Imaani

Not to be confused with Imany.

Imaani Saleem
Imaani performing at the Dalston Festival Vortex in September 2008
Imaani performing at the Dalston Festival Vortex in September 2008
Background information
Birth nameMelonie Crosdale
Also known asImaani
Born (1972-01-01) 1 January 1972 (age 52)
Nottingham, England
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active1995–present
LabelsEMI (1998–99)

Imaani Saleem (born Melonie Crosdale[1] on 1 January 1972) is an English singer, best known for representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham with the song "Where Are You". The song placed second in the contest, and became a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Although "Where Are You?" remains her sole solo chart entry, in 2000 she re-entered the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart alongside Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy with their version of "Freak Like Me". Later, she recorded many songs with jazz-dance group Incognito, and in 2014 released her debut studio album, Standing Tall.

Career

After leaving college and moving to London, a chance train encounter with a music producer led to Imaani entering the music business. In 1995, she provided vocals on the song "Easin' My Mind" by FM Inc., and in 1996, on Incognito's album Beneath the Surface.[2]

Eurovision 1998

In 1998, Saleem entered The Great British Song Contest competition to find the UK's song for the Eurovision Song Contest that year. Her track "Where Are You" was a runaway winner with the British public and was selected to represent the UK. Saleem finished a mere seven points behind the winner Dana International, in second place in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998.[3]

After its success in the contest, "Where Are You" entered the UK Singles Chart in May 1998, peaking at number 15 and spending 15 non-consecutive weeks in the top 100.[1][4] The track sold over 250,000 copies. Despite this success, her record label EMI decided to cancel the release of her follow-up single "You Got a Way" in 1999 and parted company with Saleem.

After Eurovision

In 2000, she supplied the lead vocals on Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy's UK garage cover of Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me". The song reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] Saleem went on to record with the jazz-funk band Incognito,[6] providing vocals for more than 10 of their records.[7]

Since 2005, Saleem has performed as part of UK session organisation the AllStars Collective.[8] The following year, in 2006, she sang on the house track "Bring Me Love" by the Copyright Project on Defected Records. The track received a limited release in the UK, but reached the top 5 on the UK Dance Chart.

In 2014, Saleem released her debut album, Standing Tall.[7] One of its songs, "Struggling" featured on the 2015 soul compilation album Luxury Soul 2015.[9]

In 2023, Saleem together with the Revival Collective released a cover of the Emotions' "Best of My Love" as a single.[10]

Discography

Albums

  • Standing Tall (2014)

Charted singles

Title Year Peak positions Album
UK
 UK Dance
 BEL
(Fl)
[11] 		NED
Single
Top 100
[12] 		NED
Top 40
[13] 		SCO
[14]
"Where Are You" 1998 15 – 12 14 8 16 Non-album singles
"Freak Like Me" (with Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy) 2000 12 1 – – – –
"Time" (with Copyright) 2005 129[15] – – – – –
"Bring Me Love" (with Copyright) 2006 – 5[16] – – – –

References

  1. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 267. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ^ Donnell, Alison (2002). "Imaani". In Alison Donnell (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Routledge. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-134-70025-7.
  3. ^ "Precious song for Europe". BBC. 12 March 1999. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Imaani: Full Chart History". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 568. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ "Reference to Imaani work with Incognito on Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Overview: Imaani – Standing Tall". Jazz FM. Aiir. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Imaani Saleem profile on The AllStars Collective website". Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Overview: Luxury Soul 2015". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Best of My Love by Imaani, Revival". Spotify.
  11. ^ "Imaani discography". ultratop.be. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Imaani discography". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Imaani – "Where Are You" page". top40.nl. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 – 17 May 1998 – 23 May 1998". officialcharts.com/. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  15. ^ "Chart Log UK: Chris C. - CZR". zobbel.de.
  16. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
Preceded by UK in the Eurovision Song Contest
1998 		Succeeded by