Rachel Stevens
Encyclopedia
Rachel Lauren Stevens is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, actress, presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

r, television personality
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

 and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

. She is a former member of the successful pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 group S Club, and launched a solo recording career in 2003, releasing seven singles and two albums in the UK between 2003 and 2005. In 2008, she came second in the sixth series
Strictly Come Dancing (Series 6)
The sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing began on BBC One on 20 September 2008, with Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returning as presenters, and Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli returning as judges....

 of the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 series Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...

with her dance partner Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone is a professional dancer born in Italy. He moved to Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom when he was 17. His professional dancing partner is Flavia Cacace, and they perform under the brand name VincentandFlavia.-Early life:...

.

Early life

Born in Southgate
Southgate
-Places:In the United Kingdom:*Southgate, London**Enfield Southgate **Southgate tube station*SouthGate, Bath*Southgate, Ceredigion*Southgate, Cheshire*Southgate, Norfolk*Southgate, Swansea*Southgate, West Sussex...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to a Jewish family, she attended Osigde JMI School and Ashmole School
Ashmole School
Ashmole Academy is a comprehensive foundation school in Southgate, England in the London Borough of Barnet. Under the direction of the headteacher Derrick Brown, around 1,340 pupils are educated in ages 11–18....

 in London. Stevens has two brothers, Jason and Leigh.

In 1993 she first caught attention while beating out 5000 competitors and winning a modeling contest sponsored by UK teen magazine
Just 17.
Following her first modelling jobs, she decided to study at the London College of Fashion
London College of Fashion
London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, offering undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therapy and lifestyle industries...

, where she achieved a diploma in business
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...

. During that time she also worked in a film company and later ended up working in public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

, but began to lose interest and decided to pursue a career in singing instead.

S Club 7

At the age of twenty Stevens became a member of the British pop group S Club 7, which were a BRIT Award-winning British pop group created by former Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...

 manager Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...

. The group rose to fame via their own BBC television programme and by selling 16 million records worldwide and launching four number one hit singles in the United Kingdom. S Club eventually split up in 2003.

In both 2001 and 2002 she was voted the number two Sexiest Woman in the World by UK's FHM
FHM
FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...

readers.

2003–2004: Funky Dory

After S Club were disbanded Stevens signed a £1.5 million ($2.3 million) solo four-album deal with Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

 and re-signed with Fuller. Stevens said that breaking out on her own after success with S Club was difficult: "I think we [S Club] ended up conforming to what people's perceptions were. 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
Cathy Dennis
Cathy Dennis is a British dance-oriented pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actress...

 and produced by Bloodshy & Avant, "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
"Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" is the debut single by English singer-songwriter Rachel Stevens. It was released on 15 September 2003 as lead single from her debut solo album Funky Dory. Originally written for Britney Spears, the song was produced by Swedish Bloodshy & Avant, and received a mixed reception...

", was released in September 2003. Taking inspiration from R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 and adult-style pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, Stevens's debut solo album, Funky Dory
Funky Dory
Funky Dory is the solo debut album by British pop–dance singer Rachel Stevens. It was released by Polydor Records on September 29, 2003 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by various record producers including Bloodshy & Avant and Richard X...

, was released later that month. The album was a minor hit, reaching number nine on the UK albums chart. Although it was not a huge commercial success, it gained praise from pop critics; Jamie Gill, in a review for Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...

 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
Funky Dory (song)
"Funky Dory" is the second single from Funky Dory, the debut solo album by Rachel Stevens, released towards the end of 2003. It was produced by David Eriksen for Murlyn Music, and received a mixed reception from pop-music critics...

", featuring a sample of the David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 song "Andy Warhol" from his album Hunky Dory
Hunky Dory
Hunky Dory is the fourth album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1971. It was Bowie's first release through RCA, which would be his label for the next decade...

, was released as its second single and failed to match the success of "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", peaking at number twenty-four. MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...

 called 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 single choice as a single as it lacked anything special and different.

In July 2004 Stevens released the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 Sport Relief
Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...

 charity single, "Some Girls
Some Girls (Rachel Stevens song)
"Some Girls" is a synthpop song written by Richard X and Hannah Robinson for British singer Rachel Stevens. It is included in the 2004 re-release of Stevens' debut album Funky Dory and her second studio album Come and Get It...

", which was produced by Richard X
Richard X
Richard Philips, best known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for artists including Annie, Kelis, Liberty X, Rachel Stevens...

