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Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) Yousseph Chico Slimani, CompanyCheck.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2019 is a Welsh 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 2006, he had a number one hit on the British charts entitled "It's Chico Time". In 2008, he appeared on the reality TV show CelebAir where he came third.
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. 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.
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 Catch phrase (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". 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".
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.
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 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. "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. 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. Audio of "It's England Time" by Chico Slimani The song was first played on The Chris Moyles Show. WorldCupSong.com: Broadcasting of "England Time" on The Chris Moyles Show Slimani recorded the single after having a 'vision' that England won the 2010 World Cup and that in the celebrations, commentators made reference to his Chico Time song. The music video was shot in Pinewood Studios and the official release date of the single was 7 June 2010. Proceeds went to Rainbow Child Foundation to help underprivileged children in Africa.
In December 2019, he appeared at the 15th anniversary of Ely's Christmas light switch event.
Slimani founded the Rainbow Child Foundation with his wife Daniyela and JC Mac, and took part in a promotional video of the foundation Rainbow Child Foundation promotional video by Slimani and others about charity work in Cambodia to open an orphanage in Cambodia.
He took part in another Rainbow Child Foundation project in Malawi and South Africa with the charity One Water to see the work carried out installing Play Pumps. In 2011, Slimani visited Malawi and opened Play pumps there.
Chico's single "Curvy Cola Bottle Body" is a protest against the "size zero" phenomenon. As part of its promotion, Chico teamed up with the British Eating Disorders Association (BEAT) charity. Profits from the single were donated to the charity.
Proceeds from Slimani's 2010 single "It's England Time" went to the Rainbow Child Foundation to help underprivileged children in Africa.
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