Vanessa Contenay‑Quinones, born in Paris, France, is a French singer who began performing at age sixteen with a pop record that led her to relocate to Brighton and later London. In 1992 she and Chris Taplin signed with Heavenly Records, releasing the singles "Conquistador", "Los Americanos", and "Bonita Mañana", the latter reaching the UK Top 50 and being remixed by The Sabres of Paradise. The duo Espiritu released the album Always… in Japan in 1995, and later Another Life in 1997, but the partnership dissolved after limited commercial success. In 1999 a cover of Carly Simon’s "Why" appeared on EMI Germany, and in 2000 Quinones provided vocals for Dario G’s "Voices" on the soundtrack to The Beach. The early 2000s saw collaborations with Brian Higgins and Nick Coler as Vanessa St. James, and a 2003 formation of Vanessa and the O’s, which yielded the EP Plus Rien and the album La Ballade d'O (EMI Sweden, 2005). In 2010 she released Allez Pop! with Skeewiff, featuring tracks such as "Bon Bon Bon" and "Pourquoi Pas", the former appearing in the film Killers. Subsequent albums Voodoo Girl (2020) continued her exploration of 1960s French pop, with singles receiving radio play in France and international sync placements.
