Katie Melua

Katie Melua Early life

Ketevan Melua was born in Kutaisi, Georgia, which then was part of the Soviet Union, in 1984. She spent her first years with her grandparents in the capital Tbilisi before moving, with her parents and brother, to the town of Batumi, Ajaria where her father worked as a heart specialist.During this time Melua sometimes had to carry buckets of water up five flights of stairs to her family's flat, and according to her, "Now, when I'm staying in luxurious hotels, I think back to those days..."

In 1993, in the aftermath of the Georgian Civil War, the family moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where her father took up a position at the prestigious Royal Victoria Hospital. Whilst living in Belfast, Melua attended Roman Catholic schools, St. Catherine's Primary School and Dominican College, Fortwilliam, while her younger brother attended Protestant schools.The family moved again to Redhill, Surrey, in 1998, although Melua recently moved out of the family home in favour of an apartment in the Paddington area of London, where she has transformed the spare bedroom into a recording studio. Melua can speak three languages: Georgian, Russian and English.

Melua is partly of Canadian and Russian ancestry.

Katie Melua First television appearance

Because of her upbringing in politically unstable Georgia and troubled Belfast, Melua initially planned to become either a historian or a politician.[16] This changed in 2000, at the age of 15, when Melua took part in a talent competition on British television channel ITV called "Stars Up Their Noses" (a spoof of Stars in Their Eyes) as part of the children's program Mad for It!. Melua won the contest by singing Badfinger's "Without You". The prize was £350 worth of MFI vouchers, with which she bought a chair for her father. Had she lost the contest, she would have been gunged.

Katie Melua Schooling

After completing her GCSEs at Nonsuch High School in Surrey, Melua attended the BRIT School for the Performing Arts in the London Borough of Croydon, undertaking a BTEC with an A-level in music. She began to write songs when at the school. Melua first met her future manager, producer Mike Batt, when studying at the school.

Melua didn't attend University, though she has often stated her desire to do so, saying that English literature, history and physics would be her courses of choice should she get the chance to go to University.

Katie Melua Personal life

Melua met Luke Pritchard, lead singer of The Kooks, when they were both studying at the BRIT School where they began dating. Melua and Pritchard rarely speak of the relationship, but what is known is that the couple dated for three years and discussed marriage. However, as Melua became more successful, the relationship came into difficulties and they split up in March 2005.

Melua is known to have smoked cannabis for recreation and for musical inspiration.However, in 2004, Melua announced that she had stopped taking the substance for the latter reason because it "dented her creativity".

Katie Melua Adrenaline junkie

Melua is sometimes referred to as an 'adrenaline junkie' because she enjoys roller coasters and fun fairs and often paraglides and hang glides. She has skydived twice and taken several flying lessons, and in 2004 she was lowered from a 200 metre building in New Zealand at 60mph. When asked about Melua being an 'adrenaline junkie', Mike Batt said, "she enjoys extremes, but in life her emotions are always in check."

Katie Melua British nationality

On 10 August 2005, Melua became a British citizen with her parents and brother. The citizenship ceremony took place in Weybridge, Surrey. On gaining British nationality, Melua was eligible for a British passport, which makes it easier for her to travel around the world. Becoming a British citizen meant that Melua had held three citizenship's before she was 21; first Soviet, then Georgian and finally British. After the ceremony, Melua stated her pride at her newest nationality. "As a family, we have been very fortunate to find a happy lifestyle in this country and we feel we belong. We still consider ourselves to be Georgian, because that is where our roots are, and I return to Georgia every year to see my uncles and grandparents, but I am proud to now be a British citizen