Information about Rachel Stevens

Rachel Lauren Stevens (born April 9, 1978) is an English singer and actress and an occasional model who lives in Hampstead, London. 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", which were a BRIT Award-winning English pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller. The group rose to fame via their own BBC television programme and by selling sixteen million records worldwide^[1] and launching four number one hit singles in the United Kingdom.

S Club was disbanded in 2003 for reasons undisclosed. Stevens became the first member of the group 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. She followed this with 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 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

In Southgate, London, England, Rachel Lauren Stevens was born on April 9, 1978 of Jewish heritage[1], to parents Linda and Michael Stevens. She has two brothers, Jason and Lee Stevens. She attended Ashmole School in Southgate, London.

When Rachel was 17, her parents got divorced. Her Mother Linda re married Russell Stone. She has two step-siblings, a step-sister named Tiffiny and a step-brother named Oliver.

From a very early age, Stevens was drawn to entertaining people. By the time she was five, Stevens already began taking acting lessons at drama school near London.

At the age of fifteen she got her first big break when she beat out 5000 competitors in a modelling competition sponsored by Just 17 Magazine. Following her first modelling jobs and having left school, she studied at the London School of Fashion where she got a diploma in the Business of fashion - and went on to work in fashion PR, but began to lose interest and started to seek out a career in music and acting instead. In 1989, an 11-year-old Rachel took her first acting steps in a film called "Taking A Stand", after her mother began taking her to auditions.

At the age of nineteen, 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 group S Club 7, along with Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, and Hannah Spearritt.

S Club 7

For more information: S Club

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 S Club their own TV show, S Club 7 in Miami. Minor success in the United States followed. They won a Brit Award for Best British newcomer in 2000. Their song Don't Stop Movin' went to number one twice, won a Brit award and Record of the Year in 2001. Thanks to their music and their own television show, seen in 120 countries, they became one of the UK's biggest pop groups.

Stevens probably enjoyed more success than the rest of the 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 2002-2003, 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 commenced to break up.

Solo career

Funky Dory

After S Club broke up, Stevens signed a £1.5 million solo four-album deal with Polydor Records and re-signed with S Club manager, Simon Fuller. Breaking out on her own after success with S Club 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."^[2] 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."^[3]

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.^[4]

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",^[5] and Yahoo! Launch commented "she came to save her career. She ended up saving pop."^[6]

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-September 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.^[7]

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."^[8]

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"."^[9]

Due to the low charting of the album and its singles no further singles were released, although multiple rumours 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, rumours 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.

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 also appeared in .

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 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."

According to a British tabloid, on her return from Los Angeles to London in March 2007 on a Virgin Atlantic flight, Stevens was disappointed not to receive an upgrade to Upper Class (she was booked in Premium Economy), apparently uttering the immortal words, "Do you know who I am?". Rachel then returned to LA in May 2007 leaving many to speculate as to what is happening in her acting career. She was seen holding a script for an unknown movie in June 2007 just shortly before returning to London on 19 June 2007.

Rachel told FHM magazine in September issue that she is focusing on only her acting and not her singing career.''^[18]

Personal life

She is said to suffer from claustrophobia - the fear of confined spaces. "I have a problem with locking the door. I also can't go on the Eurostar or in lifts. I always have to take the stairs. But I feel I´m making progress and, hopefully, in the future I'll overcome it".

Stevens has an entry in the Guiness World Records 2006 book in the category "Most Public Appearances By An Actress In 24 Hours". She made seven public appearances.

Stevens is friends with British Pop Idol winner Will Young, actor Stephen Dorff and Spice Girl Emma Bunton.

She said in an interview that she wears contacts.

Personal Style

Stevens has always been the number one fashion icon in TV polls or magazine surveys. Also she has always been complimented on her great fashion style. She has been voted "Best Dressed Star" twice, "Female Fashion Icon" and "Most Fanciable Female". A report from website "AskMen.com" says: "At first, Stevens struck us as the casual, laid-back type, due to numerous appearances in simple, yet sexy, jeans and midriff-baring shirts. Several magazine shoots and public appearances later, we have changed our tune and are impressed by her willingness to experiment, be it with bikini tops, short skirts, or flowing evening gowns. In fact, she has gotten naughty enough that if she went any further, we have to hide her pictures from our girlfriends."

