Miss Dominique

Miss Dominique [as she is generally known as], born Dominique Michalon 7 September 1978 in Sarcelles, France, is a French singer and second-place finalist of the fourth edition of Nouvelle Star [based version of "Pop Idol"]. Her parents are both Caribbean.

Michalon was born on 7 September 1978 in Sarcelles. She started singing when her parents sent her to a gospel chorus. At 8, she was in her first concert, the "bébés chérubins" in Sarcelles (a suburb of Paris).

She is also known by the stage name "Beth Sheba". She sang in a masterclass in Louisiana in the United States. Later, her band, "Beth-Shéba and Les Gospel Wave Singers" toured with Ray Charles and Manu Dibango. In 1998, she released an album "A Chans' ou an destin'" in Martinique as Beth Sheba.

On her audition, Michalon's performance of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" marked her as a favorite; judge Marianne James cried and said "Alleluia". Many felt that her best performance was "Calling You" from Bagdad Café. Despite this, Dominique lost in the final round to Christophe Willem. There have been claims that Dominique's chance of winning were significantly reduced because her home, Martinique was not allowed to vote.

Source: Article "Miss Dominique" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.