Brooke

Born in Malta in 1993, Brooke Borg's array of talent can be traced as far back as when she began studying ballet and jazz at just four years old. This led her to singing a year later, participating in shows and competitions around Malta and Italy, and dueting with her older brother. Before she was into her pre-teens, Borg took up playing the piano and began listening to the likes of soul artists Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, while also admiring contemporary Italian musicians such as Caruso and Alex Baroni. Eventually, Borg became a well-known television presenter in Italy and around Europe -- hosting children's show Little Ones, among others -- but she soon became keen to launch a music career, using the moniker Brooke. In late 2009, at age 17, she moved to London and recorded a duet with the winner of the Nuova Generazione (New Generation Award) at Sanremo 2010, Tony Maiello. Produced by Steve Russell and released as a single, "Echo" was a hit in Italy and was featured on Maiello's album Il Linguaggio Della Resa. The two then performed in front of almost 100,000 people on their subsequent Italian tour. Back in London, Brooke played her biggest U.K. date by supporting Taio Cruz at the O2 Arena before being awarded a Youth Achievement Award at the House of Lords. This was in no small part due to her visiting schools and conducting workshops to inspire young children to reach their goals. Committed to the cause, Brooke then helped launch the Love Not War Campaign in October 2010, which focused on the rise of bullying and other crimes among youngsters in the U.K. Squeezing all this and more into her schedule, Brooke, who once told an interviewer "I set goals and make sure I reach them… I have a very positive attitude toward life", began work on her debut album, which featured the euphoric European electro-pop of "Love Not War." ~ Daniel Clancy