text: In 1997, Small performed in "Perfect Day", the official 1997 Children in Need charity release, alongside a broad range of artists, including Tom Jones and Lou Reed. It sold over a million copies and was the UK's number one single for three weeks.
  In 1998, Small and M People took some time off to pursue solo projects after The Best of M People was released.
  2000–2005: Proud
  In 2000, Small released her debut solo album, Proud, and a single of the same name, closely affiliated with the British Olympic team of the time. The single, which was used for the first season and the last episode of the final season of Queer as Folk, is Small's signature song, with which she achieved international success. When Oprah Winfrey was looking for a song to sum up the work she had been striving to achieve over her twenty-year career, she contacted Small, and "Proud" became the theme song to The Oprah Winfrey Show; in 2005, Small made her American television debut on the show. Later the same year, "Proud" became the theme song for the American reality weight-loss show The Biggest Loser.
  "Holding On" was released as the next single, followed in November 2000 by a duet single with Tom Jones, called "You Need Love Like I Do".