An article in Heat Magazine in July 2002 said: "If you've started reading this hoping to hear that it's all smoke and mirrors and actually Rachel Stevens ain't all that in real life, you're out of luck. She IS all that, and more. Many celebs are a disappointment when you lay eyes on them in real life, but not Rachel. She's doll-like perfect - REALLY pretty with glossy hair; clear, tanned skin and the kind of tiny figure, a la Kylie, that makes you imagine there's a factory churning out cute female pop stars. (Her feet are size three-and-a-half, so her shoes are custom-made. Bless.) Rachel sits opposite Heat with her slinky figure encased in hipster, boot-cut jeans; a fluffy, grey jumper with a kilt-pin brooch and high-heeled, pointed boots. She looks exactly as she does on the telly - no bigger, no smaller, just immaculately presented. She's also friendly, chatty and smiley - talking to Rachel is like having a girlie chat with one of your mates." Rachel is also the face of Focus Dailies.

Love 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13] She has also been spotted with a mystery man in Barbados in the last week of April 2006.^[14]

She was also spotted in LA with Stephen Dorff, but they were quoted as saying they were just friends.^[15] She was also spotted with American-based British singer Oli Trevena (Oli T) who she was rumoured to have dated and the Daily Mirror claimed he was taking her to meet his parents. She herself claimed that, she enjoyed the single life and "loves flirting with strangers."^[19].

Since April she has been linked to British actor and former model Alex Leigh. They were spotted on several locations, including a north London café, as well as grocery shops in L.A.

In the fictional autobiography of the band Gorillaz, Rise of the Ogre, she's mentioned as dating animated band member 2D.

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."^[16]

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.^[17]

Endorsement Deals

In S Club 7, Rachel fronted the WWF (World Wide Federation) - On Rachel's episode of Go Wild, Rachel was the spokes person for the siberian tiger. More recently Rachel has been the front woman for Pretty Polly (2004), Sky Sports (2004), Marks & Spencers (2004), Focus Dailies (2007) amongst others.

Discography

Studio albums

• 2003: Funky Dory
• 2005: Come and Get It
• 2008: New Story

Hit singles

The following singles reached the top twenty in Ireland and the UK.

Year	Single	Chart positions[20]					Album
		UK	IRL	GER	SE	SUI
2003	"Sweet Dreams My LA Ex"	2	3	64	24	63	Funky Dory
2004	"Some Girls"	2	13	—	—	—
	"More, More, More"	3	5	—	—	—	Funky Dory (re-release)
2005	"Negotiate with Love"	10	27	—	—	—	Come and Get It
	"So Good"	10	27	—	—	—
	"I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)"	12	34	—	—	—

"—" denotes singles that were released but did not chart.

Films

Year	Title	Character
2003	Seeing Double	Rachel Stevens (herself)
2004	Suzie Gold	Girl from M5
2005		Louisa, the Dirty Girl

Television

Year	Title	Character
1999	Miami 7	Rachel Stevens (herself)
2000	L.A. 7	Rachel Stevens (herself)
	S Club 7 Go Wild	Rachel Stevens (herself)
2001	Hollywood 7	Rachel Stevens (herself)
2002	Don't Stop Movin'	Rachel Stevens (herself)
	Viva S Club	Rachel Stevens (herself)
2005	Spider-Plant Man (for Comic Relief 2005)	Jane-Mary

Awards

2006

• Jammy Awards — Most Outstanding Female Singer

2005

• Smash Hits Poll Winners Party — Most Fanciable Female
• Glamour Awards — Woman Of The Year

2004

• 52nd Annual Showbusiness Awards — Recording Artist Of The Year
• Celebrity Awards — Sexiest Female Celebrity
• Smash Hits Poll Winners Party — Most Fanciable Female & Best Dressed Star
• Disney Channel Kid's Choice Awards — Best Female

2003

• Smash Hits Poll Winners Party — Best Dressed Star
• National Music Awards — Favourite UK Female Singer

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.
• Named #2 in AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women.
• Number 3 on Google.com's most searched women in 2003.

