* En anglais uniquement
Outspoken pop vocalist
Melanie Blatt was the founding member of one of the most successful girl groups of the '90s,
All Saints. Born in Camden, London in 1975 to a French mother and English father,
Blatt attended the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School at the same time as
Denise Van Outen,
Emma Bunton, and future bandmate
Nicole Appleton. After performing in Drive, a short-lived band featuring U.S. actress Julienne Davis, and providing backing vocals for dub-funk outfit
Dreadzone, she met songwriter
Shaznay Lewis and, along with Simone Rainford, formed
All Saints 1.9.7.5. Following the departure of Rainford, the pair recruited sisters
Nicole and
Natalie Appleton, dropped the numbers from the group's name, and signed a record deal with London Records.
All Saints went on to become
the Spice Girls' biggest rivals, scoring five number ones, two multi-platinum albums, and two Brit Awards before disbanding in 2001. Following collaborations with
Artful Dodger on the Top Ten hit "TwentyFourSeven" and hip-hop outfit
Outsidaz on "I'm Leavin'," she released her first solo single in 2003, the
Xenomania-produced "Do Me Wrong," and began work on her debut album, Shine, with
Aqualung's
Matt Hales. However, following the failure of her second single, "See Me," to enter the Top 75, plans for its release were shelved and she parted company with her label. In 2006, she reunited with the rest of
All Saints to record third album
Studio 1, and has since abandoned a music career to concentrate on her TV work.
Blatt also appeared in the critically panned
Dave Stewart gangster film, Honest, and on ITV2 covering the Brit Awards and participating in the network's music chat show The Hot Desk. ~ Jon O'Brien