Jeffrey Jey

Not to be confused with Jeffrey Jay.

Jeffrey Jey
Jeffrey Jey in 2023
Background information
Also known asCorey Randone
Born
Gianfranco Randone

(1970-01-05) 5 January 1970
Lentini, Italy
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • bass guitar
  • drums
Years active1992–present

Gianfranco Randone (Italian pronunciation: [dʒaɱˈfraŋko ranˈdoːne]; born 5 January 1970), known by his stage name Jeffrey Jey, is an Italian musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the group Eiffel 65[1] (1997–2005, 2010–present). He was also the lead singer of the groups Bliss Team (1992–1997) and Bloom 06 (2005–2010). After Eiffel 65's reunion in June 2010, he toured[2] Italy and Europe with the band. In addition to singing, Jey also plays bass guitar, electric guitar, drums and keyboards.

Early life

Jey was born on 5 January 1970, in Lentini, in the province of Syracuse, Sicily. Two years later, Jey's father, Francesco, moved his family from Sicily to Brooklyn, New York in 1972[3] and returned to Italy in 1984. Due to Jey's father being a musician and the twelve years spent growing up in New York, he also had the oppportunity to learn English and became interested in becoming a musician due to all the influences throughout the city.[4] During that period, he also became passionate about martial arts after seeing a Bruce Lee film and began practicing his moves, trying his hand at various disciplines (Jeet Kune Do, MMA, and Thai boxing) over time, and to learn how to defend himself from bullies.[5] He is fluent in both English and Italian.

Also while in the US, Jey came up with the stage name that would accompany him throughout his career as a musician: an American friend of his, who couldn't pronounce the name Gianfranco correctly, started calling him ‘Jeffrey’. Years later, Randone began working in nightclubs as an MJ (Mic Jockey) and, having to choose a pseudonym, he combined that name with the initials MJ, becoming Jeffrey Jey.[6]

He comes from a family of musicians (his father, Francesco, played five instruments), but as a child he dreamed of becoming a surgeon,[7] and his passion for singing emerged as a teenager. During the same period, he was impressed by the first sequencers and electronic music. Encouraged by his father, he began studying piano and developed a passion for it, entering the music world in 1991 as a singer and entertainer at the Malibù nightclub in Syracuse.[6][8]

Career

1992–1998: Bliss Team

In January 1992, at the age of 23, Jey moved to Turin,[9] where he began his professional career at Bliss Corporation as a singer, musician, and producer. The first project he lent his voice to was Bliss Team, a dance group formed with DJs and producers from the Turin club scene, formed by DJ Roberto Molinaro. The debut single, a cover of ‘’People Have the Power‘’ by Patti Smith, reached seventh place in the sales charts in 1993.[10]

In 1994, he provided vocals for three songs by the band Da Blitz,[11] also under contract with Bliss Corporation, performing the rap verses in the songs "Let me be", "Take my Way" and "Stay with me";[12] "Let Me Be" was particularly successful, reaching ninth place in the Italian dance singles chart on 12 February.[13]

1998–2005: Eiffel 65

His activity in the Bliss Team lasted until 1998, placing other singles in the charts over the years, such as "Livin' on a Prayer" (a Bon Jovi cover), "You Make Me Cry", "Hold on to Love", and "Love is Forever".[14][15] In the same year, he formed Eiffel 65 with Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte. Their debut single, Blue (Da Ba Dee), became a worldwide hit the following year and received a nomination at the 2001 Grammy Awards in the “Best Dance Recording” category.[16]

In 2003, Eiffel 65 participated in the 2003 Sanremo Music Festival with their song "Quelli che non hanno età" (Those Who Are Ageless), finishing in fifteenth place, though the song was the most played on the radio among those presented at the festival[17] and the Turin group's performances were the most watched during the live broadcast on Rai 1.[18][19] In the same year, he sang on Gabry Ponte's solo single "The Man in the Moon".[20]

With Eiffel 65, he won triple platinum in the United States and diamond in France with the group's debut album Europop within six years, triple platinum in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia with "Blue (Da Ba Dee)", and platinum for every single released in Italy from the album Eiffel 65 (which in turn was awarded gold).[21][22]

2005–2010: Bloom 06 and solo work

In early March 2005, the group's DJ, Gabry Ponte, moved on from Eiffel 65 to focus on his solo career, and the following June, Jey and Lobina decided to leave Bliss Corporation to continue with their own production company, and founded Bloom 06, in which Jey plays bass, guitar, and drums. The following September, Eiffel 65 announced their initial breakup.[23]

On 29 November 2012, Jey released his first solo single, entitled "Out Of Your Arms". At the end of that year, he provided vocals to Roby Giordana and Tom Bessan for the song "Knockout" and participated in the production of "Dragostea Din Tei 2K13" with Gabry Ponte, which was a single released on 7 January 2013.

On 8 March 2013, he released his new single "The Color Inside Her", produced by Luca Vicini, bassist for Subsonica,[24] followed on 5 December by the video clip "Electronic Gangsta, produced" in collaboration with the electronic music group Urban Love by DJ and record producer Jois Audino.

