Like Justin Timberlake before him, France's M. Pokora rehabilitated his boy-band pinup image by channeling the pop and R&B influences of his youth to create a slickly modern interpretation of blue-eyed soul. Born Matthieu Totta in Strasbourg on September 26, 1985, he first earned attention as a member of the rap group Mic Unity, which in fall 2003 appeared on the blockbuster television showcase Popstars. Totta was such a crowd favorite that Popstars' producers installed him in a spinoff boy band called Linkup. The trio's debut single, Mon Étoile, topped the French charts, but the follow-up, Un Seconde d'Éternité, flopped and when their debut LP, Notre Étoile, met a similarly grim fate, the show pulled the plug. Totta soon resurfaced as Matt Pokora, enjoying newfound creative and commercial success by teaming with hip-hop producers Kore & Skalp to record his self-titled 2005 debut, a major hit buoyed by the singles Showbiz and Elle Me Controle. In the wake of the disc's success, French singer Matt slapped Pokora with a lawsuit, claiming the similarities between their names and music was the source of marketplace confusion. As a result, 2006's Bionix-produced Player arrived credited to M. Pokora.