There are four artists with the name Chico: 1) Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born April 2, 1971) is a Moroccan pop singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor. Chico was born in Wales but moved to Morocco when he was a baby. While in Morocco he was a mountain goat herder until the age of 13, before once again moving back to the UK at age 14 to live in Crawley, West Sussex. Chico has had a number of jobs in his life. ...show more

There are four artists with the name Chico: 1) Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born April 2, 1971) is a Moroccan pop singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor. Chico was born in Wales but moved to Morocco when he was a baby. While in Morocco he was a mountain goat herder until the age of 13, before once again moving back to the UK at age 14 to live in Crawley, West Sussex. Chico has had a number of jobs in his life.

He was a hairdresser and also an electrician, before joining exotic dance troupe Extreme Force, to raise money for his ill grandmother. He then auditioned for The X Factor. Chico says he practised his singing most in the bathroom, and he grew up with Arabic and Indian music. Chico became a Sufi disciple 16 months ago.

During The X Factor competition, Chico was mentored by manager Sharon Osbourne. Slimani's dancing impressed X Factor judges, and he was popular with viewers, but he failed to reach the final of the ITV talent show, being voted out in the penultimate episode. It was eventually won by singer Shayne Ward in December 2005. Slimani had originally planned to release his single, which he performed during the talent show, before Christmas. ...show less