Rox (singer)
Encyclopedia
Rox is the stage name of English
soul
singer-songwriter Roxanne Tataei.
, Rox is half-Jamaican (Mother) and half-Iranian (Father). She cites living with her grandparents and being a regular churchgoer as her introduction to singing.
By age 10, Rox was a part of the National Youth Music Theatre
and travelled across Britain appearing in various productions with them. By her 14th birthday she had her first guitar and was experimenting with several musical genres. She rehearsed her music at Scream Studios in Croydon
.
Rox's musical influences include Lauryn Hill
, Joni Mitchell
, Sade
, Mary J. Blige
and Alanis Morissette
.
in November 2008. Since signing, she has appeared on tours with the likes of Mark Ronson
and Daniel Merriweather
and on such television shows as Later... with Jools Holland. She has also appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
with Wiley
and BBC Electric Proms
with Nitin Sawhney
, whose London Undersound
album she was one of the guest collaborators.
Rox's debut single, "No Going Back", was released on seven-inch vinyl on 15 December 2009. She told Steve Lamacq
on his Radio 2
show that the song is about "leaving a relationship and not wanting to go back to that situation."
Rox's next single, "My Baby Left Me", was released on 15 March 2010 and made the BBC Radio 2
A-List and has received other critical success. It debuted at Number 91 in the United Kingdom in the week of its release. She also entered the Dutch Top 40
on 10 April 2010 at Number 35, moving to a new peak of 27 a week later.
Rox released her debut album, Memoirs
, on 7 June 2010, which features the previously released singles and 10 other tracks. The album was partially recorded in New Jersey
in April 2009 with Commissioner Gordon (of Lauryn Hill fame) but mainly in London with Jay-Z
and Lupe Fiasco
producer Al Shux
.
Her third single, "I Don't Believe", was released at the same time as her album. The music video was posted by Rox on her official Twitter
on 4 May 2010. It was also used in an advertising campaign by Rimmel
.
"Next Big Thing" and in February played a headlining performance at London's Jazz Café
on the "Next Big Thing Night".
Rox was also featured in The Guardian
, Sunday Times and The Independent
as an act to watch out for in the coming year.
Rox was featured as The Guardian
's "New Band of the Day" on 23 November 2009. She also made the longlist of the BBC
's Sound of 2010
. As well as MTV UK's "10 for 10" list.
Support for Rox in the British Press has been widespread, with NME
calling Memoirs "Back to Black, this time with feeling" and Music Week
citing her as "one of 2010's most exciting new prospects".
The News of the World
labelled the single "My Baby Left Me" as "stunning" and awarded it a five star review.
Mike Driver, writing for the BBC about her debut album was effusive about the singer but complained about the inconsistency of the album overall, saying that it "showcases a young singer bursting with potential" but that "like many a debut, Memoirs doesn’t know quite where to settle style-wise, veering from excellence to excruciation. Heart Ran Dry retains the acoustic element of the preceding Forever Always Wishing, but is more sketchy X Factor audition than a track worthy of making any album’s final cut.".
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer-songwriter Roxanne Tataei.
Early life
Born in NorburyNorbury
Norbury is a town in the London Borough of Croydon, also crossing the London Borough of Merton. It shares the postcode London SW16 with nearby Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross.-History:...
, Rox is half-Jamaican (Mother) and half-Iranian (Father). She cites living with her grandparents and being a regular churchgoer as her introduction to singing.
By age 10, Rox was a part of the National Youth Music Theatre
National Youth Music Theatre
The National Youth Music Theatre or NYMT is a UK organisation for young people in the field of musical theatre, based in London. It runs acting auditions, workshops, and musical theatre productions...
and travelled across Britain appearing in various productions with them. By her 14th birthday she had her first guitar and was experimenting with several musical genres. She rehearsed her music at Scream Studios in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
.
Rox's musical influences include Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
and Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
.
