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Rachel Lauren Stevens (born April 9,
1978) is an English singer and an occasional actress and
model. Formerly with the successful pop group S Club 7,
she launched a solo recording career and has released
seven singles and two albums to date in the UK.
Biography
After a successful audition Stevens became a member of
the British pop group "S Club 7", selling
sixteen million records worldwide four number one hit
singles in the United Kingdom. The group was disbanded
in 2003 for reasons undisclosed. Stevens became the
first member of the band to sign a multi-million dollar
recording contract and released her first solo single,
"Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", in late 2003,
reaching number two on the UK singles chart. Her first
album reached number nine on the UK albums chart and
quickly disappeared.
Stevens' follow-up single "Funky Dory" also
failed to gain much attention and charted at number 26.
Critics began to write her off as a one-hit wonder until
she came back with the song "Some Girls"
(2004) which quickly became a hit in the UK, peaking at
number two. This was later followed by the October
release of the widely successful single "More,
More, More" which acted as a close on her debut
album. Stevens would then return to music in March 2005
with the single "Negotiate with Love", which
appeared on her 2005 sophomore album "Come And Get
It" Along with "Some Girls". The single
"Negotiate With Love" became Stevens fourth
Top Ten hit and was followed by "So Good",
which reached number 10, and "I Said Never Again
(But Here We Are)", which made number 12.
"Come And Get It" failed to perform well in
the charts, becoming a commercial failure even though it
was praised by the pop music press and other outlets,
such as The New York Times.
Early life
Stevens was born in Southgate, London of Jewish
heritage. She attended Ashmole School in Southgate,
London. From a very early age, Stevens was drawn to
entertaining people. At the age of five she began taking
acting lessons at a drama school near London, but as
time went on she seemed to be more interested in fashion
than acting. At the age of fifteen her first big break
when she beat out 5000 competitors in a modelling
competition sponsored by Just 17 Magazine. Following her
first modelling jobs Stevens attended the London School
of Fashion and after graduation worked in fashion PR,
but began to lose interest and started to seek out a
career in music instead.
Then, at the age of twenty, Stevens accompanied her
brother to an audition in London for a new pop group,
which was being put together by Simon Fuller, the
one-time manager of the Spice Girls. While waiting for
her brother to audition, she was approached by the
judges. After many calls and auditions she was chosen as
a member of the new band S Club 7, along with Tina
Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo
O'Meara, and Hannah Spearritt.
S Club 7
Stevens and "S Club 7" quickly rose to fame,
with their debut single "Bring It All Back"
reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in June
1999. The groups follow-up, "S Club Party" was
also a hit, the groups self-titled debut album also sold
well. The success of their debut album landed the band
their own TV show, S Club 7 in Miami. Minor success in
the United States followed. Stevens probably enjoyed
more success than the rest of the band members, as she
received the most media attention and was a fan
favorite. Despite the negative press the male members of
the group had been receiving, Stevens was not affected
by it and in 2000 was voted the second sexiest woman on
the planet by the men's magazine FHM. Around 2002 to
2003, Jo the lead singer had serious back problems for a
number of weeks. Rachel took over the role of the lead
vocals during this period.
The group was able to release a successful film in 2003
called S Club Seeing Double but after a UK tour, the
members of "S Club 7" commenced to break up.
Solo career
Funky Dory
After "S Club 7" broke up, Stevens signed a £1.5
million solo four-album deal with Polydor Records and
re-signed with "S Club 7" manager, Simon
Fuller. Breaking out on her own after success with
"S Club 7" was hard for Stevens, "I think
we ended up conforming to what people's perceptions
was," she said about the group. "This one was
the ditzy one, this one was the singer, this one was the
dancer. And to come out of that and be a whole person
has been a real challenge for me. I didn't have my say,
really, in the group. None of us did." Stevens was
the first member from the group to sign a solo recording
contract and expectations were high for her first
release to be a success.
Her first solo single, written by Cathy Dennis (who has
also written for Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue) and
produced by Bloodshy & Avant, was "Sweet Dreams
My LA Ex", released in September 2003. The single
was a hit, debuting at number two on the UK singles
chart, beaten to the top spot by the Black Eyed Peas and
their international hit single "Where Is The Love?.
The single was also a hit worldwide peaking in the top
ten in multiple countries including Ireland and Sweden.
Taking inspiration from R&B music most reminiscent
of TLC and Sugababes, and adult-style pop music by
Madonna, Stevens' debut solo album, Funky Dory was
released later that month. The album was a minor hit,
reaching number nine on the UK albums chart and quickly
fading away in subsequent weeks almost without a trace.
