Jackson Bradshaw

Jackson Bradshaw
Birth name	Jackson Kyle Bradshaw
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	R&B, soul, urban pop
Occupation(s)	Singer Songwriter Actor Former male model
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2010 to present
Labels	Fusion (2010 to present)
Associated acts	L.E.X Midnight Paulo Araujo Syd Wolfe Aurora Reed Calvin Andrews
Notable instruments
Vocals (tenor)

Jackson Kyle Bradshaw (born October 3, 1986) is a Canadian R&B singer, songwriter, actor, and model. Bradshaw began his modelling career in 2001 at age sixteen and then retired in 2009 to pursue a career in music. In 2010, Bradshaw released his debut single "Daze of Summer" which reached the top ten in the UK. Though Bradshaw released two more singles in 2010 and 2011, his career was briefly derailed by various difficulties, bad career decisions, and setbacks.

In 2012, Bradshaw released his "comeback" single "Missing You" which reached #2 in the UK, becoming his biggest hit there to date. On June 25, 2012, Bradshaw released his debut album Something Special after a series of delays throughout a two year period. Something Special has been certified Platinum by the URAPS in the UK and Gold by the RIAA in the United States. Bradshaw began experiencing international success with his singles "Cold" and "You Complicate Me", which both hit the top ten throughout Europe.

In 2013, Bradshaw released "Don't Say Goodnight", which became his biggest international hit to date, reaching #1 in various European countries, as well in Canada and the United States; the single reached #5 in the UK. On July 29, 2013, Bradshaw released his sophomore album Take You Higher.

Along with his music career, Bradshaw has also began a career in television and film. In 2012, Bradshaw was announced as a judge on Urapopstar Idol 13 and also appeared in his first acting role in an episode of Horrors of America, where his acting abilities were praised. Bradshaw has since been cast in his first film titled Identity starring opposite L.E.X., Benjamin McAllister, and Ashley!, where he will play a mysterious former CIA agent. The film will be released in October 2013.

Early life

Jackson Bradshaw was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and was the middle child of his parents. Bradshaw has four other brothers, with his two eldest brothers being identical twins. Bradshaw has stated that he and his family have always maintained a close and loving relationship with each other.

Bradshaw and his family had a very big fascination with and also had a vast amount of knowledge about modern music history when Bradshaw was little. He and his family showed appreciation towards many genres of music but mostly bought, listened to, and liked R&B and country music.

Modeling career: 2001 - 2009, 2011

Bradshaw was discovered when he was fifteen and began modelling in 2001, when he was sixteen. During his modelling career, Bradshaw modeled men's clothes, beachwear, swimwear, and underwear on runways and in print ads for big name fashion brands.

In late 2008, Bradshaw became more interested in pursuing music and started focusing less on modelling. In early 2009, Bradshaw quit modelling to pursue music.

One of Bradshaw's last modelling jobs was when he posed with Syd Wolfe for a picture for the inlays of her 2009 debut album Big Bad Wolfe. After Bradshaw rose to prominence with his singing career, the picture resurfaced a year later and drew some attention.

Bradshaw would continue to do some modelling in 2011 while on hiatus of his music career, doing a few television commercials. He quit modelling for good soon after.

Music career

Beginning of music career: 2009-2010

In early 2009, after he quit modelling, Bradshaw began launching his music career. Bradshaw initially wanted to be a country artist and recorded a demo full of country songs. Without shopping his country demo around, Bradshaw decided that he was more interested in being a R&B artist, though he still showed an interest in country.

Bradshaw soon began performing his original material at clubs and bars in Vancouver. The lyrics of his original material originated from old poems he has written when he was younger and had written during his modelling days. Bradshaw's live performances were usually praised by patrons and critics.

In early 2010, Bradshaw left Vancouver for the UK in hopes to heighten his music career.

"Daze of Summer", other non-album singles, and delayed first album: 2010-2011

In early 2010, Bradshaw moved to the UK in hopes that he would get more exposure with his music. Bradshaw felt that the UK was more accepting of urban music than Canadian and American audiences. Bradshaw was named by Billboard magazine as one of the "Aritists To Watch 2010". In summer 2010, Bradshaw was signed to Fusion Records.

