Melissa Graham
| Melissa Graham | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Melissa Ashley Graham |
| Also known as | Queenie, Diva, Wiggy, Maggie |
| Origin | Coventry, England |
| Genres | Pop, Dance |
| Occupation(s) | Singer DancerTV Presenter Paramedic |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels |
Jive Records 1997–1999 (Girl Band) Zomba Records 2000–2003(Solo) |
| Associated acts | Solid HarmoniE Raffish Afroz |
Melissa Ashley Graham (born in Coventry, England) is an English singer and songwriter, who is most famous as a lead singer and a member of the 90s Anglo-American girlband Solid HarmoniE.[1]
History
1995–1999: Solid HarmoniE
Graham joined Solid HarmoniE as an original member in 1995 and signed their first record deal in New York with Jive/Zomba records. They had success in the following few years. The band enjoyed considerable success and popularity in Germany, Netherlands, Philippines, Japan, and Malaysia, where they had toured on different occasions during 1997 until 1998.[2] They released one album and five singles until the group split up in 1999. During this time they sold over 2 million records and Toured with the Backstreet Boys, Nysnc, Peter Andre amongst others.
2000–2003: Solo
Melissa started a solo career in 1999 and started a new album in the Netherlands where her former band had been cordially received by the fans. Her first single Bulletproof was released on 6 November 2000 in Germany and it was recorded to reach 89 of German top 100.[3] Shortly after two more singles Welcome to mMy World and Hello World (Belle Perez Cover) were released which were reasonable successful in the Netherlands. She was still to finish her solo album as of 2003, but her album was never released due to some unresolved issues with her recording company. Melissa was also the face of Italian clothing company Freesoul. She also appeared in a 6-page feature in FHM, making the 'Girls of Summer' Special edition 2001.
She then went on to write a number one single for Girl Band 'Raffish' with 'Plaything'. She also co-wrote the title track to 'The Afroz' album, called 'Aint it Funny'.
She took a sabbatical and trained at University of Coventry and the University of Derby. She was awarded a 1st Class Honours Degree in Emergency Practice.
She is reuniting with former band members Elisa Cariera and Rebecca Onslow, and they plan to reform Solid HarmoniE. They have also reunited with Manager Johnny Wright.
References
- ↑ Chambers, Pete (11 December 2007). "Nostalgia: Swede sounds of a city connection; IN a few days time the welcoming smell of Swedish meatballs will be wafting over Coventry city centre, and the golden and blue coloured aircraft-hanger-sized [sic] IKEA store will be open for business. So in honour of this I thought I would lay out a Smorgasbord of Coventry/Swedish related musical trivia. So welcome IKEA to Coventry or in Swedish - "Valkomna till Coventry IKEA".". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 12.
- ↑ Ai, Tan Ling (23 October 1997). "(Have you heard)". New Straits Times. Malaysia. p. 4.
- ↑ musicline.de German PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved: 30 June 2011