"I had dreamt of working with Steve Jean since I was like in S.4,” said Chandiru in an interview.
Jackie Chandiru: How I got Steve Jean’s attention
Jackie Chandiru always wanted to work with Steve Jean and when an opportunity came, she cashed in.
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She said she first had a song Jean produced and sang titled Fever when she was in the kitchen cooking.
So, when the opportunity to participate in Coca-Cola Popstars came and she noticed that Steve Jean was among the judges, she rehearsed his song so that she would perform it to impress him. It worked. She got his attention.
After the show, Jean formed Blu*3, the singing group the was comprised of Cindy Sanyu, Lilian Mbabazi and Chandiru herself.
Steve Jean, a renowned producer and entrepreneur, is the founder of Fenon Records, one of the top music production and events companies in Uganda.
Born to Felix Eyaa and Josephine Ayaa on September 13, 1984 (TBC) at Nsambya Hospital, Chandiru went to Lugogo Nursery School and Nakasero Primary School before joining Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School in O-Level.
She left for Vienna College Namugongo in A-Level after which she joined Makerere University to study Industrial Fine Art.
Jackie was singing as young as early as five years of age though she started performing on stage when she joined A-Level. She was both a singer and a dancer.
At Nabisunsa, she was the president of the drama club.
Professional music started when she participated in the TV show Coca-Cola Popstars which led to the formation of Blu*3 in 2004. Steve Jean, whom she always admired, would become the manager of the group that comprised of her, Lilian Mbabazi and Cindy.
In 2004 they recorded their first album dubbed 'Hitaji', which had hit singles like 'Hitaji', 'Frisky' and 'Tomalaako'.
Cindy was fired from the group in 2008 while on a trip to Spain and Mbabazi and Chandiru replaced her with Mya Baganda.
In 2010, the group permanently broke up and each went for a solo career.
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