Fantine

Fantine Maria Pritoula (born 6 February 1984 ) is an Australian singer and songwriter.

Fantine is currently residing in Miami, Florida.

The family immigrated to Australia in 1992.

Fantine returned to Australia in 2001 to study at the Notre Dame University, Western Australia in Perth, Western Australia.

She was enrolled in a Bachelor of Law and Accounting.

While studying, Fantine performed live with a local band Soul Corporation.

During this period, music was largely a hobby.

Fantine's music career began in 2009 when she signed a management deal with The Coady Group and relocated to Sydney.

In her first year in Sydney Fantine was introduced to Sydney-based band Space Invadas, the new project between Australian indie hip-hop producer Katalyst (musician) and Steve Spacek.

Together they recorded a collaboration track titled Super Sweet.

She made her musical debut on the Australian indie music scene in 2010 as a featured artist in a collaboration with Space Invadas (Katalyst and Steve Spacek) resulting in the soulful, jazz-inspired single, Super Sweet.

It featured Fantine on vocals and was lifted off Space Invada's album Soul:Fi (2010).

Super Sweet aired was first aired on Triple J in March 2010.

In support of the release of Soul:Fi, the band toured Australia performing at festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Future Music Festival (Future Entertainment) and the rural Groovin' the Moo Festival.

From June through August 2010, Fantine spent time in the US and UK co-writing music for her forthcoming EP and Album with a series of writers including Australian ARIA Award winning writer Ben Lee, songwriter and producer Sacha Skarbek, and Leeds based writers/producers John Beck and Steve Chrisanthou.

In 2011, Fantine announced Rubberoom (2011) as her first solo release.

The song was also aired on Australian national television programs including Rage and Video Hits, and was awarded "Indie Video Clip of The Week."

Since then, Fantine has gone on to release singles Eleven (2011) and Perfect Strangers (2011), produced in the UK by Gorillaz producer, Jason Cox, and Don't Come Around (2012), recorded in Australia and produced by UK producer, Lee Groves.

Fantine's first solo release was a single titled Rubberoom (Rubberoom) (February 2011), a song about "the place where lost ideas go".

It was co-written with UK writer/producer Alex Gray and was first aired on Triple J in February 2011.

The release of the song was followed by the airing of the music video on Australian national television programs including Rage, where the music video was awarded the status of "Indie Video Clip of The Week" and Video Hits (Australian TV series) as part of the 2011 Predictions Segment.

Rubberoom was followed by Fantine's second release, titled Eleven (Eleven) (May 2011).

This song delves into the "superstition and mysticism of the number Eleven".

In 2013, Fantine began working on her debut album, I Am Fantine (2015), with 19-time Grammy Award-winning producer, Emilio Estefan, and seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Gloria Estefan, who also co-wrote two of her songs.

In 2013, Fantine relocated to Miami to bring her music to the states and work with Emilio and Gloria Estefan, who helped Fantine produce singles Bachata de Rosa (2014), a song about "love and longing" that lends tribute to her Latin roots, and Reservation for Two (2014). The music video to Reservation for Two, which is co-produced and directed by Emilio Estefan, shows the complexities and hardships of a relationship.

Fantine went on to work with DJs like Ted Smooth to develop remixes of Reservation for Two and reach a new audience.

The Estefans curated and helped develop Fantine's Bachata de Rosa (2014) and Reservation for Two (2014), which landed the No. 5 spot on Billboard's Dance Song Chart.

In 2014, Fantine embarked on two Russian Jazz tours throughout the U.S. with the acclaimed Russian jazz saxophonist Igor Butman and his Moscow Jazz Orchestra.

Some of their noted performances include the M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest.

Reservation for Two went on to land the No. 5 spot on Billboard's Dance Song Chart in 2014. Fantine hit the U.S. market making several guest appearances throughout the country.

In March 2014, she was a featured artist performer at Perez Hilton's 36th Birthday 'Madonnathon' in New York City.

Other performers included JoJo and Kat Graham.

In April 2014, Fantine made a guest appearance at the Power of Love Gala.

In June 2014, Fantine began her promo tour for her two new singles Reservation for Two and Bachata de Rosa. Her single Reservation for Two officially debuted in July 2014 on PerezHilton.com.

Several popular DJ's including Ted Smooth, began remixing the song and it became a hit club single and played throughout various U.S. dance clubs.

Fantine kicked off her Spanish tour for her second single, Bachata de Rosa, in August 2014.

In September 2014, she made a guest appearance and publicly debuted the song on Univision's hit show, El Gordo y la Flaca, and it simultaneously launched online on PeopleEspanol.com.

In March 2015, Fantine joined three-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and producer, Wyclef Jean, at the Miami Beach Centennial Celebration Concert to perform a rendition of Killing Me Softly.

She is currently working on her latest single What A Day (2015) co-produced by Emilio Estefan and Wyclef Jean, featuring Wyclef Jean and reggaeton singer, El Cata.

Born to Russian father (Anatoli Pritoula) and Dominican mother (Rita Pritoula), Fantine and sister Alexandra, were raised in a tri-lingual household (Russian, Spanish, English).