Mona Q - Unleashed (2001)

After seeing Mona Q (more commonly known as Mon A Q) mentioned in last week's edition of my current fave web column, Bottom Feeders: The Ass End Of The 90's, I had to download the song mentioned, "Stay In Love".  I instantly fell in love, and somehow the song sounded familiar.  I quickly realized that it was a remake of the 1998 song by a fave diva, Nicole J McCloud, on her Love Town album from 1998 (and Nicole again remade it in 2002 on her So What? album).  The song is an electro-house/freestyle hybrid and thus satisfies everything I love in a song.  So I immediately ordered the album as well, and happily it is much of the same.  In 1995, producer Randy Lance, who was in Tampa, Florida, working on a TV show, had started recording as KromOzone and had gotten some local radio play.  After hearing his work, two guys who were recording as Back To Basics approached Randy to produce a bunch of songs for them.  Only one stood out to him, and that was "Stay In Love", though it was then a ballad.  It was sung by Monique Smith, a jazz singer originally from Los Angeles who had recently moved to Florida.  Randy ended up reworking the whole song, adding an electro beat and chopping and speeding up the vocals.  He claims to have also renamed Monique 'Mon A Q' in the process, by pronouncing her name phonetically.  Back To Basics asked if they could use his mix as a B side and that was the last Randy heard from them.  They took Mon A Q's new name as their new moniker, since Back To Basics was already taken by someone else, and released the song the following year.  By the end of 1997 it had hit the Billboard Maxi-Singles Chart and ended up reaching #120 just outside of the Billboard Hot 100.  Due to this success, and having been excluded from its release, Randy released his own version as The KromOzone Project in 1998, and another version produced by Adam Marano was also released under the name Mona Lisa that same year.  Mon A Q laid low until 2000, when two singles were released, "Feel The Rhythm" and "I Want You For Myself", the latter featuring the production of house masters The Berman Brothers, who were behind acts like Real McCoy, Amber and Isle postees She Moves.  The album Unleashed followed, and it included a totally reworked version of "Stay In Love".  At this point Monique took the moniker as her own, and she alone was Mon A Q (changed briefly to Mona Q for the album and a couple of singles).  Two more singles were released from the album, "Here Comes The Sun" and "Do You Wanna Roll". She's released only three more songs in the following years: "It's My Turn" in 2006, "Daydreamin'" in 2007 and "How Long" (a remake of the 1974 soft rock hit by Ace) in 2010, all on Tone 1 Records, and has also been a featured vocalist on several tracks.  She continues to perform and record, and the new year will likely see new material from this perseverant diva.

Download Unleashed

1		What's My Name
2		Love's No Guarantee
3		I Want You For Myself
4		Do You Wanna Roll?
5		Stay In Love
6		Feel The Rhythm
7		Ask My Heart
8		Here Comes The Sun
9		Ready To Love
10		I Want To Remember
11		I Want You For Myself (Tingo's Progressive Mix)
12		Rhythm (DJ Gemini Style)

Scandal'Us - Startin' Somethin' (2001)

I had considered posting Scandal'Us' only album some time ago but didn't, but a request from Enjoykitten put a fire under my ass, so here it is! ;)  Scandal'Us were the winners of the second season of the Australian Popstars television show.  The group consisted of Jason Bird, Daniela Scala, Tamara Jaber, Simon Dicham and Anna Belperio.  Like most contestants in the Popstars series, the five grew up exploring their love of music and dance, and most also went to school to pursue a career in something unrelated to music.  Popstars was their first step into the national spotlight.  After the five were chosen out of 36 finalists to be part of Scandal'Us, they quickly got to work on their debut album.  Their first single, "Me Myself & I", was a smash out of the gate, and like their predecessors in Australia's Popstars, Bardot, they debuted at #1 in Australia.  The song stayed at #1 for three weeks, which was an Australian record for a debut single.  Their album debuted at #2 on the Australian charts.  Despite this instant success, for some reason their next single, "Make Me Crazy", only managed to reach #30 on the charts.  Like most Popstars groups from around the world, they never got the chance to record a follow-up album, since they decided to split the following year.  Also like most of the winners of the Popstars series, the individual members have pretty much faded into obscurity since.  The member with the highest profile since is Tamara Jaber, as she released two singles in 2005 as Tamara, "Ooo Aah" and "Hard For Me", that both managed to reach the Australian Top 40.  In 2007 she formed the duo (originally a trio) Scarlett Belle with Reigan Derry, and they were signed in America to Def Jam Recordings and worked with several popular American artists.  In 2010 they released two singles that made the Australian Top 40, "Closure" and "Freak Tonight".  A third single, "Lover Boy", failed to chart and they split before an album could be released.  That same year Tamara appeared in Dancing With The Stars and was the runner up.  Tamara has been pursuing a solo career ever since and released an album on Cleopatra Records at the end of 2012 entitled Felt...Not Heard.  As for the rest, Jason Bird appeared on So You Think You Can Dance in 2010 and is a choreographer, Anna Belperio is part of a wedding band with her husband called Pearl, Daniela Scala pursues songwriting, and Simon Ditcham started his own swing band and now records as Some Egyptian. 

