Alphonso Williams
Alphonso Williams | |
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Universal Music Germany |
Alphonso Williams (20 July 1962 – 10 October 2019) was an American
Biography
Williams was the youngest of twelve children. His father Archie Williams was a Baptist minister. Even as a child, Alphonso spent a large part of his free time in his father's church, where he came into contact with music at an early age. He sang in the gospel choir with his siblings. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the
Musical career
With his son Raphael, who was born in Oldenburg in 1987, he founded the duo "Father & Son". The record company Jay Kay Records released the song "Footsteps in My Heart" in 2005 with the duo. In 2008, they took part in Das Supertalent. In 2014, the two went their separate ways musically.[1] In 2012, Alphonso Williams took part in the impersonator talent show My Name Is, where he presented George McCrae's song Rock Your Baby.
Deutschland sucht den Superstar
In 2017, Williams was able to convince the jury at the casting of the
At 54, Williams was the oldest ever winner of Deutschland sucht den Superstar. With the
After DSDS
In March 2018, Williams released his first original song, Everything Changes. In August, he took part in the sixth season of
The Christmas single Christmas in Our Hearts was released in November 2018. In December, Williams completed several performances in Las Vegas; producer John Stuart had offered him corresponding shows two months earlier.[7]
Illness and death
In January 2019, Williams had to undergo emergency surgery due to kidney failure.[8] He thanked those who gave him the support he needed at the time with the single "Thanks for Sending Love", which was released at the end of May 2019. His return to the stage after the break due to illness and further career steps in Las Vegas, which took place in June 2019, were documented in the Sat.1 program Promis Privat.[9][10]
Williams died of prostate cancer in Hamburg on 12 October 2019, at the age of 57. In November 2021, the posthumously published autobiography, Born in the USA, was published by NIBE Media.
Discography
Albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
AUT [11] |
GER
[12] |
SWI
[13] | ||
Mr. Bling Bling Classics |
|
14 | 15 | 30 |
Singles
- 2005: Footsteps in My Heart (as part of "Father & Son")
- 2017: What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
- 2018: Everything Changes
- 2018: Christmas in Our Hearts (as "Mr. Bling Bling")
- 2019: Thanks for Sending Love
Filmography
- 2008: Das Supertalent (RTL) – with his son as "Die Williams"
- 2012: My Name Is (RTL II)
- 2013: Mein Nachmittag: Zuhause im Norden! (NDR)
- 2017: Deutschland sucht den Superstar (RTL)
- 2017: Let's Dance (RTL; musical appearance after DSDS victory)
- 2017: ZDF-Fernsehgarten (ZDF)
- 2018: Promi Big Brother (Sat.1)
- 2019: Promis Privat (Sat.1)
References
- ^ "Wiefelsteder Bei Dsds Vor dem Auftritt völlig aus dem Häuschen". nwzonline.de. 25 February 2017.
- ^ "RTL unter Druck nach Protesten: Regeländerung für Kandidat Alphonso" (in German). stern.de. 16 April 2017.
- ^ Tonia Marie Hysky (8 May 2017). "Alphonso Williams Gewinnt Bei DSDS. "Die Luft brennt"". Nordwest-Zeitung. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ "Alphonso Williams ist "DSDS"-Gewinner". Focus.de.
- ^ "Alphonso Williams zieht ins "Promi Big Brother"-Haus" (in German). Augsburger Allgemeine.
- ^ "Promi Big Brother". Facebook (in German). Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "DSDS-Sieger Alphonso Williams will in Las Vegas durchstarten" (in German). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ^ "DSDS"-Sieger in Notaufnahme gebracht". Stern.de. 29 January 2019.
- ^ "Promis Privat 2019: Alphonso Williams". Sat1.de. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Promis Privat". Fernsehserien.de.
- ^ "Alphonso Williams". Austrian Charts. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "Alphonso Williams". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "Alphonso Williams". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
External links
- Official Website
- Alphonso Williams at IMDb