Benjamin McAllister

Benjamin Rhys McAllister
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Benjamin McAllister
Background information
Born	August 16, 1983 (29)
Origin	Texas, USA
Genre	Pop/R'n'B/Electro-Rock
Years active	2008-present
Label	Blacklight Records
Associated acts
Phoenix Rising Victor Strong James Moss

Benjamin McAllister is an American singer, drummer, songwriter and actor. He is most well-known in the UK for his role in electro-rock band Phoenix Rising, and in the US as the star of long-running HBO television show "Wanted". Benjamin is also well-known for his main role in the 2011 action-thriller "The Hunger" starring Paulo Araujo. In 2013, Benjamin followed the lead of bandmates Victor Strong and James Moss by releasing his debut solo album "Welcome To The Afterparty". It was released on February 25th, followed by its lead single "Good Man Down", a duet with Rory Jacobs released as part of the 2013 Tango Challenge. The album was a top 3 success, but the single underperformed to expectations.

Early Life

Benjamin Rhys McAllister was born on August 16th, 1983; the second of three brothers (Josef, 33, and Quentin, 23), Benjamin was raised mainly by his mother, as his parents separated when Benjamin was 7 years old. Benjamin's father was a drug dealer and user, specializing in crystal meth and heroin. The man was arrested when Benjamin was 7, and was later forced into mandatory rehabilitation as part of his criminal sentence. Benjamin took up drumming as a teenager, developing his skills without formal training. He was also interested in acting, and enrolled in a private acting school. Despite his acting training Benjamin was interested in forming a band, and answered an ad for a group looking for a drummer. This is how he met Victor, Alexei and Tobias and started down the road to forming Phoenix Rising.

Music

Phoenix Rising

Benjamin auditioned for Phoenix Rising in early 2008, and got along well with the rest of the band. The band's debut album "Eye Of The Beholder" was self-funded by the group, a costly effort for unsigned artists working with major-league producers. The band was heavily in debt by the time their debut material was released, but the surprise success of the album and its subsequent single releases helped the band repay all their debts and turn a profit by the time the era ended. The album reached diamond certification in the UK with a #4 peak and six top 10 hits.

In 2010, the Phoenix Rising brand really kicked off with the release of their sophomore album "Vermillion & Ash". The album and its lead single "Never Gonna Come Back Down" slammed into the #1 position in the UK. A long string of top 5 hits were released from the album, as well as a content-heavy 'ultimate edition' which all helped the album achieve over 2 million copies sold in the UK and a double-diamond certification.

Beginning from May 17th, 2012, the band reunited to begin writing sessions for their third studio album. Later in the year they decided on a thematic concept for the record and began further developing the album. Originally they were set for a December 2012 comeback but this was pushed back until eventually they released their third album "Brittlestar Requiem" on February 4th alongside its lead single "Space Cowboy". The album hit #1 in the UK and its lead single landed at #2.

"Welcome To The Afterparty" Era

Amidst promotion of "Brittlestar Requiem" in 2013 came the announcement that Benjamin would be releasing a solo EP entitled "Welcome To The Afterparty", partly as a recreational side project and partly as a house for Benjamin's Tango Challenge single "Good Man Down", a duet with URAPS Idol 12 runner-up Rory Jacobs. The sessions with Rory inspired further creativity from Benjamin, who recorded additional tracks for his solo record and upgraded it from an EP to a full-length studio album. With the strong return to the charts, Benjamin now has two #1 albums under his belt, but did not expect his solo album to become his third. "Welcome To The Afterparty" was released on February 25th, debuting at #3. It was followed by "Good Man Down" on March 4th. The single was expected to be a top 5 success, but there was an uproar when it debuted outside the top 10. The single did climb to #9 in its second week. Preceding the release of his single and album was the digital buzz single "Iris", a Goo Goo Dolls cover recorded for the 90's-flavoured URAPS compilation album. The release debuted at #4 on the digital charts, and is not included on Benjamin's album.

Television & Acting Career

Benjamin's first television job was as a backstage host during Uraps Idol 10 in the UK; it was a role he only spent a few episodes on during the early stages of the show. In America he was cast in the lead role of Caleb Forrester in a show called "Wanted" on popular cable network HBO. The show's initial premise featured Benjamin's character Caleb waking up with amnesia, only to learn that he had been wrongfully accused of a vicious crime. It then became Caleb's job to get his memory back and discover the truth all while evading law enforcement. Future seasons revolved around Caleb's continued evasion of the law while tracking down the man who framed him. Currently the show is in its fifth season, and has been renewed for a sixth season. A feature-length film has also been greenlit.

On top of his long-running television career Benjamin also has aspirations to make it as an actor in Hollywood. In 2010 he was cast in the movie "New In Town" starring Cassie Fox, but when Cassie disappeared the movie fell apart and never entered production. Upon the failure of this Benjamin was cast as the lead in a biopic based on the life of short-lived 50's movie star James Dean. After shooting a fair amount of the movie, funding ran out and production was shut down. Later, the project changed directors and the entire film was re-written and re-cast, and Benjamin was dropped from the production. To-date, Benjamin's one success story is "The Hunger", released in 2011 as the debut starring role for both himself and the film's star Paulo Araujo. The action-thriller featured Benjamin as Mario, the ex-boyfriend of Paulo's character Jorge. Benjamin won an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight Scene, but lost Best Screen Kiss, for which he and Paulo were also nominated.

As of 2013 Benjamin had intended to take a break from Hollywood to focus on music, although he is still perusing potential scripts in case the right project comes along. "Identity" turned out to be that 'right project', with Benjamin landing a supporting role as an FBI agent leading the hunt for the film's lead, played by urban singer/rapper L.E.X.

Personal Life

Benjamin's personal life is not as well-documented as his Phoenix Rising bandmates; having allowed Victor, James and Alexei to command the majority of media attention he has managed to maintain a degree of anonymity to his personal life. It is known that he is single; his last girlfriend was singer Dalisay, whom he began dating in late 2008 but they broke up in 2009 before long. Benjamin's life since then has seen him bounce between his work with the band, his work on TV show "Wanted" and his various attempts to kick-start his movie career. He has been linked with French pop-dance singer Angeliè, but any speculation of a relationship is mere rumour.

Discography

Albums

Album	Album details	Peak	Certification	Sales
Welcome To The Afterparty	Debut Solo Album Released: February 25th, 2013 Label: Blacklight	#3	Gold	235,483+

Singles

Year	Single	Peak	Album	Certification	Sales	Digital
2013	"Iris"	#4	URAPS Goes Back To The 90's	None	N/A	54,753
	"Good Man Down" (with Rory Jacobs)	#9	Welcome To The Afterparty	Silver	141,502+	47,345
	"Blow Your Speakers"	TBA		TBA	TBA	TBA