Newton-Davis grew up in
Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. He was one of two lead singers in a local soul band called The Illusions. After working as a singer and dancer on
Broadway, he moved to
Toronto, Ontario, in 1980. His debut album,
Love Is a Contact Sport, won the
Juno Award for best R&B/soul recording in 1986 and included the hits "Deeper", "Right Beside You", and "Find My Way Back". His 1989 follow up,
Spellbound, included his biggest Canadian chart hit, "I Can't Take It", as well as the
Celine Dion duet "
Can't Live With You, Can't Live Without You" and again won the Juno for best R&B/soul recording. Newton-Davis subsequently joined
The Nylons in 1991. Since leaving the Nylons, he has primarily concentrated on songwriting and live jazz and gospel performances. He also performed vocals on a number of
Deadmau5 tracks, including "All U Ever Want" and "R My Dreams" from
At Play Vol. 2. In 2008, Newton-Davis won the
Juno Award for
All You Ever Want as Best Dance Album. Openly gay, his ''On A Boy's Life'' (2008) is a "celebration of all the naughty things men can get up to when left to their own devices." Diagnosed
HIV-positive in 1986 at the height of his career, he first went public with his status in a documentary by
Sylvia Sweeney that aired on
Vision TV in 2000. ==Discography==