Daniel Powter

Daniel Richard Powter (; born February 25, 1971) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His 2005 pop single "Bad Day" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. He was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards for "Bad Day" and won the Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2006.

Powter's subsequent work never reached the same success as "Bad Day", with Billboard dubbing him the top "one-hit wonder" of the 2000s. Powter started playing the violin at four years old.

Powter studied at MacEwan University but dropped out—partially due to his dyslexia—to pursue music full time. A few songs on the album appeared on the Canadian television show Higher Ground. and Italy, number two in the United Kingdom—where it stayed in the top ten for thirteen weeks—and number three in Australia.

In the United States, "Bad Day" was used extensively on the television series American Idol in its fifth season. Powter sang the song live at the end of the final show of that season on May 23, 2006. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, making Powter the first solo Canadian male artist to top the Hot 100 since Bryan Adams in 1995 (with "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?"). The song also reached number one in Powter's homeland, Canada.

On May 31, 2005, Powter released his first extended play known as "Free Loop."

On July 2, 2005, Powter performed at the Berlin installment of Live 8, a simultaneous group of concerts in nine countries intended to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.

"Bad Day" came in fifth in the British Record of the Year 2005. In 2006, Powter won in the New Artist of the Year category at the Canadian Juno Awards, and was nominated for Best International Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards. "Bad Day" was nominated at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards for Hot 100 Single of the Year, and was named Billboard magazine's song of the year in 2006. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Powter received a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance nomination for the song.

The subsequent singles from Daniel Powter – "Jimmy Gets High", "Free Loop", and "Lie to Me" – were released in different parts of the world, each failing to match the success of "Bad Day". "Free Loop" was deemed chart ineligible in the UK (as the release included a version of "Bad Day" as a B-side whilst "Bad Day" was still in the chart, hence breaking chart rules) and failed to chart in the U.S., though it reached the top forty on the Adult Contemporary chart. Following the release of "Lie to Me", "Jimmy Gets High" was to be the fourth single from the album in the UK, but its release was cancelled. A new track called "Love You Lately" was released as the next U.S. single, preceding a re-release of the album Daniel Powter that was also cancelled.

On January 29, 2007, Powter released his first compilation album B-Sides.

Post "Bad Day" and hiatus (2008–2011)

In March 2008, a song by Japanese singer Haru featuring Powter, "Find My Way", was released. In September, Powter released his third album, Under the Radar. Love you Lately was also rerecorded and released on December 9, 2008 as a new single. This was the same year in which he embarked on the Wolfbaggin' Tour, joining the likes of Alphabeat and Lil Chris.

Powter also performed piano on tracks for what was scheduled to be Marcy Playground frontman John Wozniak's solo album, Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage, but the album was released under the band's name. Powter was still given credit for his contributions to the song "Gin and Money".

Under The Radar was also given an exclusive CD and DVD release for the Asia Market known as the Asia Tour Edition. It was released on February 14, 2009.

On March 16, 2009, Powter performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival then in December 2009, Powter was named as the decade's top One-Hit Wonder by Billboard. The magazine describes one-hit wonders as acts whose second hit did not reach the top 25; they only included acts from 2000 to 2007. In Powter's case, "Bad Day" is his only Hot 100 hit.

On January 1, 2010, he performed O Canada at the NHL Winter Classic. In that same year, he released his greatest hits album, Best of Me, and with it, recorded three new songs and a new version of the title track to go along with 'Bad Day', 'Jimmy Gets High', 'Next Plane Home' and his other singles. Only one was released as a single: 'Lose To Win', on November 10, 2010.

On December 1, 2010, Powter made a tribute to English singer and songwriter John Lennon with his cover version of Happy Xmas (War Is Over). This single was released in Europe, the UK and Japan.

Powter took a hiatus in 2011 to focus on his family life.

Later career (2012–present) On April 10, 2012, Powter's single "Cupid" was released to US and Canadian iTunes stores. The single was written after his divorce. Powter's album, Turn On the Lights, was released in July 2012.

On September 10, 2012, he released "Crazy All My Life". The song peaked at number 23 on the Canadian Hot 100 and became his biggest hit in Russia, where it reached number 12 on the radio chart and has over 1.4 million lifetime plays.

On December 5, 2012, Powter was featured in a song with Japanese singer May J. titled "Back To Your Heart". On the 18 he released the single "Christmas Cupid", which is a Christmas version of his song "Cupid".

