Pixie Lott

Pixie Lott
Pixie Lott at London Fashion Week, February 2010
Background information
Birth name	Victoria Louise Lott[1]
Born	12 January 1991 (1991-01-12) (age 20)[2] Bromley, London, England
Genres	Pop, soul, electropop, dance-pop, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Mercury, Interscope
Website	www.pixielott.com/

Pixie Lott (born Victoria Louise Lott; 12 January 1991)^[1] is an English singer-songwriter, dancer and actress. Her debut single "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" was released in June 2009^[3] and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart.^[4] Her second single "Boys and Girls", also topped the UK charts in September 2009. Her debut album Turn It Up was released in September 2009. It has so far reached number six on the UK Albums Chart, spawned five consecutive Top 20 singles, and has been certified double platinum after spending almost an entire year on the charts.

Lott has become a household name in the United Kingdom,^[5] and is often credited for her live performances^[6] and style.^[7] Lott appeared as a guest judge on The X Factor, covering for a pregnant Dannii Minogue.^[8]

Lott has released Boys and Girls as her debut US single on August 24, 2010. The release is set to coincide with the TV Premiere of her first film, Fred: The Movie. In January 2010, Lott was named one of 2010's "Faces to Watch" by US magazine, Billboard.^[9] Lott's album, Turn It Up, will be released in the US early 2011.^[10]

Early and personal life

Lott was born in Bromley, south east London.^[11] She lives in Brentwood, Essex, with her father, a stock broker, her mother, a housewife, and her older brother and sister.^[12][13] Her mother gave her the nickname Pixie because she was "such a tiny, cute baby who looked like a fairy".^[14]

After she started singing in her church school,^[14] Lott attended the Italia Conti Associates Saturday school in Chislehurst from 5 years old, she went onto the main school at 11 Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she was awarded a scholarship.^[12] At the age of 13, Lott moved with her family to Brentwood. During her time as a student she appeared in the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, and in BBC One's Celebrate the Sound of Music as Louisa von Trapp.^[3] At the age of 14, she was part of the chorus line, recording vocals on Roger Waters's opera Ça Ira.^[12] Despite missing school time because she was recording her album, Lott gained straight 'A' grades in her GCSEs.^[15]

On 5 February 2010, Lott visited a local school, Brentwood County High School as part of a Government programme to encourage greater interest in music in schools. She performed her latest hits, gave the students tips on performing and song writing, and also reiterated the importance of paying attention in other subjects as well.^[16]

Music career

Early career (2008–2009)

When Lott was fifteen, she sang for L. A. Reid after he heard a few of her demos.^[12] He then signed her to the Island Def Jam Music Group. After a change of managers a bidding war ensued, and Lott parted ways with the Island Def Jam Music Group, to sign with Mercury Records in the UK and to Interscope Records in the U.S.^[12] She formed a publishing deal, as a songwriter, with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in December 2007, while in the midst of writing and recording tracks for Turn It Up.

Lott played her first festival concert in the Big Top at the Isle of Wight Festival 2009, during her first full British tour, where she supported The Saturdays on The Work Tour.

Turn It Up (2009–present)

She released her debut single, "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)", on 8 June 2009. The video, directed by Trudy Bellinger, was released to MySpace in Lott's news section and has gained in excess of three million views on YouTube.^[17] It entered both the iTunes chart and UK Singles Chart at number one, after over 50,000 sales. Lott was quoted as being shocked at the success of the single.^[18] The song was also recorded in Simlish for Electronic Arts' The Sims 3.^[19] It spent one week at number one, eleven weeks within the top forty and eighteen weeks within the top seventy five.^[20] The single also had considerable success outside the UK, reaching the top forty in eleven other countries, including top ten peaks of number eight in Denmark and number ten in France. The single was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry on 28 August 2009 after selling over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.^[21]

On 15 August 2009, Lott was featured alongside Hoobastank, The All-American Rejects, Kasabian, Boys Like Girls, Estranged and Raygun as one of the live acts at Asia's very first MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia concert.^[22]

Lott's second lead single "Boys and Girls" was released on 6 September 2009 and topped the UK Singles Chart on 13 September 2009.^[23] During the week in which it reached number one, the single sold just under 50,000 copies.^[24] It spent nineteen consecutive weeks within the top seventy-five, including eight within the top forty, on the UK Singles Chart.^[25] The single has been accompanied by a music video and was directed by Diane Martel.^[26] And has was released in the US as her debut single on August 24, 2010.

