Fatoumata Diawara (a.k.a. Fatou) was born of Malian parents in the Ivory Coast in 1982. As a child she became a member of her father’s dance troupe and was a popular performer of the wildly flailing didadi dance from Wassoulou, her ancestral home in western Mali. She was an energetic and headstrong girl and at the age of 12 her refusal to go to school prompted her parents to send her to live and be disciplined by an aunt in Bamako. She was not to see her parents again for more than a decade. 

Her aunt was an actress, and a few years after arriving, Diawara found herself on a film set looking after her aunt’s infant child. The film’s director was captivated by Diawara’s adolescent beauty and she was given a one-line part in the final scene of the film Taafe Fangan (The Power of Women). This led to a lead role in a film by the celebrated director Cheick Omar Sissoko: 1999’s La Genèse (Genesis). 

At the age of 18 Diawara travelled to Paris to perform the classical Greek role of Antigone on stage. After touring with the production she returned to Mali where she was given the lead in Dani Kouyaté’s popular 2001 film Sia, The Dream of the Python. The film tells the story of a West African legend called Sia, a young girl who defies tradition. To many in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and Burkina Faso, Diawara is Sia thanks to the film’s enormous success throughout the region.

Offers for further acting roles poured in but Diawara’s family wanted her to settle down and marry and forced her to announce, live on Malian television, that she was abandoning her career as an actress. 

In 2002 Jean-Louis Courcoult, the director of the renowned French theatre company, Royale de Luxe, travelled to Bamako to offer Diawara a part in his new production. An unmarried woman is considered a minor in Malian society so her family’s permission was required. They refused. After much soul-searching Diawara took the daring decision to run away and at the Bamako airport she managed to board a plane for Paris, narrowly escaping the pursuit of the police who had been alerted to the girl’s “kidnapping.” 

With Royal de Luxe, Diawara performed a variety of roles around the world including tours in Vietnam and Mexico and throughout Europe. During rehearsals and quiet moments she took to singing backstage for her own amusement. She was overheard by the director and was soon singing solo during the company’s performances. Encouraged by the reception from audiences she began to sing in Parisian clubs and cafes during breaks from touring. Here she met Cheikh Tidiane Seck the celebrated Malian musician and producer who invited her to travel with him back to Mali to work on two projects as chorus vocalist; Seya, the Grammy–nominated album by Malian singer Oumou Sangaré, and Red Earth, the Grammy–winning Malian project by American jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater. When the albums were released Diawara toured worldwide as singer and dancer with both artists. 

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With supermodel good looks, a sweet, high tenor voice, a winning way with falsetto, flawless English, and no trace of an accent, Danish pop sensation Christopher could almost have been manufactured for international success. He appeared seemingly out of nowhere in August 2011, already signed to EMI, which released a YouTube video where he performed an acoustic cover of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend." The video instantly garnered thousands of hits, paving the way for his debut single and album.

Born Christopher Nissen on January 31, 1992 and brought up in the Copenhagen suburb of Kastrup, on the island of Amager, he was interested in music from a very early age and began singing at the age of three. Dreaming of stardom, he took up the guitar at 12 and began writing songs, and, while still in high school, turned up unannounced one day at EMI's Copenhagen offices with his guitar and performed a number of his songs for the execs, who rewarded his chutzpah by signing him on the spot. His debut single "Against the Odds," a funky pure pop ballad, was released in September 2011 and reached a respectable number 23 on the Danish singles chart. The follow-up, "Nothing in Common," released the following January, fared much better, reaching number five. His debut album, Colours, dropped a couple of months later and hit number four on the albums chart.

It was not until 2014, however, that Christopher tasted major and international success. He had built a huge following on social media, and excitement was rife for his second album, Told You So. The album had more of an R&B feel than his debut, and showcased Christopher's maturation and progression as both singer and songwriter. Upon its release, it peaked at number two in the Danish albums chart, but it was on streaming services that it really made its mark, topping Denmark's Spotify chart for a staggering seven weeks. It was also released in China, where it accrued enough interest for Christopher to undertake a promotional tour. The non-album single "CPH Girls" was also a hit there, reaching number two in the QQ Charts for Western music. An ode to the beauties of his home city, "CPH Girls"  featured American R&B singer Brandon Beal, who later returned the favor by featuring Christopher on his own single "Twerk It Like Miley." Both singles went to number one Denmark. Christopher's reputation was secured when he won several awards at the 2014 Danish Music Awards, including Pop Album of the Year. He also won Best Danish Act at the 2014 MTV EMAs. He then set to work on his third album, working with producers such as Clarence Coffee, Jr. and the Nordsø Brothers. "Tulips," the album's libidinous, double entendre-laden first single, was released in August 2015

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