Imaani Saleem (born Melonie Crosdale on 1 January 1972) is a Jamaican-English singer, best known for representing the United Kingdom at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1998 The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the Br ...

in Birmingham with the song "

Where Are You Where Are You may refer to: Albums * Where Are You? (Frank Sinatra album), ''Where Are You?'' (Frank Sinatra album), 1957 * Where Are You? (Mal Waldron album), ''Where Are You?'' (Mal Waldron album), 1989 Songs * Where Are You? (1937 song), "W ...

". The song placed second in the contest, and became a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom and Benelux. Although "Where Are You?" remains her only 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 "Freak like Me" is a song by American R&B singer Adina Howard, released on January 25, 1995, by labels East West and Lola Waxx, as the debut single from her first album, '' Do You Wanna Ride?'' (1995). The song reached number two on the US '' ...

". Later, she recorded many songs with jazz-dance group

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Incognito'', a 1915 film featuring Rae Berger * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Dan ...

, and in 2014 released her debut studio album, ''Standing Tall''.

Early life and career

Born in Nottingham, England to a family, which all originated in Jamaica. After leaving college in a few years and moving to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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

's album ''Beneath the Surface''.

Eurovision 1998

In 1998, Saleem entered ''

The Great British Song Contest ''Eurovision: You Decide'' is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the 's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, including ''Festival of ...

'' competition to find the UK's song for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

that year. Her track "

" 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 Sharon Cohen (; born 2 February 1969), professionally known as Dana International (), is an Israeli Pop music, pop singer. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest ...

, in second place in the

. 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. The track sold over 250,000 copies. Despite this success, her record label

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

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 UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

cover of US singer

Adina Howard Adina Marie Howard (born November 14, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame during the mid-1990s with her debut album, ''Do You Wanna Ride?'' and her debut single, "Freak like Me". Some of her other minor hit record, hits ...

's "

". The song reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Saleem went on to record with the

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...

band

, providing vocals for more than 10 of their records. Since 2005, Saleem has performed as part of British session organisation the AllStars Collective. The following year, in 2006, she sang on the

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

track "Bring Me Love" by the Copyright Project on

Defected Records Defected Records, or simply Defected, is a British independent record label specialising in house music recordings, compilation albums, events, publishing, artist bookings and management. Defected is one of the longest running independent lab ...

. The track received a limited release in the UK, but reached the top 5 on the

UK Dance Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the electronic dance music, dance music genre (e.g. house music, house, trance music, trance, ...

. In 2014, Saleem released her debut album, ''Standing Tall''. One of its songs, "Struggling" featured on the 2015 soul compilation album ''Luxury Soul 2015''. In 2023, Saleem together with the Revival Collective released a cover of

the Emotions The Emotions are an American soul/ R&B vocal group from Chicago. The group started out in gospel music but transitioned into R&B and disco music. The Emotions were named by VH1 as one of the 18 most influential girl groups of all time. Hist ...

' " Best of My Love" as a single.

Discography

Albums

*''Standing Tall'' (2014)

Charted singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1972 births Living people Musicians from Nottingham 21st-century Black British women singers 21st-century British women singers UK garage singers 20th-century Black British women singers 20th-century British women singers Incognito (band) members English people of Jamaican descent Eurovision Song Contest entrants