Craig Smart (singer)

Craig Scott Smart (b. May. 1, 1972) is a Canadian singer songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was part of D-Cru and their lead vocalist and in the early 2000s, he joined The Underdog Project, a German-Belgian dance group as a vocalist and songwriter. He has written and co-written a number of songs that have become international hits. He also used the alter ego name Yardi Don for some releases particularly with Belgian producer DJ F.R.A.N.K., a co-member in The Underdog Project.

Early Life

Craig Smart was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but spent most of his childhood growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was born to a White mother of English descent and a Black father of Jamaican descent. He started his music career as a rapper in the late-1980s, going by the stage name Craig Krush, but by the early 1990s he developed a love for singing and transitioned musically to singing R&B and pop throughout the remainder of the decade.

Career

In D-Cru
Main article: D-Cru

In 1996, Smart joined the Vancouver-based R&B band/collective, D-Cru as their lead vocalist. The group also included Tanessa Tompkins, Tito Chipman, Damien Kyles, Troy Samson aka Golden Child (later Hipjoint) and Aimee Mackenzie, with the group achieving the height of their success during the late-1990s and collectively still active until the early 2000s with changing line-ups, Craig leaving the group by 2001. Their initial album The Outer World was released in 1998. The band was signed to Electra Records. D-Cru had two notable charting hits in Canada,"I Will Be Waiting" released in 1998, produced by John Dexter, with the accompanying music video achieving heavy rotation on music stations, such as MuchMusic and YTV's Hitlist, followed by the second single "Show Me" in 1999. Another single "Never Never" was also released with seldom airplay on radio and TV, with vocals provided by singer, Aileen de la Cruz. "I'll Be Waiting" was nominated for Best Song at the Canadian Juno Awards in 2000 and was named second most played song in Canada during the West Coast Music Awards.

In The Underdog Project
Main article: The Underdog Project

Smart's most lucrative period came when included in the early 2000s in the band The Underdog Project. The 4-member band based in Belgium and Germany included Craig Smart and Vic Krishna on vocals, DJ Frank on remixes and AJ Duncan on keyboards. It released the commercially successful album It Doesn't Matter that reached number 2 in both German and Australian albums charts.

The project enjoyed big hits like "Summer Jam", "Saturday Night", "Tonight", "Girls of Summer" amongst many others. "Summer Jam' was certified gold in France and Germany, and double platinum in Belgium and the Netherlands. "Saturday Night" became a pan-European hit charting in Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Solo, songwriting and collaborations

Under his alter ego Yardi Don, Smart penned hits like "Unity", "Boom, Boom, Boom", and "It's da Music" in collaboration with Belgian DJ F.R.A.N.K. and was featured in the latter's recordings. His hit "One Love, World Love" credited as Frank Ti-Aya vs. Yardi Don (alternative names for DJ F.R.A.N.K. and Smart) appeared in more than 100 compilations. Smart was also featured on vocals of DJ F.R.A.N.K.'s charting hits "Blu Sky Holiday" and "Burning It Up".

Smart's songwriting credits include "What Went On" and "Baby It's I" with Hipjoint Records, and "Faded" for soulDecision. Other collaborations includes acts like NBG (Natural Born Groove) where "Candy on the Dance Floor" became a pan-European hit on the dance charts in UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands. He also collaborated with Master P with "Pluto Nash", "Back on Top", "More than a Woman", with Longo in "One Life Stand" featuring Smart and Wainwright and with Tristan Garner (France) in the single "Freedom", with the House Keepers (Italy) in "Hanging On", with the Taiwanese f4 also known as JVKV in "No Escape" and with Fentura aka The Sunloverz (Germany). In 2014, he had a hit "Last Girl on Earth" featuring Ashley MacIsaac.

Discography

Albums
as part of D-Cru
  • 1998: The Outer World
as part of The Underdog Project

Singles

(selective)

Solo
Year Single Peak positions
CAN
 FR
[1]
2003 "What Went On"  –  –
2008 "Freedom"
(with Tristan Garner)		  – 36
2011 "I Miss You"  –  –
"123" 33  –
2014 "Last Girl on Earth"
(feat. Ashley MacIsaac)		  –  –
as part of D-Cru
  • 1999: "Show Me"
  • 2000: "I Will Be Waiting"
as part of The Underdog Project

(selective)

See more details and chart positions in discography of The Underdog Project article

Featured in
Year Single Peak positions
CAN
 BEL
(Vl)
[2]		 BEL
(Wa)
[3]
1998 "I Will Be Waiting"
(D-Cru featuring Craig Smart)		  –  –  –
1999 "Faded"
(Soul Decision featuring Thrust)(Backing vocals by Craig Smart)		  –  –
2010 "One Life Stand"
(Longo featuring Wainwright and Craig Smart)		 22  –  –
2012 "Blu Sky Holiday"
(DJ F.R.A.N.K. featuring Craig Smart)		  – 46 24*
(Ultratip)
2013 "Burning It Up"
(DJ F.R.A.N.K. featuring Craig Smart and Tom-E)		  – 26 3*
(Ultratip)
2014 "Good Life"
(DJ F.R.A.N.K. featuring Craig Smart)		  – 47*
(Ultratip)		 21*
(Ultratip)
2020 "You Should Know"[4]
(Sam Feldt and Fedde Le Grand featuring Craig Smart)		  –  –  –

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Featured in as Yardi Don
Year Single Peak positions
BEL
[2]		 BEL
[3]		 FIN
[5]
2006 "One Love, World Love"
(Frank Ti-Aya feat. Yardi Don)		 12 7*
(Ultratip)		 6
2007 "Unity"
(Frank Ti-Aya feat. Yardi Don)		 42  – 5
2008 "It's da Music "
(Frank Ti-Aya feat. Yardi Don)		 24*
(Ultratip)		  –  –
2020 "You Should Know"[6]
(Sam Feldt and Fedde Le Grand featuring Craig Smart)		  –  –  –

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Songwriting

References
  1. "Craig Smart discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  2. "Craig Smart discography". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  3. "Craig Smart discography". ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  4. "You Should Know (feat. Craig Smart) - Single by Sam Feldt & Fedde Le Grand". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  5. "Craig Smart discography". finnishcharts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  6. "You Should Know (feat. Craig Smart) - Single by Sam Feldt & Fedde Le Grand". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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