In April 2015, he collaborated with Get Far and Provenzano on the single "Party With You", and in the same year, he collaborated with Robin Schulz singing on the track "Wave Goodbye"[5] and sang on Roby Giordana and Paolo Noise's album Break The Beat.

2016–present: Eiffel 65 reunion and further solo work

In 2016, Eiffel 65 announced their return — without Gabry Ponte — with a new single, "Panico", their first new release in twelve years since "Voglia di dance all night".[25] The demo of the song was released on Bliss Corporation's official YouTube channel on 2 April,[26] while the final version was released on 1 June, accompanied by an official video.[27]

On 26 May 2017, Jey released the single "Adesso Per Sempre", followed on 6 October by the single "Sabbia". In 2018, in addition to continuing his solo career with the singles "Lega", "Da quando ci sei te", and "Settembre", he produced, in collaboration with Pilo and Pawax, the single by Roby Giordana and Paolo Noise, Vamos a la playa, sung by Adrian Rodriguez.

In February 2019, Jey collaborated with DJ Jump on the album Back To The Feat, performing the song "Decide", and on 12 April, he released the single "Se ci fosse un domani". On 24 January 2020, the single "War", by Angemi, featuring Jeffrey Jey on vocals, was released.

In 2021, Jey collaborated with Roberto Turatti and Chroma8 on the single My Lover.

Discography

Singles

  • "Out of Your Arms"[28] (2012)
  • "The Color Inside Her"[29] (2013)
  • "Adesso per sempre"[30] (2017)
  • "Sabbia"[31] (2017)
  • "Lega"[32] (2018)
  • "Settembre"[33] (2018)
  • "FOTO"[34] (2020)
  • "Just an Illusion"[35] (2021)

References

  1. ^ Phares, Heather. "Biography: Eiffel 65". Allmusic. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  2. ^ "Eiffel65 Planet – Home". Eiffel65 Planet. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Radio-Rambunctious Eiffel 65 Certainly Has America's Number". 26 May 2000.
  4. ^ "Jeffrey Jey degli Eiffel 65 "Adesso per sempre" il singolo del frontman italiano conosciuto in tutto il mondo". Silvermusic Radio. 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b francy279 (9 November 2018). "Intervista Con Jeffrey Jay: Il Successo Con Gli Eiffel 65, La Carriera Solista, Il Nuovo Singlolo "Settembre" e La Passione Per Le Arti Marziali" (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Inside JJ - Ep. 7 - Intervista doppia. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  7. ^ Inside JJ - Ep. 7 - The Origins Part I. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  8. ^ Inside JJ - Ep. 25 - The Origins Part II. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  9. ^ Inside JJ - Ep. 26 - Le Origini part III. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Top Annual Singles: 1993". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  11. ^ Gianluca Brescia (29 August 2023). "Vivian B., in other musical projects of the 1990s". Gianluca Brescia blog. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  12. ^ From Blitz – Let Me Be (1994, Vinyl) (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Dance Charts: February 12, 1994". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Top Annuali Single: 1995". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  15. ^ Gianluca Brescia (29 August 2024). "I vinili meno conosciuti cantati da Jeffrey Jey (Gianfranco Randone) negli anni '90". Gianluca Brescia blog (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Rock On The Net: 43rd Annual Grammy Awards - 2001". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  17. ^ "italiancharts.com - Italian charts portal". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  18. ^ "La Repubblica/sanremo2003: Sanremo, ratings at their lowest since 1996". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  19. ^ Rockol com s.r.l. "√ Sanremo: 15 million for Eiffel 65". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  20. ^ Gabry Ponte – The Man In The Moon (2003, Vinyl) (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Corriere della Sera -". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Quelle band nate intorno a una piazza che scalano le classifiche del mondo - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  23. ^ Rockol com s.r.l. "√ Gli Eiffel 65 si sciolgono". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Luca Vicini – Bassist for Subsonica, producer, and writer". Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  25. ^ ""Panico" il nuovo singolo degli Eiffel 65". GiroDisco.it. 3 April 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  26. ^ Eiffel 65 - "Panico" (Rough Mix Demo Version) [Lyrics Video]. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  27. ^ Eiffel 65 - "Panico" - Official Live Video. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  28. ^ Dance And Love (2 November 2012), Jeffrey Jey – Out Of Your Arms, archived from the original on 5 December 2012, retrieved 5 June 2018
  29. ^ Dance And Love (8 March 2013), Jeffrey Jey – The Color Inside Her, archived from the original on 13 March 2013, retrieved 5 June 2018
  30. ^ Jeffrey Jey – Adesso Per Sempre (Tropical Mix), 26 May 2017, archived from the original on 13 December 2021, retrieved 5 June 2018
  31. ^ Jeffrey Jey – Sabbia, 6 October 2017, archived from the original on 13 December 2021, retrieved 5 June 2018
  32. ^ Jeffrey Jey (4 May 2018), Jeffrey Jey – Lega (Official video), archived from the original on 13 December 2021, retrieved 5 June 2018
  33. ^ Jeffrey Jey (5 October 2018), Jeffrey Jey – Settembre (Official video), retrieved 20 May 2022
  34. ^ "Jeffrey Jey - FOTO". YouTube. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Just an Illusion | Spotify". open.spotify.com. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
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