Heather Small

Heather Small
Heather Small performing in Southport, Merseyside on 25 July 2008
Background information
Born	(1965-01-20) 20 January 1965 (age 51)
Origin	West London, England
Genres	Dance-pop, house, soul
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, actress
Years active	1986–present
Labels	BMG (1987–2005) Arista (2000) P&C Records (2006)
Associated acts	Hot House, M People

Heather Small (born 20 January 1965) is an English soul singer, best known for being the lead singer in the band M People. Her debut solo album was Proud, which was released in 2000. She was also a contestant in the British television show Strictly Come Dancing in 2008.

Small joined her first group, Hot House, while she was still a teenager. She was the studio singer voice of the re-recorded version of UK number 1 single "Ride On Time" from Italo House Band Black Box. After a chance meeting with Manchester DJ Mike Pickering, formerly of Quando Quango, Small and her distinctive voice helped to sell over 10 million albums worldwide singing with his group M People. They had considerable success with songs such as "Moving on Up" and "Search for the Hero". Small has said that her major influence has been singer Elkie Brooks.

In 1997, Small performed on the "Perfect Day" record alongside a wide range of artists including Tom Jones and Lou Reed. The song was the official 1997 Children in Need charity release. It sold over a million copies and was the UK's number one single for three weeks, in two separate spells.

In 1998, after M People's "Best Of" album, Small and the band took some time off to pursue solo projects.

In 2000, Small released her debut solo album Proud and a single of the same name, closely affiliated with the British Olympics team of the time. The single "Proud" was also used for the first season and the last chapter on the finale season of Queer as Folk. "Proud" is Small's signature song, with which she achieved international success. When Oprah Winfrey was looking for a song to sum up the work she'd been striving to achieve over her twenty-year career, she got in touch with Small and the song "Proud" became the theme song to The Oprah Winfrey Show, and in 2005 Small made her American television debut on the show. Then in 2005 the song became the theme song for the American reality weight loss show The Biggest Loser.