. It became a hit across Europe, and reached number two in the UK. HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...

.co.uk
called the song Stevens's "finest song to date", and Yahoo! Launch commented that "she came to save her career. She ended up saving pop."

Rachel then signed a lucrative deal with Matalan reportedly worth £1 million and had her hit song "More More More" as the title song for Matalan's advertising campaign.

Following the success of "Some Girls", Funky Dory was re-released to include "Some Girls" and another new track, a cover of Andrea True Connection
Andrea True
Andrea True was an American adult film star and singer from the disco era. In addition to her given name, she had multiple stage names, including Inger Kissin, Singe Low, Sandra Lips, Andrea Travis, and Catherine Warren, .She is best known for the disco tune "More, More, More", released in 1976,...

's "More More More". "More More More" was issued as a single and peaked at number three in the UK, giving Stevens her third top ten solo single in the UK. At this point, Stevens and her management stepped up promotion, earning her a Guinness World Record for "Most Public Appearances by a Pop Star in 24 Hours in Different Cities" (seven on 8–9 September 2004).

2004–2005: Come and Get It

In late 2004 Stevens began working on her second solo album, Come and Get It, with producers and songwriters Richard X
Richard X
Richard Philips, best known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for artists including Annie, Kelis, Liberty X, Rachel Stevens...

, Alexis Strum
Alexis Strum
Alexis Rebecca Strum is an English actress, singer-songwriter and comedy writer.After a long career in the music industry , Alexis is currently focusing on her acting career, touring the UK as Eva Cassidy's sister, Margaret in the musical 'Over The Rainbow- The Eva Cassidy Story' , whilst forging...

, and Xenomania
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...

. The following March, its first single, "Negotiate with Love
Negotiate with Love
"Negotiate With Love" is the lead single taken from Rachel Stevens' second album, Come and Get it. The track was written by Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Miriam Nervo, and Olivia Nervo aka The Nervo Twins...

", was a top ten hit in the UK. "So Good" was released in July 2005 and also peaked at number ten, being hailed as "tastily produced and sassily delivered." In mid 2005, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 broadcast a documentary which followed Stevens through the summer as she promoted "So Good".

Stevens released Come and Get It in October 2005. The album was less successful than her debut, peaking at number twenty-eight in the UK. Its third and final single was "I Said Never Again (but Here We Are)
I Said Never Again (but Here We Are)
"I Said Never Again " is the third and final single taken from Rachel Stevens's second album Come and Get It, released on October 3 in 2005. The song peaked at number 12 in the UK charts just missing the top ten giving Steven's her second single to miss the top ten...

", which peaked at number twelve in the UK and was commended by HMV.co.uk for its "astonishingly flawless vocal performance" and as Stevens's "most commercially accessible and quirky single since "Some Girls"."
It has the song "Je m'appelle Rachel" on it, which was originally written by Shelly Poole as "Je m'appelle Michelle".

2006–2010: Music Break

In 2007 The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

included Come and Get It in their "1000 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list.

2011-Present: Return to Music & Tasty Tunes

In early 2010 Stevens announced that she would be returning to the recording studio to begin work on her third album. She is believed to be working with one half of Jewels & Stone who wrote and produced her last single 'I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)'.

In July 2011 a demo track entitled 'Nothing in Common', which was recorded for Come and Get It, was uploaded online.

In October 2011 Rachel is promoting Seven Seas Health Oils, Rachel did live interviews for various radio stations

In November 2011 Rachel's official website posted a message that they have to close the site and forum, there will be a new website and forum soon. It has also been said Rachel is to release an album for toddlers titled "Tasty Tunes" in a project with toddlers food company "Ella's Kitchen". "Rachel Stevens has a new album out - "Tasty Tunes – a unique collection of songs aimed at encouraging toddlers to try new healthy foods". On Tuesday 15th November 2011 Rachel made a guest appearance on ITV1 Lorraine to chat to Lorraine Kelly about being a mother and recording an album for toddlers.

Rachel has also revealed in various interviews recently that she is currently back in the studio recording her third studio album.

Acting career

While Stevens was a member of S Club 7, she appeared in five series of S Club shows: S Club 7 Go Wild!! Miami 7
Miami 7
Miami 7 is a television series starring British pop group S Club 7. Thirteen episodes were produced and aired on CBBC from 8 April 1999 to 1 July 1999 During each episode, the members would perform one of the songs from their album S Club. All seven members of the band starred as themselves...

, L.A. 7
L.A. 7
L.A. 7 was the second series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club 7. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from April 6, 2000 to July 6, 2000 and starred all seven members of the band as themselves...

, Hollywood 7
Hollywood 7
Hollywood 7 was the third series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club 7 and the second television series shot in California. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from September 25, 2001 and December 20, 2001 and starred all seven members of the band as themselves...

, and Viva S Club
Viva S Club
Viva S Club was the fourth and final series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club. This was the only series that was not filmed in America, filming, instead, in Barcelona, Spain. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from 20 September 2002 to 27 December 2002 and...

. The group also starred in the feature film, Seeing Double. In 2004, Stevens briefly appeared in Suzie Gold
Suzie Gold
Suzie Gold is a 2004 British film starring American actress, Summer Phoenix. It is the directorial debut of Ric Cantor. It was released by Pathé on 5 March 2004 in the United Kingdom.-Plot:...

, followed by a minor cameo role in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is the 2005 sequel to the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, from Happy Madison Productions. Rob Schneider returns in the role of a male prostitute Deuce Bigalow who visits his former pimp T.J...

(2005).

In 2005 Stevens played a character called "Jane-Mary" in a Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

charity spoof called Spider-Plant Man
Spider-Plant Man
Spider-Plant Man is a parody of Spider-Man, made for the Comic Relief 2005 appeal and aired on BBC One on March 11, 2005. It featured Rowan Atkinson as Peter Piper/Spider-Plant Man and Rachel Stevens as his love-interest Jane-Mary...

for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 appearing opposite Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...

. In December 2007 it was announced that Stevens would be transformed into a 9 inches (228.6 mm) plasticine
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...

 character for Glendogie Bogey, a new animated comedy for BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...

. Later in 2005, Stevens also played a minor role in Dominic Veall's ITV television drama Flawless playing Lucy Carlts, the sister of Rodger Carlts.

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
2003 S Club Seeing Double Rachel
2004 Suzie Gold
Suzie Gold
Suzie Gold is a 2004 British film starring American actress, Summer Phoenix. It is the directorial debut of Ric Cantor. It was released by Pathé on 5 March 2004 in the United Kingdom.-Plot:...

Pop Star
2005 Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is the 2005 sequel to the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, from Happy Madison Productions. Rob Schneider returns in the role of a male prostitute Deuce Bigalow who visits his former pimp T.J...

Louisa, the Dirty Girl
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Miami 7
Miami 7
Miami 7 is a television series starring British pop group S Club 7. Thirteen episodes were produced and aired on CBBC from 8 April 1999 to 1 July 1999 During each episode, the members would perform one of the songs from their album S Club. All seven members of the band starred as themselves...

Rachel Principal character, 13 episodes
S Club 7: Back to the 50's Rachel Principal character, TV special
S Club 7: Boyfriends & Birthdays Rachel Principal character, TV special
The Greatest Store in the World
The Greatest Store in the World
The Greatest Store in the World is a book by Alex Shearer and later made into a telemovie which was broadcast on 24 December 1999. The story is told in flashback by Livvie , a bright young girl who is in police custody on Christmas Day...

Rachel Guest star, TV movie
2000 L.A. 7
L.A. 7
L.A. 7 was the second series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club 7. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from April 6, 2000 to July 6, 2000 and starred all seven members of the band as themselves...

Rachel Principal character, 13 episodes
S Club 7 Go Wild!
S Club 7 Go Wild!
S Club 7 Go Wild! was a television series starring British pop group S Club 7, who teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund to help raise awareness of the threats facing wildlife around the world. Each member adopted an endangered animal and travelled to their respective natural habitat in different...

Herself Documentary series
S Club 7: Artistic Differences Rachel Principal character, TV special
S Club 7: Christmas Special Rachel Principal character, TV special
2001 Hollywood 7
Hollywood 7
Hollywood 7 was the third series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club 7 and the second television series shot in California. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from September 25, 2001 and December 20, 2001 and starred all seven members of the band as themselves...

Rachel Principal character, 13 episodes
2002 Viva S Club
Viva S Club
Viva S Club was the fourth and final series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club. This was the only series that was not filmed in America, filming, instead, in Barcelona, Spain. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from 20 September 2002 to 27 December 2002 and...