On June 5, 2013, Powter announced on Twitter that he was working on an album with Jeff Dawson, who co-produced most of his songs in the past, and John Fields, who was a co-writer on "Crazy All My Life". He also said:

On July 15, 2013, Powter performed at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals performing "Bad Day" and "Whole World Around." Matthew Perry also attended the event.

On August 9, 2013, he performed at the Festival of Friends.

On September 5, 2013, Powter later released 4 songs as bonus tracks for his album Turn on the Lights called Ur My Radio, Doesn't Matter, Cheers To Us and Goodbye. These tracks only appeared as part of a re-release for the Japanese market on March 17, 2014.

On November 27, 2016, Powter performed at The 39th Jazz Goes To Campus Festival performing Bad Day.

On January 6, 2017, Powter released a single called "Delicious" featuring Australian singer Vanessa Amorosi. The music video was uploaded to his official YouTube channel on March 14, 2017.

On December 10, 2017, Powter performed at the President's Star Charity event in Singapore singing Bad Day and joined Sandra Riley Tang in a duet performing her band's song "Save Myself."

On April 6, 2018, Powter released a single called "Perfect For Me." On April 13, he released his fourth extended play known as Daniel Powter. There are 4 songs in this album: a remastered remix of Bad Day, Tell Them Who You Are in an acoustic version, his 2017 single "Delicious" and his 2018 single "Perfect For Me."

On September 21, 2018, Powter released a single known as "Do You Wanna Get Lucky" It was followed by another called "Survivor" released on October 26 and Perfect for Me was later re-recorded and released on November 23 for the Asia market.

He released an album called Giants on December 14 where songs in the album include the re-recording of "Perfect For Me", "Survivor", "Delicious", re-recordings of "Bad Day", "Free Loop" and "Tell Them Who You Are" (from the EP). A remixed version of "Do You Wanna Get Lucky" is also included known as the Holiday version.

Powter went on to feature with The Untamed Boys, a Chinese pop group, in January 2020, where they released the song "Just Isn't Me." and performed it alongside "Bad Day" while touring in Bangkok, Thailand. Powter also collaborated with other artists in the MOSHIMO Project in May 2020.

On February 3, 2021, Powter was featured in a song called "Save Your Life" with Japanese pop singer Ayaka Hirahara.

In 2024, Powter performed "Bad Day" during his audition on the fourth season of Canada's Got Talent, making his first Canadian television performance.

In August 2025, Powter announced on Instagram that his new song "City of Angels" will be released on September 12, 2025. Following this, he released a new song on October 17, 2025 called "Celebrate the Holidays." It is Powter's first ever original holiday song.

Personal life Powter moved to Los Angeles in 2005. As of 2024, Powter resides with his wife Christina in Portland, Oregon.

Powter disclosed in July 2013 that he was sexually abused by a female babysitter for three years starting from the age of seven and turned to drugs and alcohol to get over his guilt and shame. He said in an interview:

Powter was addicted to alcohol and cocaine. He became sober in 2010.

Powter is a fan of the NHL. As a child, he was a fan of the Edmonton Oilers and is now a Los Angeles Kings fan.

Musical influences Powter spoken of his musical influences growing up:

Awards and nominations Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result

MTV Europe Music Awards

Best New Act

Best International Male Best International Surprise

Best International Song Best International Video The Record of the Year Record of the Year SOCAN Awards Best Pop Song

Tokio Hot 100 Awards Best Song BMI Pop Awards Pop Award

Top Hot 100 Song Digital Song of the Year Pop 100 Song of the Year APRA Music Awards Most Performed Foreign Work MuchMusic Video Awards MuchMoreMusic Award Teen Choice Awards

Choice Music: Breakout Artist - Male Canadian Radio Music Awards Best New Group or Solo Artist—Mainstream AC Juno Awards New Artist of the Year Brit Awards International Breakthrough Act

Grammy Awards

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Song Groovevolt Music & Fashion Awards Best Pop Song Performance - Male

Best Male Video

Album of the Year

Best 3 Albums

New Artist of the Year International Artist of the Year "Bad Day" International Song of the Year 2008 Tokio Hot 100 Awards

