Alesha Dixon - Fired Up (2008)

Alesha Dixon launched her solo career after Mis-Teeq's break-up in 2005, signing a £500,000, three-album deal with Polydor Records. She spent a year writing and recording her solo debut album, working with a wide range of producers including Richard X, Xenomania, Johnny Douglas, Brian Higgins, Estelle and Paul Epworth, and during this period she performed mononymously, known simply as "Alesha". In June 2005, she announced her first solo single was to be 'Superficial', but at the last minute it was replaced by 'Lipstick' as the lead single from her debut album. It charted at number 14 on the UK Single Charts, and so a second single 'Knockdown' was released on 30 October 2006, only managing to peak at number 45 on the UK Singles Charts, and then falling down to 68 the following week. Work was completed on her album 'Fired Up', which she had worked on with a variety of producers, including the afore-mentioned Douglas, Higgins, Epworth and Xenomania, alongside Peer Åström, Anders Bagge, and Richard Stannard. Initially scheduled for a 6 November 2006 release through Polydor and Victor Entertainment in the United Kingdom, it was postponed indefinitely after Dixon was dropped by Polydor several days before its release. 'Fired Up' eventually received a physical release in Japan and Taiwan in 2008, where it was issued along with new artwork, a re-worked listing order, and additional tracks, including two remixes and the previously unreleased song 'Voodoo'. It was never officially released in the UK or the US, although Dixon later exclusively sold it in the UK as merchandise on her tour, The Alesha Show, supporting the album of the same name. With the new series of 'Britain's Got Talent' bringing her name back to the public's attention, now is the perfect time to re-acquaint ourselves with the beginning of her successful solo career.   

Track listing

01 Hypnotik
02 Lipstick
03 Fired Up
04 Knockdown
05 Superficial
06 Ting-A-Ling
07 Free
08 Everybody Wants To Change The World
09 Let It Go
10 A Lil' Bit Of Love
11 Turn It Up
12 Everywhere I Go