Anastacia

American singer and songwriter, born in Chicago, Illinois on September 17, 1968. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has not had as much success in her native United States. She has described her sound as 'sprock', a combination of soul, pop and rock. Her debut album, Not That Kind, released in 2000, achieved multi-platinum sales in Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe. This resulted in her being critically acclaimed by both Elton John and Michael Jackson. After having the 4th biggest European single and biggest Australian single of 2000, Anastacia was awarded 'Best-selling International Artist' at the World Music Awards in 2000. Her next two albums continued her multi-platinum selling success throughout Europe, making her one of the fastest and biggest selling artists of the new millennium. In 2005, she was recognized for worldwide sales of over 20 million. Anastacia is world-renowned for her powerful soul voice, and her small stature, 5 feet 3 inches or 160 cm, which has led to her being nicknamed "The Little Lady with the Big Voice". She is also known for her trademark glasses (often darkly tinted); although she underwent laser eye surgery in August 2005, she kept wearing them frequently.