| On Saturday 5 March, Javine proved once and for all that she’s a winner by triumphing on BBC 1’s ‘Making Your Mind Up’ show with a scintillating performance of ‘Touch My Fire’. Some 7,5 million UK viewers saw her brush away the competition in what has been called the best UK Eurovision selection show in decades!
Since her controversial exit from the hit show ‘Popstars: The Rivals’ in December 2002, Javine has established herself as a leading UK R&B pop star with four hit singles under her belt. And now in 2005 she has a fantastic opportunity to show off her talents to the rest of Europe at Eurovision.
Born on the 27 December 1981, Javine Hylton grew up with her mother and sister in West London’s Ladbroke Grove. As a youngster, she loved to listen to her mother’s collection of soul and reggae albums. At the tender age of 10 Javine was offered an arts scholarship. Modelling and appearances in pop videos followed before, at the age of 18, Javine won the coveted role of Nala in the West End production of Disney’s ‘The Lion King’.
For the next two years Javine studied during the day and spent her nights on stage and began to make her first, tentative steps in the UK’s infamously tough R&B and pop scene. With this in mind, in 2002 Javine attended an audition that would change her life. On ‘Popstars: The Rivals’ Javine proved to be hugely popular with viewers throughout the show’s run and made it to the final six girl singers. However, in a nail-biting final and to the amazement of the nation, Javine was not selected to be in the group that was to go on to become Girls Aloud.
Although devastated, Javine’s talent awoke interest in the record companies and within days of the final show offers from some of the UK’s biggest labels were on the table. Within months ‘Real Things’, a major airplay and chart hit, kicked off a run of hit singles.
After six months out of the limelight Javine returned this February to compete against four other acts for the honour of representing the UK at 2005’s Eurovision Song Contest. Javine put on a breathtaking performance of ‘Touch My Fire’, a sassy slice of bhangra-inspired dance pop that she co-wrote with John Themis, resulting in her romping to victory.
Javine can’t wait to get to Kyiv and says “music can be what ever you want it to be and to see all these different countries coming together on one night and hear all their different influences will be a great and intense experience. I absolutely can’t wait to represent the UK in the Ukraine – I’ll be singing and dancing to the best of my ability and taking the audience on a fantastic ride!” |
