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Eric West Eric West in a publicity photo for Half Life Born 18 May 1982 New York City, New York, USA Occupation Actor, model, singer, songwriter Famous for Bobby (2005) Half Life (album, 2006) Eric West (born Eric Rosa on May 18, 1982 in New York City, New York USA) is a model turned R&B/pop singer, actor and humanitarian. In 1996, he made his film debut; in 2004, he became one of the most exciting new faces to hit the international model scene, while two more movies followed, including Bobby with Demi Moore, Lindsay Lohan and Nick Cannon currently in production. Eric has appeared on CNN People In The News, MTV, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Scouted by New Faces in America, he has happily coupled his first passion as a singer / songwriter with a successful modeling career in Europe. More recently, a rumored relationship with Christina Milian made tabloid headlines around the world, both parties denied the romance. [1] [2] [3] Contents 1 Biography and career 1.1 Media spotlight 2 Filmography 2.1 Films 2.2 Television 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 3.2.1 Notes 4 Awards & nominations 5 Trivia 6 References 6.1 Footnotes 6.2 Databases 7 See also 8 External links Biography and career Mark Wahlberg and Eric West pose together at MTV Video Music Awards September, 2000 Eric started recording music at the age of 12 much like his uncle Grammy winner Smokey Robinson of Motown fame, Black Eyed Peas member Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) discovered Eric, and invited the then 15 year old to appear on stage with the Grammy winner at a concert in New York City for Jane Magazine. [4] [5] In 1996 West released his debut single End Of The World under the name Eryk in Asia, it achieved Top 10 status on the Tokyo Hot 100 singles chart, right before he turned 15 he had finished recording a full-length album titled H20 that was never released. The single failed to hit in America. In the summer of 1998 Eric took his voice to radio, at age 16 he was the youngest DJ in history on FM radio in New York City, when he became a co-host of the Top 9 at 9 on WBLS with radio personality JC Jordan. On September 21st, 2000 Eric joined Rich Cronin of the platinum selling band LFO, in Brooklyn, New York to help lead the Light The Night Walk with 12 year-old leukemia survivor Kimberly Thach, the Society's National Youth Ambassador. Eric, Rich and Kimberly lead approximately 1,000 leukemia survivors, friends, and family members carrying illuminated balloons over the Brooklyn Bridge to commemorate lives touched by cancer. With no record deal and an album that never got released Eric found himself and his family on hard times, finding himself homeless, West said in a recent interview. For years I kept it a secret, my best friend didn't find out until last year. It was one of two of hardest points in my life so far. I was still on TV, and not one person knew. I was homeless for about 8 months, I refused to live with my dad or anyone for that matter. So I stayed somewhere that had no hot water, ever, no heat, I told myself I have to be strong and get through it on my own, I had lied to everyone so that no one knew that was going on. I had lost everything, I had nothing, after having everything, I didn't know how I was going land on my feet, but I knew that I would. I didn't know why my life was so bad, and why this was happening to me, and then one day I realized that God had a plan for me, and till this day I am thankful for that experience. — Eric West Nearly a 3 year break, Eric returned briefly late 2002 with "Can You Help Me?" his first single in over 5 years, produced by Stay-C Hogan and written by West it became an international radio hit topping the B-Radio Latin American radio charts for 2 weeks, [6] rivaling songs by Justin Timberlake and Madonna for the No. 1 spot, while hitting Top 5 on numerous stations in Chile, Bolivia and Mexico (No.19 most successful Untapped Resources International Top 200 singles of 2002), rumors of an album being released floated around on the Internet, but were untrue at the time. In 2002 Eric got together with Grammy winning producers David Foster (Michael Jackson, Céline Dion, Whitney Houston) and Carole Bayer Sager (Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Neil Diamond) to write a song for legendary media icon Cher for her forthcoming album, a demo version of the song "Love Don't Live Here" was leaked to the internet. [7] Eric once again disappeared until early 2004 but returned more visible than before. He appeared in ads for Artist Against Racism in America. Artist Against Racism is an organization that also includes superstars like Céline Dion, Lenny Kravitz, Sarah McLachlan, Mike