Cleopatra (band)
Encyclopedia
Cleopatra are a platinum
-selling, BRIT Awards
and MOBO Awards
nominated, R&B
/pop
girl group
from the UK
whose members are sisters Cleo
, Yonah, and Zainam Higgins.
The girls were signed to Madonna
's Maverick
record label
. Its debut single
entered the UK Singles Chart
at number 3, and the Billboard Hot 100
at #26.
/dancers. They later dropped that name and became known as the band Cleopatra. Their debut single was "Cleopatra's Theme", which was taken from their debut album
Comin' Atcha!, and it entered the UK
chart
at #3 giving them their first Top 5 hit single
.
The next three singles - "Life Ain't Easy", the former Jackson 5 hit "I Want You Back
" and "Thank Abba For The Music" - all followed the same success heading into the Top 5, gaining the girls BRIT Awards
and MOBO Awards
nominations. They performed at the 1999 BRIT Awards alongside Steps, Tina Cousins
, B*Witched and Billie Piper
and were also nominated for 'Best British Newcomer'. Madonna signed Cleopatra to her Maverick label and introduced them to the United States
on Nickelodeon's 11th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, where they performed their U.S. debut single, "Cleopatra's Theme". This record
was released shortly afterwards gaining them a #26 position on the Billboard
chart, and #16 in the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
charts. The video
was a popular choice as it was #4 on the TRL
Top 10 countdown. Their U.S debut album Comin' Atcha sold over 300,000 copies and entered the US top 30 in July 1998. The group filmed a live show for a 60 minute Disney Channel
special, "Cleopatra in Concert," where they performed their biggest hits aboard the Disney cruise ship the "Disney Magic." The show also contained a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of the three sisters over a four-day Bahamas cruise.
Cleopatra were invited to support the Spice Girls
on the UK leg of their sell out Spiceworld Tour
playing to 150,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. They were also invited to perform at the Vatican
Christmas Carol Concert, by request of Pope John Paul II
, its an event that is broadcast to the world. Backed by a 100-piece orchestra
. They sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" and Silent Night
. The performance was later released on DVD
as 'All-Star Christmas - From the Vatican (2004)'. They covered
the Bee Gees
song "I've Gotta Get a Message to You
", renaming it "Gotta Get A Message To You", for the tribute album
of the same name. They were also asked to record a cover of the disco song "Right Back Where We Started From
" for An Extremely Goofy Movie
by Disney
.
, working with top record producer
s, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
, Dallas Austin
, Daryl Simmons
, Cutfather & Joe, and Stargate
. They shot their album cover with world famous photographer Markus Klinko, known for his award winning work on Mariah Carey
& Beyonce Knowles
's album covers.
They toured the U.S. in 2000 promoting the lead single off of Steppin Out, "U Got It
". They promoted the single on various television program
s including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Queen Latifah Show
, and as the new spokeswomen for cosmetics
firm, Covergirl. They sang the theme tune
for their new make-up line 'Triple Lipstick' and were featured in the U.S. television advertisement.
Cleopatra toured the U.S. with Brian McKnight
, Jessica Simpson
, Next
and Nelly
. Cleopatra moved on to tour Japan
and promoted their Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
produced Japanese single "Yes, The Party's Going Right". They were invited to perform a mini-concert for the Sultan of Brunei and his royal family.
However, changes within Warner
and everyone who was working on the Cleopatra project led to lack of promotion of their UK single, "Come and Get Me" which entered the UK Singles Chart at #29; the Steppin' Out release date for the UK was pushed back, and the album was eventually never released in the UK. The label wanted Cleo as a solo
artist
, and this led to the group's parting ways with Warner.
premiered Cleopatra's one hour Christmas Special for their new sitcom
. With a host of stars
including Ian Wright
, Steps (group), Another Level, Errol Brown
, Shane Richie
, cast members of Coronation Street
and The Gladiators to help launch the show, it was a ratings smash.
