Sonia Evans (born February 13, 1971), better known as just Sonia, is an English pop singer from Liverpool, Merseyside, who was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career

Her singing career was launched by the music producing trio Stock Aitken Waterman in 1989. She was signed after badgering Pete Waterman to listen to her sing outside the recording studio in Liverpool. Waterman did a regular weekly radio broadcast. He called her bluff and had her sing live on his show, and she later had several hits in the UK Singles Chart over the following years, including the UK number one single "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" and a hit "You've Got a Friend" (credited to Big Fun & Sonia featuring Gary Barnacle), plus some other Top 20 hit singles, including "Can't Forget You" and "You To Me Are Everything".

She sang on two charity singles, Band Aid II's "Do They Know It's Christmas" in 1989 (peaked at #1 in the UK) and Gulf Aid's "As Time Stood Still" in 1991.

She also sang the Dean Collinson and Red composition "Better The Devil You Know" for the United Kingdom in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished in second place.

In 2003, Evans took part in the reality television show Reborn in the USA alongside Elkie Brooks and Tony Hadley, but was voted off in its fifth week.

In January 2007 she starred in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, as Jack in Horsham, West Sussex, alongside Mark Curry.

Sonia has also acted during her career, having been an extra in Brookside and in the television comedy Bread as the girlfriend of the youngest Boswell child, Billy. This was before her singing career took off and she is credited as Sonia Evans. She has also played alongside Lily Savage as her wayward daughter Bunty Savage, both on the BBC series The Lily Savage show and live shows.

Discography

Albums

• Everybody Knows (1990) - #7 UK,
• Sonia (1991) - #33 UK,
• Better The Devil You Know (1993) - #32 UK,
• Love Train - The Philly Album. (1998)

Singles

• "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" (1989) - #1 UK, #29 Australia;
• "Can’t Forget You" (1989) - #17 UK;
• "Listen To Your Heart" (1989) - #10 UK;
• "Counting Every Minute" (1990) - #16 UK;
• "You’ve Got A Friend" (with Big Fun) (1990) - #14 UK;
• "End Of The World" (1990) - #18 UK;
• "Only Fools (Never Fall In Love)" (1991) - #10 UK;
• "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" (1991) - #22 UK;
• "You To Me Are Everything" (1991) - #13 UK;
• "We've Got The Power" (1992) (with Gladiators)
• "Boogie Nights" (1992) - #30 UK;
• "Better The Devil You Know" (1993) - #15 UK;
• "Hopelessly Devoted To You" / "The Anthem Medley" (1994) - #61 UK;
• "Wake Up Everybody" (1995) - #155 UK.