Myers, Bush and Aerosmith. He made his TV debut acting a tv pilot called In My Lifetime directed by Devin Hampton and Little X who has directed music videos for Sean Paul, Usher, Alicia Keys, R. Kelly and Nelly. Eric then received a top honor from the OCTN; he was awarded the Humanitarian Award : Youth Of The Millennium. He received the award for the charity work he's done in his community over the years. In 2004 Eric also appeared in his own fashion spread in Marie Claire Japan. He was featured as one of fashion's top new models and singers, and that was just early 2004. Eric West Publicity Still, c. 2004. On August 28th, Eric made media headlines worldwide when he wore a "I Support Janet Jackson" T-shirt to the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, which was a bold statement in regard to Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime controversy. Eric told Teen People USA, "It was my way of showing Janet support after being blacklisted by so many media outlets". The T-shirt earned mentions in the New York Daily News, New York Post, Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times to name a few. Janet Jackson and her fan club sent the singer a thank you message for his support according to reports. Eric West CD Single Cover As the year went on Eric continued to work on his album Half Life. Eric was scheduled to tour the UK as opening act for European star Matt Goss famous for UK hits When Will I Be Famous, Try and I'm Coming With Ya, but the tour was canceled due to Goss' ill health at the time. West also began working on a new song with producer and DJ, Galbis. The track is slated to debut in clubs sometime in early 2006 close to Eric's CD release. As 2004 continued Eric's star continued to rise, like most of Young Hollywood he became part of numerous Internet rumors and gossip columns, in mid-December 2004, Eric found himself once again making headlines when he announced on his official web site [1] that he finished work on a song titled "Wires," inspired by those whose lives have been touched by HIV and AIDS. [8] Working on my album has been an amazing journey, a lot of it has been inspired by people, and more so life, recently, I wrote a song called "Wires," which is about HIV/AIDS, inspired by a few friends of mine who are going though situations that deal with HIV/AIDS. The singer also added, With my music, I don't want to compete with every other singer out there, but I want to make a difference in peoples lives, that matters to me, more so than selling millions of albums. I pray that I am able to changes lives or at least help to make them better, and I know it will be a risk to release a song about HIV/AIDS like "Wires," but I'm willing to take that chance. — Eric West On January 20, 2005 AOL Music [9] announced it will premiere Eric's debut single from "Half | Life" as part of their "Breaker" artist program, he therefore became on the same promotional path that boosted such previous Breakers as Avril Lavigne, Josh Groban, 50 Cent and Jet. On Eric's official site, it states the LP's first single will be between "Half | Life" and a track titled "If I Only Knew", according to numerous websites the album will include songs called "Black Rose," "Wires," and "Underdog". Eric has said in interviews that the album is a mixture of Electropop, R&B, Rock and Hip-Hop. Christina Milian and Eric West pose together at The Reign gala for the Elton John Aids Foundation Aug, 2005 Attempting to further popularize his name and image, he signed on to be a model for the hugely popular "Day Birger et Mikkelsen" [10] line in Denmark and the UK in April 2005. Aug. 6, 2005 Eric co-hosted The Reign at the Gerald W. Lynch Theatre in New York City with actress/singer Christina Milian, the event was designed by a group of inner-city children in 2003 to raise funding and awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention education for men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS through the Elton John Aids Foundation, as well as working with the Fresh Air Fund to continue to help other inner-city children and family's. Both Milian and West were awarded Outstanding Achievement Awards for their humanitarian efforts. [11] Eric also appeared on NBC's Weekend Edition to talk about hosting the event. He also appeared at Body Positive benefit, that year, the organization, dedicated to empowering people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, had Eric on hand to honor Marj Dusay of Guiding Light, local Congressman Timothy H. Bishop. [12] In October, Paramount Pictures annouced Eric will appear in David Fincher's 2007 film Benjamin Button with a small role along side Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt. According to PauseandPlay.com [13] Eric's