Javine Hylton

Javine Dionne Hylton (born 27 December 1981, London), often known simply as Javine, is an English R&B, Soul, Dance and Pop singer. She is most notable for representing the UK at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. At the UK selection contest she defeated competition favourite, model Katie Price, for the ticket to Kiev. Hylton has also had a string of Top 20 hit singles in the UK. Javine's cover version of "You've Got a Friend" was the theme music to Garfield: The Movie in 2004. --- Hylton was born to a white mother and black father and grew up in Ladbroke Grove, London. For a spell of two years, Hylton played Nala in a production of The Lion King in London's West End. In a potentially risky move, she opted to channel this experience of live singing into an audition 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. Her gamble paid off as she was one of the last six contenders for a place in the girl group, but she missed out on a spot in what later became the chart-topping group Girls Aloud, and instead embarked on a solo singing 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 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 "You've Got a Friend". Hylton's debut album, Surrender, 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 and as a result she was dropped by her record label in late 2004, despite the massive success of the album's singles that were released on their own. --- On 23 February 2008, Hylton gave birth to MC Harvey's daughter named Angel Harvey Hylton in St George's Hospital, Tooting, South London. On 5 August 2008, MC Harvey threatened to kill Hylton with a knife after they had an argument, after MC Harvey stayed out all night with friends. In September 2009, Hylton split with MC Harvey after discovering that he had been unfaithful to her. Hylton told The News of the World he was "a serial womaniser with a big problem. He cheated on Alesha with a lot of women. I did her a big favour by taking him off her hands – and after three horrible years, boy do I regret it."