Zainam higgins biography

British girl group

Cleopatra
Cleopatra in (L–R): Yonah, Zainam and Cleo Higgins
Also known as	Cleopatra ZYC
Origin	Moss Side, Manchester, England
Genres
Years active	– – –
Labels
Members

Cleopatra were an English girl group, consisting of sisters Cleo, Zainam and Yonah Higgins.^[1] Their debut single, "Cleopatra's Theme" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 3,^[2] and the Billboard Hot at number ^[3]

Biography

Comin' Atcha!

The girl group were originally based in Manchester, England with sisters Cleo, Yonah, and Zainam Higgins.

At first they were known as Cleopatra and the Attractions. At that point Cleo was the lead singer with Yonah and Zainam serving as backup singers and dancers. They later dropped that name and became known as the band Cleopatra. Their debut single was "Cleopatra's Theme", which was taken from their debut album Comin' Atcha!, and it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 3 giving them their first Top 5hit single.^[1][4]

The next three singles—"Life Ain't Easy", a cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" and "Thank ABBA for the Music"—all followed the same success by reaching the top 5, gaining the girls BRIT Awards and MOBO Awards nominations.

They performed at the BRIT Awards and were nominated for Best British Newcomer. Madonna signed Cleopatra to her Maverick label and introduced them to the United States at Nickelodeon's 11th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, where they performed their debut single, "Cleopatra's Theme". It was released shortly afterwards, reaching number 26 on the BillboardHot , and number 16 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The video was also popular, peaking at number 4 on the TRL Top 10 countdown. Their debut album Comin' Atcha entered the US top 30 in July and sold over , copies. The group filmed a live show for a minute Disney Channel special, "Cleopatra in Concert", where they performed their biggest hits aboard the Disney cruise ship, Disney Magic.^[5] The show also contained a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of the three sisters over a four-day Bahamas cruise.

Cleopatra were invited to support the Spice Girls on the UK leg of their sell out Spiceworld Tour playing to , fans at Wembley Stadium.^[6] They were also invited to perform at the Vatican Christmas Carol Concert, by request of Pope John Paul II,^[7] an event which is broadcast around the world. Backed by a piece orchestra,^[8] they sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night".^[9] The performance was later released on DVD in as All-Star Christmas - From the Vatican.

They covered the Bee Gees song "I've Gotta Get a Message to You", renaming it "Gotta Get a Message to You", for the tribute album of the same name. They were also asked to record a cover of the disco song "Right Back Where We Started From" for An Extremely Goofy Movie by Disney.

Steppin' Out

Cleopatra moved onto their second album Steppin' Out, working with top record producers, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin, Daryl Simmons, Cutfather & Joe, and Stargate.

They shot their album cover with photographer Markus Klinko. They toured the US in promoting the lead single from Steppin Out, "U Got It". They promoted the single on various television programs including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Queen Latifah Show.^{[citation needed]}

Also as the new spokeswomen for cosmetics firm CoverGirl, they sang the theme tune for their new make-up line 'Triple Lipstick' television advertisement.

The advert, narrated by Cleo, was filmed on Miami's South Beach in and saw the girls on stage performing the theme song.

Now, 20 years since Cleopatra broke the mainstream, lead singer Cleo tells her story. The music video also became popular, peaking at number 4 on the TRL Top 10 countdown. Archived from the original on 15 August BPI : Silver [ 19 ].

They then moved on to tour Japan and promoted their Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced Japanese single "Yes, The Party's Going Right". They were invited to perform a mini-concert for the Sultan of Brunei and his royal family.^{[citation needed]}

However, changes within Warner and everyone who was working on the Cleopatra project led to lack of promotion of their UK single, "Come and Get Me" which entered the UK Singles Chart at #29; the Steppin' Out release date for the UK was pushed back, and the album was eventually never released in the UK.

The label wanted Cleo as a solo artist, and this led to the group's parting ways with Warner.^[10]

Television sitcom

On Christmas Eve , CITV premiered Cleopatra's one-hour Christmas Special for their new sitcom, with a host of stars to help launch the show. The series had two seasons: Season 1 Comin' Atcha! and Season 2, In the House.

The show was twenty minutes per episode and a mix of music and comedy. The plot followed the girls' lives on tour and at home with their family. Their mother and younger sister were featured in both seasons as themselves.^{[citation needed]}

Later works

In , the group came together for a one-off performance on ITV1's Hit Me, Baby, One More Time.

They later appeared on Living TV's Pop Goes the Band in On 17 November , Cleopatra performed a comeback show live at Embassy in London. As of , the band have yet to release any new music.^[11]

Cleo appeared as a contestant on series 2 of The Voice UK, exiting the show at the semi-finals.^[12][13]

Members

• Cleo Higgins – lead vocals
• Zainam Higgings – backing vocals
• Yonah Higgins – backing vocals

Discography

Cleopatra discography
Studio albums	2
Singles	8

Studio albums

Singles

References