Video for Me Myself & I

Video for Make Me Crazy

Download Startin' Somethin'

1		Me Myself & I
2		History
3		Think Again
4		Make Me Crazy
5		Be That Way
6		You Bring Me Love
7		Startin' Somethin'
8		High On Your Love
9		Love You To (Be My Baby)
10		Hand On Your Heart
11		I'm Not Gonna Cry (Na Na Na)
12		Now That You're Gone

Slippry Feet - Freak Time Viewing (2001)

I'm sure it would come as no surprise to any follower of the Isle that I am a huge Bananarama fan.  I've loved them as a trio and a duo, and also love ex-Nana Siobhan Fahey's work with Shakespear's Sister and her solo stuff.  But I had never properly explored the work of short term Nana (and Siobhan's replacement) Jacquie O'Sullivan.  As it was Bananarama's 30th anniversary this year, Jacquie, who has long been MIA, has recently come back into the spotlight in a string of interviews and even has her own Facebook page and website.  Through these interviews I discovered that after Bananarama she was in a short-lived duo called Slippry Feet with journalist Paul Simper, and they released an album, mostly comprised of demos, in 2001.  Of course I had to buy it immediately.  The songs were recorded between 1992 and 1996 and are primarily pop house with funky moments and a lot of camp.  I'd compare it most to previous Isle postee Freaky Realistic.  Jacquie's music story begins in 1983 when, bored after years of partying and hanging around the punk scene in the 1970s, she and her friend Lyn recruited a few friends and formed the Shillelagh Sisters. The band, who performed rockabilly music and were deemed "cowpunk" by the press, toured and managed to release a couple of singles on CBS.  They didn't achieve much success, however, and disbanded.  Not much was heard from Jacquie again until 1988, when out of the blue she was asked by Pete Waterman to replace a disgruntled Siobhan Fahey in Bananarama.  She had occasionally hung out with remaining members Keren and Sara and accepted immediately.  She rerecorded Siobhan's vocals on the single "I Want You Back", and it and her first original song with the group, "Love, Truth & Honesty" appeared on Bananarama's 1988 Greatest Hits Collection.  She then toured with them and they recorded and released the amazing album Pop Life (one of my all-time faves) in 1991.  The album was not a success, however, likely due in part to the girls' choice to use producers other than Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who were behind so many of their hits.  Jacquie left the group soon after, as she felt that she was always in the shadow of Siobhan and was never really accepted by the other two girls in the group, who helped to push her out.  She was soon contacted by her old friend Paul Simper, who had met her years earlier when doing a story on the Shillelagh Sisters, about joining together as a duo, which they had previously discussed.  The two started making demos and did club gigs in order to get label interest.  They were close to signing a deal in 1996 with Sony but, thanks to their A&R guy's troubles, it never happened.  Jacquie then took off to Thailand and Paul went back to journalism.  In 2001 Jacquie managed to get a three album deal with Almafame Records, who released compilations of rare material from both the Shillelagh Sisters and Slippry Feet (which is the album featured here).  A third compilation of Jacquie's solo material was promised but never materialized.  Since then Jacquie has traveled extensively and focused on her loves of yoga and belly dancing.  While she has no immediate plans to go back to music, the fact that her Facebook page is also dedicated to Slippry Feet is a good sign that we may hear something from them again someday.  (BTW, you can get the album in better quality off of iTunes and Amazon, there titled Slippry Feet's Nothing Else On Her Mind, though it does not include the track "Ridiculous".)

