Faya (, formerly spelled FYA) are a female R&B duo from

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

. Originally a trio, the group was founded in

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

, England, and were signed to a six-album deal with

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

in 2003. They are best known for their 2004 single "Must Be Love", which featured guest vocals from Smujji and peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by a second single, "Too Hot", and an album, ''For Your Attention'', which was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in Japan.

History

FYA (standing for "For Your Attention") originally had three members: Kezia (Kizzy) Bennett, Tenza Foster and Emma Nhamburo. Nhamburo, originally from

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

in Zimbabwe, and Foster, who originated from

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

in Jamaica, met Bennett and formed FYA in

. They were discovered performing at a Slough youth centre and released their debut single, "Boops '03"—a cover of " Boops (Here to Go)" by

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

—in November 2003. After the release of "Boops '03", FYA were signed to a six-album deal with

. This was followed by a second single, "Must Be Love", which was released in March 2004. The strength of this single allowed FYA to be featured alongside acts such as

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fran ...

and

Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British and New Zealand singer, songwriter and record producer. She released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R& ...

as part of a

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series on new British music. "Must Be Love" featured vocals from guest singer Smujji and peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart, making it FYA's biggest chart hit. It sold 100,000 copies worldwide and was licensed to more than fifteen countries. Following the success of "Must Be Love", FYA released a third single, "Too Hot", in July 2004. The song did not sell as well as "Must Be Love", and peaked at No. 49 on the UK Singles Chart. The band were subsequently dropped by Def Jam, and instead released their debut album, ''For Your Attention'', through the label Jamdown in 2005. ''For Your Attention'' was also released in Japan by

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

, where it reached

gold certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. A second album, ''Feel the Heat'', was released by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

in 2007, with the track "Season on Fire" being taken from it as a single. After Bennett left the group, Foster and Nhamburo continued to perform together under the name Faya, and are currently based in

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Faya
on

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FYA
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...