Sonia (singer)

Sonia Evans (born 13 February 1971), known mononymously as Sonia, is an English pop singer from Liverpool. She had a 1989 UK number one hit with "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" and became the first female UK artist to achieve five top 20 hit singles from one album.. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, where she finished second with the song "Better the Devil You Know".

Between 1989 and 1993, she had 11 UK top 30 hits, The album peaked at number 7 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. 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.

Personal life

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

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:17em;"| Album details

! scope="col" colspan="2"| Peak chart position

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK

!width="35"|AUS

!width="35"|BEL (FLA)

!width="35"|FRA

!width="35"|GER

!width="35"|IRE

!width="35"|NED

!width="35"|NOR

!width="35"|NZ

!width="35"|SWI

!width="35"|US Dance

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"|1989

|"You'll Never Stop Me Loving You"

| style="text-align:center;"| 1

| style="text-align:center;"| 29

| style="text-align:center;"| 18

| style="text-align:center;"| 29

| style="text-align:center;"| 20

| style="text-align:center;"| 1

| style="text-align:center;"| 26

| style="text-align:center;"| 10

| style="text-align:center;"| 43

| style="text-align:center;"| 21

| style="text-align:center;"| 10

| rowspan="4"|Everybody Knows

|"Can't Forget You"

| style="text-align:center;"| 17

| style="text-align:center;"| 98

| style="text-align:center;"| 47