Nicola Sharon French (born 26 September 1964) is an English singer. She is best known for her 1995 dance cover version of Bonnie Tyler’s "Total Eclipse of the Heart", which reached the US and UK top 5, and for representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 in Stockholm.
Life and career
1964–1993
French was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England.
French's first "gig" came at the age of seven, when she was chosen to sing the first verse of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" at her infants' school Christmas concert.
From the age of 16, French studied music and drama at West Kent College in Tonbridge, Kent. She played the lead role of Laurey in Oklahoma! before moving to London and started auditioning for bands and theatre shows. In the United States, the song reached number 2, spending six months on the Billboard Hot 100 chart The single also reached number 1 in a number of countries – Japan, Canada, Spain and Brazil – as well as charting in Australia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. French sold in excess of 5 million copies. on the UK Singles Chart. French's debut album, Secrets, was released in 1995 and further singles from the album included "Is There Anybody Out There?", "Did You Ever Really Love Me?" and "Never in a Million Years". French was Mike Stock's Love This Records's biggest artist before it went into liquidation. Secrets sold over 50,000 copies in its first week of sale in the US.
French signed to Jim Steinman's Ravenous Records label for a short period in 2000, during which time she recorded "Lovers Again" and "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", neither of which was ever commercially released.
In 2003, French was one of nine contestants on a special Eurovision edition of BBC Television's The Weakest Link. Joining Sonia, Lyn Paul, James Fox, Katie Boyle, Bobby Gee, Jessica Garlick, Katrina Leskanich and Jemini on the show hosted by Anne Robinson, French won the event and was declared 'The Strongest Link' raising £13,000 for Cancer Research, having lost her father to cancer in 1997.
In 2004, French released "I Surrender" and in 2005, "Calling Out My Name". "I Surrender" charted on the UK Indie Chart at #37 and EuroNRG Top 40 chart
In 2007, French was cast as understudy for the original London cast of Menopause the Musical, starring Su Pollard. She was subsequently part of all the UK and Irish productions, and has played three out of the four roles throughout her connection with the show, elevating to being cast in the main roles.
In 2008, French took part in her first pantomime, playing Queen Genevieve in Sleeping Beauty at Chipping Norton Theatre. The pantomime gained great reviews, making it into the top 10 pantomimes in the UK in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. In 2009, French played Fairy Godmother in Cinderella for New Pantomime Productions.
In 2009, a special edition of French's second album, French Revolution, became available. The re-release contained seventeen tracks and included all three of her most recent singles along with a previously unreleased version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
In August 2010, French toured the UK in the musical Annie,
Personal life
French was born in Carlisle to Joseph and Eileen. She has three siblings. The French family moved when Nicki was four and settled in Tenterden, Kent.
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| USA<br />
|-
! scope="row"| Secrets
|
- Released: 1995
- Label: Love This Record
- Format: CD, cassette
| 95 || 151
|-
! scope="row"| French Revolution
|
- Released: 1997
- Label: Cutting Edge Records
- Format: CD, cassette
| — || —
|-
! scope="row"| One Step Further
|
- Released: 2015
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
| — || —
|-
! scope="row"| A Very Nicki Christmas
|
- Released: 2017
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
| — || —
|-
! scope="row"| Glitter to the Neon Lights
|
- Released: 2018
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
| — || —
|-
! scope="row"| Who, What, Where
|
- Released: 16 August 2024
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
| — || —
|-
! scope="row"| Christmas Everywhere
|
- Released: 8 December 2025
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
| — || —
|}
Mini albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of mini albums, with selected details
! Title
! Album details
|-
! scope="row"| Rare and Unreleased
|
- Released: 2011
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
|-
! scope="row"| Eurovision E.P
|
- Released: 2015
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
|-
! scope="row"| This Love
|
- Released: 2015
- Label: MPG Records
- Format: CD, download
|-
! scope="row"| Let's Play That Song Again
|
- Released: 2019
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
|-
! scope="row"| A Touch More Glitter
|
- Released: 2020
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
|-
! scope="row"| Let's Play That Song Again Vol. 2
|
- Released: 2021
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: CD, download
|-
|}
Compilation albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of compilation albums, with selected details
! Title
! Album details
|-
! scope="row"| Te Amo – Best Of
|
- Released: 2015
- Label: Sandrew Metronome
- Format: download
|-
! scope="row"| The Essentials
|
- Released: 2015
- Label: Sandrew Metronome
- Format: download
|-
! scope="row"| The Singles 1997–2014
|
- Released: 2015
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: download
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Eurovision
|
- Released: 24 April 2023
- Label: Energise Records
- Format: download
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles as main artist, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:22em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="10"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:13em;"| Certifications
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | UK<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | AUS<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | CAN<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | GER<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | IRE<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | JPN<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | NL<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | NZ<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;" | US<br />
|-
! scope="row" | "Dirty Den" <br />(as Whisky and Sofa)
| 1986
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "You'll Be Sorry" <br />(as The French Connection)
| rowspan="2" | 1993
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
| 54 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (re-release)
| rowspan="1" | 1994
| 5 || 2 || 14 || 1 || 65 || 15 || 39 || 10 || 13 || 2
|
- BPI: Silver
- ARIA: Platinum
- RIAA: Gold
| rowspan="6" | Secrets
|-
! scope="row" | "For All We Know"
| rowspan="4" | 1995
| 42 || 89 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Did You Ever Really Love Me"
| 55 || 150 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Is There Anybody Out There?"
