George Ezra is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame with his soulful and bluesy music. His debut album ‘Wanted on Voyage’ became an instant hit in the UK and topped charts in multiple countries. Following in the footsteps of musicians like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, Ezra’s second album ‘Staying at Tamara’s’ also achieved great success. With hit singles like ‘Paradise’ and ‘Shotgun’, Ezra’s popularity continues to grow, leading to appearances on American variety shows.
Quick Facts
- Name: George Ezra Barnett
- Age: 30 Years
- Family: Father – Paul Barnett, Siblings – Ethan, Jessica
- Occupation: Guitarist, Pop Singer
- Height: 6’1″ (185 cm)
- Notable Alumni: Hertford Regional College, British And Irish Modern Music Institute
- Education: British And Irish Modern Music Institute, Hertford Regional College
Childhood & Early Life
George Ezra Barnett was born on 7 June 1993, in Hertford, Hertfordshire. He is the second of his parents’ three children. He has an elder sister named Jessica and a younger brother named Ethan. Both his parents are teachers. His father, Paul Barnett, worked at a school in Stevenage. He completed his primary education from a school in Bengeo and went on to graduate from Simon Balle School. In 2011, he relocated to Bristol where he attended the British and Irish Modern Music Institute.
Career
George Ezra made his stage debut at the age of 13 by singing the female wordings of the song ‘Teenage Dirtbag’. His debut EP ‘Did You Hear the Rain?’ came out in October 2013. A few weeks later, he was given airplay on BBC Radio 1. His singles ‘Did You Hear the Rain?’ and ‘Budapest’ became very popular and were frequently played on the radio. Eventually, ‘Budapest’ reached number six in Italy and was regarded Platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.
‘Budapest’ officially released on 13 June 2014, in the UK followed by his debut album ‘Wanted on Voyage’ that released on 30 June 2014. By the end of the year, the album recorded a sale of 678,156 copies in the UK. In January 2015, the album was listed as UK’s third best-selling album of 2014.
Ezra released a new video titled ‘Listen to the Man’ in October 2014. The following year, he was nominated for the ‘Best British Album’, ‘Best British Male Solo Artist’, ‘Best British Single’, and ‘British Breakthrough Artist’ at the 2015 Brit Awards.
He made several TV appearances in 2015 including an episode on ‘Saturday Night Live’ as a music guest on March 28, 2015. A couple of weeks later, he performed ‘Budapest’ on ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’. He appeared on Radio 1’s Big Weekend at Norwich on 24 May 2015 where he played some of his most popular chartbusters including ‘Blame It on Me’, ‘Cassy O’ and ‘Budapest’. In November, he played ‘Blame It on Me’ on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Ezra’s second studio album, ‘Staying at Tamara’s’ was released in March 2018. The album made it to the number 1 spot in the UK and appeared in the top ten list in several other countries. His second single ‘Paradise’ grabbed the No. 2 spot in the UK, while ‘Shotgun’ quickly climbed to No. 1.
Trivia
While studying at BIMM music college, George Ezra accidently ran into a wall which resulted in the inch-long scar on his forehead, just above his right eyebrow. His inspiration behind his debut record ‘Wanted On Voyage’ is Paddington Bear who he considers his hero. His younger brother, Ethan, is also a musician and performs under the stage name ‘Ten Tonnes’. George Ezra once stated that the word ‘Petan’ coined by him, for his fans, does not have any specific meaning and can be used for anything good or bad or just randomly.