Chris Willis

Christopher Willis (born February 26, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer.[1] Although initially a gospel singer, he later received international attention for his collaborations with house music artist David Guetta, including the songs "Just a Little More Love", "Love Don't Let Me Go, "Love Is Gone", "Tomorrow Can Wait", "Everytime We Touch" (with Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso), "Would I Lie to You" (with Cedric Gervais) and "Gettin' Over You."[2][3]

This article is about the American singer. For the American football coach, see Chris Willis (American football). For the film composer, see Christopher Willis.

Chris Willis
Background information
Birth nameChristopher Willis
Born (1969-02-26) February 26, 1969
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active1986–present
Associated acts

Biography

Originally a gospel singer, with the Heritage Singers and others, he was featured on the pop-classical album Handel's Messiah – A Soulful Celebration in 1993, singing a contemporary version of "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted".[4] His first job after college in Alabama was touring with a group that sang hundreds of shows in churches over a two-year period.[5] In the mid-1990s, he toured as backup vocalist for Twila Paris.[6] In 1996, he released his debut self-titled album, for which he wrote or co-wrote eight of the eleven songs,[7] and earned a nomination for Best R&B Album at the 1996 Nashville Music Awards.[8] That year, he opened on tour for Mark Lowry,[9] and was one of several featured singers in the musical showcase Emmanuel, a national tour put together by Nashville producer Norman Miller.[10] The tour spawned an album, which won a GMA Dove Award in 1998 for Special Event Album of the Year.[11] He did mostly gospel until 1998 when he signed with a small music label.[5] The label was bought out by a large corporation and Willis took that as a cue to move on.[5] During this time he also worked to resolve the "angst" from being closeted about his sexuality, "I always felt like God really understood—but that wasn't the message I was receiving in the church. So, when I moved out on my own I really internalized that message that God makes us who we are and that it's up to us to embrace that or not. I chose to embrace all those things as freedom, and that freedom begat the freedom I experience now."[5] He cites his internalized struggle as important to his transitioning out of gospel music. "I think there's this unspoken denial that you go through in gospel—maybe so in other musical art forms too—but I just felt for me it just wasn't easy to keep perpetuating that."[5] However, on June 2, 2014, Willis married Jacqueline Leiske.[12]

In 2000 he was working with the French boy band 2Be3 and when doing some publicity for their album in Paris one of the bandmates introduced him to house musician and producer David Guetta.[1] Guetta invited Willis to the studio and the next day they wrote 'Just a Little More Love.'[1] Willis co-wrote and provided most of the vocals on Guetta's debut album Just a Little More Love, including the hit title track.[13]

His music genres have included gospel music, disco, pop rock, and R&B. Willis is active on social networks including MySpace, Facebook and recently Twitter. He often adds live photos and videos from his tours and answers questions from fans.[14] Throughout 2009 he toured with David Guetta through Europe in support of One Love. He has also been doing solo European dates.[15] In November 2009 he performed at Danceclub C4 in Steyer, Austria for their 2nd Anniversary Party.[16] A documentary about him, Inside Out, directed by Robert Jason and Eric Miclette for Complete World Domination was released in early 2010 alongside the "Gettin' Over" single.[17]

His solo single "Louder (Put Your Hands Up)" was released on October 12, 2010.[18] Willis co-wrote the song with Cutfather and Jonas Jeberg.[19][20] The video premiered on DailyMotion October 26, 2010.[21] Shot in Los Angeles, the video was directed by Billie Woodruff. The video now has nearly 2 million views on his YouTube page.[22] The song reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs on the issue dated January 8, 2011.[23]

His second single "Too Much In Love" was released digitally August 16, 2011.[24] The song features a guitar sample of Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way". A video was shot in Los Angeles and released on January 10, 2012.[25] Many remixes have been created and released on iTunes.[26]

An eight-song EP entitled "Premium – Songs From The Love Ship, Vol. 1" was released on November 29, 2011 and features several of his solo singles [27]

Willis performing in 2009.

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums
Title Album details
Chris Willis[28]
Premium: Songs From The Love Ship Vol. 1