Although the album was not a huge commercial success it
did gain praise from pop-critics. Jamie Gill, in a
review for Yahoo! Launch, said that Stevens
"eschews the cheap and cheerful approach of her old
band for a slinky adult confidence and musical
eclecticism."
That December, the album's title track, "Funky
Dory" was released as the second single. The song
was hailed as being sophisticated and sexy, like its
predecessor, and featured a sample of the David Bowie
song "Andy Warhol" from his album Hunky Dory.
Hopes were high that the single would be able to match
the success of "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", but
like her album the single made a low showing on the
charts, peaking at number twenty six and then quickly
disappearing. The song was given mixed reviews by
pop-critics with some calling it "musically better
than "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" with a hybrid of
pop, Latin and even a hint of jazz infusion" but
not a good choice as a single as it lacked anything
special and different, as it did not live up to Stevens'
previous single.
In July 2004, Stevens released a brand new single,
"Some Girls" which was produced by Richard X.
After the commercial failure of both her album and
previous single hopes were high for "Some
Girls" to perform well on the charts, with critics
calling the single her career make or break release. The
single became a hit across Europe, and reached number
two in the UK. All profits from the single went to the
BBC Sport Relief charity. On its release HMV.co.uk
called the single Stevens' "finest song to
date",and Yahoo! Launch commented "she came to
save her career. She ended up saving pop."
Due to the success of "Some Girls", Funky Dory
was re-released to include "Some Girls" and
another new track, a cover of Andrea True Connection's
"More More More". At this point, Rachel
stepped up promotion, inadvertently earning herself a
Guinness World Record for “Most Public Appearances by
a Pop Star in 24 Hours in Different Cities” (Seven on
September 8-9, 2004).
On its single release, "More More More" peaked
at number three in the UK, giving Stevens her third top
ten solo single in the UK. The song was not well
received by critics who called the vocals on the song
weak and the fact that the song is a cover uninspiring.
Stevens herself has stated that she dislikes the song.
Nevertheless, the song was a hit and due to the
re-release of the album, Funky Dory has sold close to
200,000 copies in the UK to date and was a minor
success.
That November, Stevens was nominated for seven awards at
the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. She took home two
awards, Most Fanciable Female and Best Dressed Star.
Come And Get It
In late 2004, Stevens began working on her second solo
album with producers and songwriters Richard X, Alexis
Strum and Xenomania. The following March she released
the first single from her upcoming album,
"Negotiate With Love". The song was a minor
hit in the UK, reaching the top ten and received good
reviews by critics for its mature and confident sound.
She sang on the Band Aid 20 single despite not being
invited having turned up to the recording with Will
Young who was.
"Negotiate with Love" was followed-up by the
song "So Good", which was released in July and
was another success when it peaked at number ten in the
UK. It was hailed as a good pop song that was
"tastily produced and sassily delivered."
The singles were followed by Stevens' second full-length
studio album, Come And Get It in October 2005. The album
was, like her previous effort, a minor success peaking
at number twenty-eight in the UK. Come And Get It sold
only 18,000 copies in Britain in its first 3 months, and
has been deemed a commercial failure, even though the
British pop magazines hailed it as a great pop album.
The album was also released as a special 'Limited
Edition' CD and DVD, which subsequently became a
highly-priced item at online auction sites like Ebay.com
The last single released from the album was "I Said
Never Again (But Here We Are)", released in October
2005 the song peaked at number twelve in the UK. The
single received some of the best reviews of Stevens'
career with it being hailed by HMV.co.uk for its
"astonishingly flawless vocal performance" and
as Stevens' "most commercially accessible and
quirky single since "Some Girls"."
Due to the low charting of the album and its singles no
further singles were released, although multiple rumors
stated that "Nothing Good About This Goodbye"
and the Richard X produced "Crazy Boys" were
going to be released as singles. In early January 2006,
rumors surfaced that Stevens was to be dropped from
Polydor Records. However, a statement was released by
the Polydor executives stating that she is still with
Polydor.
Just before the release of Come And Get It, Stevens was
featured in a documentary, Rachel: My World which was
shown on Channel 4's teenage strand T4, with cameras
following Stevens around for the summer, at road shows,
recording her album, and doing more humble things such
as eating out, and going to the gym.
Future In Music
After the release of her sophomore album, Stevens
generally removed herself from the spotlight. Meanwhile,
multiple online rumors were spread over 2006/early 2007
about her next career move. While some speculate her
constant trips to L.A. in 2006 to signify an attempt in
acting, a "reliable" source (the Buzzjack.com
Forums) currently has Stevens on the "Coming
Soon" list of releases, with new material slated
for August 2007. Although it has now recently been
removed from the August 2007 release list, and has left
many people speculating as to when it will be released.
