Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (born 25 June 1963), known professionally as George Michael, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame during the 1980s and 1990s with his style of post-disco dance-pop. He has also been characterised as a blue-eyed soul singer, although his material draws more from middle of the road pop than soul music.
Michael has sold more than 80 million records worldwide. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith, has on its own sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Michael has garnered seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Michael the 40th most successful a...
Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (born 25 June 1963), known professionally as George Michael, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame during the 1980s and 1990s with his style of post-disco dance-pop. He has also been characterised as a blue-eyed soul singer, although his material draws more from middle of the road pop than soul music.
Michael has sold more than 80 million records worldwide. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith, has on its own sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Michael has garnered seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Michael the 40th most successful artist on the Billboard Hot 100 Top All Time Artists list.
Michael has won numerous music awards throughout his 30-year career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male twice, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards, three American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations.
In 2004, the Radio Academy named Michael the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984–2004. The documentary A Different Story (released in 2005) covered his career and personal life. Michael's first tour in 15 years, the worldwide 25 Live tour, spanned three tours over the course of three years (2006, 2007, and 2008). In the early hours of 25 December 2016, Michael, aged 53, was found dead in bed at his Oxfordshire home. A coroner's report attributed his death to natural causes.