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?".
Life and career Francesca Rose Connolly was born to Eddie and Lorraine, and has two older sisters, Natalie and Jade. Both Natalie and their uncle were dentists in Rawtenstall. She grew up in Helmshore in Rossendale Valley in Lancashire, and attended All Saints' Catholic High School in Rawtenstall, 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.
In 2007, after Xenomania decided to form a band in response to Girls Aloud taking a year off, 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. Their band name, Mini Viva, was a portmanteau of Love and Connolly's nicknames; 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. Connolly then underwent her first singing lessons, having not taken any prior to being signed.
Mini Viva's singles "Left My Heart in Tokyo" and "I Wish" charted at numbers 7 and 73 on the UK Singles Chart, and the pair supported the Saturdays, Diversity, and Aggro Santos on tour. They announced their split in November 2010; Connolly later formed M.O in 2012 with Nadine Samuels and Annie Ashcroft of the girl group Duchess, taking their name from a lyric in "The Motto" by Drake. Between 2014 and 2016, the band supported Little Mix on their Salute Tour and entered the UK Singles Chart at numbers 49, 51, and 18 with "Dance On My Own", "Preach" and "Who Do You Think Of?", and then teamed up with Kent Jones for "Not in Love", which peaked at No. 42. Connolly left the band in June 2017; she was replaced by Chanal Benjalili, who had auditioned for the previous year's series of The X Factor.
Discography With Mini Viva 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 7 23 rowspan="3" "I Wish" 73 — 67 "One Touch" 2010 124 — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
With M.O Extended plays + List of EPs, with selected details Title Details Good Friends Released: 9 February 2016 Label: Operator Records Format: Digital download 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 6 — rowspan="3" "Dance On My Own" 49 4 — "Preach" 2015 51 4 — "Who Do You Think Of?" 2016 18 — 56 BPI: PlatinumWho Do You Think Of? (EP) "Not in Love"(featuring Kent Jones) 42 — 75 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Tours As supporting act 2009: The Saturdays – The Work Tour 2010: Diversity – UK tour
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2010 Viva Mini Viva Herself Interactive online reality show
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Outcome2014MOBO AwardsBest Newcomerrowspan="2" 2016Best Song
References