In the fashionable London social scene, Remi Nicole mingled with designer Henry Holland along with models Alexa Chung and Agyness Deyn before transforming from a recurring tabloid presence into a credible Island Records artist during 2006. Dissatisfied with her acting part in the British sci-fi comedy Hyperdrive, the 22-year-old performer of English and Trinidadian heritage redirected her energies toward music, her earliest creative pursuit. While still developing her skills, the debut solo release My Conscience and I yielded the charting singles “Fed Up” and “Mr. Sunshine.” Viewing those tracks merely as preliminary demo recordings rather than a finished statement, she next embraced the Motown-inflected 1960s girl-group aesthetic that had gained currency in London through Amy Winehouse. Crafting most of the material inside her apartment while performing keyboards, guitar, and drums on her own, she subsequently enlisted Grammy-earning producer Mark Taylor to refine the mixes. Island issued Cupid Shoot Me in August 2009; Nicole characterized the set at the time as centering on “not being in love.” The arrival of its opening single “Standing Tears Apart” expanded her audience, lending extra resonance to the track “Tabloid Queen.”