FHM Rank history

• 2000: #18
• 2001: #2
• 2002: #2
• 2003: #4
• 2004: #2
• 2005: #13
• 2006: #14
• 2007: #15

References

• Rachel Stevens Online. link Jan. 28, 2006. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2006. - Biography, trivia and discography.
• Rachel Stevens Official Website. link Jan. 23, 2006. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2006. - Biography and discography.

1. ^  Dan Cairns. "She's Movin' On Up". Sunday Times Culture. Feb. 13, 2005.
2. ^  Rachel Stevens 2. Rachel Stevens Online. 2006. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2006.
3. ^  Dan Cairns. "She's Movin' On Up". Sunday Times Culture. Feb. 13, 2005.
4. ^  Jamie Gill. Rachel Stevens 3. Rachel Stevens Online - originally from Yahoo! Launch. Oct. 7, 2003. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2006.
5. ^  Azeem Ahmad. Rachel Stevens 5. MusicOMH. Dec. 8, 2003. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2006.
6. ^  Rachel Stevens 6. Rachel Stevens Online - originally from HMV.co.uk. June 2004. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2006.
7. ^  Rachel Stevens 7. Rachel Stevens Online - originally from Yahoo! Launch. July 2004. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2006.
8. ^  Rachel Stevens 8. Rachel Stevens Online - originally from London News Review. Sept. 23, 2004. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2006.
9. ^  Rachel Stevens 9. Virgin.net. 2005. Retrieved Feb. 6, 2006.
10. ^  Rachel Stevens 10. HMV.co.uk. Aug. 2005. Retrieved Feb. 6, 2006.
11. ^  Rachel Stevens 11. Rachel Stevens Online. 2006. Retrieved Feb. 03, 2006.
12. ^  Rachel Stevens 12. Rachel Stevens Online. 2006. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2006.
13. ^  Rachel Stevens 13. Rachel Stevens Online. 2006. Retrieved Feb. 03, 2006.
14. ^  Rachel Stevens 14. The Mirror. 2006. Retrieved Feb. 19, 2006.
15. ^  Rachel Stevens 15. "Rachel Stevens' Barbados Boyfriend". JustJared.com. 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2006.
16. ^  Rachel Stevens 16. The Daily Record. 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2006.
17. ^  Rachel Stevens 17. Everyman. 2005. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2006.
18. ^  Rachel Stevens 18. RSO: Make Poverty History. 2005. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2006.
19. ^  SomethingJewish.co.uk. Rachel Stevens interview. 2004. Retrieved Jul. 299, 2006.
20. ^  Rachel Stevens 20. Martin Plans. 2006. Retrieved June 20, 2006.
21. ^  Rachel Stevens 21. Gossip Monkey. 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
22. ^  http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/3amcontent/tm_method=full%26objectid=17727837%26siteid=94762-name_page.html. The Daily Mirror. 2006. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
23. ^  http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/3amcontent/tm_method=full%26objectid=17888048%26siteid=94762-name_page.html. The Dialy Mirror. 2006. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
24. ^  http://rachelstevens.us/music.php?unreleased. Sexy Stevens. 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2007.
25. ^  http://rachelstevens.us. Sexy Stevens. 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2007.

External links

• Official website
• Awareness Video
• Rachel Stevens at the Internet Movie Database

•  • [ e] Rachel Stevens
Studio albums:
Funky Dory Come and Get It
Singles:
"Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" "Funky Dory" "Some Girls" "More More More" "Negotiate with Love" "So Good" "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)"
Related articles
S Club Polydor Records

•  • [ e] S Club 7
Tina Barrett - Paul Cattermole - Jon Lee - Bradley McIntosh - Jo O'Meara - Hannah Spearritt - Rachel Stevens
Discography
Studio albums: S Club - 7 - Sunshine - Seeing Double - Don't Stop Movin' (US) - Best - The Greatest Hits
Singles: "Bring it All Back" - "S Club Party" - "Two in a Million/You're My Number One" - "Reach" - "Natural" - "Never Had a Dream Come True" - "Don't Stop Movin'" - "Have You Ever" - "You" - "Alive" - "Say Goodbye/Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You"
Filmography
Movies: Back to the 50s (TV) - Boyfriends & Birthdays (TV) - Christmas Special (TV) - Artistic Differences (TV) - Seeing Double
Television: Miami 7 - LA 7 - Hollywood 7 - Viva S Club - S Club Go Wild
Related bands
S Club 8 - Upper Street