Mini Viva are Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, a pop duo launched by Xenomania. They are signed with Geffen Records UK and are managed by Simon Fuller (19 Management).
Britt (Mini, 21, from Newcastle) and Frankee (Viva, 21, from Manchester) formed in 2008 and began gathering attention with the Fred Falke remix of their debut single "Left My Heart In Tokyo". The remix was released in October 2008 on limited 10" vinyl with Japanese-style packaging. Since then, the song has also been remixed by Pete Hammond, Treasure Fingers, Acid Girls, Chris Lake, Kush and Spog.
Mini Viva have been working with Xenomania, writing with Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper and Norwegian singer Annie. They describe the sound they have found with their collaborators as "pop with a quirky edge".
They performed a few live shows as a support act on The Saturdays Work Tour. Their first single, "Left My Heart In Tokyo", was released on 6th September. It entered the UK charts at number 7 and peaked at number 3 on the iTunes UK chart. Mini Viva released their second single, "I Wish", on December 14th.
The new Mini Viva single, "One Touch", will be released on 10th May, 2010.
-- The next biggest girl band in the universe (...)
They certainly seemed the happiest and most polite band of the weekend when NME saw them at Camden Crawl (...). "Hooked" was bursting with the warm, layered synth sounds of a Kylie epic, "I Wish" was an instant modern pop classic and "Emotions of Love" topped most of the Sugababes' recent output. - NME
-- (...) the full balls-out radio edit version of 'Left My Heart In Tokyo' is several different kinds of incredible - a sophisticated future disco record and a flag in the ground for the post-Aloud pop generation. - Popjustice
-- Mini Viva strike us as the act most likely to encourage a productive dialogue between indie and pop, between the art world and the chart world. (...) They're rough and raw for the polished-pop milieu, which is good, and they've got a lot to learn, but there are groups, plenty of them, who could learn a thing or two from them, even at this early stage in their development, even this late in the game. - The Guardian
-- Looked after by the UK's premier hit machine Xenomania (Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys) and billing themselves as "neat beats and musical treats". Older readers will think teenagers Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, launched with some low-key gigs earlier this year, remind them of 80s protogirl power types Mel & Kim. They wouldn't be wrong. Recently signed to Universal via Geffen Records, with debut single due later this year.
Sounds like: Sophisticated electric pop - The Observer
-- Xenomania have been busy of late and Mini Viva, are one of the projects keeping the studio desk warm. Pop duo doing infectious, upbeat, radio friendly pop. - Music Week
-- So, just as the Sugababes return to fighting form, a new challenger enters. In the POW! corner are Xenomania's bright young hopes punching well above their weight. Presiding over a rush of gutsy digital disco-pop that evokes the bustling neon thrill of city streets, Britt Love and Frankee Connolly are as sassy, tough and brilliant as the 'Babes in their prime. It's so on. - NME
-- Their debut single 'Left My Heart In Tokyo' - terrific title by the way - is a classic Xenomania confection: inventive production, quirky lyrics and loads of different musical ideas held together by the magnetic pull of an instant pop chorus. - Digital Spy
-- Xenomania and Simon Fuller have struck the jackpot with new duo Mini Viva. (...) Debut single Left My Heart In Tokyo, out September 7, is nuts, meanwhile Hooked has all the hallmarks of a smash hit.
Full marks for the synchronised arms. My verdict: Dance moves and songs for a new generation. - Daily Star
-- [They're] kind of like a two-piece gym-treadmill adrenalized Sugarbabes, riding that unmistakable trademark Xeno splurge of pretty much every twist and turn music has taken in the whole history of everything ever crammed into each and every note. Very soon you're not going to be able to step out your front door without being mule-kicked by their sparkly high-top Nike blazers. NME
-- two girls who share a Manchester flat together, whose future disco single "Left My Heart In Tokyo" sounded irresistible. GQ Magazine
-- Singing that kind of perfect pop you'd expect from the Xenomania team, Frankee and Brit are two tiny girls who are very much in tune with each other. (...) Mini Viva might be just starting out but have got their act perfectly honed. Londonist
-- New talent from the Xenomania stable - think modern day Mel N Kim. Or just two kick-ass kids from Newcastle doing energy pop. - Attitude Magazine
-- Quite brilliant in their own right. (...) Will be gradually unfolding and blossoming LIKE A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER over the coming months so keep your eye on them. - Popjustice