Video for Slippry Feet Theme

Download Freak Time Viewing

1		Horny, Hairy & Handsome
2		I Get Excited
3		Could Be Raining
4		Jack
5		Ridiculous
6		Staying Up
7		Cook-A-Hoop
8		Funny (Yesterday, Tonight)
9		S.C.R.E.A.M.
10		Slippry Feet Theme
11		Horny, Hairy & Handsome (Gregorio Remix)
12		Nothing Else On Her Mind

What Is - Que Es (2001)

One genre that is under-represented on the Isle is jazz.  While I'm not a huge jazz fan, I do like elements of it mixed into my pop music.  The only album by What Is is a perfect mix of both with a lot of Latin flavour as well.  What Is was formed in 2000 by bassist D'Arcy McGuire.  In his hometown of Toronto he brought together drummer/percussionist Jason Guerriere, guitarist Justin McWilliams and vocalist Rubi to form the core of the group.  With help from several other musicians including a cellist, trumpeter and violinist, the group crafted an upbeat and danceable album that is equal parts pop, jazz, latin (specifically bossa nova) and funk.  Rubi sings primarily in English though occasionally breaks out into Spanish.  Though the album got some attention locally in Toronto, it was released independently and didn't find much of an audience outside of the city.  Though it seemed that was the end of the group, Darcy and Rubi kept at it, forming SolaZul the same year with guitarist Juan Dino Toledo.  They kept their Latin-jazz-funk flavour, but this time around they hooked up with Toronto drum 'n' bass and jungle duo Visionary to give them an electronic edge and together they released the track "Sola Bossa" to much greater recognition.  This success led to a self-titled album in 2005 on Canadian electronic label Nice+Smooth and, with assistance from Visionary, tracks like "Paixão" and "Baila!" furthered their success in the drum 'n' bass world, while Rubi's exploration of other languages ensured greater worldwide success.  The album was released in Japan in 2007 with a follow-up album, Amame, released the following year.  Nothing much has been heard from them since, but according to D'Arcy, who works now primarily as a composer and producer, SolaZul is still going strong.

UPDATE:  Just got an e-mail from D'Arcy McGuire.  Apparently he did NOT from What Is.  So much for my sources. LOL  But Sola Zul is releasing a new album entitled Calor very soon, of which he gave me a taste.  Thanks so much D'Arcy!!  Here's what else he had to say...

"hey weirdly ran across this article about Que Es...a little weird since no I didn't start it etc...myself? I'm still writing but mostly for picture altho I still play bass on a variety of things known and unknown...from Nicki Minaj...to well...Sol Azul lol  Cheers!! D'"

Download Que Es

1		Amar
2		Diamonds In The Desert
3		Hit It Off
4		Calor
5		Vivir Asi
6		Insatiable
7		Walk On By
8		Deeper Than Skin
9		Reveal
10		Piano Soul
11		Love You Tonite
12		Bare

Nicole Russo - Through My Eyes (2001)

I have been a longtime fan of The Brand New Heavies, and recently I was looking for info on them and was reminded of the one album they did later in their career with singer Nicole Russo. After poking around a bit I discovered that she had released her own album many years earlier and was curious to hear it, so I found it on eBay and voila! Pretty much all you need to know about Nicole is outlined on her Myspace page, but I'll give you a condensed version. She was born in London in the 1970s, the daughter of singer Jerry Stevens. Through her father and his cohorts like Quincy Jones, Dusty Springfield and Lou Rawls, she discovered an early love for music and began playing piano at four years old and picked up drums, saxophone and songwriting along the way. She also honed her singing voice and impressed singer Pauline Henry enough to ask her to sing back-up, which she also did for Coolio. She was offered a record deal at 16 but passed as she didn't want to be molded into a pop tart. Then in 1999 she met singer and producer Eg White, a former member of the pop group Brother Beyond and later renowned producer of acts like Kylie Minogue, Will Young, James Blunt, Pink and Adele. The two hit it off and began writing together, and her first single was their first collaboration, "You Might Be Wrong". The Telstar label took notice and signed her to an album deal. Nicole was given creative control and concocted a very soulful, funky pop album which featured her sultry soul vocals (which are similar to Nikka Costa IMO). Although her first single and album were well received by critics, the song failed to hit, as did the album. A second single was released, "Better Day", but it also went mostly ignored. Luckily for Nicole, in 2003, the management of The Brand New Heavies approached her to write a song for the group, and they were so impressed that they asked her to join as lead singer, since Siedah Garrett, the replacement for their best known lead singer N'Dea Davenport, had recently departed. They recorded the album Allabouthefunk and released the singles "Boogie" and "Surrender". The singles and album were modest successes compared to their previous work with Davenport, and after extensive touring Nicole decided to leave the group (N'Dea Davenport would end up joining the group again a couple of years later). Since then Nicole has lain relatively low, writing for other artists and working on solo material. It's safe to say that you will see a reemergence of this exceptional singer sometime in the near future.

