Sophie Monk (born December 14, 1979) is an Australian entertainer. She was once a member of Australia's highest-selling female pop group Bardot and is now a solo recording artist and actress.
Her road to stardom began in 1999 when she drove all night to audition for the first series of Popstars, a TV talent show which promised to create "Australia's very own Spice Girls". After numerous rounds of singing and dancing workshops, Sophie was chosen to become one-fifth of Australia's highest-selling female pop group, Bardot.
The Bardot phenomenon was massive with the group breaking the record for first Australian act to debut at the #1 position for both its debut single, Poison, and self titled debut album. Further singles I Should've Never Let You Go and These Days continued the girls string of gold status, Top 20 hits and the group embarked on its first national tour. Bardot's amazing live performance of These Days at the 2000 ARIA Awards gained the girls praise and proved the girls were more than just "pretty faces".
In 2001, after promotion and recording in the UK, the group re-established themselves with the release of ASAP, the first single from their forthcoming second album. This time around, Bardot had more control over their music and image and this resulted in a more confident and sophisticated feel. ASAP continued their string of gold hits, peaking Top 5. Following single, the disco-tastic I Need Somebody confirmed the groups staying power, again peaking Top 5 and becoming the girls biggest hit since Poison. The bands second album, Play It Like That received critical acclaim and debuted at #16, achieving gold status. Final single, Love Will Find A Way, completed Bardot's string of gold Top 20 hits. The group embarked on its second national tour before deciding to "call it day".
Soon after Bardot's split, Sophie began work on her solo career, recording tracks with hit maker Rob Davis (who co-wrote Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out Of My Head) and this resulted in Inside Outside, Sophie's cute and bubbly debut solo single. The song was a huge success, debuting Top 5, receiving gold status. During the songs release, Sophie also became the model and spokesperson for Expozay Swimwear. Second single, the party-pumping Get The Music On was also another gold, Top 10 hit and was backed by her appearance in advertisements for Diet Vanilla Coke.
In May 2003, Sophie released her debut solo album, Calendar Girl, which surprised many by mixing contemporary pop, dance and funk with classical opera interludes, Sophie having been classically trained growing up. The album debuted at #35. The album's final single, the beautiful ballad One Breath Away, was re-recorded and mixed for single release. The single peaked at #23 on the charts and Sophie soon parted ways with her record company Warner Music.
She has since established herself in Hollywood, having already played Marilyn Monroe for a high-budget telemovie The Mystery Of Natalie Wood (2004) and has also starred in the music video Always for Blink 182. In February 2006, she starred in her debut feature role as the sex-bomb Andy in the comedy Date Movie which reached #2 in the US and #1 in the Australian, UK and New Zealand box office charts. In the film, which also stars Alyson Hannigan, she does a hilarious take on Paris Hilton's infamous car washing burger commercial. Her next role sees her starring alongside comedy legend Adam Sandler in his brand new film Click, a story about a universal remote control (out June 23).
A new record deal is in the works, Sophie describing her new style as “like Gwen Stefani, but a little more feminine, a bit quirky and girlie? a bit cheeky" although no official statement has been made of who she will be signed to and no music release dates have been put forward yet. She has already begun work on a fourthcoming film which meant her break in Australia to attend the MTV VMA Awards was cut short.
|
