Dido Hits New Sales Level with 22 Million Sales Worldwide; Acclaimed Singer-Songwriter Nabs an ''Ivor Novello Award''.

Entertainment Editors/Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 2004

Month-Long North American Tour Brings Sold-Out Performances and Rave

Reviews

Currently winning over the hearts of U.S. audiences on her second North American tour that began May 19 in Seattle and ends June 19 in Boston, international best-selling artist Dido is enjoying a new level of unprecedented sales success and industry recognition.

At the end of May, Dido also added a prestigious "Ivor Novello Award" to an ever-growing collection of international industry accolades that includes the two BRIT Awards she won (for "British Female Solo Artist Of The Year" and "British Single Of The Year") earlier this year. At the star-studded event given in London on May 27, Dido won an "Ivor" for "White Flag" named "International Hit Of The Year" the awards are given by The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters and recipients are judged by their peers to acknowledge excellence in songwriting and composing.

In her first North American tour in three years, Dido has been enjoying sold-out shows as concert-goers and critics alike have embraced her compelling musicality. Noted Bill White of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Performing all but one song from ("Life For Rent"), as well as eight from "No Angel," Dido had both old and new fans shouting declarations of love..." Oakland Tribune reviewer Jim Harrington stated, "No one sets the mood quite like Dido. It's all-encompassing and as sweet and forlorn as the final moments of "Casablanca." She enters the stage amid hazy purple lights, leans into the microphone and begins whispering intimate secrets between friends. The music swells to orchestral levels, then drops flat, leaving only her siren-like voice soaring high above her worshipping fans. An element of sadness and despair soaks through Dido's material, even when the actual lyrics might state otherwise. It's certainly there in the precious ballads and it can be found in the more upbeat dance tracks as well."

The Oregonian, writer Marty Hugely summed up Dido's vibrant live performance: "Dido will never belong on one of those VH1 "Divas" specials. No matter how many multiple millions the British pop singer's records sell, or how loose folks get with the increasingly fuzzy definition of diva-dom, she just won't fit in with Celine Dion, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, et al. She hasn't got the diva's voice (big, colorful and extravagantly employed). She hasn't got the diva's look (flash larded atop elegance). She hasn't got the diva's attitude (grand and entitled). Thank goodness for all that. Despite some flashes of grandiosity in her given name, Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong came across in concert Thursday night as the antidiva and was all the more charming because of it. Certainly the crowd that packed the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall greeted her like the star she is. But part of her appeal is that she's more girl-next-door than glamour queen.... Dido's music merges the rhythms and textures of trip-hop and related genres with the reassuring melodies and emotional observations of traditional singer-songwriters, giving her songs the feel of a confessional in a club..."

To date, the acclaimed British singer-songwriter has amassed combined global sales of over 22 million worldwide for her current album LIFE FOR RENT and her 1999 debut NO ANGEL; released in the fall of 2003, LIFE FOR RENT has sold over eight-and-half-million copies and reached No. 1 in 22 countries including the U.K. (7x platinum), Ireland (10x platinum), Singapore (7x platinum) and Australia (5x platinum). In the U.S., the album has sold over 2 million copies and has yielded two singles, "White Flag" (a Top 10 hit on Billboard's Adult Top 40 and Modern AC charts) and "Don't Leave Home." In the U.K., LIFE FOR RENT entered the national charts at No. 1, becoming the fastest-selling album by a female artist ever. To date, Dido's Arista debut, NO ANGEL has sold in excess of thirteen-and-a-half million copies worldwide.

Remaining dates for Dido's tour include:

June  9           Toronto, Ont.                 Hummingbird Theatre
June 11           Philadelphia, PA              Tower Theatre
June 12           Washington, DC                Constitution Hall
June 13           New York, NY                  Beacon Theatre
June 14           New York, NY                  Beacon Theatre
June 19           Boston, MA                    Fleetboston Pavilion

She will also be seen on "Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series" on June 18 and Regis & Kelly on July 9th.

Visit www.arista.com and www.didomusic.com.