| 83 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Never in a Million Years" <br />(Sweden and Denmark only)
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row" | "Stop in the Name of Love"/<br>"Is There Anybody Out There?"<br>(Australia only)
| 1996
| — || 227 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Hard to Say I'm Sorry"
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| rowspan="3" | French Revolution
|-
! scope="row" | "Te Amo"
| 84 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Give It Up Now"
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Don't Play That Song Again"
| rowspan="1" | 2000
| 34 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "I Surrender"
| rowspan="1" | 2004
| 110 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Calling Out My Name"
| rowspan="1" | 2005
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Total Eclipse of the Heart 2006" <br />(as Diva DJs vs. Nicki French)
| rowspan="1" | 2006
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Ain't No Smoke (Without Fire)"
| rowspan="1" | 2011
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Red Light (Spells Danger)"/"Leave a Light On"
| rowspan="1" | 2013
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| rowspan="2" | One Step Further
|-
! scope="row" | "The Boss"
| rowspan="1" | 2014
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "This Love"
| rowspan="1" | 2015
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| This Love (EP)
|-
! scope="row" | "Teardrops (On the Disco Floor)"
| rowspan="1" | 2017
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| rowspan="3" | Glitter to the Neon Lights
|-
! scope="row" | "Steal the Crown"
| rowspan="3" | 2018
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" |"On Your Marks, Get Set, Go Away"
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" |"It's Gonna Be a Cold Cold Christmas"
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| A Very Nicki Christmas
|-
! scope="row" | "Raise Your Voice"
| rowspan="1" | 2019
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| Glitter to the Neon Lights
|-
! scope="row" | "Haunted Heart"
| rowspan="1" | 2020
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| rowspan="2"| Who, What, Where
|-
! scope="row" | "Last Dance"
| rowspan="1" | 2022
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
| rowspan="1" | 2022
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| A Very Nicki Christmas
|-
! scope="row" | "Nothing Is Impossible"
| rowspan="3" | 2024
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
| rowspan="3" | Who, What, Where?
|-
! scope="row" | "High Hopes & Heartaches"
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|-
! scope="row" | "S.O.S. (Same Old Story)”
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|
|}
Other releases
- 1995: "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" (available on vinyl and dance compilations) (Avex Records)
- 2000: "When You Walk in the Room" (on Euro2000 album as Paris) (Dominion Records)
- 2000: "The One and Only" (on Euro2000 album as Paris) (Dominion Records)
- 2000: "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" (on Euro2000 album as Paris) (Dominion Records)
- 2005: "Private Dancer" (for Gayfest album 2005) (Klone Records)
Industry Awards
DMA (magazine) HI-NRG Music Awards
|-
| 1995
| Herself
| Best Female Vocal Performance
|
|-
| 1995
| Total Eclipse of the Heart
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|1995
|Herself
|Most Promising Newcomer
|
|-
International Dance Music Awards
|-
| 1996
| Total Eclipse of the Heart
| Best Hi-NRG 12-inch of the Year
|
|-