Mini Viva were an English pop duo formed in 2008 by British songwriting and production team Xenomania. They were managed by

19 Entertainment 19 Entertainment Inc. is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music owned by Sony Pictures Television through its nonfiction division. Founded by Simon Fuller in London in 1985, the company co-produced '' Pop Ido ...

and signed to Geffen and

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. Consisting of

Frankee Connolly Francesca Rose Connolly is an English singer from Helmshore. She was a member of the groups Mini Viva, who had a No. 7 hit with "Left My Heart in Tokyo", and M.O, with whom she had a No. 18 hit with "Who Do You Think Of?". Life and career Fra ...

and Britt Love, the duo were due to release their debut album in 2010. Despite a successful first single and positive reviews, the group failed to gain further traction and confirmed their split in late 2010. They released three singles and toured in support of acts including

the Saturdays The Saturdays are an English-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and has been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Whi ...

and

Diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

History

Frankee Connolly at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2015

Mini Viva were formed by Xenomania in 2008, when Frankee Connolly and Britt Love attended an audition held by a label called Select Music UK. Xenomania took the duo to their headquarters in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, and they spent a year working with the production team before their launch. They were signed to

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

in May 2009, after performing "Left My Heart in Tokyo" in the office of Universal chairman and CEO

Lucian Grainge Sir Lucian Charles Grainge (born 29 February 1960) is a British record executive who has served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Universal Music Group since 2010. Beginning as an A&R staffer in the late 1970s, Grainge has work ...

. Mini Viva supported

The Saturdays The Saturdays are an English-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and has been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Whi ...

on their The Work Tour in 2009. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' featured the duo as the "New Band of the Day" on 17 July 2009. They released their debut single, " Left My Heart in Tokyo", in September 2009. Produced by Xenomania, the song was named "the catchiest single of 2009" by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' magazine. It reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the highest-charting single of the duo's career. In a BBC Radio 1 interview they said they had been inspired by

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

. The duo's second single, " I Wish", was released in December 2009 and peaked at number seventy-three on the UK Singles Chart, spending one week on the chart. In March 2010, Mini Viva began an interactive webcast reality show entitled ''Viva Mini Viva''. In one episode, they said their debut album was to be released in late 2010 and confirmed the album was not titled ''Colloquial Obsession'', as was rumoured at the time. The third single " One Touch", released in May 2010, only managed to chart at number 124. During this period, they supported the dance troupe

on their UK tour. It was reported in July 2010 that although the duo's future was unclear, they were still signed to

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. However, in November 2010, Mini Viva confirmed speculation that they were splitting up, explaining that "sometimes things just don't work out the way you would like them to". As of February 2012, Love and Connolly were working on their solo careers. Love was featured on "You Don't Want to Dance with Me" by English electronic duo

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

and auditioned for the ninth series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' in 2012. She was successful in getting to bootcamp, but failed to make it to judges' houses. Frankee later became a part of the all-female trio

M.O M.O are an English girl group consisting of members Annie Ashcroft and Chanal Benjilali, and previously Frankee Connolly until her departure in June 2017 and Nadine Samuels until her departure in 2020. The group was formed in 2012 by the member ...

, whose single " Who Do You Think Of?" reached number eighteen on the UK chart in August 2016. She left the group in June 2017, and was replaced by Chanal Benjilali.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Tours

As supporting act * 2009:

–

The Work Tour The Work Tour was the debut headlining theatre tour by English-Irish girl group the Saturdays. The tour became the group's first headlining tour, but second time touring (after touring with Girls Aloud in 2008 as a support act for their Tangled ...

* 2009:

Cascada Cascada (, Spanish language, Spanish, 'Waterfall'), is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/composers/ producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They functioned as a trio from 2004 to 2021, with their last track ...

– Clubland Live Tour #3 * 2010:

– UK tour

Filmography

References

{{Authority control English dance girl groups English pop music duos English pop girl groups Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups established in 2008 Pop music groups from London Female musical duos Geffen Records artists Polydor Records artists