Rachel Principal character, 13 episodes
2005 Spider-Plant Man
Spider-Plant Man
Spider-Plant Man is a parody of Spider-Man, made for the Comic Relief 2005 appeal and aired on BBC One on March 11, 2005. It featured Rowan Atkinson as Peter Piper/Spider-Plant Man and Rachel Stevens as his love-interest Jane-Mary...

Jane-Mary Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...

 special
2008 Glendogie Bogey Patricia Ravelston Voice
2008 Strictly Come Dancing Herself Contender/Dancer
2009 Strictly Come Dancing Herself Guest Appearance/Dancer
2011 Sing if you can Herself Guest Judge (1 Episode)

Strictly Come Dancing

In August 2008 it was announced that Stevens would take part in the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...

, which started on 20 September. She was partnered with professional dancer Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone is a professional dancer born in Italy. He moved to Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom when he was 17. His professional dancing partner is Flavia Cacace, and they perform under the brand name VincentandFlavia.-Early life:...

, and together they hold the record for the most perfect 10s ever achieved in any series of Strictly Come Dancing, thus beating out other contestants including 2007 winner Alesha Dixon and 2008 winner Tom Chambers. They also hold the record for the Foxtrot, Tango, Argentine Tango and Rumba and even though Stevens is perhaps the most successful contestant in Strictly history, she finished in second place.

Performances

Week # Dance/song Judges' scores Result
Craig Revel Horwood Arlene Phillips Len Goodman Bruno Tonioli
1 Cha Cha/"Lady Marmalade
Lady Marmalade
"Lady Marmalade" was also covered by Italian pop star Sabrina. It was released in 1987 as the album's second single by Baby Records. In some countries, including France and the Netherlands, the song was known as "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? " and was released in 1988.-Track listings:7" maxi#...

"
Group performance – not judged
2 Salsa
Salsa (dance)
Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins in Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish and African cultures.Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing "suelta" and "Rueda de Casino" where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle...

/"No Puedes Comprar Mi Amor"
7 8 8 8 Safe – 31
3 Swing
Swing (dance)
"Swing dance" is a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s-1950s, although the earliest of these dances predate swing jazz music. The best known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, a popular partner dance that originated in Harlem and is still danced today...

/"Choo Choo Cha Boogie"
Group performance – not judged
4 Quickstep
Quickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events...

/"Little Green Bag
Little Green Bag
"Little Green Bag" is a 1969 song written by Dutch musicians, Jan Visser and George Baker , and recorded by the George Baker Selection at the band's own expense. The 7" single debut of the George Baker Selection was released by the label Negram. The B-side was "Pretty Little Dreamer"...

"
8 8 9 8 Safe – 33
5 Samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...

/"Hips Don't Lie
Hips Don't Lie
"Hips Don't Lie" is a Latin pop song based in a salsa and cumbia performed by Colombian singer Shakira and Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released in 2006 as the second single from Shakira's second English album Oral Fixation Vol. 2...

"
7 7 8 8 Safe – 30
6 Viennese Waltz
Viennese Waltz
Viennese Waltz is the genre of a ballroom dance. At least three different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, danced to the music of Viennese Waltz.What is now called...

/"Everybody Hurts
Everybody Hurts
"Everybody Hurts" is a song by R.E.M., originally released on the band's 1992 album Automatic for the People and was also released as a single in 1993. It peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100, #7 on the UK Singles Chart and #3 on the French Singles Chart.-History:Much of the song was written by...

"
8 8 8 8 Safe – 32
7 Jive
Jive (dance)
In Ballroom dancing, Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s. It was originally presented to the public as 'Jive' in 1934 by Cab Calloway. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance...

/"Sweet Soul Music
Sweet Soul Music
Sweet Soul Music is the second album of New Zealand RnB artist, Aaradhna released in 2008 on Valentine's Day.-Track listing:#"Didn't I "#"I Want You Back"#"Betcha By Golly Wow"#"You Are The Sunshine Of My Life"...

"
7 8 8 9 Safe – 32
8 American Smooth/"I Got A Woman
I Got a Woman
"I Got a Woman" is a song co-written and recorded by American R&B/soul musician Ray Charles and released as a single in December 1954 on the Atlantic label as Atlantic 45-1050 b/w "Come Back Baby." Both sides later appeared on his 1957 album Ray Charles .-Origin:The song builds on...