Acting career
While Rachel was a member of S Club 7, she appeared in
all S Club 7 associated series such as Miami 7, LA 7,
Hollywood 7 and Viva S Club and also the S Club 7
feature film, entitled Seeing Double.
Rachel also appeared in a movie entitled Suzie Gold and
appeared in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, and is
rumored to have appeared in the upcoming untitled Pink
Panther movie.
Stevens spent the first few months of 2006 in Los
Angeles in preparation of launching an acting career,
and has spent much of her time there ever since.
According to Stevens, she is working with the William
Morris Agency, one of the largest acting agencies in the
world and she has been seen visiting the same acting
class that Brad Pitt used to attend. Rumours suggest
that Stevens was offered the role of a receptionist in
the Steve Miner directed remake of George A. Romero's
"Day of the Dead," which is to be released in
September of 2007 in the U.S; and the script for a role
in a new American horror film directed by Alexandre Aja
called "Devil's Road."
On her return from Los Angeles to London in March 2007
on a Virgin Atlantic flight, Stevens was disappointed
not to receive a first class upgrade, uttering the
immortal words: "Don't you know who I am?"
Personal life
On Valentine's Day in 2002, Stevens made headline when
she became engaged to her longtime boyfriend, actor
Jeremy Edwards. The engagement would not last long,
though. The couple broke up in early 2004 after they had
been dating for over three years. Stevens made headlines
in March 2004 when she was ditched by her rumoured
boyfriend, businessman Simon Brodin. The couple were
rumoured to have dated for two months after Stevens
broke-up with Edwards. The relationship was never
confirmed by either side. Six months later Stevens again
was in the tabloids as she started dating Gavin Dein,
son of Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, the
relationship would not last long with the couple
splitting up in August 2005. Since then she has been
linked to Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg after
taking interest in him because she wanted him to star as
her boyfriend in an upcoming music video. Stevens'
commented on the rumours by telling Neil Sean of Sky
Showbiz Gossip, "It's all top secret but my dream
is to have the lovely Freddie in the video for the song
as my boyfriend. I'd like that in real life too, but
I’ll start with the video." She has also been
spotted recently in LA in February 2006 with a mystery
man who claimed to be her new boyfriend, but it has
neither been confirmed nor denied.
She has also been spotted with a mystery man in Barbados
in the last week of April 2006. The April 30, 2006 issue
of The Daily Star and The News of the World claim their
relationship has grown romantically but she is
apparently, horrified by the foolishly large ego of a
certain, Ed Thomas. The People also reported a similar
story as did The Daily Record who quote an onlooker as
saying that Stevens had angrily told her that she was
just happy that she was well out of his usual target age
range and that she planned to just buy up his little
house in East Haslemere and crush his father's porsche.
She was also spotted in LA with American actor Stephen
Dorff, but they were quoted as saying they were just
friends. She was also spotted with American-based
British singer Oli Trevena (Oli T) who she is rumoured
to be dating and the Daily Mirror claimed he was taking
her to meet his parents. She herself claims that, for
now, she enjoys the single life and "loves flirting
with strangers.".
Awareness campaigns
Although 2005 did not bring the commercial success of
earlier years, Stevens made headlines when she followed
in the footsteps of fellow British pop star Robbie
Williams to front the Everyman Testicular Cancer
Awareness campaign. Stevens's role was notable as she
was the first woman to represent this campaign. Her
television commercial raised eyebrows with its
suggestive content that included her telling men to
"put one hand down their trousers and give their
testicles a good feel". On the commercial, Stevens
commented, "Sometimes men need a little
encouragement to think about their health. This is a
funny way of raising awareness about a serious
subject."
In 2005 Stevens also took part in the Make Poverty
History campaign, which aims to eliminate poverty in
third-world countries by supplying aid to them through
food, money, and other resources that these countries do
not have. Stevens donated an undisclosed amount of money
to the campaign, and also starred in television and
magazine advertisements supporting the cause. Her
official Web site also displayed the campaign's official
online banner.
World records:
- Most Public Appearances By A Popstar In 24 Hours
— Guinness World Records 2006
- Stevens made seven public appearances
Achievements:
- Stevens was the first woman to front the Everyman
Cancer Campaign for testicular cancer in 2005.
- She was chosen to open the Olympic Games bid
ceremony in Trafalgar Square in July 2005.
- She is currently at number fifteen in FHM's 100
Sexiest Women in the World 2007.
- Stevens' cover of "More, More, More"
ranked at number nine on TMFs Top 40 Covers of
All-Time.
- Was the opening artists at the Royal Variety
Performance in front of Her Majesty The Queen in
2003.
- Stevens was voted the 77th greatest sex symbol of
all time in a Channel 4 poll.
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