The series had two seasons: Season 1 "Comin' Atcha!"
and Season 2 In The House, and it was shown in numerous countries. Both seasons were number one in their time slots. The show was twenty minutes per episode and a mix of music and comedy. The plot followed the girls' lives on tour and at home with their family. The girls' would often perform one of their hits or a track from their album. Season two was slightly different as it featured a song off of their second album at the start and end of every episode. The girls' mother and younger sister
were featured in both seasons as themselves.
's, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time. They will appear in Living Tv's 'Pop Goes The Band' As of 2009 the members of Cleopatra have reformed and are working on a new album due to release sometime this year.
On November 17, 2009 Cleopatra performed a comeback show live at Embassy in London."We are here to reclaim our true position in the pop world," Cleo said. Yonah added: "Our natural connection as sisters is so much stronger, it shows in our music and live performances. We're hotter".
In 2010, the group re-collaborated.
But in November of 2011,Cleo is doing small singing slots on her own. Most recently in Manchester's restaurant and Jazz Bar, Bla Bla.
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
-selling, BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
and MOBO Awards
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
nominated, R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
/pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
from the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
whose members are sisters Cleo
Cleo Higgins
Cleo Higgins is an English R&B/soul and pop singer, dancer, songwriter and actress...
, Yonah, and Zainam Higgins.
The girls were signed to Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's Maverick
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Its debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number 3, and the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at #26.
Members
- Cleo HigginsCleo HigginsCleo Higgins is an English R&B/soul and pop singer, dancer, songwriter and actress...
- born Cleopatra Madonna Higgins, 30 April 1982, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. - Yonah Higgins - born Yonah Mawusi Higgins, 27 April 1984, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. - "Angel" Zainam Higgins - born Zainam Mandisa Talibah Venetta Higgins, 5 December 1980, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Comin' Atcha!
The first time the girls stepped on stage they were known as Cleopatra And The Attractions; at that point Cleo was the lead singer and her sisters were backing singersBacking vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
/dancers. They later dropped that name and became known as the band Cleopatra. Their debut single was "Cleopatra's Theme", which was taken from their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Comin' Atcha!, and it entered the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
at #3 giving them their first Top 5 hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
.
The next three singles - "Life Ain't Easy", the former Jackson 5 hit "I Want You Back
I Want You Back
"I Want You Back" was released in 1969 and in early 1970s became a number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, along with a b-side cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents...
" and "Thank Abba For The Music" - all followed the same success heading into the Top 5, gaining the girls BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
and MOBO Awards
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
nominations. They performed at the 1999 BRIT Awards alongside Steps, Tina Cousins
Tina Cousins
Tina Cousins is an English singer-songwriter and former fashion model. She has had five singles in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with others. She has also achieved popularity in Australia. She started her career as a model...
, B*Witched and Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
and were also nominated for 'Best British Newcomer'. Madonna signed Cleopatra to her Maverick label and introduced them to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Nickelodeon's 11th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, where they performed their U.S. debut single, "Cleopatra's Theme". This record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
was released shortly afterwards gaining them a #26 position on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart, and #16 in the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
charts. The video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was a popular choice as it was #4 on the TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
Top 10 countdown. Their U.S debut album Comin' Atcha sold over 300,000 copies and entered the US top 30 in July 1998. The group filmed a live show for a 60 minute Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
special, "Cleopatra in Concert," where they performed their biggest hits aboard the Disney cruise ship the "Disney Magic." The show also contained a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of the three sisters over a four-day Bahamas cruise.
