Chico Slimani

Chico Slimani
Chico Slimani
Background information
Origin	Morocco
Years active	2006–present (singer)

Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) is a British pop singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor.

Early Life

Chico says the place he practiced his singing most was the bathroom and grew up with Arabic and Indian music. Chico was born in Wales but moved to Morocco when he was a baby. While in Morocco he was mountain goat herder until the age of 13, before once again moving back to the UK at age 14 to Crawley, West Sussex. Chico has had a number of jobs in his life. He's been a hairdresser and also an electrician, before joining exotic dance troupe Extreme Force, subsequently auditioning for The X Factor.

The X Factor

During The X Factor competition, Chico was mentored by manager Sharon Osbourne. Despite Slimani's popularity with viewers he failed to become a finalist in the series, won by singer Shayne Ward in December 2005. Slimani had originally planned to release his single, which he performed during the talent show, before Christmas. "I'm absolutely loving every minute of it, and looking forward to releasing the single at last," he was stated saying.

The ex-goatherd and stripper will release his debut single, "It's Chico Time", in February 2006. Slimani's dancing impressed X Factor judges but he failed to reach the final of the ITV talent show. He is taking part in a nationwide X Factor tour, which begins in Newcastle upon Tyne next month. "The whole thing has been unbelievable," the 34-year-old said.

Trivia

• His height is 6' 1" (1.85 m).

Discography

Singles

• "It's Chico Time" (2006) (Released 27th February, 2006) UK#1 (Early Chart Prediction)

See also

• The X Factor UK series 2
• Shayne Ward, winner of X Factor series 2
• Andy Abraham, 2nd placed finalist
• Journey South, 3rd placed finalist

External links

• Official Chico Website
• Chico's profile on the official X Factor website
• BBC News: X Factor's Chico gets record deal