Javine Dionne Hylton (born 27 December 1981), often known simply as Javine, is an English singer and songwriter. She represented the UK at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

with " Touch My Fire". Hylton has also had a string of singles in the UK. Javine's cover version of "

You've Got a Friend "You've Got a Friend" is a 1971 song written by American singer, songwriter, and musician Carole King. It was first recorded by King and included on her second studio album, ''Tapestry'' (1971). Another well-known version is by James Taylor f ...

" was the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

to '' Garfield: The Movie'' in 2004.

Early life

Hylton was born in London and grew up in

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given ...

. From a young age, she had a passion for dance: "I didn't like singing. I started stage school at 10, because at my normal school, there were always fights. So I thought, what do I want to do? I want to dance." For two years, Hylton played Nala in a production of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'' in London's West End. Following the end of the run, she began writing songs and pursuing a career in music. She auditioned for ITV's '' Popstars: The Rivals'', a reality television talent show in which young hopefuls sought to be picked for a place in a new manufactured group. She was one of the last six contenders for a place in the girl group, but she lost out on a spot in what later became the chart-topping group

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

. She instead embarked on a solo singing career.

Recording career

In the summer of 2003, Hylton released her debut single " Real Things", which featured a sample of M.O.P.'s hit " Ante Up". The single charted in 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 4, and remains her biggest hit to date. Three further Top 20 hits from her debut album followed, " Surrender (Your Love)" (which sampled the Diana Ross hit "Surrender"), " Best of My Love" and a cover of Jade's " Don't Walk Away", a double A-side with a cover of Carole King's "

". Hylton's debut album, ''

Surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

'', was released after her third single in the summer of 2004. In spite of securing a songwriting partnership with Eg White, and record producers Stargate, along with the singles performing relatively well, her debut album only just managed to get into the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and as a result she was dropped by her

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

in late 2004, despite the moderate success of the album's singles that were released on their own. Hylton featured on

Richard X Richard Philips, better known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for arti ...

's 2003 album '' Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1''. Her collaboration with him, "You Used To", was due to be released as a single, but it was cancelled. In late 2003, she became an opening act for U.S.

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Nelly on the UK leg of his international tour. In October 2013, Hylton teamed up with DJs WAWA and M.A.R.K to release the track "Never". The song was met with widespread acclaim. Digital Spy called it an "uptempo club number", while in an 8/10 review

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', '' Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cr ...

labelled it a "belter".

Eurovision 2005

On 5 March 2005, Hylton won '' Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up'', the UK heat of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2005 The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...

, singing " Touch My Fire", co-written by her. The other contestants were the 1996 UK entrant

Gina G Gina G (born Gina Mary Gardiner, 3 August 1970) is an Australian singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song " Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The ...

, Andy Scott-Lee, the group Tricolore, and

Katie Price Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Price (''née'' Infield; born 22 May 1978) is an English media personality and model. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her glamour modelling work and had regular appearances on Page 3 in the British ...

. During the performance, tape used to hold her dress in place came loose, causing a '

wardrobe malfunction A wardrobe malfunction is a clothing failure that accidentally or intentionally exposes a person's intimate parts. It is different from deliberate incidents of indecent exposure or public flashing. Justin Timberlake first used the term when apol ...

'. Hylton went on to represent the UK in the final in

, reportedly suffering from a throat infection. With pre-final odds of 33/1, she finished with 18 points, in 22nd place, ahead of France and Germany. When " Touch My Fire" was released as a single, it became her fifth consecutive Top 20 hit, reaching Number 18 in the UK Singles Chart.

Other work

In 2004, Hylton was the face of

Dasani Dasani () is an American brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola Company, launched in 1999. It is one of many brands of Coca-Cola bottled water sold around the world. The product is filtered and bottled. Marketing United States Coca-C ...

water, but was dropped when the product was withdrawn from the UK market due to bad publicity. She has also appeared in Series 4 of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

programme '' The Games'' in 2006, which she went on to win. In a 2006 Christmas edition of ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hos ...

'' with Simon Amstell, the show was dedicated to the birthdays of both Jesus and Hylton, on account of her birthday being two days after Christmas. In 2007, she took part in

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

's ''

Celebrity Scissorhands ''Celebrity Scissorhands'' is a reality television show that is part of the BBC's '' Children in Need'' charity campaign, in which celebrities attempt to cut people's hair to raise money for the campaign while trained and watched by professional ...

''. In 2008, she was the first celebrity eliminated from ''

The Underdog Show ''The Underdog Show'' was a six-week television series presented by Julian Clary and his dog, Valerie. The series was produced by the independent production company Splash Medi Format The show on BBC2 featured celebrities Julia Sawalha, Anton du ...

''. In 2009, she made an uncredited guest appearance on the television show '' Skins''. In 2010, she appeared on ''Celebrity Come Dine with Me'' and came second overall. In 2012, Hylton was due to star as 'Lucretia MacEvil' in the UK touring production of ''

Disco Inferno "Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 fourth studio album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had limit ...

''; however the tour was cancelled. In the same year, Javine was a contestant on Celebrity Masterchef until being eliminated along with

Cheryl Baker Rita Maria Stroud (''née'' Crudgington; born 8 March 1954), known professionally as Cheryl Baker, is an English singer and television presenter. She was a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, who won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and now pe ...

Personal life

Hylton has a child with Michael Harvey, Jr., a daughter named Angel, born February 2008. Hylton has since had another child, a son. In March 2006, Hylton pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and was banned from driving for 18 months.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

Javine's entry on the BBC Eurovision site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hylton, Javine 1981 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the United Kingdom Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2005 British contemporary R&B singers Reality show winners People from Ladbroke Grove People from Kensington Singers from London 21st-century Black British women singers English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent Hylton, Javine Innocent Records artists