On 14 September 2009, Lott's debut album, Turn It Up was released. This followed an intensive promotional tour where Lott visited the Asia-Pacific region to promote the album and 'Mama Do'. The album debuted at number six on the UK Album Chart. The album has sold over 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom and was certified Double-Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in August 2010.^[21] Lott has written a song for Alexandra Burke's debut album, Overcome, titled "You Broke My Heart" and a song for Girls Can't Catch titled "Happy Alone", which was featured as a free Christmas present download on their website. She also has written two tracks on Lisa Lois – the Dutch X Factor's winners album, they are titled "No Good For Me" (1st single off of album) and "Promises, Promises" (2nd single off of the album).

Lott's third single from the album was confirmed as "Cry Me Out" upon the release of the previous single and the single was later confirmed for physical release on 23 November 2009.^[27] The music video was directed by Jake Nava (director of recent videos for Beyoncé, Leona Lewis and Shakira) and was shot in Cuba.^[28] The fourth single, "Gravity", was released in the UK on 8 March 2010, following the premiere of its video on Channel 4 on 6 February 2010. Lott won two MTV EMA Awards MTV Europe Music Awards 2009, Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Push Artist (best break through artist) ^[29]

Lott won a Cosmopolitan 2009 Ultimate Women Award for Ultimate Newcomer.^[30] In 2009, Lott won The Caron Keating Breakthrough Talent Award at The Variety Club Awards.^[31]

"The Way The World Works", from Lott's debut record was used in the U.S.-produced medical drama Private Practice.^[32] Lott was chosen as the face of Nokia's "Illuvial Pink Collection" mobile phone range, saying "I spend loads of time on my mobile, so it's important to me that it looks good. The phones in the range all look fab – they're stylish and yet still girlie."^[33] Lott was nominated for British Breakthrough Act, British Female Solo Artist and British Single at the 2010 BRIT Awards.^[34] It has been confirmed that Lott will be the opening act of Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth Tour in the UK 7–26 May 2010.^[35] Lott will also be on the main stage at the V Festival in August 2010.

Lott has been cast as Judy, Fred Figglehorn's crush, in the film Fred: The Movie, starring alongside Lucas Cruikshank. The comedy is scheduled to be released in September 2010.^{[36][37][38][39]}

The fifth single from Lott's album, the title song "Turn It Up", was released on 7 June 2010.^[40][41]

Lott recorded a song for the film Street Dance 3D, entitled "Live For The Moment", which is also featured on the soundtrack. On 23 May 2010, Lott performed at the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Bangor, North Wales, and on 4 July 2010 she performed at T4 On The Beach in Weston-super-Mare.^[42][43]

Turn It Up (US version)

"Turn It Up" is due to be released in the U.S. during later in the year with a significantly updated track listing.^[44] For the new "repackaged" version Lott has recorded duets with Jason Derulo and Joe Jonas.^[45][46]

Songwriter Chris Braide confirmed in an interview with HitQuarters that he has written three new songs for the repackaged album together with Cathy Dennis.^[45]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Pixie Lott performing at the launch of Blackpool Illuminations in Blackpool, Lancashire on 4 September 2009

Discography

Studio Albums

• 2009: Turn It Up

Tours

As the headline act

• 2010 - The Crazycats Tour

As a special guest

• 2010 - Rihanna - Last Girl on Earth Tour (UK Dates)

As supporting act

• 2009 - The Saturdays - The Work Tour (Selected Dates)

References

External links

• Official website
• Pixie Lott at Allmusic
• Pixie Lott at the Internet Movie Database
• Pixie Lott channel at YouTube
• Pixie Lott at Last.fm