Hailing from Canada, Daniel Powter captured European audiences in 2005 through his track “Bad Day,” which appeared on his self-titled album released that same year. Born and raised in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, he first took up the violin at four before shifting to piano as a teenager and playing at his high school. He later enrolled at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, to study music, though he left after two years because of challenges stemming from his dyslexia. Following his debut, he toured Europe and performed at the Berlin Live 8 concert during the summer of 2005. The album reached the United States in 2006, where “Bad Day” served as the theme for the fifth season of FOX’s American Idol; Powter also delivered the song live on the season finale. The single eventually topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well as numerous international charts.
In 2008 Powter issued his third album, Under the Radar, which featured the single “Next Plane Home.” Although it received generally favorable notices, the record failed to match the commercial impact of its predecessor. The overwhelming success of “Bad Day” appeared to eclipse his later efforts, and several years passed before he fully reconciled himself with that breakthrough. Throughout this period he kept writing and performing, even contributing piano to Marcy Playground’s 2009 album Leaving Wonderland...in a fit of rage. Warner Bros. released the compilation Best of Me in 2010, adding four new Powter songs to the collection. He resurfaced in 2012 with the melodic pop-inflected Turn on the Lights, highlighted by the single “Cupid.”
