Dido Biography

The artist known as Dido was born Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevaille O’Malley Armstrong in 1971 in London. Long before Dido rose to fame with her hit single “White Flag” in 2003, the young artist grew up in a artistic household; her mother was a poet and her father a publisher and manager. Dido’s interest in music was encouraged, and as a young child she began studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Dido had mastered multiple instruments by the time she was a teenager, and in her mid twenties she began recording demos of her original compositions.

Her work garnered the attention of Arista Records, and Dido signed with the label in 1996. Her debut album, No Angel, arrived in 1999, just in time for the feature track, “Thank You,” to be included in the film Sliding Doors. The song received another boost when rapper Eminem was given permission to include a sample of the first verse in his own song, “Stan.” Eventually, No Angel became among the top albums worldwide for the year, selling over twenty million copies and spawning the additional hits: “Here with Me,” “Hunter,” and “All You Want.”

Since that time, Dido has released the additional albums Life for Rent (2003), Safe Trip Home (2008) and Girl Who Got Away (2013.) The albums gave audiences the additional singles “Life for Rent,” “Don’t Leave Home,” “Sand in my Shoes,” “Don’t Believe in Love,” “No Freedom,” and “White Flag,” which is currently Dido’s highest charting single to date, reaching into the top five in multiple countries. Dido’s success as a collaborative artist is also notable, with her number one hit “Stan” (recorded with Eminem) and “One Step Too Far” (with Faithless), both of which also rose into the top ten.

To date, Dido has earned two Brit Awards (for Best British Female and Best Album) and an Academy Award nomination for her song “If I Rise,” which was included in the film 127 Hours. Dido’s most recent release, Girl Who Got Away, is being hailed as a “comeback album,” rising to the number five spot on the UK charts.