Sonia

Sonia worked across singer, musician and recording artist. The registers place that work in pop music. This article rests on 67 catalogued compositions, 25 issued recordings and 59 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Background — person • Name — Sonia • Birth Name — Sonia Evans • Born — 13 February 1971 • Birthplace — Liverpool, Merseyside, England • Genre — Pop • Occupation — * Singer • actress • Instrument — Vocals • Years Active — 1989–present • Label — * Chrysalis • Arista

Sonia was signed to Chrysalis Records after badgering Pete Waterman to listen to her sing outside his recording studio in Liverpool. Sonia's debut single, "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You", composed and produced by the songwriting and music production trio Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman (Stock Aitken Waterman) was released in June 1989. "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" peaked at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks the following month. At 18, Sonia became one of the youngest female British singers to achieve this feat. The single also topped the Irish chart and reached the top 10 of the US dance chart. Sonia's debut album, Everybody Knows, was released in April 1990. The album peaked at number 7 in the UK, and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. All five singles released from the album became top 20 hits in the UK, making Sonia the first British solo female artist to achieve this. Sonia achieved a sixth top 20 hit in the UK in 1990 with "You've Got a Friend", recorded with the group Big Fun, and released as a charity single for Childline. Sonia left her record label and released her second, self-titled album in 1991, produced by Nigel Wright. The first single released from it, "Only Fools (Never Fall in Love)" became Sonia's third UK top 10 hit, although the album was less successful than her debut. Sonia also contributed to two charity singles, Band Aid II's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in 1989 (peaked at number 1 in the UK) and Gulf Aid's "As Time Stood Still" in 1991. In 1993, Sonia represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, singing the Dean Collinson and Brian Teasdale composition "Better the Devil You Know". She was placed second in the contest. Her third album, also titled Better the Devil You Know was released that year and reached number 32 in the UK.

• Illustration — Sonia performing in 2008 Prior to her music career, around 1988, Evans appeared as an extra in Channel 4's soap opera Brookside, and also appeared in an episode of the BBC1 situation comedy Bread, where she played Ellia, a short-term girlfriend of Adrian Boswell, in episode 11 of series 4. In 1990, Sonia co-hosted children's game show The Wetter the Better as a scoreboard person with main quizmaster Ross King, which was part of the Saturday morning children's magazine show 8:15 from Manchester. In 1993, Sonia made her theatre debut in the musical Slice of Saturday Night, alongside Dennis Waterman. The following year she replaced singer Debbie Gibson as Sandy in a West End revival of Grease, where she stayed for a year. A cover of "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was released as a tie-in single, but it only peaked at number 61 in the UK. In 1997, she returned to the stage on the musical What A Feeling!, which also included fellow 1980s stars Luke Goss and Sinitta. An accompanying soundtrack album was released. 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 2003, Sonia appeared in the ITV1 reality show Reborn in the USA, where former pop stars including Leee John from the band Imagination, Michelle Gayle, Gina G, 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. Sonia came sixth out of the nine participants. In January 2007, she starred in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk as Jack in Horsham, West Sussex, alongside Mark Curry. Sonia also starred in the pantomime Cinderella in December 2010 / January 2011 as the Wicked Queen Edwina at the Stiwt Theatre in Wrexham, North Wales, alongside Big Brother star Dale Howard.

• Illustration — Sonia performing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool In 2008, Sonia recorded a cover of the Beatles' "She Loves You" for the Liverpool – The Number Ones Album. On 1 June 2009, Sonia released her first single in 14 years, "Fool for Love". On 21 December 2012, Sonia performed at the Stock Aitken Waterman "Hit Factory Live" reunion concert at The O2 in London, along with many other former SAW acts, including Kylie Minogue. In summer 2018, in conjunction with her appearance in the Channel 5 program Celebrity 5 Go Caravanning, Sonia's recording of "Dancing in the Driver's Seat", written by Barry Upton and Gordon Pogoda, was released. Another song recorded with Upton and Pogoda in 2007, "Your Heart or Mine", was released in 2018 as its follow-up. Sonia signed a new record deal with Energise Records in 2019, and a new single, "A Night That's Never Ending", was released. She appeared on series 5 of Hacker Time. In 2018, Sonia appeared alongside Todd Carty, Tony Blackburn, Colin Baker and Sherrie Hewson in Channel 5's Celebrity 5 Go Caravanning. Sonia made a guest appearance as herself in Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, in 2023. Sonia was a prominent advocate and supporter for Liverpool's bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The city was announced as the winner in October 2022, beating the largest city in Scotland, Glasgow, who finished runner up. Ahead of the 2023 contest, Sonia was a prominent feature in the promotion of the contest being held in Liverpool, including a "Spot Sonia" competition held throughout the city, giving the public a chance to win tickets to the contest. During the Grand Final, Sonia performed her 1993 UK Eurovision entry "Better the Devil You Know" as the interval act. In 2024, it was announced that Sonia was cast as a special guest in the musical theatre production Now! That's What I Call a Musical which was directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood. She featured as the sole special guest star on the Scottish dates of the production at the King's Theatre in Glasgow between 18–22 February 2025. Sonia did not feature as the guest in some of the dates, instead, singer Sinitta was cast as the special guest for some performances.