In August 2010, Bradshaw's debut single "Daze of Summer" was released in the UK. Critically and commercially successful, the single peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart, while it was also a top ten hit in his native Canada. Later that summer, Bradshaw participated in the Fusion:Live Tour. In November 2010, Bradshaw released his second single "I Bet That You Don't Love Me". Though inadequately promoted, the single still managed to reach #10 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Bradshaw's second top ten hit.

Bradshaw was supposed to release his debut album under the title Come Closer in December 2010. The album was delayed for a variety of reasons, with concerns mainly being focused on the album's title (and that it should be changed for reasons unknown) and material. The album was initially pushed back to January 2011 but then was temporarily shelved when Bradshaw decided to re-record more than half of the album. By mid-January, the album was shelved so that Bradshaw could "start over from scratch" and re-record the whole album. Bradshaw cancelled two singles that would have came from the album as a result. In May 2011, Bradshaw had completed a new version of his album and stated that it would be out that summer.

In June 2011, Bradshaw released his third overall single "Hard To Find". "Hard To Find" was marketed as the lead single from Bradshaw's revamped debut album, which was now to be released under the title Keep Me Talking. "Hard To Find" was also marketed as his "comeback" single, but due to poor promotion and Bradshaw's escalating conflicts with his manager (which eventually lead to a gunshot wound incident), the single stalled at #12 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Bradshaw's lowest peaking single to date and his only to miss the top ten. The single stayed on the charts for a mere three weeks.

During promotion for "Hard To Find", Bradshaw was shot in the leg by his manager, whom he did not press charges against but instead fired and severed professional ties with. Bradshaw then cancelled an upcoming single titled "I Wonder" and once again shelved his debut album. After he fully recovered from his shooting, Bradshaw entered in the studio to re-record his debut album all over once again, though he would eventually keep two songs from the Keep Me Talking session, one of them being "Cold".

Something Special: 2012 — 2013

After spending the rest of 2011 re-recording his debut album, Bradshaw announced that the album was done and that this would be the "final and official version of the album". In April 2012, Bradshaw revealed that the album's title was Something Special. Bradshaw stated that should he have to shelve the album once more, he would give up on the music industry and also hoped that the "third time to get this album right [was] the charm."

In May 2012, Bradshaw released his fourth single overall titled "Missing You" which also serves as the lead single from Something Special. Once again marketed as his "comeback" single, the single earned praise from critics and fans. The single was also commercially successful, surprisingly debuting at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, ultimately becoming Jackson's highest peaking single and also his breakthrough hit in the UK. The single also reached the top three in Canada and the top twenty in the United States.

On June 25, 2012, Bradshaw finally released his debut album, Something Special. The album featured collaborations from Aimee Lyons, Honey, Hey Lolita, and Stephanie Kesh while featuring production from Diplo, Dot Da Genius, and Carl Falk, among other producers. The album debuted and peaked at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and has since sold over 900,000 copies in the UK and 783,000 in the US. In the UK, the album has been certified Platinum by the Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS) and Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In September 2012, Bradshaw was nominated for his first Urapopstar Award for Best Male. That same month, he was slated to release the double A-sided single "Before You Walk Out"/"In Touch", with both songs of the AA single featuring Honey; "Before You Walk Out" was on the album while "In Touch" was not. The single ultimately got repeatedly postponed and eventually cancelled. Meanwhile, outside of the UK, "You Complicate Me" was released as the second overall single of the album and became an international hit. It was slated for release in the UK in late 2012 but it was postponed. In January 2013, Bradshaw released a single remixed version of his second UK single from Something Special titled "Cold" which featured American rapper/singer L.E.X.. "Cold", with the help of Bradshaw being under a temporary advisement and management of the Australian-based career and crisis management firm Az, Drake, Paynter, & Coulter, reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Bradshaw's second top ten in the UK in his career. On March 18th, he released "You Complicate Me" as the third and final single in the UK where it charted at #6.