Cleopatra were invited to support the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
on the UK leg of their sell out Spiceworld Tour
Spiceworld Tour
The Spiceworld Tour was a concert tour performed by the British Europop group the Spice Girls in support of their second album Spiceworld which was the soundtrack to their feature film Spiceworld: The Movie. The sell-out European/North American tour ran from February to August 1998, after which it...
playing to 150,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. They were also invited to perform at the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
Christmas Carol Concert, by request of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, its an event that is broadcast to the world. Backed by a 100-piece orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. They sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" and Silent Night
Silent Night
"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
. The performance was later released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as 'All-Star Christmas - From the Vatican (2004)'. They covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
song "I've Gotta Get a Message to You
I've Gotta Get a Message to You
"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" is a song recorded by The Bee Gees in 1968, which became their second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, and reached number eight on the U.S. pop chart....
", renaming it "Gotta Get A Message To You", for the tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
of the same name. They were also asked to record a cover of the disco song "Right Back Where We Started From
Right Back Where We Started From
"Right Back Where We Started From" is a song written by Pierre Tubbs and J. Vincent Edwards which was first recorded in the summer of 1975 by Maxine Nightingale for whom it was an international hit...
" for An Extremely Goofy Movie
An Extremely Goofy Movie
An Extremely Goofy Movie is a 2000 American direct-to-video animated film made by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Douglas McCarthy, it is the sequel to A Goofy Movie, featuring the return of characters from the television series Goof Troop...
by Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
.
Steppin' Out
Cleopatra moved onto their second album Steppin' OutSteppin' Out (Cleopatra album)
Steppin' Out is the second and last album to be released by Cleopatra. The album was released on August 22, 2000 by Maverick Records.The first single to be released from the album in the U.K was "Come And Get Me", U.S "U Got It and "Yes, This Party's Going Right" in Japan.Cleo Higgins was the main...
, working with top record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
, Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of his most notable clients include Michael Jackson, TLC, Boyz II Men, Pink, Monica, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Stacie Orrico, Another Bad Creation, Fishbone, Sugababes, Anastacia, Namie Amuro, Kim...
, Daryl Simmons
Daryl Simmons
Daryl Simmons is an American Grammy Award winning R&B songwriter, musician and record producer who is best known for his association with the LaFace Records production duo of Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds....
, Cutfather & Joe, and Stargate
Stargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
. They shot their album cover with world famous photographer Markus Klinko, known for his award winning work on Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
& Beyonce Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
's album covers.
They toured the U.S. in 2000 promoting the lead single off of Steppin Out, "U Got It
U Got It
"U Got It" is a 2000 single by U.K. girl-group Cleopatra, the second single from their second album, Steppin' Out. It was written and produced by Stargate and Cleo Higgins and was the only single from the album to be released as a single in the United States.The video for the song was the number...
". They promoted the single on various television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Queen Latifah Show
The Queen Latifah Show
The Queen Latifah Show is an American talk show hosted by Grammy Award winning female rap artist Queen Latifah. Aired in syndication, the series ran from September 1999 until August 2001.-Overview:...
, and as the new spokeswomen for cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
firm, Covergirl. They sang the theme tune
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for their new make-up line 'Triple Lipstick' and were featured in the U.S. television advertisement.
Cleopatra toured the U.S. with Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B/Pop musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet....
, Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
, Next
Next (band)
Next is an American R&B musical group, popular during the late 1990s. They are best known for their hit singles "Too Close" and "Wifey".-History:...
and Nelly
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...
. Cleopatra moved on to tour Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and promoted their Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
produced Japanese single "Yes, The Party's Going Right". They were invited to perform a mini-concert for the Sultan of Brunei and his royal family.
However, changes within Warner
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
and everyone who was working on the Cleopatra project led to lack of promotion of their UK single, "Come and Get Me" which entered the UK Singles Chart at #29; the Steppin' Out release date for the UK was pushed back, and the album was eventually never released in the UK. The label wanted Cleo as a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
artist
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, and this led to the group's parting ways with Warner.
Television sitcom
On Christmas Eve 1998 CITVCITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
premiered Cleopatra's one hour Christmas Special for their new sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
. With a host of stars
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
including Ian Wright
Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright, MBE is a retired English footballer turned television and radio personality.Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he has lifted the Premier League title and both major...
