Chico Slimani

Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) is a British singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor.

In 2004, Slimani worked as an actor and co-wrote, starred, produced and provided the soundtrack for the BAFTA nominated short film Winner Takes All alongside actor JC Mac.

Judge Simon Cowell walked out of Slimani's initial X Factor audition after fellow judges Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne voted him through to the second round after he performed "If I Ever Fall in Love" (from Shai) / "Kiss" (from Prince and the Revolution).

His category ("Over 25s") was mentored by Osbourne, who put him through to the live television phase after a particularly memorable performance at the Osbournes' "home", in which he jumped into a shallow pool and danced in the water (still holding a live microphone).

Slimani was at first mocked in the press, but after changing the style of his performances, to become slightly more self-mocking, he began to win voters over.

He also became the first contestant in a Simon Cowell show (Pop Idol, American Idol, The X Factor) to sing an original song (co-written with X Factor vocal coach Mark Hudson), the camp and iconic "It's Chico Time", named after his catchphrase (Chico: "What time is it?"; Audience: "It's Chico Time!")

Cowell was converted during the series, commenting that Slimani was a 'born entertainer', even if he was not the recording artist the show was looking to discover.

In the quarter-final, Slimani was voted out of the competition, which was won by Shayne Ward in December 2005.

The performances by Slimani during X Factor included:

Slimani had originally planned to release "It's Chico Time" as a single before Christmas 2005, but for contractual reasons he had to wait.

Slimani was stated as saying "I'm absolutely loving every minute of it, and looking forward to releasing the single at last".

In 2006, he had a number one hit on the British charts entitled "It's Chico Time".

The single was eventually released in February 2006; it entered the UK Singles Chart at number one on 5 March 2006, toppling Madonna from the top spot.

It remained at number one for two weeks.

In early 2006, Slimani took part in the nationwide X Factor tour.

Slimani's follow-up single to No. 1 hit "It's Chico Time" was a cover of the song "D.I.S.C.O.", entered the chart at number 24 in August 2006 in the British Singles Chart.

Slimani's single was an alternative version of the Ottawan hit with considerable changes in lyrics where Slimani sings: "C.H.I.C.O. on D.I.S.C.O.".

He also amended the actual lyrics to "D dynamic // I incredible // S supersonic // C Chicolicious (alluding to his own name) // O oh, oh, oh".

He also appeared in 2006 and on later occasions under his original name Yousseph Slimani in Muslim events singing Islamic songs including "Moulana", a song he composed, dedicated to Prophet Muhammad and the Awliya' (the Men of God).

The Slimani songs "I Wanna Dance With U" and "You Take My Breath Away" were written by Roachie and produced by Danny Kirsch.

His next single, "Curvy Cola Bottle Body", was released on 8 October 2007 and reached No. 45 in its first week in the chart.

X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne appeared in the official video.

Proceeds went to the British Eating Disorders Association.

Since his X factor appearance, Slimani has made many public appearances all over the UK.

He toured at Butlins, performing full 45-minute sets along with a live band and dancers as part of The Chico Experience.

"Good Day" Another Roachie / Kirsch production was used as part of the 2007 Butlins TV adverts.

The video for Slimani's fourth single, "Are You in It For Love", was premiered on his official website.

It is a cover of a Ricky Martin hit.

In 2008, he appeared on the reality TV show CelebAir where he came third.

His debut album titled Lights, Camera, Action was released beginning of 2009.

In 2010, Slimani recorded a single in support of the English Football Team to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Aptly entitled "It's England Time", a play on "It's Chico Time", it uses the same tune of his previous No. 1 hit with amended lyrics.

In December 2019, he appeared at the 15th anniversary of Ely's Christmas light switch event.

Yousseph Slimani was born in Bridgend, Wales.

He moved to live in Morocco from the age of two, when his father took him to live on the family farm.

He returned to the United Kingdom with his father at the age of 14.

After leaving school he trained on the Youth Training Scheme as an electrical engineer.

Aspiring to have a career in arts and entertainment, Slimani took part in an exotic dance troupe called "Extreme Force" and later became a singer/compere with Lapattack.

He also worked as a stripper for a while.

From a young age, he continued writing and recording songs.