Frankee Connolly

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Frankee Connolly
Connolly at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2015
Connolly at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2015
Background information
Birth nameFrancesca Rose Connolly
Born (1989-11-23) 23 November 1989 (age 34)
Helmshore, England
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active2009–present
Labels
Formerly of

Francesca Rose Connolly (born 23 November 1989) is a singer from Helmshore, England. 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?".

Life and career[edit]

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]

Discography[edit]

With Mini Viva[edit]

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected details
Title Details
Engine Room Session
  • Released: 14 December 2009
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
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.

With M.O[edit]

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected details
Title Details
Good Friends
Who Do You Think Of?
  • Released: 2 August 2016
  • Label: Operator Records
  • Format: Digital download

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.

Tours[edit]

As supporting act

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Viva Mini Viva Herself Interactive online reality show

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Outcome
2014 MOBO Awards Best Newcomer Nominated[29]
2016 Best Song

References[edit]

  1. ^ "CONNOLLY FRANCESCA ROSE". ASCAP. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Star is set to release new Mini Viva hit". rossendale. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Interview: Frankie Connolly of Mini Viva". Lancashire Telegraph. 24 August 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Pop singer tipped to be as big as Spice Girls". rossendale. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (11 December 2009). "Here come the new girls: Mini Viva". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Paul Morley meets pop dance duo Mini Viva". The Guardian. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Helmshore pop star set for top ten hit". Lancashire Telegraph. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Mini Viva". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  9. ^ Lester, Paul (17 July 2009). "Mini Viva (No 587)". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Mini Viva". Digital Spy. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  11. ^ Anderton, Joe (10 June 2016). "Mini Viva – One Touch". Into the Popvoid. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Pop band Mini Viva split saying 'time was up'". BBC News. 11 November 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Girl group M.O perform with new member Chanal Benjilali after Frankee Connolly quits". Official Charts. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Interview: M.O, Kickin' Up A Storm". RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Little Mix: Which artists have supported them on tour?". Planetradio.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  16. ^ "M O". Official Charts. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  17. ^ "NOT IN LOVE". Official Charts. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Girl group M.O perform with new member Chanal Benjilali after Frankee Connolly quits". Official Charts. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Discography Mini Viva". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  20. ^ a b "Discography Mini Viva". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  21. ^ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: M – My Vitriol". Zobbel. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  22. ^ Zywietz, Tobias. "CHART: Chart Log UK Update 26.04.2014 (wk16)". Zobbel. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Chart Archive > 20 April 2014 – 26 April 2014". Official Charts Company.
  24. ^ a b c d "M.O". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  25. ^ "Chart Archive > 31 August 2014 – 6 September 2014". Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "Chart Archive > 10 May 2015 – 16 May 2015". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ a b "Discography M.O". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  28. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Best Newcomer". mobo.com. MOBO.
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