| Sonia Evans | |
| Img Capt: | Sonia at Birmingham Pride 2008 |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Sonia Evans |
| Alias: | Sonia |
| Born: | 13 February 1971 Skelmersdale, Lancashire, UK |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Voice Type: | Alto |
| Years Active: | 1989–present |
| Label: | Chrysalis Records (1989 - 1991) IQ (1991) Arista (1992-1994) BMG (1994 - present) |
Sonia Evans (born 13 February 1971)[1] , better known as just Sonia, is an English pop singer from Skelmersdale, West Lancashire, who was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[2]
Her singing career was launched in 1989 by the songwriting and music producing trio Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman. She was signed to Chrysalis Records after badgering Pete Waterman to listen to her sing outside the recording studio in Liverpool. Waterman did a regular weekly radio broadcast. He called her bluff and had her sing live on his show. She released her debut single, "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" [3] in June 1989 and it quickly became a number one single in the UK Singles Chart. At 18, she became one of the youngest female British singers to achieve this feat.
She released her debut album, "Everybody Knows", in 1990, which peaked at #7. All 5 singles taken from it became top 20 hits, with Sonia becoming the first British female to do so. Also in 1990, she recorded the song "You've Got A Friend" with the group Big Fun. It was released as a charity single for Childline and became a top 20 hit.
Due to tensions with Stock Aitken & Waterman she left the label and released her second, self titled album in 1991, produced by Nigel Wright. The first single taken from it, "Only Fools (Never Fall In Love)" peaked at #10, although the album was less successful than her debut.
She sang on two charity singles, Band Aid II's "Do They Know It's Christmas" in 1989 (peaked at #1 in the UK) and Gulf Aid's "As Time Stood Still" in 1991.
She also sang the Dean Collinson and Red composition "Better the Devil You Know" for the United Kingdom in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished in second place.
In 2003, Evans took part in the reality television show Reborn in the USA alongside Elkie Brooks and Tony Hadley, but was voted off in its fifth week.
In January 2007 she starred in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, as Jack in Horsham, West Sussex, alongside Mark Curry. Late 2007 saw her greatest hits album released only featuring recordings from Sonia's time with BMG Music (1991-1993).
In 2008, Sonia recorded a cover of the Beatles classic She Loves You for the "Liverpool - The Number One's Album".
She is scheduled to appear in panto again in December 2008. She will take the part of the "Good Fairy" in Sleeping Beauty at Rhyl Pavilion Theatre, North Wales from December 12 2008 to 10 January 2009.
Sonia has also acted during her career, having been an extra in Brookside and in the television comedy Bread as the girlfriend of the youngest Boswell child, Billy. This was before her singing career took off and she is credited as Sonia Evans. She has also played alongside Lily Savage as her wayward daughter Bunty Savage, both on the BBC series The Lily Savage show and live shows.
In 1990, Sonia co-hosted children's gameshow The Wetter The Better as a scoreboard person with main quizmaster Ross King which was part of the Saturday morning children's magazine show "".
In 2004, Sonia appeared in the reality show Reborn in the USA where former popstars including Leee John from the band Imagination, Michelle Gayle, Elkie Brooks and pop duo Dollar performed American hits. The show saw the artists touring America and each week one artist was eliminated from the show. The show was aired on ITV1 and was presented by Davina McCall.
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| 1990 | "Everybody Knows" | 7 | ||
| 1991 | "Sonia" | 33 | ||
| 1993 | "Better the Devil You Know" | 32 | ||
| 1998 | "Love Train - The Philly Album" | align="center" | - | |
| 2007 | "Greatest Hits" | align="center" | - | |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |  | ||||||
| 1989 | "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" | 29 | 1 | 1 | Everybody Knows | |||
| "Can't Forget You" | align="center" | - | 17 | 5 | ||||
| "Listen to Your Heart" | 96 | 10 | 22 | |||||
| 1990 | "Counting Every Minute" | align="center" | - | 16 | 18 | |||
| "You've Got a Friend" (with Big Fun) | align="center" | - | 14 | 12 | A Pocketful of Dreams | |||
| "End Of the World" | align="center" | - | 18 | 18 | Everybody Knows | |||
| 1991 | "Only Fools (Never Fall in Love)" | align="center" | - | 10 | 16 | Sonia | ||
| "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" | align="center" | - | 22 | 23 | ||||
| "You to Me Are Everything" | align="center" | - | 13 | 14 | ||||
| 1992 | "We’ve Got the Power" | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | align="center" | - | Single-only release |
| "Boogie Nights" | align="center" | - | 30 | align="center" | - | Better the Devil You Know | ||
| 1993 | "Better the Devil You Know" | align="center" | - | 15 | 18 | |||
| 1994 | "Hopelessly Devoted to You/The Anthem Medley" | align="center" | - | 61 | align="center" | - | Single-only release | |
| 1995 | "Wake Up Everybody" | align="center" | - | 155 | align="center" | - | Love Train - The Philly Album | |
While Sonia no longer has a direct website, you can find out more information about her on fan sites including;