Video for You Might Be Wrong

Live performance of Through My Eyes

Download Through My Eyes

1		You Might Be Wrong
2		Slowly Walk Away
3		Better Day
4		How D'Ya Think She'd Feel About It
5		Through My Eyes
6		Stride On
7		If You Want Me
8		Don't Wanna Let You Go
9		Phoney
10		Stop Trying To
11		Nice 'N' Easy
12		You Might Be Wrong (Full Crew Remix)
13		Better Day (Rishi Rich Remix)
14		Stop Trying To (Fathom Remix)

RubyBlue - Beyond Pink (2001)

Last week I saw indie darlings Sleigh Bells in concert (great show with Die Antwoord, who were AMAZING!) and whilst reading up on the noise/electro duo, I came across a very interesting piece of info: Singer Alexis Krauss used to be part of a pop girl group in the early 2000's. This amazed me as Sleigh Bells music is so rough and hard that you could never imagine one of it's members was in a mainstream pop group. So of course I trolled the internet in search of the girl group RubyBlue's album. The problem was that it never got a proper release, and I could find it nowhere for download. Luckily, once again through the magic of eBay, I tracked down a copy and ordered it immediately. It just arrived and, as always, I am rushing to share it with you all. The story goes that some producers were looking for four multi-cultural teenage girls who could sing AND play instruments. This was a novel idea as pop puppets like Britney and Xtina were huge stars at the time, and many a singing girl group was created to cash in on their vibe (like previous Isle postees Innosense and Nobody's Angel), but none of them played instruments and wrote their own songs. RubyBlue was to be a pop band in the vein of a female Hanson. They played their own instruments, helped co-write their songs and perfected sweet harmonies. Four girls were eventually chosen: Alexis Krauss (lead vocals, bass), Jayme-lyn Amoscato (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alice Tai (guitar, backing vocals) and Candy Paulino (drums, backing vocals). They were signed to Edel America and were set up with producers Jeff Coplan (who had previously produced Canadian boy bands The Moffatts and Sky) and the Berman Brothers (who had also produced The Moffatts, as well as Real McCoy, Amber and previous Isle postees She Moves). Their sound was often compared to the Go-Go's, The Bangles, or even Wilson Phillips, though the female Hanson tag seems more appropriate - and that is actually a good thing. They opened on tour for teen boy band Dream Street (which featured Jesse McCartney) and released the single "That's What Girls Do" to much critical acclaim. However, No Secrets (who were only a vocal girl group) also recorded and released the track the same year and had more success with it. RubyBlue managed to release a promo of one more single, "Run Away", but by then the label was having difficulty and failed to promote it properly. The label's troubles also kept the album from seeing a proper release. By this time the girls were growing restless with their management and direction anyway, feeling like puppets who were being pushed even more in the Britney direction. There were also rumours that Alexis' mom (who was instrumental in getting her the gig in Sleigh Bells) was overbearing and causing tensions with the rest of the band. The girls soon disbanded and went their own way, though a few of their tracks appeared on the soundtrack to Dream Street's film The Biggest Fan. What the rest of the girls are doing remains unknown, but at least we know that Alexis has went on to bigger and better things. And listening to the album, you can see how her work with RubyBlue has influenced her work with Sleigh Bells, as the soaring girly pop vocals are still indeed there, only much deeper in the Sleigh Bells mix.

UPDATE: Awesome! One of RubyBlue's other members, Jayme-lyn Amoscato, just left a comment and updated us with what she's been up to. Thanks so much, Jayme-lyn! Love the album!!

