"I have been away for a while and I wanted to hit the public with a 'bam!' in your face..
. I'm back," says 27-year-old Alesha, whose vocal skills as an MC added power to Mis-Teeq's sound. Music producers Johnny Douglas - who has also worked with Kylie Minogue - and Anders Bagge, co-writer on Madonna's current hit Get Together, have collaborated with Alesha on her debut album Fired Up.
"Anders is a crazy guy! He's like a bolt of energy, which is how some of my friends would describe me. I think that's what helped Lipstick become what it is.
" Douglas, she explains, has "great pop sense" and was a big influence on her burgeoning solo career. "I was unsure about which direction I wanted to go in, but Johnny really helped me decide what kind of artist I wanted to be," she says. "My dad is Jamaican, so I was brought up on reggae music, while my mum played a lot of James Brown.
" Alesha wrote most of the songs on the album, which she says is her own take on the music industry. "There is a superficial level that is not my cup of tea, but when you get past that, start performing with your live band and being creative, it overcomes everything else. It doesn't matter anymore.
"I am aware that there are a lot of illusions in the industry, like fame." Along with Sabrina Washington and Su-Elise Nash, Alesha released two albums - Lickin' On Both Sides and Eye Candy - which spawned several top ten hits. They split in early 2005 with Mobo and Brit awards under their belts, and were rumoured to be on the verge of signing a deal with a major US label.
Despite the split, Alesha says she is still friends with her former Mis-Teeq band members. "We have so much love for each other. Mis-Teeq were not together because we had to be - we wanted to be," she says.
"It was very scary - it kind of still is! I have up and down days. Some days I feel insecure and wish I had the support of the girls.
"But I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying being a solo performer." While Alesha has beaten Mis-Teeq singer Sabrina to a solo career, it may not be long before the two are rivals. Sabrina has reinvented herself as Puma Washington, and is expected to release her own material.
"Sabrina has been in Miami making a record and has put some of her stuff on MySpace," says Alesha. "Su-Elise has gone back to college as she wants to open her own dance school - something she's always wanted to do." "If I get wound up about something he is very good at keeping me relaxed and it's helpful to have that at home," she says.
"He's been through his own strife and it's good to have someone who can relate to how I'm feeling. "I don't know what I'd do without him.
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