Jodie Melanie Connor (born 8 May 1981) is an English singer, songwriter and

Goodwill ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a publ ...

. Connor's first number-one charted song was as a guest vocalist on

Roll Deep Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel. The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, "Good Times" and " Green Lig ...

's number-one single " Good Times". She was later signed by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

and

Takeover Entertainment Takeover Entertainment was a British entertainment company. The organization operates an independent record label, talent agency, a music production company, as well as its own music publishing house. The company was founded in 2006 and is run b ...

and released her debut solo single " Now or Never" on 16 January 2011, which peaked at number 14. A second single, " Bring It" featuring

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo studio albums, '' Star in the Hood'' (2 ...

was released on 20 February 2011 following its first play on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and debuted at number 11 on the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

. Connor's latest release was in 2018 on Solo Suspex's single “Back To You”.

Music career

Early career

Early in Connor's career, she attended

Saddleworth School Saddleworth School is a community secondary school in Diggle, England, for students in years 7–11. History First built in 1911 as a junior and infants school, Saddleworth School was expanded to a secondary school sometime between 1960 ...

for her high school education before attending

Oldham College Oldham College, is a further education college based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. History Oldham College was established in 1893 after a donation from the Platt family, a famous textile machinery manufacturer. This led to the institu ...

where she studied performing arts and graduated. Connor worked as receptionist in a sports club by day and gigged and performed in the evenings and on weekends. In 2003, Connor appeared as a contestant on the second series of the hit British television talent show ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

''. She was an early favourite of the judges, and made it to the final fifty of the competition, earning her the chance to perform live to the nation, but was eliminated after failing to finish in the top two in her group, instead placing fourth of ten. Connor was given a second chance by the judges, and was invited back for the Wildcard round, but again was unsuccessful in making it through to the next round, and was eliminated for good.

2010–present: Breakthrough and first studio album

Connor returned to spotlight in 2010, when she featured on

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

collective

's comeback single " Good Times"; which she helped to co-write. On 2 May 2010, the single debuted on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 1,Roll Deep claim first ever UK number one
'' Digital Spy'', 2 May 2010. where it remained for three consecutive weeks.Ex-Pop Idol contestant Jodie Connor set for chart success eight years on
''

Oldham Advertiser The ''Oldham Advertiser'' is a weekly newspaper which serves the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Established in 1982, it is owned by Reach plc, as part of MEN Media which contains a collection of newspapers across Nor ...

'', 5 January 2011. The single not only marked Connor's first chart performance, but also Roll Deep's first top 10 hit. Connor then continued her breakthrough, appearing on videos "Electric Boogaloo (Find a Way)" and "Higher State" by

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

and Bailey respectively. Following the success of Connor's breakthrough, she was signed to

and

,Artists – Jodie Connor
''

''. spending the remainder of 2010 recording material for her debut album. On 16 January 2011, Connor released her debut single, " Now or Never" featuring Wiley, in the UK, which debuted at number 14 on the

and number 6 on the

. On 20 February 2011, Connor released her second single, " Bring It" featuring

, also in the UK, which debuted at number 11 on the UK R&B Chart, following its first play on

. In December 2010, Connor announced that she is to be spending time between

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

working in the studio with

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

Songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

Makeba Riddick Makeba Riddick-Woods (also known as "Girl Wonder") is an American singer-songwriter who has been active since 2005. She is originally from West Baltimore, Maryland, US. Currently she is managed by Jay-Z's record label and production house, Ro ...

and James Fauntleroy II on her debut album, and that the album would be scheduled for release in the fourth-quarter of 2012. The third single from the album entitled " Take You There" and featuring American rapper Busta Rhymes was released on 29 July 2012.Jodie Connor (No 925)
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Thursday, 7 December 2010. Retrieved Thursday, 14 September 2011.

Other ventures

In February 2011, Connor was announced as the new face of

's '' Star in the Hood'' female clothing line. In March 2011, Connor was appointed as a

goodwill ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a publ ...

for Prince Charles'

The Prince's Trust The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

Personal life

Connor's family are of

Afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

- Barbadian/

White Barbadian White Barbadians or European Barbadians are Barbadian citizens or residents of European descent. The majority of European Barbadians are descended from English, Portuguese, and Scottish settlers and Irish indentured servants and settlers, who ...

descent. Her mother is named Kathleen. Connor lived in

Shaw and Crompton Shaw and Crompton is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which contains the town of Shaw and lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines. It is located north of Oldham, south ...

. She has two sons, one born in 2014 and one born in November 2016.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Music videos

Cameo appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Jodie Living people 1981 births Takeover Entertainment artists English lyricists English people of Barbadian descent Pop Idol contestants People from Oldham 21st-century Black British women singers People from Shaw and Crompton English women pop singers