Melissa Ashley Graham (born 25 October 1975) is an English

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and songwriter, best known as a member and lead singer of the 1990s British

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

, Solid HarmoniE.

History

1995–1999: Solid HarmoniE

Graham joined Solid HarmoniE as an original member in 1995 and signed their first record deal in New York with Jive/Zomba records. They had success in the following few years. The band enjoyed considerable success and popularity in Germany,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, Japan, and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, where they had toured on different occasions during 1997 until 1998. They released one album and five singles until the group split up in 1999. During this time they sold over two million records and toured with the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

, and

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea; 27 February 1973) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, and media personality. Born in England to Cypriot parents and raised in Australia, Andre achieved success in the mid-1990s as a singer, topping ...

amongst others. In 2014, she reunited with band members Beki Onslow and Elisa Cariera for a reunion tour and they released a new single called "Circus", which was written by Melissa Graham and Tim Laws.

2000–2003: Solo

Graham started a solo career in 1999 and started a new album in the

where her former band had been cordially received by the fans. Her first single "Bulletproof" was released on 6 November 2000 in Germany and it was recorded to reach 89 of German top 100.musicline.de
German PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved: 30 June 2011 Shortly after two more singles "Welcome to my World" and "Hello World" (

Belle Perez Maribel Pérez (born 29 January 1976), best known by her stage name Belle Perez, is a Belgian-Spanish musician and songwriter. Born in Neerpelt to Spanish parents as María Isabelle Pérez Cerezo, the Flemish singer was discovered for her musi ...

cover) were released which were reasonable successful in the Netherlands. She was still to finish her solo album as of 2003, but her album was never released due to some unresolved issues with her recording company. She was also the face of Italian clothing company Freesoul. She also appeared in a 6-page feature in ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) was a printed British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. It contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World. The final printed issue of British ''F ...

'', making the 'Girls of Summer' Special edition 2001. Graham and Solid HarmoniE have appeared on The National Lottery, ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' and she featured on BBC2's ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...

'' with

Kriss Akabusi Kezie Uchechukwu Duru Akabusi, MBE (; born 28 November 1958), known as Kriss Akabusi, is a British broadcaster and former sprint and hurdling track and field athlete. His first international successes were with the British 4 × 400 metres re ...

Katy B Kathleen Anne Brien (born 8 May 1989), known professionally as Katy B, is an English singer. She released her debut studio album, '' On a Mission'', in 2011, which spawned two top five hits, " Katy on a Mission" and " Lights On". In 2014 she re ...

Johnny Borrell Jonathan Edward Borrell (born 4 April 1980) is an English guitarist and singer, currently the frontman of the rock band Razorlight, of which he is the only consistent original member. Early life and career Borrell was born in Sutton, London. H ...

Alex Brooker Alexander James Brooker (born 15 May 1984) is an English journalist and presenter best known for his television work with Channel 4. Since 2012, Brooker has co-hosted ''The Last Leg'', a Channel 4 panel show with Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe ...

and was hosted by

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television personality. He is known for his roles as JP in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and as Alfie Wickers in the BBC ...

Songwriting and composition

Graham then went on to write a number one single for the girl band Raffish with "Plaything". She also co-wrote the title track to ''The Afroz'' album, called "Ain't It Funny". In 2015, she co-wrote and sang on Warriors of the Dystotheque's first album ''The Future Is Ours''. The track was called "Atom Vibe". This album was played on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music, as well as on Across the Line, Electric Mainline,

RTÉ 2XM RTÉ 2XM (stylised as "RTE 2>digital radio service of the BBC CWR BBC CWR (Coventry & Warwickshire Radio) is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Coventry and Warwickshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV, and via BBC Sounds from studio ...

. In 2017, she was commissioned to write and produce the title track and incidental music for sitcom LaLas Ladiesz, which stars Kulvinder Ghir.

Academic life

She studied Paramedic Science at the University of Coventry and was awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Emergency Practice from Derby University. She still holds a paramedic licence. In 2020, Graham became a Non-Medical Prescriber and continues to study Advanced Clinical Practice at masters level.

Acting

Graham has attended the BSA (Birmingham School of Acting) and started her acting career in a few short films. She took a small but pertinent role in the short sci fi film ''I.R.I.S.'' with film director Hazraf 'HaZ' Dullul In 2016, she starred in ''Mera Mahi NRI'' alongside actors Kulvinder Ghir (Goodness Gracious Me) and Hardy Sandu. This was released early in 2017. She also took a featured role in the upcoming sci fi thriller ''The Beyond'', which is the brain child of Hazraf 'HaZ' Dulull. She was credited as assistant production manager and casting director for this movie.

DJing

Graham started DJing in 2016 and produced her first EP as one half of the EAT VEGANS collective. She favours

deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary ...

and

progressive house Progressive house is a subgenre of house music that emerged in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. It is characterized by its evolving, melodic Musical form, structures, subtle Transition (music), transitions, and layered sound design.Gerard, ...

but plays a few different genres and played at Sol House Ibiza in 2016, the monastery, AA live and Miss Moneypennys. She released her first EP with Repeat After Me records under the pseudonym 'CattoniC'.

As writer

Graham has contributed to Dr Marianne Trent's Book ''The Grief Collective'' and was acknowledged for helping Dr FFione Davies produce the footage in Emergency Care of Minor Trauma in Children: A Practical Handbook. In 2020, she started writing her first screenplay.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Melissa 1975 births Musicians from Coventry Solid HarmoniE members Living people English women pop singers 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers