RACHEL STEVENS Biography
Rachel Stevens Biography:
Rachel Stevens is back with a collection of songs so strong and inventive that, like Rachel, they are simply impossible to ignore - “I want to put pop music back on the map,” she states.
The style of her new material pitches the new album light years ahead of its predecessor. And while Rachel is proud of the first album she happily admits that it represented only the first step in pinpointing her personality as a solo star. “It would be a boring life if I just released the same album every two years,” she explains.
Lead single ‘Negotiate With Love’ is a tale of lost identity in a floundering relationship. On one hand it is yet another defining moment in modern pop and on the other it’s a melodically rich tour de force. Just 18 months into her solo career Rachel scored two of the best British pop singles in recent memory - 2003’s ‘Sweet Dreams My LA Ex’ and last year’s summer anthem ‘Some Girls’.
Released in September 2003, ‘Sweet Dreams My LA Ex’ kicked things off in style. Originally an imagined answer to Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me A River’, ‘LA Ex’ was the work of Cathy Dennis and Bloodshy & Avant (who worked with Britney on ‘Toxic’) and its unusual sound found some unlikely fans – including rockers Lostprophets, who covered the song for a 2004 b-side.
‘LA Ex’ was one of 2003’s biggest sellers and was quickly followed by Rachel’s debut solo album, Funky Dory. Hitting the Top 10 after just one week, it went on to sell over a quarter of a million copies.
By the summer of 2004, Rachel had another huge hit with the Richard X produced ‘Some Girls’. The song provoked rave reactions everywhere from the Pollwinners’ Party to the Popbitch messageboard and fronted 2004’s BBC Sports Relief campaign.
Richard X and his ‘Some Girls’ collaborator Hannah Robinson also worked with Rachel on a brand new song, ‘Crazy Boys’, one of Rachel’s favourite new album tracks. Among Rachel’s other new material we find the breezily self-confident ‘So Good’ and the seismic ‘I Said Never Again But Here We Are’.
With each new song recorded and with each new single to hit the charts, Rachel Stevens seems to have less and less to prove, exploring new avenues while still, undoubtedly, reaching for the stars. This album is about putting pop music back on the agenda, and Rachel can’t wait to get started. When you hear what she’s got up her sleeve, you’ll realise why.
One of S Club's biggest solo successes after the group folded in 2003, Rachel Stevens began singing and acting as a child and won a modeling competition at age 15. After earning a degree at the London School of Fashion, Stevens intended to go into fashion PR, but recorded some demos that ultimately led to her being cast in former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller's pop group/TV show S Club 7 in 1999. When the group's reign ended, Stevens wasted no time getting her own career off the ground: her solo debut single, "Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex," arrived in late summer 2003. The single, which was originally conceived as a response to Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River," was created by songwriter/former pop star Cathy Dennis and production team Bloodshy & Avant (who also worked on Britney Spears' "Toxic") and heralded the release of Stevens' full-length solo debut, Funky Dory, that fall. The album was released in the States in early 2004. That year, Stevens had another big hit with the Richard X-produced "Some Girls," which rode a shuffling beat reminiscent of both classic glam rock and dance music trends at the time. Come and Get It, her second solo album, arrived in the U.K. in early 2005 and was released in the U.S. at the end of the year. Heather Phares, All Music Guide
RACHEL STEVENS lyrics and albums