Best Male Artist

Top Male Artist "Next Plane Home" Top Ten International Gold Songs Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications AUS AUT BEL(WA) FRA IRL JPN NZ SWI UK US I'm Your Betty Released: June 21, 2000 Label: Outside Formats: CD — — — — — — — — — — Daniel Powter Released: August 8, 2005 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: CD, digital download 14 43 18 14 8 4 6 14 5 9 US: 500,000 ARIA: Gold BPI: Platinum IFPI SWI: Gold IRMA: Platinum RIAA: Gold RIAJ: 3× Platinum RMNZ: Gold SNEP: Platinum Under the Radar Released: September 15, 2008 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: CD, digital download — 74 21 29 — 10 — 20 43 — Turn On the Lights Released: July 13, 2012 Label: Avex, EMI Formats: CD, digital download — — — — — 177 — — 109 — Giants Released: December 14, 2018 Label: KDS Farrell, Inc Formats: CD, digital download — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums + List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions JPN Released: January 29, 2007 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: Digital download — Best of Me Released: December 8, 2010 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: CD, digital download 65The Essential Collection Released: November 19, 2021 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: Digital download — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays + List of extended plays Title EP details Free Loop Released: May 31, 2005 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: Digital download iTunes Live from Tokyo Released: August 6, 2008 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: Digital download Songs from Under the Radar Released: September 16, 2008 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: Digital download Daniel Powter Released: April 13, 2018 Label: Unleashed Formats: Digital download

Singles As lead artist + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album CAN AUS IRL SWI US USAdult "Bad Day" 2005 7 3 5 17 1 95 5 2 1 1 MC: Platinum ARIA: Platinum BPI: 2× Platinum RIAA: 3× Platinum Daniel Powter "Free Loop (One Night Stand)" 11 43 60 55 20 × 38 — — — "Jimmy Gets High" — — 46 — — × 41 — — — "Lie to Me" 2006 — — — — — × — 92 — — "Love You Lately" 45 — — — — × — — — 39 "Next Plane Home" 2008 — — 25 71 — 8 37 70 — — Under the Radar "Best of Me" — — — — — 23 40 — — — "Whole World Around" — — — — — — — — — — "Lose to Win" 2010 — — — — — 17 — — — — Best of Me "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" — — — — — — — — — — "Cupid" 2012 — — — — — 12 — 195 — 36 Turn on the Lights "Crazy All My Life" 23 — — — — — — — — — "Delicious" 2017 — — — — — — — — — — Giants "Perfect for Me" 2018 — — — — — — — — — — "Do You Wanna Get Lucky" — — — — — — — — — — "Survivor" — — — — — — — — — — "Brave" 2021 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single "Bad Day (Stripped Down)" 2024 — — — — — — — — — — "City of Angels" 2025 — — — — — — — — — — "Celebrate the Holidays" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory."×" denotes periods where charts did not exist or were not archived.

As featured artist

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumJPNOricon JPNHot 2008 59 14 "Save Your Life" 2021 — — Save Your Life: Ayaka Hirahara All Time Live Best "Brave" — — Unbreakable"—" denotes items that did not chart.

Promotional singles

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumJPNHot 2012 — Brave "Cheers to Us" 2013 78 Singles 04-12 "Just Isn't Me" (心之所向的美丽 Xīn zhī suǒ xiàng dì měilì) 2021 — Love: One-Act"—" denotes items that did not chart.

Music videos Year Music video Director(s) Notes 2005 "Bad Day" Marc Webb Samaire Armstrong and Jason Adelman are featured in the video "Free Loop (One Night Stand)" Filmed at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles "Jimmy Gets High" Vem 2006 "Lie to Me" Marc Webb "Love You Lately" Philip Andelman Rachael Leigh Cook and Brian Hallisay are featured in the video. 2008 "Next Plane Home" Markku Lahdesmaki Powter's daughter Sophie is featured in the video. Filmed in Lancaster, California "Best of Me" Diane Martel 2010 "Lose to Win" Rohit Karn Batra 2012 "Cupid" Neil Tardio Filmed in Malibu, California. 2013 "Crazy All My Life" 2017 "Delicious" 2018 "Perfect for Me" "Do You Wanna Get Lucky" Joe Murray Filmed at The Village in Santa Monica "Survivor" Chinese singer Kelly Yu sings with him in a duet 2024 "Bad Day (Stripped Down)" Vocals used are from his previous re-recording from the album Giants.

Music covers Year Title Original artist 2007 "Just Like Heaven" the Cure 2010 "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" John Lennon 2012 "Stay Away" L'Arc-en-Ciel