"Holy crap, so i decided to google my name to see what came up...lol I'm glad Alexis is doing well ... i do miss all the girls...we were all so young. I went on to swimsuit/bikini modeling in CA. Actually just started to transfer my RubyBlue footage from VHS (OMG) to DVD...lol can you believe it....all i'm missing in the actual G-Shock Watch official commercial. It was a blast. Best to you all. Jayme-lyn (Amoscato) "

Download Beyond Pink

1		That's What Girls Do
2		Run Away
3		Through The Rain
4		Fallen For You
5		I See You In My Dreams
6		I'm Gonna Make You Mine
7		What Are We In It For
8		Losing My Mind
9		That's The Way I Like It
10		Stronger Than That
11		Match
12		Wish You Away

Darling Nikkie - www.darlingnikkie.com (2001)

Darling Nikkie is just one of the many incarnations of Anita Dominika Cornelia van Lierop, a woman without whom my musical universe would be a lot less fabulous. A wild child, she was born in Germany but somehow ended up in Belgium. She linked up there with producer Chris Inger, who got her to sing lead vocals on the song "Rock To The Beat", released in 1988 under the name 101. It was one of the first and most popular songs to emerge from the New Beat movement, which was a sound that incorporated techno, acid house and underground house beats and often had a sexual under-or-overtone (the song was remade into a more pop friendly and popular version a year later by Lisa M). At the same time, Nikkie recorded the album Jade's Dream as Jade 4U, which was also New Beat, and had many club hits in Belgium and forged her close partnership with Praga Khan, a techno god. She would release three more albums over the next five years as Jade 4U, becoming known as the Queen Of New Beat (which was the name of her second album). This is around the time I became aware of her, as the American entertainment program A Current Affair did a feature on her, calling her the Belgian Madonna. Of course I was intrigued, but, alas, her music wasn't released here. I managed to get my hands on various singles and compilations over the years, however, and liked what I heard. She released music under many aliases over the years as well and was part of several groups like Milk Inc., Miss Lie and Digital Orgasm, becoming more entrenched in the rave music scene. But my next notable brush with her work was in the group Lords Of Acid. I was getting into the techno sound and became aware of their music and first album, the mostly instrumental Lust. But it was their next album, Voodoo-U, that really hooked me, as I was also getting into Industrial music. The album was a mix of techno and industrial and, best of all, featured her on production and backing vocals. I was in heaven. Their next album, Our Little Secret, was even better, as it featured her on lead vocals. The group quickly became one of my all-time faves, and I followed their work faithfully, even after she gave up doing lead vocals. She continued working with other artists, but it wasn't until she released this album as Darling Nikkie that she would take the spotlight for her own again. Alas, the album was only released in Europe and didn't generate much buzz, but it took some of the edge of her previous work and mellowed it out for her poppiest yet most soulful work ever. It's the only album she's released using the Darling Nikkie moniker, though she did release an album in 2005 as part of Goddess Of Destruction, which went back to her Industrial roots. Since then she's continued to do guest vocals under different aliases, and even appeared in a short documentary with CJ Bolland in 2009 which you can view HERE. But one thing is for sure, whatever she does in the future, I will be eagerly following her every move.

Video for Sugarcane

Download  www.darlingnikki.com

1		Sugarcane
2		So Easy
3		Still My Nr 1
4		Waitin On U
5		Boom Boom Baby
6		Immortal
7		As The Water Flows
8		Teach Us
9		Cloud 9
10		What To Do
11		Flowers
12		One More Time
13		Starstruck
14		Yehiyo / Sugarcane (Remix)

Melleny Melody + The Pop Machine - Super Happy Darkness (2001)

Melleny Melody first became known in her native Toronto as an eclectic fashionista who traveled around the city in her oddly decorated car. She was also a huge dance music fan, and in the mid-1990s, thanks to her local celebrity, she helped form indie electronic label Play Records, which would put her unique musical persona on record. They also started Gay Records to launch their more pop-oriented music, and Melleny Melody + The Pop Machine was born. The "Pop Machine" were a couple of her friends who handled some production and instrumental duties. They released a couple singles in 1999, "Fashion Victim" and "Honey Pill / E-Me", but their album didn't appear until 2001, along with two more singles, "Doin' Dishes" and "Loveshower". Their music incorporates everything from lounge to drum 'n' bass to techno to electro to house, all pulled together by her girlish voice and lyrics. They remained a very underground act, and I'm sure they never imagined being anything more. Their last release was "Bad Girl / 8 Inch Pumps", and then The Pop Machine was no more. Melleny did collaborate with composer and arranger John Henry Nyenhuis to produce the strange Cartoon Songs To Drive You Crazy, but otherwise stayed out of the music spotlight. Then, in 2006, Melleny reemerged as Mellee Fresh and appeared with popular Canadian electronic house wizard Deadmau5 on "Cocktail Queen" and "After Hours", both underground club hits that also helped make Play Records a bigger success. Over the next couple of years they collaborated on more singles, with her Mellee persona being more a spoken word artist, a la Peaches, than a singer. This year, with their song "Attention Whore", they finally hit the big time, hitting number 10 on the Billboard Club Play charts, and the song is still charting there. Obviously Melleny's new persona has garnered her a broader audience, and there's no telling how far she'll go. To explore here Melleny Melody persona, go HERE. For her Mellee Fresh persona, go HERE.

