As BBC's New Year's Eve Disco has arrived, we take a closer look at the life of chart-topping star Sophie Ellis-Bextor - from her famous husband to her success in Saltburn
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the chart-topping sensation, added some sparkle to BBC's New Year's Eve Disco on Tuesday night, when the singer took to the stage at 11.30pm, performing her hit songs before midnight and returning after the fireworks for a second round of dance anthems.
Sophie, who became an internet sensation with her Instagram kitchen discos during the pandemic, has been a shining star in the music industry for over two decades. Now 45, the West London native comes from a media background - her mother Janet was a former BBC TV presenter, and her father Robin Bextor is a filmmaker.
Sophie's journey to fame began when she was just 16, as the lead singer of rock band Theaudience. Her love for music was solidified after her time with the guitar-pop group.
"Until then, I'd been unsure what I wanted to do... but then I started singing and it just felt like it joined the dots for me in terms of all the things I loved," she told Thought Economics in 2023. Formed in 1996, Theaudience had a brief but successful run, reaching number 22 in the UK album charts with their debut release.
However, their rise was cut short when they split from their label, leaving Sophie's future in the music industry uncertain, reports the Mirror.
Reflecting on a pivotal moment in her career, she opened up saying: "The crucial bit came when I was 20 and we got dropped from our record deal, leaving us high and dry. That was when I thought, 'am I going to be someone who only wants to do music when it's all going well? And only when it's served to me on a plate? Or do I want to do this... no matter what."
Sophie's determination to stick with her musical dreams paid off big time. In 2001, she released her debut album, Read My Lips, which soared to the number two spot on the UK charts.
Her London roots didn't hold her back from international stardom, especially with her hit single Murder on the dance floor not just smashing the UK charts at number two but also making waves worldwide. The disco-pop anthem found its way back into the limelight this year, hitting the charts again after featuring in a steamy scene from Emerald Fennell's thriller Saltburn.
Barry Keoghan's naked dance routine in Saltburn, which premiered in November 2023, gave Murder on the dance floor a fresh lease of life. The track went viral on TikTok in January 2024, with celebs like Love Island's Molly-Mae hopping onto the trend, grooving to the infectious beat.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor has been living it up after her 23 year old banger made a surprise comeback, likening it to "like having a second honeymoon". Chatting on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, December 31, she spilled the tea on her track's wild ride since featuring in Saltburn.
The pop queen has had a blinder of a year, with surprises at every turn: "There were some things I knew I was doing this year and there were so many things that I wasn't expecting. I think there's a lot to reflect on. I've never done so many shows in my life. I've done about 110 gigs this year," she dished out. .
Sophie went on to add, "That's not just me, that's all my band and crew as well. Amazing. There's been some real highlights. It's an extraordinary thing to get to my stage in my career and to still be doing things, new excitement. So I've just wanted to really grab hold of that. And this is very much part of that as well."
2024 has seen Sophie smashing it at huge events like the BAFTAs and showing her face on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, but for anyone wondering if the songstress is single, sadly she'll have to disappoint as she 's been happily married to Richard Jones, the bass guru from The Feeling since 2005.
Their love story took flight way back in 2002 when Rich rocked up auditioning for Soph's tour band – fast forward three years to 2005, and it was wedding bells and forever afters. In a touching trip down memory lane with The Guardian in 2022, Richard gushed over his initial meeting with Sophie, already a sensation in the music world: "I was like, wow, look at this ethereal, beautiful woman that is way more beautiful in real life than I expected."
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