forthcoming album will arrive summer 2006, its first single is scheduled to be released mid-May. A song called "Hurt" was leaked onto the Internet. In April 2006, Atlanta Gossip reported Eric is one of the collaborators on Mario's next album. [2] Media spotlight With Eric's fame and media attention rising, in 2005 he became a gossip column and Internet rumor favorite. One journalist considered West to be the Paris Hilton of the music and film industry, which lead to a semi-famous quote; Eric West has yet to release an album but is a gossip column favorite? He must be the Paris Hilton of music, famous but for what? Gossip websites and radio stations falsely claimed Eric West became a father in 2005, [14] and more recently clamied he is dating Christina Milian. [15] The two were photographed arriving together at New York's 2006 Olympus Fashion Week and at a New York airport. Eric denied the rumor saying they are just friends. Some radio stations and newspapers claim they are secretly dating, although Milian recently claimed in the New York Daily News, "I probably shouldn't give this that much attention but I have no idea who Eric West is. There is a rumour I am dating this guy and I have no idea who he is! No offence to the guy, but I just had to get that off my chest." Then later said on 102.7 KIIS-FM with Ryan Seacrest it was a "big misunderstanding". Filmography Films 2007 - Benjamin Button 2005 - Lords of Dogtown Television MTV Wannabe - Guest, 2001 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards - Model, 2001 The Oprah Winfrey Show - Guest, 24 November 1997 Discography Albums Album cover Album information Half-Life Released: August 2006 [13] Chart Peak: n/a Last RIAA Description: n/a Singles: "I'm In Love" Worldwide sales: n/a Singles Year Title Album US UK Japan 1996 "End of the World" H20 - - 6 2002 "Can You Help Me?" 1 - 134 37 2006 "I'm In Love" Half-Life TBR TBR TBR Notes 1 "Can You Help Me?" UK chart position is from British Radio Chart. Awards & nominations Year Award 2001 My VH-1 Award nomination for Best Legal Download 2004 OCTN Humanitarian Youth of the Millennium Award 2005 Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie Rumble 2005 The Reign Award Elton John Award for Outstanding Achievement (shared with Mariah Carey and Christina Milian) [3] Trivia Born to an African American mother and a Puerto Rican father. According to NotStarring.com Eric auditioned for a role in the film Love Don't Cost a Thing. [4] References Footnotes ^ nydailynews.com. Milian MySpaces out about an actor. Retrieved on 22 April 2006. ^ cbs13.com. MILIAN DENIES ROMANCE. Retrieved on 23 April 2006. ^ tmf.nl. Vergeetachtige Milian. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. ^ youtube.com. Acrhive yousend.com footage. Retrieved on 20 March 2006. ^ perezhilton.com. Vintage Fergie. Retrieved on 23 May 2006. ^ radio.com. The Untapped Resources International Top 200 of the Year 2002. Retrieved on 2 January 2003. ^ ascap.com. ASCAP Work. Retrieved on 5 March 2006. ^ yahoo.com. Actor and Pop Singer Eric West Gives Back To AIDS Cause With New Song And Builds Up Media Bizz. Retrieved on 24 December 2004. ^ aolmusic.com. Eric West joins "Breakers". Retrieved on 20 January 2005. ^ day.dk. Day Birger et Mikkelsen. Retrieved on 1 April 2005. ^ the-nyc.com. Christina Milian and Eric West CO-host "The Reign" Fundraiser, an Event to Raise Funds to Fight HIV/AIDS Around the World. Retrieved on 5 August 2005. ^ hxmagazine.com. HX Magazine. Retrieved on 1 April 2006. ^ a b pauseandplay.com. Upcoming releases. Retrieved on 2 March 2006. ^ popdirt.com. Eric West becomes a Father. Retrieved on 10 January 2006. ^ top40-charts.com. Christina Milian Writes Diss Record And Moves On To Eric West.. Retrieved on 27 January 2006. Databases All Music Guide: Eric West Billboard.com: Eric West See also List of famous Puerto Ricans List of Hollywood celebrity couples LA Denim Atelier External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eric West Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eric West Official website ASCAP.com List of music written and performed by Eric West. Eric West at the Internet Movie Database Eric West at TV.com ManPaper.com Eric West @ ManPaper.com Search Term: "Eric_West" Categories: 1982 births | Living people | African American musicians | American child actors | American child singers | American dancers | American entrepreneurs | American film actors | American male models | American male singers | American pop singers | American R&B musicians | American singer-songwriters | American soul musicians | American television actors | Brooklynites | College dropouts | People from New York City | Puerto Rican singers | Rhythmic Top 40 acts

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