Sinitta!

In 1987, Simon Cowell, then a talent scout, became closely associated with record producer Pete Waterman and would spend time with Waterman at his PWL studios complex, being mentored by him and learning about the effective running of a successful music business.[6]

Around this time, Cowell was desperate for writing and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) to work with Sinitta. "Feels Like the First Time", Sinitta's follow-up single to "So Macho", had charted low (UK number 45) and had only spent 5 weeks on the chart, whereas, in contrast, "So Macho" had been on the UK chart for 28 weeks in 1986, where it had peaked at number 2. Initially Waterman declined to work with Sinitta, claiming that SAW were too busy.[6] In the end though, SAW did work with Sinitta and her first single with the Hit Factory was "Toy Boy".

A review in Music Week magazine was critical of Sinitta!, saying that "it would be churlish to totally denigrate this debut LP" and while it praised Sinitta's vocal performance, it blamed the songs for sounding "like chanting nursery rhymes or Seventies-flavoured disco songs". It concluded that the album "doesn't have the aplomb of Mel and Kim or the tiny appeal of Bananarama, but kids in the eight-13 age bracket will love it".[7] Ron Wynn of AllMusic noted that the album "didn't have a song as clever or naughty as "So Many Men, So Little Time", recorded by Sinitta's mother Miquel Brown, and added that the singer's "crushed, coy voice made the point in a cutesy manner".[3]

"Cruising", "So Macho" and "Feels Like the First Time" were the three first singles from the album. The fourth one, "Toy Boy" was a massive hit, reaching number four in the UK in July 1987 and staying on the charts for 14 weeks. The song was the 27th best-selling single of 1987 in the UK, selling more than some number ones from that year, including Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett's "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" and Steve "Silk" Hurley's "Jack Your Body". Two further singles were released from Sinitta!: "GTO" (UK number 15 in December 1987) and "Cross My Broken Heart" (UK number six in March 1988).