Jamelia

Jamelia was signed to Capitol Records at 15 after record producers heard recordings of her self-written a cappella songs that she had made on a karaoke machine.[11] In late 1999, Jamelia recorded the single So High, a collaboration with fellow R&B vocalist Rosita Lynch. The single failed to chart in both the UK and mainland Europe, and did not appear on any of Jamelia's subsequent albums. Following the poor sales of the single, Jamelia left Capitol Records, but was quickly signed up with record company Parlophone, a branch of EMI.

Taking some time to record her debut studio album, Drama (2000), Jamelia returned to the music scene in 1999 with the single "I Do", which became her first commercially successful single in the UK and mainland Europe, making the UK Top 40 and holding Top 20 positions in France and Sweden. The single's mediocre chart success, however, led to the delay of the release of Money. Jamelia's third single, "Money" (featuring rapper Beenie Man and co-written by UK The X Factor finalist Daniel De Bourg), was released in February 2000. The single was the singer's breakthrough in the UK, peaking at number five and spending nine weeks in the UK Top 75; it later won a MOBO Award for Best Video in 2000. Despite the success of Money, Drama did not make a major chart impression in the UK, where it peaked at number 39. The third single from the album, "Call Me", reached number 11, and the fourth single, "Boy Next Door", peaked at number 42. Recognition for the singer's early success came in late 2000 and 2001 at the BRIT Awards. Jamelia was nominated for Best British Newcomer, Best British Video and Best British Female.[6]

Jamelia recorded her second studio album, Thank You, in 2002 and early 2003 following the birth of her daughter Teja in 2001. The first single lifted from Thank You was the R&B-influenced "Bout", on which she collaborated with American rap star Rah Digga; it debuted at number 37 in the UK. The second single, the much poppier "Superstar", became Jamelia's highest peaking at the time when it peaked at number three, and earned the spot of the 26th best-selling of 2003 in the UK. It remains Jamelia's only single to receive a BPI certification.[12] Parent album Thank You, released shortly after "Superstar", was widely expected to replicate the single's success, but entered the UK chart at number 65. Subsequently, a number of record producers worked with Jamelia on a re-release of the album that featured new artwork and track listing, including two new songs: her collaboration with Coldplay's Chris Martin and DJ K Staveley, "See It in a Boy's Eyes", and "DJ".

Promoting the re-release, title track "Thank You" was issued shortly before. Known to be Jamelia's favourite of her releases, the song became her highest-charting single to date in the UK, where it peaked at number two and received the 2004 MOBO Award for Best Single and a BRIT Award nomination in the same category. The fourth single "See it in a Boy's Eyes" was released in mid-2004 and became Jamelia's third consecutive top five hit, winning a MOBO Award for Best Video and a Q Award for Best Single. The success of Thank You resulted in five BRIT Award nominations for Jamelia in 2004 and 2005 for Best British Female, Best British Single, Best Female Solo Act, and Best British Urban Act.[6] The album became the 36th best-selling of 2004[13] and was certified double platinum by the BPI in recognition of 600,000 copies shipped to retailers.[12] Jamelia also contributed a cover version of Kool and the Gang's "Straight Ahead" for their remix/covers album The Hits: Reloaded.

In mid-2004, Jamelia collaborated with Italian singer Tiziano Ferro on "Universal Prayer" for the 2004 Olympic Games soundtrack. It became her first Number 1 single in Italy and Spain and was added to non-UK editions of Thank You. In late 2004, Jamelia was asked to contribute to the Band Aid 20 charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", on which she sang with Will Young. The single topped the UK Singles Chart and was certified platinum. Around the same time, Jamelia released the lead single from the soundtrack of the film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, a cover of Sam Brown's 1988 single "Stop!"; it was released as double A-side in the UK with the aforementioned "DJ", and peaked at number nine.

On 9 November 2006, Jamelia joined Feeder on stage for the encore of Feeder's WAR Child gig at 'The Coronet' in London. They performed a cover of REM's "Everybody Hurts" as well as "Beware of the Dog".

Jamelia in 2007.

