Julian Velard

Born in New York on October 6, 1979, Julian Velard would hold his ground in the early '90s -- he was into crooners, cabaret, and piano-focused singer/songwriters, while grunge, guitars, and angst were on the ascent -- to become a bit of an Internet phenomenon in England, where his unique yet reverential form of songwriting took hold in 2006. After completing school, Velard began gigging around Brooklyn, and while he received some solid attention for his work, he went relatively unnoticed on the larger American stage. Online, however, his music found an entirely different -- and much bigger -- fan base, one that included a handful of British-based music execs eager to sign the pianist/vocalist. His MySpace postings helped land him a deal with EMI in 2007, and soon after Velard moved to England to further his career. Within a few months Velard had toured the U.K., made his first appearances on the Continent, and released a pair of EPs. His debut single, "Jimmy Dean & Steve McQueen," hit radio in the U.K. in spring of 2008, and was featured on a number of shows. A debut album, The Planeteer, was due out later that year. ~ Chris True, Rovi