Sabrina Fredrica Washington (born 27 October 1978) is a British singer who originally rose to fame as the lead singer of garage/R&B girl group Mis-Teeq.
Whilst in Mis-Teeq, the singer notched up seven UK top 10 hits and two top 10, double platinum albums. As part of Mis-Teeq, Sabrina has sold over 12 million records worldwide.
In the US, the group had had two top 5 hits on the US Billboard Dance Charts with "One Night Stand" peaking at No. 4 and "Scandalous" peaking at No. 2. Their eponymous album also reached No. 4 on the US Heatseekers charts and won the Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Album.
Following the group disbanding, Sabrina became a television personality, becoming the winner of Celebrity Scissorhands in 2008 and appeared as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2009, where she was one of the last women standing, finishing sixth. In April 2010, Washington released her debut solo single "OMG (Oh My Gosh)", which topped the charts throughout Europe and spent three weeks at No. 1 in Poland. In 2012, she launched her own record label entitled Swash Music, where she released Hit it Hard and Make It Hot, both of which also went to No. 1 in Poland and throughout the rest of Europe.
In October 2019, after a hiatus, she made a music comeback releasing two singles called "Gone" and "My Life", which was premiered on BBC Radio 1Xtra.
Biography
Washington was born in Harlesden, north-west London, on 27 October 1978. She always had a big passion for music and would listen regularly to her parents' music collection as a child; this is where she believes her ability to sing and rap came from. Washington's career began in 1999, when she met Alesha Dixon and they joined Dance Attic (a popular dance class school in Fulham, west London), soon becoming a duo. In 2000, when both Alesha and Sabrina were auditioning, they met with Su-Elise Nash and formed a trio. They were signed to Inferno Records with the addition of a new member, Zena McNally, and became the popular UK garage/R&B girl group Mis-Teeq. However, after the release of their debut single "Why?", Zena McNally left the band to pursue her own solo career, and Mis-Teeq were signed to another record deal with Telstar Records.
Sabrina, Alesha, and Su-Elise released their debut album, Lickin' on Both Sides, in 2001. It featured the hits "All I Want", "One Night Stand", "B with Me" and "Roll On / This Is How We Do It". In 2003, they released their second album, Eye Candy featuring hits such as "Scandalous", "Can't Get it Back" and "Style". Following the two albums, they toured the United States in 2004 and released their American self-titled debut album Mis-Teeq, a compilation of the two albums Lickin' on Both Sides and Eye Candy.
In 2005, they released a greatest hits compilation that contained all of the hits they released on both audio and video from Lickin' on Both Sides and Eye Candy. The last song they recorded together was "Shoo Shoo Baby", a song that was released for the Disney animated film Valiant.
In October 2008, Washington joined other celebrities on Celebrity Scissorhands. She got through to the finals and on 13 November, was crowned the winner. Washington took part in ITV's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2009, but was voted out of the jungle on 1 December 2009 leaving the remaining five camp mates.
Career
2000–2002: Mis-Teeq and Lickin On Both Sides
Alesha Dixon and Sabrina Washington soon met Su-Elise Nash, and together they formed a trio. They were then signed to Sub Pop by Pat Travers, who went on to sign them to Telstar Records with the addition of a new member, Zena McNally, and became Mis-Teeq.
After months of recording – including sessions with producers Norwegian duo Stargate, Ed Case, Blacksmith, Rishi Rich, and Ceri Evans – Mis-Teeq finally released their debut single "Why?". Co-written and produced by David Brant, a remix version by Matt "Jam" Lamont soon became a success in the underground UK garage scene, and as a result a second music video for the song was filmed and released. While "Why" became a hit on the UK Singles Chart, with a peak position of No. 8, McNally decided to leave the line-up in spring 2001.
The three remaining women went on to release their second single "All I Want" in June 2001, co-written and originally produced by David Brant and produced and remixed by Ceri Evans a.k.a. Sunship. The song topped the success of the trio's debut single and became a No. 2 hit in the UK, simultaneously entering the Top 30 of the Australian Singles Chart.