Video for Doin' Dishes

Animated video for Doin' Dishes

Video for Loveshower

Download Super Happy Darkness

1		Doin' Dishes
2		I'm Already There
3		Bad Girl
4		Love Shower
5		Eight Inch Pumps
6		Cocktail Time
7		401
8		Honey Pill
9		Fashion Victim
10		E-Me

Sugar Jones - Sugar Jones (2001)

I suppose that I should have featured the original Canadian Popstars winners Sugar Jones before previous postees Velvet Empire, who were their successors. But at the time Velvet Empire seemed trashier and more apropos for this blog. So now it's due time for Sugar Jones and their album, which is much better than VE's, IMO. Their story is no different than their international counterparts: A ton of young ladies from across the country were auditioned to be in a pop group and the best were featured on the Popstars TV show, competing to be one of the final five. After many greuling weeks of rehearsals, lessons and tests, the five considered the most talented were chosen - and then one was dumped due to credit card theft and replaced at the last minute. The TV show then documented the album's recording (think the Spice Girls meets Destiny's Child) as well as the making of their first video for the single "Days Like That" (a remake of the song from 1999 by UK girl group Fierce). They worked with well-known Canadian R&B and pop producers (who also produced previous postees Jazmin and, yes, Velvet Empire, as well as many future postees). I remember how excited I was when the video was finally aired, and also how excited my BF was when he spied them at an Erykah Badu concert and almost attacked them while they were surrounded by their fans - all little girls. LOL Alas, the excitement barely lasted through their next single, "How Much Longer", and though both songs were Canadian hits, they soon broke up, due in part to one member, Maiko, leaving to tour with her husband, singer Remy Shand, who was becoming famous internationally. Like in the US, the whole Popstars brand fizzled after that. Though the ladies all seemed to disappear, a quick look reveals that surprisingly four of them have continued pursuing music, to varying success. Should you care, their Myspace pages are here: Maiko Watson (now divorced from Remy Shand), Julie Crotchetiere, Sahara MacDonald & Andrea Henry. The last member, Mirella Dell'Aquila, apparently works as a receptionist at a private school in Montreal, and once was rumoured to be engaged to former Brit Popstars hopeful and third runner-up in Pop Idol Darius Danesh. Talk about keeping it in the family!

Video for Days Like That

Video for How Much Longer

Download Sugar Jones

1		Days Like That
2		How Much Longer
3		If You
4		Keep On Walking
5		Never Leave Hurt Alone
6		It's Like Ice Cream
7		Baby Boo
8		Get Yourself Together
9		I Got U
10		A Little Bit Of Heaven
11		Days Like That (Baby Silver Refix)
12		How Much Longer (Couplet En Francais)

The Underdog Project - It Doesn't Matter (2001)

The heart of the Underdog Project is euro production trio Triple S, euro producer Toni Cottura (the husband of featured Isle castaway Daisy Dee!) and Canadian singer Vick Krishna. After a jam session during Krishna's visit to Germany, they gelled and made some rough demos that got the attention of a label - in Germany. The album included many different styles, including freestyle, reggae, hip hop, trance and 2 step. While Krishna did the vocals on most tracks, many others stepped in to assist, and my faves are the songs featuring female singer Choice (not the rapper, unfortunately). The single "Summer Jam" became huge in Germany, and even made itself known in danceclubs across the world. Follow-up singles "I Can't Handle It" and "Tonight" also fared well in Europe, but didn't make much of an impact anywhere else. Though they used many elements, the songs tended to sound the same. Over the years they released other singles, including "Saturday Night", "Remember", "Winter Jam", "Miami" and "Girls Of Summer", but all the tracks seemed to reference their biggest hit "Summer Jam" and didn't make a huge splash. They released a remix of the song in 2003, and the album was rereleased in 2004 with remixes and some new tracks. It appears they may still be going, as they released a new single entitled "Unbelievable" in 2007.