Despite saying that "You Complicate Me" would be the third and final single in the UK, Bradshaw announced that he would be releasing the song "Above Ground" as a digital only single from the album. Soon after the announcement, it was announced that the track was upgraded to being the fourth single from the album though it was cancelled soon after and later reverted back to a digital only release, slated for a June release date. The promotional single reached #10 on the UK Digital Chart.

Take You Higher: 2013 to present

In June 2013, Bradshaw announced that he would be releasing his sophomore album Win You Over. In July 2013, a couple of weeks before its release, the title was changed to Take You Higher for reasons unknown. The album was also supposed to be released on July 22nd, but was pushed back a week to July 29th. That same month, he began promotion for the album's lead single, "Don't Say Goodnight", which eventually was released to streaming services and radio in June before its single release in July. Ahead of its single release, and only with the aid of streaming and airplay, "Don't Say Goodnight" became a big hit in the United States and Canada, reaching #1 in both countries, his first in both.

On July 8, 2013, "Don't Say Goodnight" was finally released officially as a single. Critically and commercially successful, the single reached #5 in the UK and went on to become his biggest international hit, reaching #1 in various European countries.

On July 29, 2013, Bradshaw released his sophomore album, Take You Higher. To date, the album has received mostly positive reviews in the UK, Europe, and Canada, while receiving mixed to positive reviews in the United States.

Television and acting career

Urapopstar Idol 13: 2012 to present

In July 2012, Bradshaw was announced as a judge for Urapopstar Idol 13.

When rumors began surfacing that the Canadian version of The Uraps Factor was to happen, Bradshaw expressed that he would like to be apart of the show should it actually come into fruition. He also expressed interest in appearing, albeit in a cameo or a guest scripted role, on the American drama television series Nashville.

Acting

In October 2012, Bradshaw guest appeared on the second season premiere of the American supernatural/science fiction thriller Horrors of America in the episode "Asylum Stories". In the episode, he plays a cruel, narcissistic, and sadistic Los Angeles gang leader who takes his girlfriend, who is his equal in a sense, to an abandoned asylum for fun only for them to be haunted by their past brought forward by the spirits of the asylum. Bradshaw's acting abilities and performance in the episode earned rave reviews.

In February 2013, it was confirmed that Bradshaw would appear in the upcoming film Identity, which is about law-abiding innocent college student who is mistaken for his identical twin brother, who is a big time drug lord and criminal, whom he never knew existed. Bradshaw will play a former CIA agent who helps him find the twin brother while running away for authorities looking for him. In the film, he will co-star alongside with L.E.X., the star of the film playing the college student, Benjamin McAllister, and Ashley!. The trailer for the film was released in July 2013 and is slated for an October 2013 release.

Influences

Bradshaw considers alternative rock singer Luke Ramada and R&B singer, Paulo Araujo his influences. He has even publicly admired their work in public. Bradshaw also states that his favorite artists are also Patti LaBelle, Michael McDonald, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and many others that are mostly R&B or country artists.

Artistry and image

Voice

Bradshaw possesses the voice range and type of tenor. He often sings in his falsetto range and oftentimes in his upper head register; he also sometimes sings in his lower register as well but rarely in the middle of his voice with the exception of certain recordings of his (such as "You Complicate Me").

When Bradshaw sings his middle voice range, he is known to have a "hint of a blues-like quality with a slight rasp" to it. Meanwhile, his falsetto, upper voice, and lower voice has been praised and described as being the equivalent to "honey and silk" and being "tender" and "smooth" by critics.

When discussing collaborating with Bradshaw, urban pop singer Honey complimented Bradshaw's vocals saying that "he definitely does not need any AutoTune".

Plenty of his material have received praise due Bradshaw's vocal performance by critics who have called it "smooth" and "swoon-worthy".

Popularity, awards, and accolades

In August 2012, Bradshaw ranked at #23 on the URAPS Rate 18, gaining an approval rating of 75%. It was his first entry into the top forty of the list and was his highest rank ever; previously the highest Bradshaw ever went on a URAPS Rate was at #60. Bradshaw was also nominated for a Urapopstar Award for Best Male in 2012.

Bradshaw has also been nominated for a MTV Video Music Award, Grammy Award, and BET Award.

Personal life

Bradshaw has been open with his struggles with alcoholism and sex addiction. Bradshaw began drinking when he was fifteen during his modelling days and became an alcoholic soon after. By the time he was eighteen, Bradshaw developed sex addiction and was noted to be highly promiscuous by his peers.

Bradshaw dated Ruby Stephingham in the summers of 2011 and 2012. Their relationship was very public and, at one point, there were rumors that Stephingham was pregnant which proved to be false. Stephingham left Bradshaw for Jetfire member Sean Cotes. Bradshaw publicly grieved over his failed relationship with Stephingham and even wrote songs about her on his debut album Something Special. His 2012 single, "Missing You", is about the end of their relationship.

Bradshaw's son, Nicola Aurelien Cardenti-Bradshaw, was born in November 2013. The baby's mother, model and socialite Sophie Anna Cardenti (nee Gammenthaler) was married at the time of his birth and as such, the baby partially has her married surname instead of her maiden name. In late 2018, Bradshaw married socialite Franziska Gammenthaler. The two currently reside in Vancouver and are currently raising Nicola.

Relationship with the Gammenthaler family

Bradshaw met model Florian Gammenthaler in Milan during a photoshoot when they were both fifteen and had just begun their respective modelling careers. Bradshaw shortly after befriended the rest of the Gammenthaler family, who are noted to be a very powerful socialite family in Canada; Bradshaw has also known Florian's parents and sisters ever since he was fifteen. Bradshaw's relationship with the Gammenthalers has drawn backlash and notable controversy with the Canadian press and public, mainly due to his romantic involvement with the entire family.

Bradshaw was romantically involved with both of Florian Gammenthaler's parents, Edda and Gustav. Bradshaw's affair with Edda began when he was eighteen and lasted secretly for five years, until Edda found out that Bradshaw concurrently had also been having an affair with Gustav . Edda and Gustav chose their marriage over Bradshaw and ended their affairs with him; they are still married but had to undergo intense marriage counseling and couples therapy. Florian and his sisters were unaware of Bradshaw's romantic involvement with their parents until it leaked to the Canadian press years later.

Bradshaw then became romantically involved with Florian's older sister, Sophie Anna Cardenti (nee Gammanthaler), after they worked together on a music video shoot for Bradshaw's single "You Complicate Me" in summer 2012. Hired as the main love interest in the music video, she is married to popular Canadian television personality, Silvio Cardenti, brother of prolific and acclaimed Australian journalist Evandro Cardenti. Silvio caught Bradshaw and Sophie Anna in bed together in Autumn 2012 and filed for divorce in January 2013, despite several attempts at reconciliation on his part. In February 2013, the divorce and Bradshaw and Sophie Anna's relationship went public, along with the news that Sophie Anna was pregnant with Bradshaw's child. In June 2013, Bradshaw, Sophie Anna, and her two children with her husband Silvio moved to London, hoping to raise his family there. In November 2013, Bradshaw's son with Sophie Anna, Nicola, was born. One month later, Sophie Anna and her two children with Silvio moved back to Canada and she reconciled with her husband. Silvio and Sophie Anna Cardenti are still married but had to undergo intense marriage counseling. Bradshaw was left to raise Nicola by himself in London.

Bradshaw began a relationship with Florian himself, after the latter, being the uncle of Nicola, decided to move to London and help Bradshaw look after the baby. Bradshaw and Florian's relationship went public in 2014, just as the former was about to release his EP, in which he wrote a couple of songs about Florian. In 2015, Bradshaw and Florian got engaged. With his relationship with Florian being his first public relationship with a man, Bradshaw revealed he was bisexual. The two were planning to get married in early 2018; instead the two suddenly ended their relationship after four years together. Florian and Bradshaw are no longer on speaking terms, ending their years long friendship that began when they were both fifteen.

Florian later revealed that shortly after he, Bradshaw, and Nicola moved back to Canada in 2016 to be closer to family, Bradshaw began an affair with Florian's younger sister, Franziska, stating that Bradshaw cheated on him with her multiple times. Bradshaw and Franziska's relationship went public in summer 2018, just as his past relationships with Edda and Gustav were revealed publicly, bringing intense controversy and backlash against Bradshaw and Franziska by the Canadian press and public. Franziska has publicly defended Bradshaw and their relationship and she later revealed that the couple are not on speaking terms with the rest of the family, whom they state remains heavily active in Nicola's life. Franziska and Bradshaw got married in late 2018, drawing further backlash and controversy. The two currently live in Vancouver and raising Nicola.

2011 Shooting and Hospitalization

On June 21, 2011, Bradshaw was shot by his manager, Chrizhelle Chessacole following a heated argument over Bradshaw's career direction and also over creative and financial issues. Chessacole was said to have shot Bradshaw twice in his left leg before he immediately called the paramedics. Chessacole quickly fled the UK and returned to his homeland of the United States to avoid arrest. Bradshaw did not file charges against Chessacole but managed to fire him as his manager in a phone call from him.

Doctors confirmed that Bradshaw was not ever in a coma or in critical condition, therefore assuaging persistant rumors that he was. Doctors did confirm, however, that the reason why Bradshaw was kept in the hospital so they could monitor his left leg which had become infected and was in danger of being amputated if it was further infected. The doctors eventually managed to save his left leg and it was not amputated.

Bradshaw spent over a month in the hospital while trying to recover from his gunshot wounds and was discharged from the hospital on July 27, 2011.

Discography

Albums

Album	Album details	UK	CAN	AUS	FRA	IRE	ITA	NL	NZ	US	US R&B	Certifications	Sales
Something Special	First studio album Released: June 25, 2012 Label: Fusion	2	2	5	4	2	8	5	6	5	1	UK: Diamond	UK: 1,000,000+
Take You Higher	Second studio album Released: July 29, 2013 Label: Fusion	1	1	4	2	1	7	3	5	1	1	UK: Silver	UK: 300,000+

Singles

Year	Single	UK	CAN	AUS	FRA	IRE	ITA	NL	NZ	US	US R&B	Certifications	Sales	Album
2010	"Daze of Summer"	6	9	NR	NR	8	NR	NR	NR	49	15	UK: Silver		non-album singles
	"I Bet That You Don't Love Me"	10	77	NR	NR	—	NR	NR	NR	—	96
2011	"Hard To Find"	12	100	NR	NR	—	NR	NR	NR	—	100
2012	"Missing You"	2	2	NR	NR	2	NR	NR	NR	19	2	UK: Platinum	UK: 280,575	Something Special
2013	"Cold" [1] (featuring L.E.X.)	3	3	2	3	4	4	6	2	4	2	UK: Platinum	UK: 258,862
	"You Complicate Me" [2]	6	14	6	9	11	9	13	8	7	42	UK: Platinum	UK: 272,390
	"Don't Say Goodnight"	5	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	UK: Gold	UK: 273,000+	Take You Higher
	"In Touch" [3]	11	11	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	22	6		UK: 69,000+
	"Above Ground" [3]		NR	7	NR	NR	NR	NR	11	NR	NR			Something Special
	"Far Away"													Take You Higher
A dash (—) means that the single did not chart. "NR" means not released; it was not released in that country.

Notes

1. "Cold" was released as the second UK single and third international (and overall) single from Something Special.
2. "You Complicate Me" was released as the third UK single from Something Special in March 2013. Before being released in the UK, it was released outside of the UK internationally as the second overall single from Something Special in September 2012.
3. "In Touch"/"Above Ground" was released as a double A-sided single in the UK.

Promotional singles

Year	Title	UK Dig.	Album
2013	"Above Ground"	10	Something Special

Guest appearances and other songs

Year	Song	Album
2010	"Crave" (Moodring featuring Jackson Bradshaw)	Enter The Ring, Volume 1
2012	"Queen of Ice" (L.E.X featuring Jackson Bradshaw)	Lionheart
	"Call Me In The Morning"	The Devil's Daughter Soundtrack
2013	"Game of Thrones" (Katrina Wild featuring Jackson Bradshaw)	Take As Much Time Needed For The Pain
	"Three Little Words" (Ace Rejects featuring Jackson Bradshaw)	Three