australia and Japan.

Stone's second album *Potential (2010)* also debuted at number one in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and numerous European countries, and number two in Japan. The lead single Falling Faster peaked at number one in 29 countries, and reached the number four and five in Japan and Korea.

Among his accolades eight MTV Video Music Awards, four Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards and two Billboard Music Awards. in 2011, *Forbes* included him on their 30 under 30 list in the category of music.

## Life and Career

### 1992-2007: Early life

Ashton Hunter Stone was born in Denver, Colorado, on January 21, 1992. Stone's father David Clarke Stone is an Architect for a Denver based firm and his mother Violet Ethel Stone is a painter, who previously worked as a secretary. His older brother Justin Kent Stone, is a musician and actor. He grew up in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver, attended public school where he played soccer, joined his high school glee club, and practiced his stage presence in acting lessons (leading as Prince Charming at one point). Stone learned to play guitar and piano from lessons his father paid for and his school music program at the age of 13. He also began posting cover videos to Youtube. Stone started attracting viewers after he posted a cover from Nicholas Stewart's "Someday" and got 10,000 likes and as many followers the next day. After that he gained millions of views and followers in a few months, becoming well known for his renditions of many popular songs. A&R representative Robert Lane discovered Stone online in February 2007, bringing him to A1 Records in October 2007 with him being officially signed in December 2007.

### 2008-2010: *Starlight*

By January 2008, Stone had relocated to London, England to work extensively with his label on his debut album, *Starlight,* working with producers Cirkut, Benny Blanco, Busbee and Ian Kirkpatrick. He released his first single "Starlight" on May 5, 2008. The single debuted in the top ten of the Canadian Hot 100, it entered the US Hot 100 on June 10, 2008, peaking at number one in its sixth week on the chart. A second single "Heartbeat" was released on August 25, 2008, which debuted in the top 20 of the UK singles chart, Canadian Hot 100 and at number 41 on the US Hot 100 where it eventually climbed to number one. Two promotional singles "Don't" and "Tired Of The City" were released in October.

On November 3, 2008, Stone released his debut studio album *Starlight*, which debuted at number one on the *Billboard 200* chart with 725,000 equivalent album units. The album reached number one in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, as well as the top five in the UK, Australia, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The album would eventually go on to sell over eight million units worldwide. Following the album were five more singles, with "Until I Met You" and "Let's Go" peaking at number one on the US Hot 100, and "Wild Things" and "Ghost" peaking in the top five. "Keep You Close feat. Austin Mahone" would peak at number 30 on the US Hot 100. He would win three MTV Video Music Awards in 2009.

Stone was listed among *Time*'s "25 Most Influential Teens of 2009", debuting in the list after being the youngest-ever artist to debut in the top 25 of *Billboard* Hot 100, with his single "Until I Met You" debuting at number 16.

In August 2009, Stone embarked on his debut headlining worldwide Starlight Tour, which went on to sell-out venues around the world such as New York's Radio City Music Hall and Wembley Arena in London. The tour had 131 shows with the final show in Torreon, Mexico on March 25, 2009. The Starlight Tour generated a total revenue of over $193 million, making it the 21st highest-grossing tour of all time as of March 2011.

### 2010-2012: *Potential*

In late February 2010, Stone began recording for his second studio album, the first recording sessions took place at Studio 301, and on tour buses while he was on the last legs of the Starlight Tour. Stone enlisted Cirkut, Ian Kirkpatrick, SG Lewis and Lorenzo Fox to help write and produce the album, with Stone acting as executive producer, and by May 2010, work on the album was completed in the UK at Abbey Road Studios in London.

On June 21, 2010, Stone released the lead single *"Falling Faster"*. The single debuted at number one in the UK, Canada, Australia and Mexico and numerous European countries. In the US, the single reached number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100, became his fifth to do so, and went on to become Stone's first single to be certified diamond by the RIAA. In September 2010, Two promotional singles were released *"Beautiful"* and *"Once More"* with both charting at number 22 and 21 in Japan and *Once More* charting at number 88 in Germany. *"Strangers"* was released as the second single on October 4, 2010, with the single peaking at number one on the US Hot 100, becoming certified six times platinum. Stone made his first appearance as the musical guest on *Saturday Night Live*, October 16, 2010.

On October 25, 2010, Stone released his second studio album *Potential*, debuting atop the Billboard 200, with a record breaking 2,145,000 equivalent album units, and going on to become certified diamond. The album reached number one across numerous album charts outside the US, with sales over 4 million units worldwide in its first week, *Potential* was the best selling album of 2010. As of January 2014, it has sold 23.6 million copies globally. Five more singles were released from the album over the course of 2011, with *"Stuck On You"*, *"I Think About You"* and *"Something I'll Remember"* all going number one on the US Hot 100, and the *title track* and *"Nothing Changes"* peaking in the Top 10. *Stuck On You* which was released as the fourth single on February 7, 2011, the single went on to become Stone's highest selling single, with over 20 million copies sold globally, and being certified nine times platinum in the US.

*Potential* went on to win Best Engineered Album, Best Pop Vocal Album and Album Of The Year at the 2011 Grammy's, with the album being critically acclaimed, The album and its singles went on to win numerous awards including, Top Billboard 200 Album at the Billboard Music Awards, Single of the year for *Falling Faster* at the BRIT Awards, Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards for *Stuck On You*, and seven American Music Awards including Album of the Year.