"
8 9 9 9 Bottom two – 35
9 Rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...

/"You Do Something to Me
You Do Something to Me
"You Do Something to Me" is a song written by Cole Porter. It is notable in that it was the first number in Porter's first fully integrated-book musical Fifty Million Frenchmen...

"
9 10 10 10 (First place) Safe – 39
10 Foxtrot/"Close to You" 10 10 10 10 (First place) Safe – 40
11 Waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

 / "Angel
Angel (Sarah McLachlan song)
"Angel" is a song by Sarah McLachlan that originally appeared on her 1997 album Surfacing. As McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers, the song is about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996."Angel" was McLachlan's second top 5 hits...

"
9 10 10 10 Bottom two – 71
Paso Doble / "The Final Countdown
The Final Countdown (song)
"The Final Countdown" is a rock song by the Swedish band Europe released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was the first single from the band's third studio album which was also named The Final Countdown. It is considered by some to be the band's most recognizable and popular song. The song...

"
7 8 8 9
12 Tango
Tango (dance)
Tango dance originated in the area of the Rio de la Plata , and spread to the rest of the world soon after....

 / "Here Comes The Rain Again
Here Comes the Rain Again
"Here Comes the Rain Again" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. The song was released as the third single in the UK from the album Touch and in the United States as the first single. It became...

"
9 10 10 10 (First place) Safe – 76
Cha-Cha-Cha
Cha-cha-cha (dance)
The Cha-cha-cha is the name of a dance of Cuban origin.It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrín in 1953...

 / "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart...

"
9 9 9 10
13 Argentine Tango
Argentine Tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...

 / "When Doves Cry
When Doves Cry
A hit cover version by R&B singer Ginuwine was produced by Timbaland in 1996 for Ginuwine's The Bachelor album, Ginuwine's cover uses actual dove sound effects as texture for its jungle music-inspired instrumental track.-Charts:-Other cover versions:...

"
9 10 10 10 (Joint first place) Safe – 75
American Smooth / "Mandy
Mandy (song)
"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...

"
9 9 8 10
14 Foxtrot / "Close to You 10 10 10 10 2nd place overall – 79
Rumba
Rumba (dance)
Rumba is a dance term with two quite different meanings.In some contexts, "rumba" is used as shorthand for Afro-Cuban rumba, a group of dances related to the rumba genre of Afro-Cuban music. The most common Afro-Cuban rumba is the guaguancó...

 / "You Do Something to Me
You Do Something to Me
"You Do Something to Me" is a song written by Cole Porter. It is notable in that it was the first number in Porter's first fully integrated-book musical Fifty Million Frenchmen...

"
9 10 10 10
Showdance / "Flashdance...What a Feeling"


Stevens and Vincent Simone also took part in the 2008 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special on Christmas Day which saw a four way tie at the top of the leader board by four couples getting 39 points each. Head judge Len made the final decision and decided to put them in order which left Stevens in third place in the leader board.

Stevens appeared on the Live Tour 2009, reunited with Simone. They danced the Tango and Rumba and achieved a record 26 victories out of 40, meaning that they were the overall winners.

Stevens and Simone also competed in the 2009 Christmas Special alongside Austin Healey
Austin Healey
Austin Sean Healey is a former English rugby union player, who played as a utility back for Leicester Tigers, and has represented the England national rugby union team and the British Lions....

, Chris Hollins
Chris Hollins
Chris Hollins is an English journalist, presenter and sportsman, currently employed by the BBC and best known for being the sports correspondent for BBC Breakfast, and for winning Strictly Come Dancing 2009.-Early life:...

, Gethin Jones
Gethin Jones
Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter who has co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter....

, Ali Bastian
Ali Bastian
Alexandra Louise "Ali" Bastian is an English television actress, best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2007, and PC Sally Armstrong in long-running ITV drama series The Bill from 2007 to 2009.-Biography:Born in Windsor, Berkshire, to Paula C. Marriott...

 and Ricky Whittle
Ricky Whittle
Ricky Whittle is a British actor from Oldham, Greater Manchester.-Biography:The son of former Royal Air Force serviceman Harry Whittle, Whittle grew up travelling with his father's career around the world, with a home base at Burghfield Common near Reading, Berkshire.A keen sportsman, Whittle...

. Stevens and Simone did not win the Christmas Special, however, they did match their score for the rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...

