Sam Obernik

A constant presence on the U.K. dance music scene, singer/songwriter Sam Obernik has been an in-demand guest vocalist for some of the genre's biggest names since the early noughties. Born and raised in Ireland, Obernik began her career performing Prince, the Rolling Stones, and the Waterboys' songs on the streets of Dublin with the Frames' Oscar-winning vocalist Glen Hansard. After failing to land a role in Alan Parker's The Commitments, she moved to Los Angeles, where she auditioned for Dave Stewart's band and toured with the Specials' Terry Hall before returning to the U.K. to start a family. In the late '90s she fronted her own eponymous vaudeville band, which gained a cult following in London venues like Water Rats and The Garage, and in 2002, she received her commercial breakthrough, providing guest vocals for Tim Deluxe's number 11 hit "It Just Won't Do." A solo deal with Warner East West Records followed, but the label folded just a month before her debut album, Stellify, was due to be released. Undeterred, she appeared on another Top 40 club anthem, Linus Loves' "Stand Back," and teamed up with Kylie Minogue producer Tommy D to record a collection of jazz-pop reworkings of dancefloor fillers, under the guise of Barefoot. In 2008, she scored her third chart entry with "Baditude," a collaboration with DJs Dave Spoon and Paul Harris, and has since continued to appear on several other dance-pop singers' work, including Alex Gaudino's and Redroche's. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi