Singer's life spiralled into cocaine, booze and loneliness after massive noughties hit single

Daily Record

7 hours ago

Daniel Powter's hit Bad Day was the anthem of 2005 - but the Canadian singer's life spiralled out of control in the years that followed as he battled addiction and personal turmoil
Bad Day, the track that had everyone humming along and became an early 2000s pop culture staple, was the creation of Canadian singer Daniel Powter.
It dominated the airwaves in 2005, claiming the number one spot on the US Billboard Hot 100, securing second place in the UK charts, and became intertwined with American Idol's elimination rounds. However, the swift ascent to fame brought Daniel Powter struggles marked by addiction, loneliness, and inner conflict.
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Interestingly, Bad Day was recorded years prior, in 2002, yet was initially rejected by record labels. The turning point occurred when the tune featured in a French Coca-Cola commercial in 2004, leading Warner Bros. to snap him up. Upon releasing his self-titled album, Powter enjoyed over a million sales globally, but subsequent singles didn't achieve the same impact, reports the Mirror US.
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His second single in the UK, Free Loop, suffered charting complications due to the inclusion of Bad Day as the B-side, inhibiting its potential popularity. By 2008, Powter's follow-up album Under the Radar regrettably didn't live up to expectations, and his presence in the music scene dwindled.
The weight of sudden fame was burdensome. "It was very lonely and I felt isolated," he admitted to Metro in 2012. "I was travelling and spending all my life alone in hotel rooms. You don't always meet people with the best of intentions in the music business... It was quite dark. Some people deal well with it and I didn't."
Powter succumbed to substance abuse; alcohol and cocaine became destructive companions. "I became a slave to it and ended up managing my life around it," he confessed. What began as a mere escape from pain soon escalated to full-blown addiction. "It wasn't a problem for the first year and a half, but as the years went by it got worse until I couldn't remember what was happening", he revealed.
After a long struggle with substance abuse, he achieved sobriety in 2010. Sobriety might have brought him face-to-face with stark realities, yet it also offered tranquility. Sharing his newfound sense of time, he mentioned: "The strange thing is how much time you have in your life when you stop." He added: "You don't have to spend time worrying about who you've been lying to. I suddenly had hours in the day where I wasn't messed up."
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While his marriage succumbed to the turbulent years, Powter eventually made his way back to the realm of music. In 2010, he crafted a Best of Me compilation, followed by the release of his fourth studio album Turn on the Lights in 2012, which reached a modest peak at No. 109 in the UK charts.
In 2018, Powter stepped out with fresh singles such as Do You Wanna Get Lucky, Survivor, and a reimagined Perfect for Me specifically targeting the Asian audience. These tracks culminated in the December 14 unveiling of Giants, an eclectic mix featuring new melodies like Delicious and rejuvenated renditions of early hits like Bad Day and Free Loop. The collection also boasted a festive remix of Do You Wanna Get Lucky.
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Despite not reaching the commercial success of his first album, Giants revealed a more down-to-earth and personal artist. In 2020, he collaborated with Chinese pop band The Untamed Boys on Just Isn't Me, performing it - along with Bad Day - during a tour stop in Bangkok. That same year, he participated in the MOSHIMO Project, and in 2021, he was featured in Save Your Life, a duet with Japanese pop singer Ayaka Hirahara.
In 2024, Powter made an unexpected comeback to Canadian television when he auditioned for Season 4 of Canada's Got Talent - marking his first significant televised appearance in his homeland.
Today, Daniel Powter resides with his wife Christina in Portland, Oregon. He is a father to three children - two daughters and a son - and expresses that he now appreciates life away from the public eye.
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