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Rachel Lauren Stevens (born April 9, 1978) is an English singer, actress, and an occasional model. A former member of 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. 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. Born in Southgate, London, Stevens attended Ashmole School in London. At the age of fifteen, she beat out 5000 competitors in a modeling competition sponsored by Just 17 magazine. Following her first modeling jobs, she studied at the London School of Fashion and worked in public relations. 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. 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 and launching four number one hit singles in the United Kingdom. S Club disbanded in 2003. 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." 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, Stevens 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. 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. "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." In the summer of 2005, Channel 4 broadcasted a documentary which followed Stevens through the summer as she promoted "So Good". It has not been broadcast on TV since. The theme tune to the documentary was "Je M'Appelle" which also appears on the album. After the singles and the documentary appeared Stevens released 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. Significantly, two years after its release, The Guardian placed it in their article "1000 albums you must hear before you die". The article reflected on the public's indifference towards the album and stated it "was their loss".The album was also released as a special 'Limited Edition' CD and DVD. 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 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. Stevens was rumored to begin recording her third studio album in Spring of 2006 but nothing ever came to. However, in 2008 The Daily Star said that she would be releasing a third album but had departed from her management and record label. The song "Guide to Seduction" was added to the ASCAP website and is believed to be on her third album. While Stevens was a member of S Club 7, she appeared in 4 seasons of S Club shows Miami 7, L.A. 7, Hollywood 7, and Viva S Club. The group also starred in the feature film, Seeing Double. In 2004, Stevens appeared in Suzie Gold, followed by a role in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005). 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. In December 2007 it was announced that Stevens will be transformed into a nine-inch high plasticine character for Glendogie Bogey, a new animated comedy for BBC Scotland. On Valentine's Day in 2002, Stevens became engaged to her longtime boyfriend, actor Jeremy Edwards. 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 Martin McCullough. The couple were rumoured to have dated for two months after Stevens broke-up with Edwards. The relationship was never confirmed by either side. After the breakup, she dated Gavin Dein, son of former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein. The relationship did not last long, with the couple splitting up in August 2005. Stevens has also been linked to actor Steven Dorff, Royal Navy Officer Andy Hunt and American-based British singer Oli Trevena (Oli T). In 2005, Stevens fronted the Everyman Testicular Cancer Awareness campaign. Stevens' 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 developing countries by cancelling old debts, improving the way aid is given and removing barriers, so these countries can trade more effectively with the rest of the world. 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. While in S Club 7, Stevens fronted the World Wide Fund for Nature. On her episode of Go Wild, she was the spokesperson for the Siberian tiger. More recently, she has been the front woman for Pretty Polly (2004), Sky Sports (2004), Marks & Spencer (2004), Focus Dailies (2007) amongst others. |
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