Simone Andrea Denny is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is best known as a vocalist with the

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

groups Love Inc. and Widelife, appearing most prominently on the hit dance singles " Broken Bones", "

You're a Superstar "You're a Superstar" is a song by Canadian Eurodance group Love Inc. It was released in June 1998 as the second single from the album ''Love Inc.'', after " Broken Bones." "You're a Superstar" was Love Inc.'s biggest hit, peaking at number 13 on ...

" and " All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)".

Background

Born and raised in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, her parents are of Guyanese heritage. She discovered her passion for music while competing in a talent show in grade six, later training as an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

singer but choosing instead to pursue pop music. She quickly developed a following in local bands, landed the role of "Mama" in the Canadian production of '' Mama, I Want to Sing!'' opposite

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

, and performed as a backing vocalist for artists such as

Maestro Fresh Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is credited by his ...

and

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. After meeting DJ Chris Sheppard, she contributed as a guest vocalist to several songs by his band BKS, as well as the songs "Tonight It's Party Time" and "I Can't Take the Heartache" by

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

and Rachid Wehbi's band Outta Control (a/k/a Killer Bunnies).

Love Inc.

In 1997 Sheppard and Brad Daymond formed Love Inc., in which Denny was a full member. They released their self-titled debut album in 1998; the album spawned the chart hits "Broken Bones" and "You're a Superstar", with the former song winning the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

for Dance Recording of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 1999 The Juno Awards of 1999 honouring Canadian music industry achievements were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The primary ceremonies at Copps Coliseum on 7 March 1999 were broadcast by CBC Television and hosted by Mike Bullard. Nominations we ...

, and became the first dance music album by Canadian artists ever to receive platinum certification for Canadian sales. Despite the band's initial success, the 2000 followup album ''Into the Night'' was more poorly received, performing poorly on the charts and containing only one noteworthy hit single,Larry LeBlanc, "BMG Canada Ventures 'Into the Night' With Radio-Friendly Dance Act Love Inc.". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', August 26, 2000. although the band did again win the Juno for Dance Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2001, and critics praised Denny's vocals as the best thing about an otherwise weak album. In this era, Sheppard was also beginning to develop a reputation for egotism: in early 2001, Denny had to back out of a previously-unannounced surprise appearance as a special guest who would perform several live songs at one of Sheppard's DJ shows at a dance club in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

. The club cancelled the show outright since it considered Denny to be the real star of the event, but Sheppard tried to use legal threats to force the club to pay him anyway. The band did not release any further recordings, and broke up after ''Into the Night'', with Denny attributing the breakup to Sheppard mistreating her because he felt like he was the true creative force behind the band even though Denny was generally considered its star. Denny later noted that she had remained on friendlier terms with Daymond right up until his death in 2018.

Widelife and solo career

Denny then began collaborating with Widelife, performing on that band's singles "I Don't Want You" and "All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)", the latter of which was best known as the theme song to the original version of '' Queer Eye''. In 2005 she released "Cliché", the first single on which she was directly credited as a solo performer. She subsequently appeared as a featured vocalist on several other dance singles before finally releasing her own full-length debut album, ''The Stereo Dynamite Sessions, Vol. 1'', in 2015. In 2020 Denny appeared on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

special, performing "You're a Superstar" with Tyler Shaw. She has also continued to perform live shows, notably as part of an

Electric Circus ''Electric Circus '' (also known as ''EC'') was a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988 to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's fir ...

reunion bill of dance acts from the 1990s and 2000s.Eva Wasney
"Concertgoers treated to entertaining time travelling"
''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well ...

'', September 21, 2021.

Discography

Studio albums Singles

References

20th-century Black Canadian women singers 21st-century Black Canadian women singers Canadian women pop singers Canadian dance musicians Canadian electronic musicians Singers from Ontario Musicians from Toronto {{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Simone Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian contemporary R&B singers