British house/R&B vocalist Gabrielle began her career singing for free in London West End clubs whilst temping in offices during the day. Her big break came when she recorded a demo, called "Dreams," based around Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," which subsequently fell into the hands of an A&R man at London's Go! Beat records. The track was re-recorded without the Chapman sample and ended up in the Guinness Book of Hit Singles as the highest U.K. chart entry for a debut female act, topping the charts for three weeks. With the hit came a head-turning image, complete with kiss curls and sequined eye patch as Gabrielle's right eye has a drooped lid. Ignoring cosmetic surgery, she turned what might have been seen an image setback into a virtue that set her apart from the pack. br /br /Her debut album, Find Your Way, sold over a million copies worldwide, and paved the way for her sophomore, self-titled album, released in 1996 and produced by the Boilerhouse Boys. In three short years, those two albums and nine singles -- five of which were Top Ten -- established Gabrielle as the U.K.'s premiere soul vocalist, full of cla**ic soul connotations (Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Bobby Womack) but also influenced by early-'80s British pop (Soul II Soul, Lisa Stansfield, Mantronix). br /br /In 2000, Gabrielle followed up with her appropriately titled third album, Rise, which followed a difficult time for her personally and creatively. Widely publicized reports concerning her ex-partner's criminal conviction threatened to overshadow her musical accomplishments, not to mention her creative potential. The songs on Rise spoke of optimism, romanticism, devotion, and a keen survival instinct. The lead single, "Sunshine," was a spirited thank you to those friends you have on hand to boost your confidence when you're low. The album's title track samples Bob Dylan's cla**ic "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" with his rare seal of approval. 2001's world-wide hit "Out of Reach" was the feature track from the Bridget Jones's Diary soundtrack. ~ Ed Nimmervoll, All Music Guide