Lisa Maffia
| Lisa Finch Maffia | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lisa Finch Maffia |
| Born | 16 June 1979 |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | R&B, hip hop, UK garage, electro house |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Independiente (2001–2003) Maffia Recordz (2004–present) Apollo/Universal (2007–present) |
| Associated acts | So Solid Crew, North Star, Romeo, |
Lisa Finch Maffia[1] (born 16 June 1979, South London) is a platinum selling English singer-songwriter, musician, fashion designer, model and presenter, who originally came to the public's attention as the main female member of So Solid Crew. Whilst in So Solid, the singer notched up five top 20 hits, including a platinum selling single "21 Seconds" and a platinum selling album They Don't Know. As a solo artist, she has released two top 10 singles and an award winning album including the platinum selling single "All Over". Maffia is mixed race, born to an Italian mother and an unknown black father.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and career debut
Maffia was born and raised in Battersea, London by her mother, Shirley Maffia. She has a daughter, Chelsea, born when she was 17. She trained in Latino, ballroom, tap and modern dancing and practised gymnastics as a child. She has a god daughter named Alexus Lee-Chang, who attended Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School which is located next to Norwood School in West Norwood where Lisa attended. Lisa then went on to Brixton College to do a diploma in Photography and Art & Design. In 2000, Maffia got her career debut when she added her vocals to So Solid Crew track, "Oh No".
[edit] 2001-2002: They Don't Know
On 6 August 2001, whilst with So Solid Crew, Maffia released "21 Seconds". It reached number one in the United Kingdom in August 2001. The single also won Best British Video at the 2002 BRIT Awards. With the success of "21 Seconds", the crew went on to release their debut album They Don't Know which ending up going platinum.
[edit] 2003-2004: First Lady
On 21 April 2003, departing from the So Solid Crew, Maffia made her debut at number 2 with "All Over".[2][3] It spent three weeks in the top 10. She then released "In Love" which reached number 13.[3] This led to the singer releasing her debut solo album, First Lady. Promo for the album including support slots for artists such as Christina Aguilera, Ashanti, Loudbankcoast, Ja Rule, Daniel Bedingfield and Blue. The album reached number 44 in the UK Albums Chart,[3] and the album sold 97,000 copies.
[edit] 2005-2006: The Games and Maffia Recordz
Taking a break from music, Maffia took part in the Channel 4 reality TV show The Games. She earned a silver medal behind Kirsty Gallacher. After The Games, Maffia set up her own independent record label, Maffia Recordz, on which she released her underground single "Shake 4 Daddy" and signed acts such as North Star and Romeo. The label also signed the soundtrack to the film, Rollin With The Nines.
[edit] 2007-2009: Celeb Air and recording for second album
In May 2007, Maffia announced on her official Myspace that she has been recording her upcoming album at the Murlyn Studios, known to have penned songs for Christina Milian, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and others. On 10 September, Maffia released her single "Bad Girl At Night", whilst the single reached 36 and number 4 in the overall dance charts,[4] the single had success over Europe leading to Maffia doing a European tour. On 20 August 2008 it was announced Maffia would participate in ITV2's CelebAir where cameras followed Maffia and other celebrities as they work as air hostesses. Maffia won ITV2's CelebAir on 23 October 2008.
Maffia updated via Twitter that she recorded every other week (during January 2009 to August 2009), working with various producers including Roger Sanchez and Bloodshy & Avant and to expect a surprise U.S. star. She also recorded four songs for the comeback album of So Solid Crew including "Since You Went Away", the video of which was shot in June 2009.
[edit] 2010-present: House Of Maffia and new music
In January 2010, Maffia released and toured with So Solid Crew on their single "Since You Went Away". The track reached top 10 in the independent singles chart, this led to various performances on Big Brother's Big Mouth, Channel 5's Five Live and Radio One's Live Lounge. With the success of the track, it was announced on Maffia's official Twitter that there would be one final album from So Solid Crew, and to also expect more albums from Maffia herself, with her next solo album to be expected in 2011. Away from music, Maffia held a press launch for her new online fashion store House Of Maffia in May 2010 and announced it was to launch in the summer of 2010.[5]
[edit] Awards
[edit] 2001
- Mobo Awards
[edit] 2002
- Brit Awards
- Best British Video (With So Solid Crew) 21 Seconds Winner
- Best British Newcomer (With So Solid Crew) Nominated
- Best British Single (With So Solid Crew) Nominated
- Mobo Awards
- Best UK Garage Act (With So Solid Crew) Nominated
[edit] 2003
- Mobo Awards
- Best UK Garage Act Winner
- Best UK Act Nominated
- Best UK Newcomer Nominated
[edit] Tours
[edit] Blue's & Soul/First Lady Tour
The First Lady Tour (also known as the Blues & Soul Tour) was a series of short concert-like promotional appearances at University and club-type venues by Lisa Maffia that took place from April to July 2003.[8]
[edit] Television
Maffia has appeared/performed on a number of different television shows including Top Of The Pops, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, CD:UK, Popworld and appeared in series three of The Games. She also won the 2008 series Celeb Air.
[edit] Modelling
Having modelled for Vogue, Elle and a range of women's and men's magazine's, Maffia has said in many interviews recently that she will be launching her first official calendar later on this year. She has quoted that the calendar is set around many different settings including in studio and Ibiza, and has been working with up and coming photographers. Maffia is also not a stranger to magazine polls. She ranked #91 (2002) in FHM 's 100 Sexiest Women, She ranked #77 (2002) in Loaded 's Hot 100 Babes. In September 2007, Maffia was voted number 33 in the top 50 sexiest brunettes poll in Nuts magazine.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||
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| UK Singles Chart[3][9] | UK Dance Charts | AUS | NZ | NET | FIN | |||
| 2000 | "No Good 4 Me" |
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| 2001 | "21 Seconds" |
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| 2003 | "All Over" |
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| "In Love" |
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| "Women of the World" |
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| 2007 | "Bad Girl at Night" (Dave Spoon feat. Lisa Maffia) |
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| 2012 | "Don't Stop The Music" (Lisa Maffia feat. Mc Romeo and Tyler Daley) |
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[edit] Albums
UK #44[3] Released:August 2003
- Miss Boss
UK #? Released:March 2012[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Juicemagazine.co.uk
- ^ BBC.co.uk
- ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 343. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Trackitdown.net
- ^ House Of Maffia official site
- ^ a b Independent.co.uk
- ^ Telegraph.co.uk
- ^ Tourdates.co.uk
- ^ "Zobbel.de: Chart Log UK: M – My Vitriol". Zobbel.de. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_M.HTM. Retrieved 2011-1-21.
