Craig David reflects on his 22-year music career
He released 'Fill Me In' in 2000
Last updated 7th Oct 2022
Craig David is celebrating a massive 22 years in the music industry and the 'DNA' singer, who will also be performing at our Hits Live gigs, popped in to see Hits Radio Breakfast with Fleur East, James and Matt.
Speaking about his amazing career, which has included Number 1 songs such as 'Fill Me In' and '7 Days', Craig told us how it felt to still be in the music industry two decades later.
"It's a beautiful feeling to think that like I can be sitting here today, talking about new music, but also have those classics from back in the day, and just like have like a career," Craig explained.
The singer, who has just released a super deluxe version of his album '22' continued: "If you went back and talked to my 18-year-old self and said, 'the career you'll have', I'd be like, 'I'm just happy to put a song out right now'."
Craig joined us on the release day of his first book, What's your Vibe?. The book features stories from his life, dating all the way back to his childhood and growing up with his mum and grandma, to releasing his songs and in the present day.
Opening up about the book and his career, Craig explained: "It's got life lessons, but in a way that are wrapped around anecdotes and stuff...I want people to be helped by some of my stories and not have to go through some of the things that I went through."
Craig will be joining us at Hits Live Manchester and Hits Live Birmingham in November, so make sure you grab your tickets soon, and don't forget you can hear many of Craig's amazing tunes on Hits Radio, along with some epic throwbacks.
How do I buy tickets to Hits Live?
We have two Hits Live events which you can buy tickets for: Hits Live Manchester and Hits Live Birmingham.
When is Hits Live?
Hits Live Manchester will take place on Friday 11th November and Hits Live Birmingham will take place on Saturday 12th November.
When can I listen to Craig David on Hits Radio?
Craig David was on Hits Radio on Thursday 6th October, during the Hits Radio Breakfast show with Fleur East, which started at 6am. You can listen again below, on our website, or through the Hits Radio app.
You can also listen again to the interview on Saturday 8th October on Fleur East's Saturday Morning show.
How to listen to Hits Radio Breakfast with Fleur East
You can listen to Hits Radio Breakfast with Fleur East every weekday from 6am until 10am on Hits Radio.
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You can find Hits Radio on FM and DAB. You can listen right here on our website, download our free app for iPhone or Android, or ask your smart speaker to 'play Hits Radio'.
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You can hear songs by Craig David on Hits Radio.
Take a look through Craig David's amazing career:
1991 - 'Re-Rewind'
Music is definitely in Craig David's blood. As a child, he was surrounded by music. His father George even played bass in a reggae band. Despite being well-known in the underground MC world in the 90s and writing songs for British group Damage, Craig David only got his big break in 1999 when he featured on the track 'Re-Rewind' by garage duo Artful Dodger. The song reached Number 2 in the charts and Craig soon became a household name.
2000 - Debut album 'Born To Do It'
In 2000, Craig released one of his greatest tunes to date, 'Fill Me In', with the garage banger soaring to the top of the charts. It appeared on Craig's debut album 'Born To Do It', which was released on 14th August 2000. It went to Number 1 and eventually went 6x Platinum. Hosting smash singles including '7 Days' and 'Walking Away', the album placed Craig at the top and earned him three Ivor Novello Awards as well as six BRIT Award nominations in 2001. Later in April 2009, MTV viewers voted 'Born to Do It' as Number 2 on their 'Greatest Album of All-Time' poll. What an accolade!
2002 - 'Slicker Than Your Average'
Craig's first album was definitely a huge hit with fans, and for some may have been hard to beat - but his second, 'Slicker Than Your Average', featured massive tunes like 'What's Your Flava?' and 'Rise & Fall' featuring Sting. Released in 2002, the album reached Number 4 in the charts and has since been certified 2x Platinum in the UK.
2005 - Change of sound and third album 'The Story Goes...'
In 2005, Craig announced that he had signed with Warner Music and put together his third album, 'The Story Goes...'. His sound shifted slightly and he began exploring more contemporary R&B. His song 'All The Way' put him back in the Top 3 in the charts and the album went to Number 5, receiving a Platinum certification from the BPI.
2007 - 'Trust Me'
Craig switched up his look on his fourth album 'Trust Me'. He successfully sought permission from David Bowie to sample his 1983 Number 1 single 'Let's Dance' on the single 'Hot Stuff', which was a Top 10 hit but the album as a whole only hit Number 18 in the charts. 2007 also saw him team up with UK grime legend Kano for their collaboration 'This Is The Girl', sampling Jay Z's song 'Big Pimpin'.
2008 - Greatest Hits and new direction
In 2008, still quite early on in his career, Craig released a Greatest Hits album, full of his best known hits as well a new song 'Where's Your Love' featuring Tinchy Stryder and Rita Ora.
In 2009, Craig signed another new record with Universal Motown and moved to Miami to take a break. Craig bought a luxurious all-white penthouse in the sunny city, and began taking major interest in body-building and getting into shape. Although he didn't go on an official hiatus, Craig reportedly resented the caricature of himself on Leigh Francis' TV show Bo' Selecta!, in which he was frequently parodied. Craig told The Sunday Times in 2007: "The whole Bo' Selecta! thing was killing me for a while because this idiot had a cult following and I was the main caricature. It was hurtful beyond belief. There were times when I thought I just want to knock this guy out."
In 2010, he released sixth album 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered'. It featured covers of classics from Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Al Green. It went to Number 13 in the UK charts.
2011 - The Craig David comeback and TS5
Craig started making his way back to the mainstream in 2011 when he uploaded DJ sets to SoundCloud under the name TS5, and on the back of this success Craig embarked on a huge world tour that took him all over the globe. TS5 remains hugely successful to this day, taking Craig everywhere from Ibiza to Glastonbury.
In January 2013, David announced on Twitter that he had signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group, he then took his TS5 shows on tour. In 2015, Craig appeared on The X Factor and performed his breakthrough single 'Re-Rewind' with Reggie 'n' Bollie, and in 2016, he signed with Sony.
2016 - 'Following My Intuition'
Craig's comeback single 'When The Bassline Drops', featuring Big Narstie, flew straight into the Top 10. In September 2016, he dropped his long-awaited comeback album 'Following My Intuition' and it was his first album to hit Number 1 since his debut 'Born To Do It', featuring singles 'Nothing Like This' with Blonde and 'Ain't Giving Up' with Sigala. He then headed on tour and played almost every festival under the sun.
2018 - 'The Time Is Now'
In 2017, Craig announced his seventh studio album, 'The Time Is Now', which was released in January 2018 and featured hits like 'Heartline' and 'I Know You' featuring Bastille. It almost hit the top spot in the UK charts, peaking at Number 2 and being kept off the top spot by the soundtrack album for The Greatest Showman.
2021 - Given an MBE from Prince Charles
In October 2021, Craig surprised fans and told them a collaboration 'Who You Are' which saw him join forces with GRAMMY-nominated artist and acclaimed songwriter MNEK. In December 2021, Craig David received an MBE at Windsor Castle from Prince Charles. The singer took to Instagram to share some photos of him receiving the award telling his fans: 'As I sit here after a beautiful day with my mum at Windsor Castle 🏰 I just wanna say thank you to everyone that has played a part in my career to date & to everyone that supports me & enriches my life. I'm so grateful & I Love You ❤️💫 xxx'
2022 - Platinum Party at the Palace performance and eighth album
Craig David was among the talented artists who performed at the Platinum Party at the Palace concert as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee celebrations on 4th June.
On 30th September 2022, Craig released his eighth studio album titled '22', so-named as it celebrated 22 years of his epic career! Craig became an independent artist in 2021 and released this record via his own label. The album included tracks such as 'DNA' with Galantis, 'Who You Are' with MNEK and 'My Heart's Been Waiting for You' with Duvall. Also that month, Craig announced his first book called What's Your Vibe?, which was released on 6th October. Craig explained it on his website: "For the past 2 years, I've been working on this book which isn't your typical memoir or self-help manual, but more of a place to share some of the lessons I've learnt over the years that have helped me navigate day to day life."
2024 - Love Island: All Stars performance and country song
Craig delivered an incredible performance in the Love Island: All Stars villa in February 2024, delighting Islanders including superfan Anton Danyluk. Craig was also joined by Wes Nelson, with the pair teaming up for an epic performance of their collab 'Abracadabra'.
In September 2024, Craig released his first solo single in two years entitled 'In Your Hands', alongside a nostalgic video depicting his younger self. 'In Your Hands' has a real country vibe, which confirmed Craig's earlier teases about 'a new chapter' of music.
2025 - Performing with Usher and ninth album
Craig took his 'Commitment Tour 2025' across the UK in February 2025, performing 11 dates and being supported by Lemar.
In April 2025, Usher asked Craig David to join him on stage during his 'Past Present Future Tour' at the O2 Arena in London. Craig and Usher performed '7 Days' and 'Fill Me In'.
Also that month, Craig delighted fans by announcing his ninth studio album 'Commitment' would be dropping on Friday 8th August. The album features 13 tracks including 'SOS', 'Wake Up' and ''Commitment' featuring Tiwa Savage and went to Number 10 in the UK.
In October, Craig announced a 25th anniversary edition of his debut album 'Born To Do It', the new version featured 29 songs on the digital release and 14 on a double vinyl edition. The album was released on 12th December 2025.
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Now read:
Craig David's impressive career timeline 🎧
Galantis and Craig David drop 'DNA' along with lyric video
Craig David gives us the story behind What’s Your Vibe?