Music career
After forming her first band in 2007, Rox attracted interest from a variety of labels before signing with Rough TradeRough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
in November 2008. Since signing, she has appeared on tours with the likes of Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
and Daniel Merriweather
Daniel Merriweather
Daniel Paul Merriweather is an Australian R&B singer-songwriter who has worked as a featured vocalist for other artists and has a solo career. His guest vocals are included on album tracks by Disco Montego, Mark Ronson and Phrase...
and on such television shows as Later... with Jools Holland. She has also appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
with Wiley
Wiley (rapper)
Richard Kylea Cowie , better known by his stage name Wiley is a prolific British music producer, MC and recording artist, and rapper with roots from Trinidad...
and BBC Electric Proms
BBC Electric Proms
The BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms was an October music festival in London run by the BBC for five years, 2006-2010...
with Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
, whose London Undersound
London Undersound
Nitin Sawhney's eighth studio album London Undersound released on , by Cooking Vinyl.It includes collaborations with Paul McCartney, Natty, Imogen Heap, Reena Bhardwaj, Ojos de Brujo, Anoushka Shankar, Tina Grace, Faheem Mazhar, Aruba Red, and Roxanne Tataei.-Reception:Reviewed by the BBC's Chris...
album she was one of the guest collaborators.
Rox's debut single, "No Going Back", was released on seven-inch vinyl on 15 December 2009. She told Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
on his Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
show that the song is about "leaving a relationship and not wanting to go back to that situation."
Rox's next single, "My Baby Left Me", was released on 15 March 2010 and made the BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
A-List and has received other critical success. It debuted at Number 91 in the United Kingdom in the week of its release. She also entered the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
on 10 April 2010 at Number 35, moving to a new peak of 27 a week later.
Rox released her debut album, Memoirs
Memoirs (Rox album)
Memoirs is the debut album by British singer Rox.- Track listing :- Charts :...
, on 7 June 2010, which features the previously released singles and 10 other tracks. The album was partially recorded in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in April 2009 with Commissioner Gordon (of Lauryn Hill fame) but mainly in London with Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...
producer Al Shux
Al Shux
Alexander William Shuckburgh is a music producer and songwriter known for producing the song "Empire State of Mind". He is also credited as Alexander Shuckburgh, Al Shuckburgh, Al Shux, or Shux....
.
Her third single, "I Don't Believe", was released at the same time as her album. The music video was posted by Rox on her official Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
on 4 May 2010. It was also used in an advertising campaign by Rimmel
Rimmel
Rimmel is a cosmetics brand, now owned by Coty, Inc.. The House of Rimmel was originally founded by Eugene Rimmel in 1834 in Regent Street, London, UK....
.
Reviews
Rox was tipped for success in 2010, being selected as HMV'sHMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
"Next Big Thing" and in February played a headlining performance at London's Jazz Café
Jazz Café
The Jazz Café is a music venue in Parkway in Camden Town, London, England. It opened in 1990, in the former premises of Barclays Bank, and has been run by Mean Fiddler Music Group since 1992, now a subsidiary of the MAMA Group.-History:...
on the "Next Big Thing Night".
Rox was also featured in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Sunday Times and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as an act to watch out for in the coming year.
Rox was featured as The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
's "New Band of the Day" on 23 November 2009. She also made the longlist of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Sound of 2010
Sound of... (BBC poll)
Sound of... is an annual poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003. A top 10 list is published each January.-Winners:-Sound of 2009:...
. As well as MTV UK's "10 for 10" list.
Support for Rox in the British Press has been widespread, with NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
calling Memoirs "Back to Black, this time with feeling" and Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
citing her as "one of 2010's most exciting new prospects".
The News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
labelled the single "My Baby Left Me" as "stunning" and awarded it a five star review.
Mike Driver, writing for the BBC about her debut album was effusive about the singer but complained about the inconsistency of the album overall, saying that it "showcases a young singer bursting with potential" but that "like many a debut, Memoirs doesn’t know quite where to settle style-wise, veering from excellence to excruciation. Heart Ran Dry retains the acoustic element of the preceding Forever Always Wishing, but is more sketchy X Factor audition than a track worthy of making any album’s final cut.".
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The 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... |
NL Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
FRA France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
ITA Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
||||||||
| 2010 | Memoirs Memoirs (Rox album) Memoirs is the debut album by British singer Rox.- Track listing :- Charts :...
|
97 | 37 | 2 | 11 | ||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK 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 ... |
NL Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
ITA Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
|||
| 2009 | "No Going Back" | — | — | — | — | Memoirs |
| 2010 | "My Baby Left Me" | 91 | 12 | 35 | 11 | |
| "I Don't Believe" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rocksteady" | — | — | — | — | ||
External links
- ROX FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...