Jan. 12: British singer Pixie Lott "Turn it Up" is 20 today.

English singer-songwriter, dancer and actress Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott was born in Bromley, South-east London. Her mother nicknamed her Pixie because she was a tiny, cute baby who "looked like a fairy."

Pixie started singing at a very young age in her church school. When she was five years-old she attended the Italia Conti Associates Saturday school in Chislehurst, then was awarded a scholarship to the main school - Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts when she was 11. When she was 13, her family moved to Brentwood.

When she was a student, she appeared in the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, and in BBC One's Celebrate the Sound of Music as Louisa von Trapp. At the age of 14, she was part of the chorus, recording vocals on Pink Floyd's Roger Waters's opera Ça Ira.

In 2006, at the age of 15, she sang for L. A. Reid after he heard a a sample of her demos. He then signed her to the Island Def Jam Music Group.

After a change of personal managers, Pixie left the Island Def Jam Music Group, to sign with Mercury Records in the UK and to Interscope Records in the U.S. She formed a publishing deal, as a songwriter, with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in December 2007, while in the midst of writing and recording tracks for  her first album, Turn It Up.

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Lott played her first festival concert in the Big Top at the Isle of Wight Festival 2009, during her first full British tour, where she supported The Saturdays on The Work Tour.

Her debut single "Mama Do" was released in June 2009 and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. The single also had considerable success outside the UK, reaching the top forty in eleven other countries, including top ten peaks of number eight in Denmark and number ten in France. The single was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry on 28 August 2009 after selling over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Her debut album Turn It Up was officially released in September 2009. Her second single from the album, "Boys and Girls," also topped the UK charts in September 2009.


Lott's third single from the album was "Cry Me Out." The fourth single, "Gravity," was released in the UK on 8 March 2010, following the premiere of its video on Channel 4 on 6 February 2010. The fifth single, the title song "Turn It Up," was released on 7 June 2010.

Turn It Up hit number six on the UK Albums Chart, spawned five consecutive Top 20 singles, and has been certified double platinum after spending almost an entire year on the charts. So far Lott has produced seven Top 20 Singles on the UK Singles Chart.

Lott won two MTV EMA Awards MTV Europe Music Awards 2009, Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Push Artist (best break through artist). Lott won a Cosmopolitan 2009 Ultimate Women Award for Ultimate Newcomer. In 2009, Lott won The Caron Keating Breakthrough Talent Award at The Variety Club Awards.

Lott also served as the opening act of Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth Tour in the UK 7–26 May 2010, and performed on the main stage at the V Festival in August 2010.

Lott was cast as Judy, Fred Figglehorn's crush, in the film Fred: The Movie, co-starring with Lucas Cruikshank. The comedy was released on America's Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.

Lott released "Boys and Girls" as her debut U.S. single in August 2010. The release coincided with the TV premiere of Fred: The Movie.

Turn It Up was released in the U.S. with a significantly updated track listing. For the new "repackaged" version Lott included duets with Jason Derulo and Joe Jonas. The album includes her newest single, "Broken Arrow"; it is being used in the trailer for new film Beastly which comes out in March 2011.

In January 2010, Lott was named one of 2010's "Faces to Watch" by Billboard magazine in the U.S.

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