Zena McNally
Encyclopedia
Zena McNally was a co-presenter of the breakfast show on the BBC Radio 1Xtra
alongside Trevor Nelson
. She is a former member of the band Mis-Teeq
, and also a solo singer. McNally is now living in the United States
with her husband, Chicago Fire Soccer Club defender Cory Gibbs
.
, Beverley Knight
and Soul 4 Real) Although McNally loved to dance her ambition was always to become a singer and entertainer.
Deciding to leave her hometown of Birmingham for London in 1999, McNally marked the beginning of her professional career. After answering an audition she became a member of the girl group Mis-Teeq, and they later had their first hit "Why" in 2001. Shortly after the release of "Why", McNally left the group with plans to embark on a solo career, signing a recording contract
with Mercury Records
in 2002.
For the best part of a year McNally was recording most of her debut album
in Atlanta, Georgia
. Whilst there her album brought about a range of collaborations with some of the States hottest producers such as: RedZone (B2K - Uh huh, Mýa
- Case of the Ex, Blu Cantrell
), Anthony Dent (Survivor Destinys Child), Swizz Beatz, Focus, Grammy Award winning Kandi Burress - formally of Xscape and Bobby Brown
. Such liaisons also had her feature in videos for Ja Rule
feat. Bobby Brown, Jazze Pha feat. Cee Lo, Jagged Edge, Ludacris
and Big Boi
of OutKast
.
McNally released two singles from her debut album All of Me in 2003/2004 on Mercury Records, which received good reviews in the urban press. Her second single "Been Around the World" featuring Vybz Kartel and Beenie Man
was a hit on urban radio stations up and down the country and the video gained heavy rotation on MTV Base
, MTV Hits
, KISS TV
and Channel U
; but failed to cross over into the UK mainstream market.
After releasing "Been Around the World", she was approached by Avex Records in Japan, who signed and released her debut album All Of Me in 2005 in Japan and south-east Asia, supported by the third single: "All Of Me". McNally then continued to work in Japan doing promotional work for the release of "All Of Me", which included supporting Beenie Man on Tour, and a national radio tour.
In 2006 McNally presented her own Entertainment show In The MIXX on Sky TV in the UK. She interviewed artists including The Game, Cassie, Neyo, and Akon, and actors ranging from Penélope Cruz to Denzel Washington.
After leaving In The MIXX in 2007, McNally was approached by BBC Radio 1Xtra
to co-present their new early morning Breakfast show alongside Trevor Nelson. The duo interviewed celebrity guests such as Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Neyo, Lil Wayne, Reggie Bush, Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige and Jennifer Lopez.
She also presented on Channel 4
's web show Bite from 2007 to 2008. The show was shown every Tuesday on the Channel 4 website.
, on 4 July 2008 in a ceremony held in Miami, Florida
. Her mother is Maltese
. Shortly after their wedding, Gibbs was relocated to MLS Colorado Rapids soccer team, and McNally left the 1Xtra Breakfast Show and moved to the States with her husband. Zena is now Director of GibbsWorld Realty, a property investment and real estate company, and GibbsWorld Photography.
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
alongside Trevor Nelson
Trevor Nelson
Trevor Nelson MBE is an English DJ and presenter.Born in Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, he attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School in Cowper St, Islington, London EC2 and Westminster Kingsway College...
. She is a former member of the band Mis-Teeq
Mis-Teeq
Mis-Teeq are a British R&B girl group, comprising singers Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington. Originally a quartet which included Zena McNally, the group was formed in 1999 and released three major studio albums and seven consecutive UK top ten singles, including international hits...
, and also a solo singer. McNally is now living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with her husband, Chicago Fire Soccer Club defender Cory Gibbs
Cory Gibbs
Cory Gibbs is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.-College and amateur:...
.
Career
McNally always loved to sing and dance and dreamt of being in the Entertainment industry from a young age. McNally started out as a backing dancer at the age of 16 in her hometown of Birmingham, dancing for various artists who performed in the city (Busta RhymesBusta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
, Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight MBE is a British soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer who released her debut album in 1995. Heavily influenced by soul greats such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released six studio albums to date...
and Soul 4 Real) Although McNally loved to dance her ambition was always to become a singer and entertainer.
Deciding to leave her hometown of Birmingham for London in 1999, McNally marked the beginning of her professional career. After answering an audition she became a member of the girl group Mis-Teeq, and they later had their first hit "Why" in 2001. Shortly after the release of "Why", McNally left the group with plans to embark on a solo career, signing a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
in 2002.
For the best part of a year McNally was recording most of her 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...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Whilst there her album brought about a range of collaborations with some of the States hottest producers such as: RedZone (B2K - Uh huh, Mýa
Mya
-A person:* Bo Mya , Chief Commander of the Karen National Union* Mýa , American R&B singer-songwriter and actress** Mýa , a 1998 album by Mýa-A code:* Burmese language, ISO 639-3 code is mya* Moruya Airport's IATA code...
- Case of the Ex, Blu Cantrell
Blu Cantrell
Blu Cantrell is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter.-Biography:Tiffany Cobb was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1976. Her father was a Narragansett Native American and Cape Verdean, and played in the National Basketball Association...
), Anthony Dent (Survivor Destinys Child), Swizz Beatz, Focus, Grammy Award winning Kandi Burress - formally of Xscape and Bobby Brown
Bobby Brown
Robert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
. Such liaisons also had her feature in videos for Ja Rule
Ja Rule
Jeffrey Atkins , better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor.Born in Hollis, Queens, he began his career in the group Cash Money Click and debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla"...
feat. Bobby Brown, Jazze Pha feat. Cee Lo, Jagged Edge, Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
and Big Boi
Big Boi
Antwan André Patton , better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, song-writer, record producer and actor, best known for being a member of American hip hop duo OutKast alongside André 3000. His work in the duo has produced six studio albums. During the duo's hiatus, he and André...
of OutKast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
.
McNally released two singles from her debut album All of Me in 2003/2004 on Mercury Records, which received good reviews in the urban press. Her second single "Been Around the World" featuring Vybz Kartel and Beenie Man
Beenie Man
Anthony Moses Davis , better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Grammy award winning Jamaican reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall".-Biography:...
was a hit on urban radio stations up and down the country and the video gained heavy rotation on MTV Base
MTV Base
MTV Base is a 24-hour music and general entertainment channel from MTV Networks International. The channel focuses primarily on music from the world of R'n'B, hiphop, reggae, soul and urban. The MTV Base brand first launched in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland on July 1, 1999,...
, MTV Hits
MTV Hits
MTV Hits is an American music video channel that debuted on May 1, 2002. The format of the network resembles that of the classic MTV before the additional of other programming to that network in the 1990s and their slow decline of music video programming...
, KISS TV
Kiss TV
Kiss TV is a commercial music television channel from Box Television, available on the Sky and Virgin Media digital television platforms. The playlist predominantly consists of mainstream hip-hop, Dance and R&B...
and Channel U
Channel U
Channel U may refer to these television channels:*MediaCorp TV Channel U, a Chinese-language channel in Singapore*SPH MediaWorks Channel U, a predecessor of the above channel until 2005...
; but failed to cross over into the UK mainstream market.
After releasing "Been Around the World", she was approached by Avex Records in Japan, who signed and released her debut album All Of Me in 2005 in Japan and south-east Asia, supported by the third single: "All Of Me". McNally then continued to work in Japan doing promotional work for the release of "All Of Me", which included supporting Beenie Man on Tour, and a national radio tour.
In 2006 McNally presented her own Entertainment show In The MIXX on Sky TV in the UK. She interviewed artists including The Game, Cassie, Neyo, and Akon, and actors ranging from Penélope Cruz to Denzel Washington.
After leaving In The MIXX in 2007, McNally was approached by BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
to co-present their new early morning Breakfast show alongside Trevor Nelson. The duo interviewed celebrity guests such as Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Neyo, Lil Wayne, Reggie Bush, Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige and Jennifer Lopez.
She also presented on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's web show Bite from 2007 to 2008. The show was shown every Tuesday on the Channel 4 website.
Solo singles
| | Year | | Title | | Peak positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 ... |
IRE Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
U.S. 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... |
AUS Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
BEL Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
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... |
||
| 2003 | "Let's Get This Party Started" | 69 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004 | "Been Around the World" | 44 | — | — | — | — | — |
Personal life
Zena married the American international soccer player and current Chicago Fire Soccer Club player, Cory GibbsCory Gibbs
Cory Gibbs is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.-College and amateur:...
, on 4 July 2008 in a ceremony held in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. Her mother is Maltese
Maltese people
The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Shortly after their wedding, Gibbs was relocated to MLS Colorado Rapids soccer team, and McNally left the 1Xtra Breakfast Show and moved to the States with her husband. Zena is now Director of GibbsWorld Realty, a property investment and real estate company, and GibbsWorld Photography.