Alesha Dixon

In 2000, the female vocal group (with members Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash, Zena McNally and Sabrina Washington) known as Mis-teeq took Britain by storm with their debut single, “Why?” The single was originally an R&B-style tune, but with the aid of garage exponent Matt “Jam” Lamont, a remix was born which became a smash in the underground garage scene and huge radio hit. Mis-Teeq had made their mark with a unique bend of R&B, garage, and rap. Mis-Teeq christened their style “U.K. Urban.”

Alesha and Sabrina met at a dance school in South West London and had formed a duo. They met Su-Elise while she was auditioning for another group. They ended up signed by the same production company, and after spending time together, decided to become a group, with the addition of a fourth member, Zena who was consequently pushed out of the lineup for the sake of “harmony and balance”. Zena left after the re-release of ‘Why?’ and the 3 piece became known as the UK’s best Garage/RnB girl group. ‘Why?’ became a hit despite its appearance on a number of dance compilations, and an early lack of media support. They followed “Why” with the international hits “All I Want” and “One Night Stand.” which both went straight into the Top 10 in the UK and a few other European countries. Tracks following: ‘All I Want’, ‘One Night Stand’, ‘B With Me’, ‘Roll On / This Is How We Do It’ (Album: Lickin’ On Both Sides) and ‘Scandalous’, Can’t Get It Back’, and ‘Style’ (Album: Eye Candy) also  all hit the UK chart top 10. Their final single ‘Style’ just missed he top 10 entering at number 13.

Su-Elise, Alesha and Sabrina began touring the USA in 2004, after conquering the rest of the globe. After appearing on well known shows such as Jimmy Kimmel, Pepsi Smash and Carson Daly, the girls has built up a fanbase pulling them to the top of the charts. Unfortunately, in January 2005 the demise of their record label Telstar put Mis-Teeq into a situation where they were unsure of where to go or what to do next. Press releases confirmed the group split with quotes such as “Mis-Teeq were on the verge of signing a huge deal in America, but they couldn’t face relocating there. It’s a shame, but that’s what they wanted. They had noticed the inroads and amicably decided to call it a day.’

Alesha announced two weeks later that she wanted to embark on a solo career and was soon signed by Polydor Records, and managed by Derek McKillop. By August of 2006 Alesha’s debut single ‘Lipstick’ had been released and it peaked at number 14 in the UK Top 40 Chart. Her second offering called ‘Knockdown’ missed the UK Top 40 chart and sat at number 45. Both singles had everything needed to be a success but Polydor were not ‘on her side’ and hindered any progress that Alesha was making. In October of 2006 Alesha made the wise decision to leave the label without releasing her debut self-penned album ‘Fired Up’. That same month Alesha ended her marriage to her unfaithful husband Harvey. Fast forward to October 2007 and Alesha is back on top of her game after a turbulent year which was full of press invasion into her private life. Alesha chose to take part in BBC1′s smash show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ where she won the hearts of millions with her dance partner Matthew Cutler. December 22nd 2007 – Alesha takes home the winning trophy and begins her rise back to the top.

Alesha started 2008 as the face of the new Ford Focus car commercial which used her ‘Fired Up’ album track called ‘For You I Will’ as the song for the advert. In early 2008 Alesha released her 2006 effort ‘Fired Up’ in Japan where her re-released track ‘Lipstick’ went to number 1 in the Japanese charts. It wasn’t until November 2008 that Alesha once again made an effort at conquering the UK charts, this time with her single ‘The Boy Does Nothing’. The track went to number 5 in the charts and was quickly followed by the success of ‘Breathe Slow’ which peaked at number 3 in 2009. After these 2 singles Alesha announced 2 tour dates – Wolverhampton and Norwich – for May 2009, for which she would use as a platform to build on for a full tour later in the year. Both dates were critically acclaimed by fans and the press, so with the tour plans rolling Alesha set about releasing her next singles. Subsequent singles ‘Let’s Get Excited’ and ‘To Love Again’ missed the top 10 entering at 13 and 14. Alesha’s album ‘The Alesha Show’ narrowly missed out on a Top 10 placing, peaking at number 11, however it went platinum and sales are now above 300,000 in the UK. Musically, Alesha ended 2009 with a 17 date sell-out tour of UK with her live band. Alesha was joined by support artists Nicol and Elviin

Music wasn’t Alesha’s only success in 2009 as she turned her hand to charity once again and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with Gary Barlow, Fearne Cotton, Ben Shepherd, Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Denise Van Outen, Chris Moyles and Ronan Keating. Collectively they managed to raise over 3 million pounds for Comic Relief. In 2009 Alesha presented and produced two of her own documentary’s for BBC3 titled ‘Look But Don’t Touch’ and ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ – both of which examine social issues within today’s society.

In the summer of 2009 it was announced that Alesha would be replacing Arlene Phillips on the judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing. Alesha recieved criticism and a fierce backlash from the press and public as the BBC were accussed of ‘ageism’, by trading in a 60-something year old professional for Alesha, who had only won the show as a celebrity contestant merely two years earlier.

In 2010 Alesha has plans to release her 3rd album (her 2nd in the UK) and has aspirations to take her tour to Europe, crack the American charts and produce more documentary’s and even have her own chat show.

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