 (39/40), still the highest score for the dance to date and thus ending the special as runners up.

Personal life

In her earlier years in S Club Stevens dated property developer Daniel Cohen for about two years. Following the split, Cohen stated he met Stevens socially a few times after their break-up, adding "she's an absolute darling, someone I haven't a bad word to say about".

On Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...

 in 2002 Stevens became engaged to actor Jeremy Edwards
Jeremy Edwards
Jeremy Edwards is an English actor and television presenter, who has appeared in the TV shows Hollyoaks and Holby City...

. The couple broke up in early 2004.

After the breakup she dated Gavin Dein, son of former Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 vice-chairman David Dein
David Dein
David Barry Dein is the former vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club and former vice-chairman of the Football Association. He was also the President of the G-14 group of European football clubs between October 2006 and May 2007 and has sat on various committees within FIFA and UEFA including...

. The relationship did not last long, with the couple splitting up in August 2005.

In September and October 2006 Stevens was linked to actor Stephen Dorff
Stephen Dorff
Stephen Dorff is an American actor, best known for portraying Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat, Johnny Marco in Somewhere, and for his roles in Blade and Cecil B. DeMented.-Early life:...

 and American-based British singer Oliver Trevena, known professionally as Oli T.

In June 2008 Stevens became engaged to boyfriend Alex Bourne in Italy (who had changed his surname from Leigh) after 18 months of dating. The couple were planning to get married in the autumn of 2008 but decided to postpone their wedding until August 2009 due to Stevens's busy autumn schedule training and performing on Strictly Come Dancing. Stevens married Bourne on 2 August 2009.

On 19 May 2010 the couple announced that Rachel was expecting their first child.

On 16 November 2010, she gave birth to a baby girl, Amelie.

Awareness campaigns

In 2005 Stevens fronted the Everyman Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system.In the United States, between 7,500 and 8,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. In the UK, approximately 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Over his lifetime, a man's risk of...

 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
Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...

 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.

On 15 November 2011 it was reported that Stevens had recorded a collection of songs about fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

s as a way of helping to encourage children to eat five portions of fruit and veg per day
5 A Day
5 A Day is the name of a number of programs in countries such as the USA, the United Kingdom and Germany, to encourage the consumption of at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, following requests by the World Health Organization to consume at least 400g of vegetables daily.In...

. The songs were for an album titled Tasty Tunes and were made available as free downloads from the website of children's food firm Ella's Kitchen and Stevens launched the songs with a one-off performance at a nursery in Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...

, South London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The songs include food-themed versions of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and The Hokey-Cokey, and Stevens said of the project; "As a new mum, I'm always looking for exciting ways to encourage my daughter to try new foods, especially greens. I hope tasty tunes help lots of parents sing about fruit and vegetables as part of their little one's everyday playtime."

Endorsement deals

Whilst in S Club 7 Stevens fronted the World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...

. More recently, she has been the front woman for Pretty Polly
Pretty Polly (hosiery)
Pretty Polly is a British brand of women's tights based in Daybrook, Nottinghamshire.-History:The company began in 1919 when Harry Hibbert and Oswald Buckland built a factory in Sutton-in-Ashfield, near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire...

, Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...

, Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...

, and Focus Dailies. In 2009, Stevens became the new ambassador for Schwarzkopf Gliss hair products.
Rachel is currently fronting the launch of Seven Seas Health Oils

Discography

  • 2003: Funky Dory
    Funky Dory
    Funky Dory is the solo debut album by British pop–dance singer Rachel Stevens. It was released by Polydor Records on September 29, 2003 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by various record producers including Bloodshy & Avant and Richard X...

  • 2005: Come and Get It

Awards

Year Award Result Category
2003 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party
Smash Hits
Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...

 
Won Best Dressed Star
2004 Best Dressed Star
Most Fanciable Female
2005 Most Fanciable Female
2003 National Music Awards Favourite UK Female Singer
2004 Celebrity Awards Sexiest Female Celebrity
2004 NME Awards Best Female Artist
2004 Disney Channel Kid's Choice Awards Best Female Artist
2004 52nd Annual Showbusiness Awards Recording Artist of the Year
2005 Glamour Awards Woman of the Year
2006 Jammy Awards Outstanding Female Singer
2009 Digital Spy Reality Awards Sexiest Female
2009 Rear Of The Year 2009 Winner

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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