, Steps (group), Another Level, Errol Brown
Errol Brown
Errol Brown MBE is a singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of Hot Chocolate. He has British citizenship by marriage to Ginette and they live in The Bahamas...
, Shane Richie
Shane Richie
Shane Richie is an English actor, comedian, singer and media personality, known for his portrayal of the character Alfie Moon in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders.-Early life and career beginnings:...
, cast members of Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and The Gladiators to help launch the show, it was a ratings smash.
The series had two seasons: Season 1 "Comin' Atcha!"
Comin' Atcha! (TV Series)
In 1998 CITV premiered Cleopatra's one hour Christmas special for their brand new sitcom. With a host of stars to help launch the show it was a ratings smash. The show was twenty minutes per episode and followed the girls' lives on tour and at home with their family. The girls' mother and younger...
and Season 2 In The House, and it was shown in numerous countries. Both seasons were number one in their time slots. The show was twenty minutes per episode and a mix of music and comedy. The plot followed the girls' lives on tour and at home with their family. The girls' would often perform one of their hits or a track from their album. Season two was slightly different as it featured a song off of their second album at the start and end of every episode. The girls' mother and younger sister
were featured in both seasons as themselves.
Covergirl
Cleopatra are the first Black British group to have ever featured in their own Covergirl advertisement. They sang and featured in the Covergirl campaign across America promoting their 'Triple Lipstick' line. It was filmed on Miami's South Beach in 2000 and saw the girls on stage performing the theme song. The commercial was narrated by Cleo.Cleopatra in recent years
In 2005 the girls came together for a one off performance on ITV1ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time. They will appear in Living Tv's 'Pop Goes The Band' As of 2009 the members of Cleopatra have reformed and are working on a new album due to release sometime this year.
On November 17, 2009 Cleopatra performed a comeback show live at Embassy in London."We are here to reclaim our true position in the pop world," Cleo said. Yonah added: "Our natural connection as sisters is so much stronger, it shows in our music and live performances. We're hotter".
In 2010, the group re-collaborated.
But in November of 2011,Cleo is doing small singing slots on her own. Most recently in Manchester's restaurant and Jazz Bar, Bla Bla.
Albums
- Comin' Atcha! (1998) #20 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
- Steppin' OutSteppin' Out (Cleopatra album)Steppin' Out is the second and last album to be released by Cleopatra. The album was released on August 22, 2000 by Maverick Records.The first single to be released from the album in the U.K was "Come And Get Me", U.S "U Got It and "Yes, This Party's Going Right" in Japan.Cleo Higgins was the main...
(2000)
Singles
- "Cleopatra's Theme" (1998) #3 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, #26 U.S.Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... - "Life Ain't Easy" (1998) #4 UK
- "I Want You BackI Want You Back"I Want You Back" was released in 1969 and in early 1970s became a number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, along with a b-side cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents...
" (1998) #4 UK - "A Touch of Love" (1999) #24 UK
- "Thank ABBA for the MusicThank ABBA for the Music"Thank ABBA for the Music" is a medley of songs originally released by pop group ABBA, performed by Tina Cousins, Billie, Steps, Cleopatra and B*Witched. It peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 4 in April 1999...
" (with Steps, Tina CousinsTina CousinsTina Cousins is an English singer-songwriter and former fashion model. She has had five singles in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with others. She has also achieved popularity in Australia. She started her career as a model...
, B*Witched and BillieBillie PiperBillie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
) (1999) #4 UK - "Come and Get Me" (2000) #29 UK
- "U Got ItU Got It"U Got It" is a 2000 single by U.K. girl-group Cleopatra, the second single from their second album, Steppin' Out. It was written and produced by Stargate and Cleo Higgins and was the only single from the album to be released as a single in the United States.The video for the song was the number...
" (2000) U.S. - "Yes This Party's Going Right" (2001) Japan