Ximena

Ximena Alvarez, known by her stage name Ximena (born September 16, 1970) is a Spanish-Turkish singer-songwriter. She released her debut single Gonna Get Ya in August 2010, backed by her then band Bad Chicas, and returned solo in March 2011 with X Rated.

She has released an album with Bad Chicas, Triple X and a solo album Icono.

1970-2002: Early life
Ximena Alvarez was born on September 16, 1970, in Istanbul, Turkey to a Turkish Father and Spanish Mother. They split up when she was very young and relocated to Portugal to stay with relatives. This is where Ximena's Mother met the Father of her three younger siblings, Anna, Xiomara and Lia. The family relocated back to Spain in 1980 when Ximena was only ten years old. In 1987, the girls' parents both tragically died in a car accident, and a 17 year old Ximena was pushed into the role of Mother for her younger sisters. As soon as Ximena turned 21 she took her sisters to live in the East End of London to seek fame and fortune, this is where their hunt for fame began. The family were always very musical, with Xiomara and Lia both learning to play guitar, Lia also learning bass and piano and Anna learning the drums. Ximena's passion was always, however singing. In 1992 Ximena got a job as a cruise ship singer and left second eldest Anna to care for her sisters. Ximena spent ten long years singing songs by her diva idols such as Gloria Estefan, Shirley Bassey and Mariah Carey before returning to the UK and using the cash she raised to purchase a home for herself in Basildon, so she could be near her sisters. This is when Ximena decided she has to be a popstar.

2002-2010: The Hunt For Fame
In 2002 Ximena auditioned for Popstars: The Rivals which found the bands Girls Aloud and One True Voice. Ximena had always dreamed of being in a girl band, and used to dress her sisters up in matching outfits, pretending she was Diana Ross and they were The Supremes, or as she said, Ximena and the Chica Chicas. Ximena did audition for Popstars, but sadly she was told that at 32 she was far too old for the band. However Ximena did make a friend at the auditions, Sarah Harding who did get into Girls Aloud. Sarah later worked with Ximena on her debut album Icono. Not put off by being turned away, Ximena tried more reality tv shows. The following year, she auditioned for Fame Academy, which had less strict an age limit. Sadly she did not get past the audition process, whereas younger sister Xiomara made the final 30 but ultimately did not make the show. In 2005 Ximena had one last shot at the reality tv franchise, and auditioned for the 2nd season of X Factor. Ximena's audition was shown on TV, but it was mainly for comedic purposes, as Ximena, in her on words "amessed up". After realising reality TV wasn't for her, Ximena decided to make "real music" and formed a band with her sisters Anna and Xiomara. Forcing Anna to change her name to Xena, the band were called Triple X and they sang bars and clubs around the Basildon area. They gained a cult following and spent several years on the club circuit, but sadly never got signed.

2010: Ximena and the Bad Chicas and Triple X
Main Article: Triple X In 2010, Ximena was told about URAPS Idol and auditioned, ridiculed by the judges, Paulo Araujo said the "Bad Chica" image just wasn't working, and Ximena vowed she would make it work. Changing her band's name to "Bad Chicas", Ximena scouted for a record deal unsuccessfully, but did obtain management after the band started their own indepenent TV show "Get the Bad Chica Style" in which they adopted the catchphrase CHICA CHICA! Roughly translated as GIRL GIRL! In the show they took famous celebrities to their Basildon apartment and made them over such as Tiffany Amber and Paulo Araujo. The show was axed after 3 episodes. However, this extra exposure, Ximena learned of Uravision and got a song written, called Gonna Get Ya penned by Moodring's L'mondrea, which she would use to represent Turkey, solo. Uravision was eventually cancelled but Gonna Get Ya still got a release with her band in tow, under the name "Ximena and the Bad Chicas" and signed to Bingo Records. It reached #13 in the charts and sold 37,649 copies. The band had two more singles, the Just Ginger penned XXX and an EP of songs entitled La Chica Chica Bamba EP. They reached #19 and #11 respectively. The band also released an album which took on their old band name, Triple X. This peaked at #13 and spent 18 weeks on the chart. The album was slated however as it was full of novelty tracks and interludes, the entire record being less than 30 minutes long. Critics were gobsmacked it sold so high, with people believing Ximena had in fact used all her royalties to buy all the copies that sold. A fourth single Mi Corazon Te Seguira was set for release but tensions within the band erupted. Ximena was the star, and Anna and Xiomara were jealous. Ximena walked out of the group in December 2010, using the fame she had collected to launch a solo career.

2011: Icono
Main Article: Icono Ximena's first solo record was commercially much more successful than her work with Bad Chicas. She left her contract at Bingo and signed to Trish Records who pushed Ximena to promote her music properly if she wanted success. Ximena made around 30 promotional appearances for her debut single X Rated, which is three times as many as the number she made with her band. This extra effort paid off, as X rated charted at #6 and rose to #4 the next week, with her debut album Icono landing at #3. Icono was described as a concept album about a woman who had everything but was too scared to give the one thing she held most precious, her vaginal virginity. This was praised by critics as a unique and dynamic concept, with Ximena's personable lyrics penetrating the hearts of many. Ximena worked with old friend Sarah Harding and former critic Paulo Araujo on the album, with Ximena praising Paulo's performance and stating he was the only reason the album even existed. The second single from Icono undeperformed, with the radio edit of Glamour only peaking at #13. Despite an extensive promotional campaign, it failed to rise or sell. The third single, I Will Show You Love was backed with Wuthering Heights, a Kate Bush cover from the That Woman's Work compilation. The tracks put Ximena back in the top 10, peaking at #5. A fourth single, fan favourite Here We Fucking Go!, the duet with Paulo Araujo peaked at.

Personal Life and Other Work
In 2011 it was revealed that Jake Cohen of boyband Dante was actually Ximena's son. As Ximena was young when he was born, she gave him up for adoption. The two were reunited thanks to the publicity of their respective pop careers. Later that year, Ximena joined the X Factor panel as a judge, thanks to her previous experience as a musician and TV personality, all of which was launched from an Idol audition.

Discography
Main Article: Ximena Discography


 * Studio albums
 * Icono (2011)


 * Other releases
 * Triple X As Ximena and the Bad Chicas (2010)

Awards

 * Video Music Awards 2010
 * Best Humourous Video: Nominated