Francisca Urio (born February 6, 1981, in
Meiningen
Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021). , Thuringia,
East Germany[francisca-urion.de](_blank)
/ref>) is a German singer-songwriter and radio presenter of Afro-German
Afro-Germans (german: Afrodeutsche) or Black Germans (german: schwarze Deutsche) are people of Sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or residents of Germany.
Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupatio ...
heritage who lives in Berlin.
Personal life
Francisca Urio was born in Meiningen, a town in southern Thuringia but grew up in Berlin as the only child of her German mother Monica and her father Geoffrey from Tanzania, both architects who met while studying in Dresden. Her father's RnB, Soul and Pop music collection influenced her music taste from an early age. Her first stage experience was at pre-school age as an extra in a '' Porgy and Bess'' performance at the Berlin Theater des Westens. She attended the Fläming-Grundschule in 12159 Berlin-Friedenau and the Paul-Natorp-Gymnasium in 12161 Berlin. After finishing school with the Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
in 2000 she decided to pursue her singing career full-time.
She is engaged to socially deprived children and was patroness of the network Take-My-Hand e.V.
Music career
''Silvashado'' band
In 1996, Francisca Urio founded together with Priscilla Harris, N'gone Thiam and Boussa Thiam the band ''Silvashado'' in Berlin. They performed regularly in clubs in Berlin and at festivals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2002, the band took part at a performance in Dresden in front of the '' Sempera Opera House'' for eighty-thousand helpers in the 2002 100-year flood. The band toured and performed with singers like O-Town, Mary J. Blige, Ben,[Ben ''Hörproben Live'']
ASIN
Seal,[Seal ''One Night to Remember'']
ASIN
Mousse T.
Mustafa Gundogdu ( tr, Mustafa Gündoğdu ; born 2 October 1966), best known under his stage name Mousse T., is a German-Turkish DJ, record producer, film composer and judge on season 15 of '' Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German vers ...
,[Bild Online (6.2.2007)]
Was haben Profis bei den Superstars zu suchen?
Shakira, and Wyclef Jean[RTLmusik biography](_blank)
/ref> and featured on concert DVDs with Ben and Seal (''One Night to Remember
English singer and songwriter Seal has released ten studio albums, four live albums, two compilation albums, forty-three singles and four video albums.
From 1994 to 2016, Seal has had 13 singles that charted on the US Adult Contemporary
A ...
'', recorded live in Düsseldorf).
After first Boussa and later N'gone Thiam left the band, Urio and Harris continued as duo until their last concert in October 2006 when they started to concentrate on their solo careers.
''Deutschland sucht den Superstar''
Francisca Urio gained national recognition as contestant and 'Top 10' finalist in the 2007 German " Idol" version ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar
''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show ''P ...
'' (DSDS) broadcast by RTL. She was considered a unique talent, having the best voice and being the favorite in this competition, not only by the jury but also gaining acclamation by professional singers like the bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff.
On February 6, 2007, the German newspaper ''Bild
''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper ''Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...
'' appeared with an article accusing Francisca Urio and her friend Priscilla Harris (who was also a contestant at the casting show) to be professional singers, having already recorded CDs and are therefore not entitled to take part in the competition. However the accusations where quickly dismissed as the rules of the DSDS show only prohibit participants to have a current recording contract but not to have previous professional experience.
Despite the praise her performances received from the jury Francisca Urio was unexpectedly eliminated in the 4th motto show, which equally surprised the jury, the other candidates and the viewers. However, in an online voting with over hundred thousand votes organized by the newspaper ''Bild'' after the casting show was finished, Francisca Urio won the voting by a small margin ahead of the DSDS winner Mark Medlock
Mark Leon Medlock (born 9 July 1978) is a German singer and the winner of the season 4 of '' Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (DSDS), the German version of ''Pop Idol''.
Early life
Medlock is the elder of two siblings, born to an African-Americ ...
.
Solo career
In 2006, Francisca Urio toured through Germany with the musical show ''The Magic Night of Dancing Musicals'' in which she presented 5 songs as solo singer. Since 2003, she was a presenter at the Berlin radio station ''Jazz Radio
Jazz Radio (formerly ''Fréquence Jazz'') is a French radio station dedicated to jazz and soul that started in 1996.
Jazz Radio is based in Lyon, France, and broadcasts with around 45 frequencies throughout France and Monaco.
History
In January ...
''.
The radio station '' Spreeradio 105.5'' arranged for Francisca Urio to perform and record with the '' Filmorchester Babelsberg'' in May 2007.
Urio was invited to take part on May 22 and 23, 2007 in the semi-finals of the ''International Competition Of Young Singers of Popular Music'' " New Wave 2007" in Moscow and qualified for the finals which took place in Jūrmala, Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
from July 25 to 30, 2007. She reached the 5th place in the competition.
On July 7, 2007, Urio sung the American national anthem before the fight between IBF/IBO heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
champion Wladimir Klitschko and challenger Lamon Brewster in Cologne in front of an audience of 19500 spectators and millions of television viewers.
In 2008, she started recording her debut album with producer Dieter Falk
Dieter Falk (born 5 December 1959 in Klafeld-Geisweid, now Siegen) is a German music producer, keyboardist, Christian composer, and arranger.
Discography
* 1985: ''One Time''
* 1985: ''Instrumental Journey''
* 1987: ''Today''
* 1989: ''Dieter F ...
. The album called ''Alpha Girl'' was released on June 10, 2011.
In February 2010 she was the show-act at the Rosenball charity-event in Munich for the Tabaluga
Tabaluga is a German media franchise featuring a fictional green dragon, created by German rock musician Peter Maffay, children's songwriter Rolf Zuckowski and author Gregor Rottschalk. Artist Helme Heine drew the image of Tabaluga as it is curre ...
children foundation.
At the festival '' White Nights of St.Petersburg'' she won the prize for 'Best Newcomer 2011' for her album ''Alpha Girl''.
Discography
Album
* 2011 ''Alpha Girl'' (Nji-Music)
Singles
* 2001 Silvashado: ''Die Reise durch mein ich'' (Sony Music Entertainment/BERLIN RECORDS)
* 2010 ''It's a woman's world'' (NJI Media)
* 2010 ''Baila Commigo'' (NJI Media)
* 2011 ''We Are One'' (Nji-Music)
* 2011 ''Stomp your Feet'' (Nji-Music)
Sampler
* 2007 ''Power of Love'' (joined release of all finale participants of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'')
** '' If I Ain't Got You''
** '' If You Don't Know Me By Now'' (Francisca Urio and the DSDS-Top-10)
DVD appearances
* 2003 Ben ''Hörproben Live''
* 2005 Seal ''One Night to Remember''
External links
Official homepage
(in German)
*
*
Article with photos of the singer
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urio, Francisca
1981 births
Living people
People from Meiningen
German people of Tanzanian descent
German soul singers
Deutschland sucht den Superstar participants
German radio presenters
German women radio presenters
Urio, Francisca
21st-century German women singers