In May 2011, Stone announced that he would embark on the *Potential World Tour.* The worldwide concert tour started in Auckland, New Zealand, On August 1, 2011. The tour received very positive reception by critics with many noting the significant improvement in production from his previous tour, along with Stone's greater stage presence. According to *Pollstar*, the tour had a total gross of $382 million and 3 million in attendance in 182 shows, becoming one of the highest-grossing concert tours of both 2011 and 2012. Besides the tour, he performed at music festivals across North America, and South America. On February 27, 2012, Stone released his first live album *"Potential World Tour"* which was recorded at his first stadium show in San Francisco at AT&T Park. Following the success of the live album, Stone released his first video album *"Ashton Stone: Potential World Tour Live At Madison Square Garden"* which premiered on HBO before being released to DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download.

### 2012-2014: *Everyday Life*

In November 2011, Stone began the writing and recording process for his third studio album while in the midst of the *Potential World Tour*. Besides sessions on tour buses, recording sessions and mixing for the album took place at a variety of studios: Abbey Road Studios in London, A1 Studios in New York City, Conway Studios in Los Angeles. Stone commented that the albums sound would be a "more mature" pop record that is "deeper, and way more personal then anything I've written before."

On May 7, 2012, Stone released the lead single "Late Night". The single reached number one in many countries including, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the UK, and several European nations. In the US the single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and going on to become certified nine-times platinum by the RIAA. "Awake" was released as the second single on August 13, 2012, with the single becoming Stone's fastest selling single with over 2.4 million units sold in its first week worldwide. "Awake" debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually reaching number one. Two promotional singles "Reason" and "Time" were released on October 15, 2012, with both charting in the top 10 in Japan and South Korea.

Stone's third studio album, *Everyday Life* was released on October 29, 2012. The album went on to debut atop several album charts around the world, becoming Stone's fastest selling album with 4.6 million copies sold globally in its first week. In the US the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with over 1 million copies sold in its first week. *Everyday Life* went on to debut at number one in Japan, going on to sell over 1.3 million copies in the country as of January 2014. "Sign" was released as the third single in December 2012, debuting at number one in the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea. In the US the single debuted at number thirty-eight on the Hot 100, eventually reaching a peak of number two. Five more singles were released from the album throughout 2013, with each charting in the top 10 of many countries worldwide.

On April 2, 2013, Stone Embarked on the *Everyday Life Tour* in support of the album, with the first show being held at The O2 Arena in London, England. The concert tour was met with critical acclaim, with *The Observer* praising Stone's Showmanship and stage design.

## Artistry

### Influences

Stone grew up listening to artists such as Angelo Reyes, Nicholas Stewart, Madonna, Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson, Viper Hamato, Riley Anderson, Shania Twain, Jenny Grace and Celine Dion who have all influenced his music. As a child, he was gifted Angelo Reyes' Soul Sessions DVD by a family friend, with him stating: "I think watching that is really what sparked my interest in not only music, but the whole idea of showmanship, How an artist could command a crowd and just, make people feel connected through music". He also attributes his "intense curiosity of songwriting" to Riley Anderson and Viper Hamato, with him stating that the first two album's he ever purchased for himself being Riley's *Blind Ambitions,* and Viper's *Dreams*. He attended his first concert show at Nicholas Stewart's Miles Away Tour in 1999 at the age of 7, stating the experience as "Something I will never forget, I think that's the moment I became a die-hard fan of his".

### Musical Style

Stone's music is mainly pop, dance-pop and pop rock. In 2008, *Rolling Stone* asserted that the content of his music was "offering a gentle introduction to the mysteries and heartaches of adolescence: songs flushed with romance but notably free of sex itself". During the initial years of his career, his musical style was noted for being aimed to a more teen pop and "bubblegum-ish" direction. In January 2012, Stone told *V* magazine: "I want to do it at my own pace. I don't want to start singing about things like sex, drugs and all that. I'm more interested in love, and storytelling through my music, and maybe I'll explore more sexual themes when I feel like it'd make sense." In 2012 Stone shifted towards a more mature sound in his *Everyday Life* album, exploring themes of heartbreak, independence and freedom.

### Voice

Stone is a Tenor, with a vocal range of A3 - G4. He has said he has been singing since he was five years old, having his vocal style inspired by Angelo Reyes, Viper Hamato and Nicholas Stewart. Stone has said that he once auditioned for his school's choir, but was rejected after being told he could not sing by the instructor, He began taking singing lessons soon after that, Claiming "That was a very formative experience for me, I thought I was a pretty good singer before that point. But apparently my vocal technique wasn't really the best, and honestly that teacher probably saved me from ruining my voice in the long-run." Stone to this continues to work hard on improving and maintaining his vocal ability. He has changed her vocal style regularly, ranging from soft sung ballads to powerhouse belting.

*Pitchfork* noted "There's an immense emotional intelligence behind the way he uses his voice. Almost never does he overwhelm a song with his vocal ability, recognizing instead that artistry is to be found in nuance rather than lung power."

## Discography

***See main articles: Ashton Stone albums discography, Ashton Stone singles discography***

### Studio Albums

*Starlight* (2008)

*Potential* (2010)

*Everyday Life* (2012)

## Filmography

***Main article: Ashton Stone videography***

Ashton Stone: Potential World Tour Live At Madison Square Garden (2012)

Everyday Life Tour: Live In London (2014)

## Tours

***Main article: List of Ashton Stone live performances***

### Headlining Tours

Starlight Tour (2009-2010)

Potential World Tour (2011-2012)

Everyday Life Tour (2012-2013)