Following the birth of her second daughter, Tiani, in 2005, Jamelia began recording her third album, Walk with Me. Its lead single, "Something About You", was released in late 2006 and described as "less R&B, more experimental", with Popjustice hailing it as "an incredible pop single".[14] The single became Jamelia's first to enter the charts solely on download sales alone, debuting at number 28, rising to number nine almost a month later following the physical release. Walk with Me was released shortly after and drew critical praise, with many critics claiming that it marked a significant turn in the singer's career as she moved from R&B to pop/rock.

The album did not emulate the chart success of Thank You, managing to début only at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart. The second single, "Beware of the Dog", features a sample from Depeche Mode's 1989 song "Personal Jesus" and was heavily praised as being Jamelia's best single to date, with BBC Radio 1's "Chart Blog" stating that it "might just be one of the best pop songs ever made" and "the best pop song of the year", receiving a five-star rating.[15] The single became the second consecutive Top 10 effort from the singer's third album, reaching number 10 in the UK. The final single to be released from the album was "No More", which samples The Stranglers' 1981 single "Golden Brown". It made the A-list on BBC Radio 2, but failed to garner much sales success, debuting at number 43.

Walk with Me became Jamelia's second album to receive a BPI certification. After four months of release, it sold more than 100,000 copies and was awarded a Gold disk.[12] However, despite producing two Top 10 singles and garnering mostly positive reviews, Walk With Me had disappointing sales compared to her second album, Thank You, which went on to become certified double platinum.

In an interview with Digital Spy in December 2009, Jamelia said that she wasn't surprised that the album did not sell well. "I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind with Walk With Me... I love all the songs individually, but I don't feel it flows very well as an album, which makes it harder to relate to. It sold well over 100,000 copies – but I want double-platinum every time!"[16]

In late 2007, the singer released a singles collection titled Superstar - The Hits. The compilation album features 11 of her 14 releases, omitting the 1999 single "So High", Drama singles "I Do" and "Boy Next Door" and the non-UK 2004 release "Universal Prayer". The collection, which only managed to début at number 55 on the UK Album Charts, was criticised for its hastiness, brevity and lack of new tracks or artwork.[17] This proved to be her final album for Parlophone, which she left weeks after the collection's release amid rumours that the sales performance of Walk With Me had been a factor in the decision of the artist and label to part ways, and to release the singles collection.[18]

In an interview with entertainment website Digital Spy in December 2009, Jamelia commented on being a rumoured replacement for Keisha Buchanan, in the girl-group Sugababes and spoke about work with her ongoing album, which was going "absolutely amazing". She stated that she was working with producers who have previously worked with Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, and that the album returned her sound to 2004's Thank You. She also vowed to come back with a "really exciting" album.[16] On 26 July 2010, Jamelia signed a record deal with an unknown label live on video streaming website Ustream.tv.[19] Ultimately, nothing was released

Jamelia in 2019

In 2013 and 2014, Jamelia appeared on two series of The Voice of Ireland as a coach.[20]

In February 2013, Jamelia appeared in an episode of the BBC drama series Death in Paradise, portraying a singer.[21] In 2014, Jamelia modelled a new swimwear range for Boux Avenue.

In August 2013, Jamelia was part of a house band on every episode of the BBC One panel show I Love My Country. On 27 November 2013, Jamelia joined the panel of the ITV chat show Loose Women. As of 16 August 2016, she had made 162 appearances. However, she was axed from the show following new contracts being drawn up on 17 August 2016, and did not return for series 21.[22]

In May 2014, she appeared in a TV advertisement for Boux Avenue and sang a cover version of "I Only Want to Be with You", with the chorus changed to "I only want to be with Boux".[23]

In 2015, Jamelia took part in Bear Grylls: Mission Survive on ITV.[24] In 2015, Jamelia participated on thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing.[25] She was partnered with professional dancer Tristan MacManus. The pair survived four dance-offs, but lost their fifth dance off in week 9, being voted out by 3 out of 4 judges against Peter Andre and Janette Manrara.

In 2016, she returned to acting to appear in an episode of the BBC soap opera Doctors as Helena Wales. Following her appearance, she stated that she wants to return to Doctors.[21]

In February 2020, Jamelia appeared on the BBC Two game show Richard Osman's House of Games, as one of the contestants, alongside Gareth Malone, Paul Martin and Susan Calman.