Sonia married Mark Moses in 1998 and the couple have a daughter, who was born in 2010.

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications • Title — Album details — Peak chart position — Certifications • UK — AUS • Everybody Knows — *Released: 23 April 1990 *Label: Chrysalis, PWL *Formats: LP, CD, cassette — 7 — 144 — * BPI: Gold • Sonia — *Released: 7 October 1991 *Label: IQ, BMG, RCA *Formats: LP, CD, cassette — 33 — — • Better the Devil You Know — *Released: 17 May 1993 *Label: Arista *Formats: LP, CD, cassette — 32 — — • Love Train – The Philly Album — *Released: 1998 (promotional copy) *Re-released: 17 April 2023 *Label: Carlton Sounds, Energise *Formats: LP, CD, digital download — — — — • "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released.

List of compilation albums with album details • Title — Album details • Greatest Hits — *Released: 6 July 2007 *Label: Sony BMG *Formats: CD, digital download • The Barry Upton & Energise Collection — *Released: 9 February 2022 *Label: Energise *Formats: CD, digital download

List of box sets with album details • Title — Album details • Everybody Knows – The Singles Box Set — *Released: 14 May 2021 *Label: Cherry Red *Formats: CD • The Vinyl Collection — *Released: 11 February 2022 *Label: Energise *Formats: LP

• Year — Single — Peak chart positions — Album • UK — AUS — BEL (FLA) — FRA — GER — IRE — NED — NOR — NZ — SWI — US Dance — CAN • 1989 — "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" — 1 — 29 — 18 — 29 — 20 — 1 — 26 — 10 — 43 — 21 — 10 — — — Everybody Knows • "Can't Forget You" — 17 — 98 — 47 — — — — — 5 — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Listen to Your Heart" — 10 — 119 — — — 39 — 72 — 22 — — — — — — — — — — — — • 1990 — "Counting Every Minute" — 16 — 118 — — — — — — — 18 — — — — — — — — — — — — • "You've Got a Friend" (with Big Fun) — 14 — 157 — — — — — — — 12 — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "End of the World" — 18 — 153 — — — — — — — 18 — — — — — — — — — — — — — |Everybody Knows • 1991 — "Only Fools (Never Fall in Love)" — 10 — — — — — — — 51 — 6 — — — — — — — — — — — — — Sonia • "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" — 22 — — — — — — — — — 23 — — — — — — — — — — — 98 • "You to Me Are Everything" — 13 — — — — — — — — — 14 — — — — — — — — — — — — • 1992 — "Boogie Nights" — 30 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Better the Devil You Know • 1993 — "Better the Devil You Know" — 15 — — — 46 — — — 59 — 26 — — — — — — — — — — — — • "We've Got the Power" (Gladiators featuring Sonia) — 90 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — rowspan=2 Non-album singles • 1994 — "Hopelessly Devoted to You" — 61 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • 1995 — "Wake Up Everybody" — 155 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — |Love Train – The Philly Album • 2009 — "Fool for Love" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Collection • 2018 — "Dancin' in the Driver's Seat" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Your Heart or Mine" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • 2019 — "A Night That's Never-Ending" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "If You Come Back to Me" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Sonia was born on 13 February 1971 in Skelmersdale. Sonia held the nationality of United Kingdom. Educated at Anfield Community Comprehensive School. Sonia worked as singer, musician and recording artist. Active from 1989. The fields Sonia worked in include pop music. Sonia played the voice. Sonia worked in English.