Dec. 7: Nicole Appleton Canadian-born singer of All-Saints and Appleton is 39 today.

Nicole Marie Appleton was born on December 7, 1974, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She grew up with her three sisters, Lori, Lee and Natalie, in Toronto and New York before moving to Camden in London, England. Nicole was a self-described nerd in school, and had trouble fitting in; she was later jokingly given the nickname "Fonzie" to boost her coolness.

During her youth, Nicole held a variety of odd jobs but found that music was the only job she could hold down and excel at.

After attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School with her sister Natalie, Nicole was told former classmate, Melanie Blatt, along with Shaznay Lewis, was putting together an all-girl group called All Saints. First Nicole, then her sister Natalie joined. 

All Saints debuted in 1998 with their self-titled album, establishing themselves as a smarter and "cooler" alternative to the Spice Girls.  All Saints won Brit Awards that same year for their single "Never Ever" and its accompanying video.

However, a good beginning quickly fizzled when Melanie Blatt became pregnant, tour dates were canceled, and talk of a band breakup loomed. Nicole was approached at the time to start on a solo music - or even acting - career, but nothing came of it.

(Continued below video and Amazon portal ...)

Recommended (Press album covers for direct links to Amazon):

All Saints returned in 2000 with a follow-up album called Saints and Sinners, after delays and title changes, and contributed the song "Pure Shores" to the movie The Beach (2000). Nicole appeared with Natalie and Melanie Blatt in the UK film Honest (2000), a vehicle for All Saints, but it was panned.

Even though the group sold millions of records, by the spring of 2001, the group broke up.  Still, a compilation album, All Hits, was released in 2001.

Immediately after the demise of All Saints, Nicole teamed up with her sister and former bandmate Natalie, and they called themselves Appleton. They recorded a single, "Fantasy" - which peaked at No. 2 - and were set to release their debut album, Everything's Eventual. However, controversy struck again, this time with the release of the Appleton sisters' tell-all autobiography called Together.

The UK release of Everything's Eventual was pushed back to early 2003, and it appeared in North America even later. The album's first track, "Don't Worry," was a moderate hit.

####