Alesha Dixon

Like Matt Willis, Kenzie, and Kerry Katona before her, Alesha Dixon first entered the public consciousness not via her recordings but through a stint on a reality television competition. Born in Welwyn Garden City as one of seven siblings to an English mother and Jamaican father, she initially set her sights on becoming a physical education teacher. After finishing a diploma program she stood ready to accept a post at Loughborough University until a record producer stopped her on a train and inquired whether she could sing. She deferred her studies and spent several years attempting to assemble girl groups, none of which gained traction. To support these efforts she took a factory job packing toothpaste until she encountered Sabrina Washington at Dance Attic, the jazz and hip-hop dance school in West London. The pair laid down a demo titled “Inspiration,” after which Su-Elise Nash came aboard and the three women formed the Mis-Teeq trio. Once fourth member Zena McNally joined, the group secured a contract with Telstar Records and issued its first single, “Why,” in 2001.

Although the act began as an R&B outfit, it soon adopted the garage style that ruled the early-noughties charts and rose to become one of Britain’s leading girl groups. Every one of the five singles from their platinum-certified debut album Lickin’ on Both Sides climbed into the Top Ten, and the band earned nominations for both Brit and MOBO awards. Thanks to her striking looks and rapid-fire MC abilities, Dixon emerged as the group’s de-facto frontwoman and earned recognition as one of the country’s most dynamic pop performers. In 2004, after noticing her on the cover of Arena magazine, Pharrell Williams personally invited her to appear as the female lead in the N.E.R.D. video for “She Wants to Move.” Their follow-up album Eye Candy yielded the group’s biggest success, “Scandalous,” yet Mis-Teeq disbanded in 2005 amid financial difficulties at Telstar.

Dixon quickly inked a £500,000 agreement with Polydor Records and began recording her first solo project, Fired Up, alongside several of the U.K.’s most celebrated songwriters, among them Richard X and Xenomania. Lead single “Lipstick” peaked at number 14, but the next release, “Knockdown,” missed the Top 40, prompting her departure from the label. She kept the masters for Fired Up and finally issued the album in Japan in 2008. Her participation in the widely watched BBC series Strictly Come Dancing at the close of 2007 restored momentum to her career. A consistent favorite among judges and viewers, she claimed the title with partner Matthew Cutler. The victory opened doors to further prominent opportunities, such as recording a track for a Ford Focus advertising campaign, hosting a BBC documentary on airbrushing, and collaborating with Solange Knowles and Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry on her next record.