Mis-Teeq |
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Tue. July 20.2004 12:00 AM EDT |
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Mis-Teeq: On Her Majesty's Soulful ServiceThe British version of Destiny's Child has hit the States. Hear the "Scandalous"girls discuss big afros, American drugstores, and cucumber sandwiches with McCartney by C. Bottomley |
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(Warner Brothers) |
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With Usher making himself so comfortable in the Billboard Top 3 that he might install his own home entertainment system there, the summer belongs to R&B. Brandy just dropped Afrodisiac. Nina Sky and JoJo are climbing the charts. R. Kelly is
Why unlikely? Because Alesha Dixon, Sabrina Washington and Su-Elise Nash aren't from Atlanta or Chicago. They were raised in London's suburbs. But with "Scandalous," they're making the biggest noise on this side of the pond since Craig David dropped Born To Do It. "A good song is a good song whether you're English or American," says Sabrina, the 25-year-old singer who resembles a Carnaby Street version of Ashanti. "Now that a lot more British acts are coming to America, it's good. Before it was, 'You're going to America? You're not going to make it.' Now it's kind of opening up." The trio were all stage school brats who entered the U.K. charts in 2000 when their single "Why" was remixed in the then-popular "garage" style. Mis-Teeq promoted the song by doing personal appearances in the grimy basement clubs that spawned the garage movement. Two years later, they were playing at the Queen's Golden Jubilee Concert. "It was like a dream," remembered Sabrina. "We're sitting at Buckingham Palace and had a little picnic out," adds 25-year-old Alesha. "Paul McCartney walked past us and said, 'Stick to your day jobs, girls!' He'd seen us on TV making cucumber sandwiches one of the Queen's favorites. Paul McCartney saw us making sandwiches! You never know who's going to be watching!" The Warner Brothers label decided to release the sultry "Scandalous" after Carson Daly heard it while vacationing in Europe. Their eponymous American debut combines the biggest hits from their two UK albums. Its diverse collection of urban jams and reggae cuts reflects the girls' upbringing. The ladies even do a little rapping. "When I was five years old, I imitated Diana Ross," Alesha says of her early influences. "I used to brush my hair into a big afro, put on a white gown, and sing 'Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand).'" "I was a huge Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul fan," recalls Su-Elise, the quiet 23-year-old singer/dancer. "I tap-danced when I was younger, so when Paula Abdul had that video with the cartoon cat, me and my sister used to practice the dance routine!" Mis-Teeq may miss their boyfriends, home cooking and their own beds, but they do feel at home in America. "Everything's so much bigger," Su-Elise offers. "Even down to your pharmacies. You've got the best drugstores! You go down there and find these really exciting things. That's the thing about America everything is bigger." That includes the outlets for Mis-Teeq's brand of music. England has only one official station dedicated to urban music. The rest are pirate stations that broadcast illegally. "In the UK, if an urban artist's first single doesn't do well, they're finished," she says. Perhaps that why they're especially appreciative of R&B's current emperors. "I grew up with Usher, from 'Call Me a Mack' and all that," says Sabrina. "But R. Kelly is the man. Whatever he touches turns to gold. When he came out with [the line] 'You remind me of my jeep' [from "You Remind Me of Something"] I was like, 'You're not gonna get away with that' and he got away with it! It doesn't matter what he puts his mind to, he gets away with it." Being in America means catching up with the latest episodes of their favorite television drama, The O.C., and picking up the Louis Vuitton bags they've always coveted. Alesha laughs when she reveals that Su can't walk past a Gucci outlet without going in. "I used to work there, which is terrible," Su agrees "I used to spend my wages in the store." In spite of maxing out those credit cards and showing Paul McCartney how to make cucumber sandwiches, Mis-teeq aren't letting the success get to them. At the end of the day, one of the biggest differences between themselves and their Yankee counterparts is that they still remember what it's like to be ordinary. "We're just normal," confessed Alesha, summing up the group's outlook. "We have a fantastic job that we love, but although we've grown we haven't changed. Our principles, morals and beliefs are still the same. Just because you're doing a certain job, it doesn't make you better than anyone else." |
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