Frankee Connolly | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Francesca Rose Connolly |
Born | Helmshore, England |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | |
Formerly of |
Francesca Rose Connolly is an English singer from Helmshore. She was a member of the groups Mini Viva, who had a No. 7 hit with " Left My Heart in Tokyo", and M.O, with whom she had a No. 18 hit with " Who Do You Think Of?".
Francesca Rose Connolly [1] was born to Eddie and Lorraine, [2] and has two older sisters, [3] Natalie and Jade. [4] Both Natalie and their uncle were dentists in Rawtenstall. She grew up in Helmshore in Rossendale Valley in Lancashire, [3] and attended All Saints' Catholic High School in Rawtenstall, [4] before spending two months on a Business Access to Higher Education course at a college in Bury in Greater Manchester. Growing up, she idolised Beyoncé and Destiny's Child, and regularly attended their concerts; she also looked up to Mel B, as a successful Northerner. After dropping out of college, she formed an amateur girl band with two other members for fun. [3]
In 2007, after Xenomania decided to form a band in response to Girls Aloud taking a year off, [5] they contacted Connolly via her Myspace account, prompting her to attend an audition in London, where she met Britt Love, a singer from Newcastle upon Tyne, who she bonded with over their shared Northern roots. [3] Their band name, Mini Viva, was a portmanteau of Love and Connolly's nicknames; [6] the pair told the Lancashire Telegraph in September 2009 that Love acquired her nickname after wearing a Minnie Mousesque polka dot dress and that Connolly acquired hers after Love described her as bright and beautiful. [7] Connolly then underwent her first singing lessons, having not taken any prior to being signed. [3]
Mini Viva's singles "Left My Heart in Tokyo" and " I Wish" charted at numbers 7 and 73 on the UK Singles Chart, [8] and the pair supported the Saturdays, [9] Diversity, [10] and Aggro Santos on tour. [11] They announced their split in November 2010; [12] Connolly later formed M.O in 2012 with Nadine Samuels and Annie Ashcroft of the girl group Duchess, [13] taking their name from a lyric in " The Motto" by Drake. [14] Between 2014 and 2016, the band supported Little Mix on their Salute Tour [15] and entered the UK Singles Chart at numbers 49, 51, and 18 with " Dance On My Own", " Preach" and " Who Do You Think Of?", [16] and then teamed up with Kent Jones for " Not in Love", which peaked at No. 42. [17] Connolly left the band in June 2017; she was replaced by Chantal Benjalili, who had auditioned for the previous year's series of The X Factor. [18]
Extended plays
Title | Details |
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Engine Room Session |
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Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
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UK | FIN | IRE | |||
" Left My Heart in Tokyo" | 2009 | 7 [8] | 7 [19] | 23 [20] | Non-album singles |
" I Wish" | 73 [8] | — | 67 [20] | ||
" One Touch" | 2010 | 124 [21] | — | — | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Extended plays
Title | Details |
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Good Friends |
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Who Do You Think Of? |
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Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
Certifications ( sales thresholds) |
Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK | ( indie) | IRE | ||||
" For a Minute" | 2014 | 103 [22] | 6 [23] | — | Non-album singles | |
" Dance On My Own" | 49 [24] | 4 [25] | — | |||
" Preach" | 2015 | 51 [24] | 4 [26] | — | ||
" Who Do You Think Of?" | 2016 | 18 [24] | — | 56 [27] | Who Do You Think Of? (EP) | |
"
Not in Love" (featuring Kent Jones) |
42 [24] | — | 75 [27] | Non-album single | ||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
As supporting act
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Viva Mini Viva | Herself | Interactive online reality show |
Year | Award | Category | Outcome |
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2014 | MOBO Awards | Best Newcomer | Nominated [29] |
2016 | Best Song |