Imaani
Imaani Saleem (born Melonie Crosdale on 1 January 1972) is an English singer, best known for representing the United Kingdom (host country) at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham with the song "Where Are You". The song placed second in the contest, and became a top-20 hit in the United Kingdom and Benelux. Although "Where Are You?" remains her only solo chart entry, in 2000 she re-entered the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart alongside Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy with their version of "Freak Like Me".
Also recorded as Imaani Saleem
Imaani
Richard Kaby · CC BY 2.0
- Born
- 1972 · Nottingham.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- singer · musician
- Fields
- soul · contemporary R&B
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
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wikidata · Q446215 · wikipedia · Imaani
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Institutions cited
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Not stated by the sources cited: nationality
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Early life and career
Early life and career
Later, she recorded many songs with jazz-dance group Incognito, and in 2014 released her debut studio album, Standing Tall.
Saleem was born in Nottingham, England to an interracial Asian-Jamaican couple. After leaving college and moving to London, a chance encounter on with a music producer on a train led to her entering the music business. In 1995, she provided vocals on the song "Easin' My Mind" by FM Inc., and in 1996, on Incognito's album Beneath the Surface.
Documentary record
Imaani is recorded as a musician.
Eurovision 1998
Eurovision 1998
In 1998, Saleem entered The Great British Song Contest competition to find the UK's song for the Eurovision Song Contest that year. Her track "Where Are You" was a runaway winner with the British public and was selected to represent the UK. Saleem finished a mere six points behind the winner Dana International, in second place in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. After its success in the contest, "Where Are You" entered the UK Singles Chart in May 1998, peaking at number 15 and spending 15 non-consecutive weeks in the top 100. The track sold over 250,000 copies. Despite this success, her record label EMI decided to cancel the release of her follow-up single "You Got a Way" in 1999 and parted company with Saleem.
After Eurovision
After Eurovision
In 2000, she supplied the lead vocals on Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy's UK garage cover of US singer Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me". The song reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Saleem went on to record with the jazz-funk band Incognito, providing vocals for more than 10 of their records. Since 2005, Saleem has performed as part of British session organisation the AllStars Collective. The following year, in 2006, she sang on the house track "Bring Me Love" by the Copyright Project on Defected Records. The track received a limited release in the UK, but reached the top 5 on the UK Dance Chart. In 2014, Saleem released her debut album, Standing Tall. One of its songs, "Struggling" featured on the 2015 soul compilation album Luxury Soul 2015. In 2023, Saleem together with the Revival Collective released a cover of the Emotions' "Best of My Love" as a single.
Albums
Albums
Standing Tall (2014)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Imaani, revision 1370542901 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Roberts, David. British Hit Singles & Albums. Guinness World Records Limited. 267. 2006. 1-904994-10-5.
- 2.Alison Donnell. Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Routledge. 207. 2002. 978-1-134-70025-7.
- 3.BBC. Precious song for Europe. 12 March 1999.
- 4.Official Charts Company. Imaani: Full Chart History. Official Charts.
- 5.Roberts, David. British Hit Singles & Albums. Guinness World Records Limited. 568. 2006. 1-904994-10-5.
- 6.Reference to Imaani work with Incognito on Discogs. Discogs.
- 7.Aiir. Overview: Imaani – Standing Tall. Jazz FM.
- 8.Imaani Saleem profile on The AllStars Collective website.
- 9.AllMusic. Overview: Luxury Soul 2015.
- 10.Best of My Love by Imaani, Revival. Spotify.
- 11.Imaani discography. ultratop.be.
- 12.Imaani discography. dutchcharts.nl.
- 13.Imaani – "Where Are You" page. top40.nl.
- 14.Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 – 17 May 1998 – 23 May 1998. officialcharts.com.
- 15.Chart Log UK: Chris C. - CZR. zobbel.de.
- 16.Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company. Officialcharts.com.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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