As lead artist
List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak position Certifications Album
US US
Dance		 AUS BEL FRA ITA NLD SWE SWI UK
"Out of My Hands" 1996 — — — — — — — — — —
Chris Willis
"He's Mine"[29] 2004 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"My Freedom"[30] 2006 — 25 — — — — — — — —
"Tomorrow Can Wait"
(with David Guetta vs. Tocadisco)		 2008 — — — 19 7 — 21 — 43 84
Pop Life
"Everytime We Touch"
(with David Guetta, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso)		 2009 — — — 43 — — 46 — 97 68
"Gettin' Over You"
(with David Guetta featuring Fergie and LMFAO)		 2010 31 1 5 12 1 3 31 28 11 1
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum[31]
  • BPI: Gold[32]
  • BVMI: Gold[33]
  • FIMI: Platinum
  • PROMUSICAE: Gold
One More Love
"Louder (Put Your Hands Up)" — 1 — 27 — — — — — —
Premium - Songs from the Love Ship, Vol. 1
"Too Much in Love" 2011 — 4 — — — — — — — —
"People (Feel the Love)"
(with OtherView)		 2013 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"Survivor"
(with Ben DJ)		 2014 — — — — — — — — — —
"One Life" — — — — — — — — — —
"Lonely One"
(with Crazibiza)		 2015 — — — — — — — — — —
"No One Can Replace You"
(with Purple Aura featuring Akon)		 — — — — — — — — — —
"Don't Cry (Remember My Name)"
(with Joachim Garraud)		 — — — — — — — — — —
"Blood in my veins"[34]
(The Vinyljackers (MikeNova))		 2016 — — — — — — — — — —
"Would I Lie to You"
(with David Guetta and Cedric Gervais)		 2016 — — — 30 20 71 — 80 35 —
"Warriors of the Night"[35]
(with Colin Crooks and Rob Styles)		 2020 — — — — — — — — — —
"Warriors of the Night"[36]
(with The Vinyljackers and MikeNova)		 2020 — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak position Certifications Album
US US
Dance		 AUS BEL FRA ITA NLD SWE SWI UK
"Supersonic"
(Billyweb featuring Chris Willis)		 2001 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Just a Little More Love"
(David Guetta featuring Chris Willis)		 — — — 29 29 — 80 — 59 19
Just a Little More Love
"Love Don't Let Me Go"
(David Guetta featuring Chris Willis)		 2002 — — — 7 4 — 37 — 13 46
"People Come People Go"
(David Guetta featuring Chris Willis)		 — — — 47 42 — — — 54 —
"Money"
(David Guetta featuring Chris Willis and Moné)		 2004 — — — 52 63 — — — 52 —
Guetta Blaster
"Stay"
(David Guetta featuring Chris Willis)		 — — — 19 18 — — — 82 78
"Love Is Gone"
(David Guetta featuring Chris Willis)		 2007 98 — — 9 3 28 10 9 11 9
Pop Life
"Give It All You Got"
(Ultra Naté featuring Chris Willis)		 — 1 — — — — — — — —
Grime, Silk, & Thunder
"My DJ Rock Superstar"
(Nicola Fasano featuring Chris Willis)		 2012 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"Party 2 Daylight"
(Global Deejays featuring Chris Willis)		 2013 — — — — — — — — — —
"Magnet"
(Hook N Sling featuring Chris Willis)		 — — — — — — — — — —
"This Is Your Life"
(Psyko Punkz and MC Lyte featuring Chris Willis)		 2014 — — — — — — — — — —
"Turn Your Love Around"[41]
(Cedric Gervais featuring Chris Willis)		 2019 — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References
  1. Celebrity City Guide: Chris Willis Archived September 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine PlanetOut, September 11, 2009.
  2. BBC. "BBC - Radio 1 - Judge Jules - Tracklisting". bbc.co.uk.
  3. http://www.dmcupdate.com/sow/index.asp?IssueID=303
  4. Stark, Judy (November 26, 1993). "Our Annual Holiday CD Roundup Series". St. Petersburg Times. p. 18.
  5. Rox, Mikey (August 6, 2008). "Chris Willis: He has the music in him". Windy City Times. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  6. Bialczak, Mark (April 4, 1995). "For the love of God: Twila Paris' Christian music electrifies crowd". The Post-Standard. p. C4.
  7. Hytche, C. J. (September 21, 1996). "Chris Willis". Houston Chronicle. p. 3.
  8. Gray, Michael (November 12, 1996). "Nashville Music Awards taps eclectic collection". Nashville Banner. p. A1.
  9. Price, Deborah Evans (September 14, 1996). "Higher ground". Billboard. 108 (37): 46.
  10. Hogan, Susan (December 1, 1996). "Emmanuel: A seasonal showcase for Christian singers". Star Tribune. p. F1.
  11. "Dove list". The Times-Picayune. April 25, 1998. p. B4.
  12. Ressler, Darren (December 31, 2014). "Big Shot Rewind: 219 DJs and Artists Look Back on 2014". Big Shot Magazine. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  13. Paoletta, Michael (February 7, 2004). "Beat Box". Billboard. 116 (6): 33.
  14. "Chris Willis". facebook.com.
  15. http://www.myspace.com/chriswillismusic
  16. Stefan Bosnjakovic. "Party.at – Photos: Chris Willis live on stage, Danceclub C4 / Ternberg". party.at.
  17. A teaser is available on YouTube peacebisquit.com.
  18. "Louder (Put Your Hands Up) – EP". iTunes.
  19. "GEMA – Members – Online Database – Musical Works" (in German). GEMA. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  20. Cooke, Buck (January 5, 2011). "We like it when Chris Willis gets 'Louder'". Project Q Atlanta. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  21. INgrooves. "Chris Willis – Louder (Put Your Hands Up) – Video Dailymotion". Dailymotion.
  22. Chris Willis – Louder (Put Your Hands Up) [Radio Edit]. YouTube. October 28, 2010.
  23. Dance/Club Play Songs Chart at Billboard.com for the Week of January 8, 2011
  24. "Too Much In Love – Single". iTunes.
  25. Chris Willis – Too Much In Love (Official Video). YouTube. January 10, 2012.
  26. "Too Much In Love Remixes". iTunes.
  27. "Premium – Songs from the Love Ship, Vol. 1". iTunes.
  28. Chris Willis album in Allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/album/chris-willis-r242648
  29. "He's Mine - Chris Willis - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  30. iTunes Music https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/my-freedom-ep/id179552261
  31. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  32. "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  33. "Gold—/Platin-Datenbank (David Guetta)". Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  34. {{cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/track/0399TuIESda4C7Mh9mPsyO |title=Blood in my veins - Single by Chris Willis, Vinyljackers on Spotify |website=Spotify |access-date=August 26, 2026}
  35. "Warriors of the Night - Single by Chris Willis, Rob Styles & Colin Crooks on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  36. "Warriors of the Night - Single by Chris Willis, The Vinyljackers (MikeNova) on Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  37. "Certifications Singles Or – année 2002" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  38. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2002". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  39. "Certifications Singles Argent – année 2007" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  40. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (David Guetta)". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  41. "Turn Your Love Around - Single by Cedric Gervais & Chris Willis on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
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