England

1974

Jazz-inflected British dance diva Tina Cousins grew up singing, and earned her vocal chops by fronting a '40s-style big band group in her late teens. She spent her early twenties modeling and gigging with various bands as she worked on her demo tape, which made its way to dance producer Pete Waterman. Cousins recorded several singles with him, including the U.K. dance hit "Killin' Time." Sash! heard the single on the radio and invited Cousins to collaborate with him on the single "Mysterious Times," which was also a European dance chart success. Soon after, she released her debut full-length, Killing Time, which spawned another hit, "Pray." The album was released in the U.S. in mid-2000 by Republic Records. ~ Heather Phares