Victoria Wilson-James facts for kids

Victoria Wilson-James is a talented singer, songwriter, and music producer. She was born in Gary, Indiana, USA, and loved performing in plays and musicals when she was a teenager. After releasing her first song, "I Want You in My Movie," she joined the popular music group Soul II Soul. With her bandmate Jazzie B as their manager, Soul II Soul became one of London's most successful groups ever.

Their second album, Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade (released in 1990), was a huge hit. It sold so many copies that it earned "gold status" in both the US and the UK. This album included the chart-topping song "A Dreams a Dream", where Victoria Wilson-James sang the main vocals.

After leaving Soul II Soul in late 1990, she released her first solo album, Perseverance, in 1991. This album featured popular songs like "Through" and "Bright Lights." In 1993, she joined another band called the Shamen and continued to perform and record with them until 1999. Her second solo album, Colorfields, came out in 1997 and included one of her most famous songs, "Reach 4 the Melody."

Victoria Wilson-James has also performed in many theatre musicals. These include The Wiz (in 2001), Purlie (in 2004), and Lush Life (in 2005). In 2005, she formed a music duo called Avitas and released an album with them titled A Course in Miracles. In 2013, she released her third solo album, The Rapture.

Early Life and Training

Victoria Wilson-James attended the Los Angeles Academy of Performing Arts. There, she earned a degree in Theatre Arts, which is all about acting and stage performance. She also studied at Phil Moore's Singers Workshop in Hollywood, where she improved her singing skills.

Music Career Highlights

Starting Her Solo Journey

In 1988, Victoria Wilson-James released her very first song, "I Want You in My Movie." This was on a record label called Risin' Records.

Joining Soul II Soul

In 1990, Jazzie B asked Victoria to join the British music group Soul II Soul. This happened after some of their previous singers had left. In May 1990, Soul II Soul released their second song from the album Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade. This song was "A Dreams a Dream", and Victoria Wilson-James sang the lead part. The song became very popular, reaching the top ten on the UK music charts.

In the same month, Soul II Soul's second album, Vol. II: 1990 – A New Decade, was released. It quickly became number one on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold. Victoria also went on tour with the group in the summer of 1990. One of their concerts was recorded live at Brixton Academy and released as an album called A New Decade: Live from Brixton Academy. After the tour, she decided to start her own solo music career.

Solo Albums and Performances

In late 1990, Victoria began working on her first solo album. It was produced by Jazzie B and a musical director named Michael J McEvoy. Her album, Perseverance, was released on March 26, 1991. It reached number 55 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart in the US.

The first song from the album, "Through," came out in March 1991. It reached number 22 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. To promote her album, Victoria performed on many TV music shows. These included The Party Machine with Nia Peeples, Soul Train, The Word, and Video Soul. In July 1991, she released her second song, "Bright Lights." The last song from the album, "One World," was released later that year.

With The Shamen

In 1993, Victoria became the main singer for a techno-pop band called the Shamen. In 1995, they released their first album together, Axis Mutatis. This album reached number 27 on the UK Albums Chart. It included popular songs like "Destination Eschaton" and "Transamazonia," which both made it into the top thirty on the UK Singles Chart. Their song "Heal (The Separation)" reached number 31.

In 1997, Victoria Wilson-James released a solo song called "Reach 4 the Melody." Her second solo album, Colorfields, was also released in 1997. In 1998, she rejoined The Shamen for their final album, UV. Their last song, "Universal," was released before the band decided to go their separate ways in 1999.

Later Music and Collaborations

In 2001, Victoria sang on Superchumbo's song "The Revolution." This song reached number 43 on the Dance Club Songs chart. In 2002, she was featured on Mr. C's song "Circles of Love."

In June 2005, she worked with Ralph Falcon on a song called "Swim." Also in 2005, Victoria formed a music duo called Avitas with musician Kinan Atassi. They released an album together called A Course in Miracles in September 2005. This album featured songs like "Re-Creation" and "Cantate."

In March 2007, she released a collection of her songs called Indestructible. This album included the song "Yo' Freek." She also sang on Ralph Falcon's song "I Need Someone," which became very popular on the US Dance chart.

In June 2013, Victoria released her third solo album, The Rapture. This album featured songs like "Never Stop," "Deep in Vogue," "Say It Ain't So," and "Red Lipstick." In November 2016, Victoria Wilson-James performed her own one-woman show called "Perseverance." In November 2017, she released a song called "Pray" as a free download.

Theatre and Film Roles

Victoria Wilson-James has also had a successful career in acting.

• In 1999, she played a character named Roxy in the UK musical Oh What a Night!. This role was created just for her.
• In 2001, she played "Glinda," the good witch, in a UK production of The Wiz.
• In 2004, Victoria starred as "Greta" in the film Road to Damascus. In the same year, she played "Missy Judson" in the musical Purlie.
• In early 2005, she starred in the musical Lush Life. In this show, she played two roles: the famous singer Ella Fitzgerald and a police officer. Her performances received great reviews.

Discography

Studio Albums

Compilation Albums

Singles

Filmography