Video for Summer Jam

Video for I Can't Handle It

Download It Doesn't Matter

1		Summer Jam
2		Vibin'
3		Saturday
4		I Can't Handle It
5		4am
6		Half A Woman
7		Trippin'
8		For The Ladies
9		Tonight
10		No More (Accapella Skid)
11		Selecta
12		All Night
13		Summer Jam (Unplugged)

Toya - Toya (2001)

Perhaps the thing about Toya (full name Latoya Lacole Rodriguez) that fans of this blog will find most interesting is that she was named after La Toya Jackson! LOL Otherwise, Toya's story is one we've heard here many times before. A young singer impresses label heads with her songwriting and voice and gets a deal with a major label. She was hooked up with the hottest pop and hip hop producers of the time, and got popular hip hop artists like Loon, Murphy Lee and T.I. to make cameos. Also, she was from St. Louis, as was Nelly who was huge at the time, so she coasted on that vibe. At the time tons of R&B divas were releasing albums and it was understandable that some would get lost in the fray (see also Kandi and Olivia). Toya did almost have a top ten hit with her first single "I Do!!", but the following single "No Matta What (Party All Night)" made little impact, and the album didn't even make the Billboard Top 100. Like so many others, she disappeared, with people like J Lo and Christina Milian eclipsing her. Once again, that is a pity, as this album is far better than anything by those two or many of the others who hit bigger. It is much poppier, and even includes a couple hot dance tracks. Given that she was quite young at the time, I wouldn't count Toya out just yet, as she is still young enough to reappear and hit properly this time.

For the maxi-single of I Do!!, go to my sister blog HERE

Video for I Do!!

Download Toya

1		No Matta What (Party All Night)
2		How Can I Be Down
3		I Do!!
4		The Truth
5		Think
6		Don't Make Me
7		Moving On
8		What Else Can I Do
9		Untouchables
10		Book Of Love
11		What's A Girl To Do
12		I Messed Up
13		Bounce
14		Fiasco
15		I Do Pt. 2

Juliette - Unstoppable (2001)

Ah, here we are, back with an album by a one-named diva on whom little info is available. I picked up this CD at a Dollarama and simply had to buy it for the cover alone. I had no doubt that there was some poppy goodness to be had here. It is from Germany, and I believe that Juliette is also German. She had released a few euro-pop singles before this album as the featured singer with the group In-Mood. The songs were somewhat successful German hits, including a remake of the theme song to the animated movie The Last Unicorn. Obviously a woman of her beauty and vocal ability needed to break out as a solo star. So she managed to wrangle the creme de le creme of euro producers, including producers who also worked with Billie Piper, Steps, Dannii Minogue, Atomic Kitten and a couple artists featured here already, Stella Soleil and Innosense. So you know exactly what to expect - straight up euro-pop. Her first single was the title track, and it picked up some steam in Germany. But beyond this album, the only other sign of her was a single called "Imagine". Perhaps if we could find out her last name we'd know what else she has been up to since... hint hint... ;)

Video for Unstoppable

Download Unstoppable

1		It's My Life
2		Unstoppable
3		Feel Me Out
4		You Don't Love Me
5		Back Into My Life
6		Crazy 'Bout You
7		It's Heavenly
8		Whatever It Takes
9		Play Pretend
10		Can't You See
11		Breaking The Border
12		There's Nothing Better
13		Liar

Robin Fox - I See Stars: The Trance Album (2001)

American Robin Fox is a multi-media kind of lady. Equal parts model, DJ, actress and singer, she has pursued fame, to limited but cult-worthy success. She has probably gotten the most notice as a singer, as she became unofficial queen of trance. Though trance music purists loathed her dance hit "I See Stars", dance music lovers embraced the track, and a remix also made it a hit on freestyle playlists as well. Her second single "It's Gonna Be Okay" didn't quite garner the same success, but she has continued to record. Her only album thus far keeps up with the trance vibe (thus the second part of it's title), occasionally delving into electro and pure synth pop. It's a sugary concoction, very much in the Rollergirl /Ann Lee vein, with girlish (and sometimes robotic) vocals over synthy beats. She also recorded similar music as Barbarella, and apparently has quite the stage show. The existence of her Myspace page would indicate that we haven't heard the last from her, and we can only hope that's true.

Download I See Stars: The Trance Album

1		It's Gonna Be Okay
2		Feels Inside
3		I See Stars
4		Superstar
5		Call Me
6		Wonderland
7		Freedom
8		Deena
9		Give Me What I Came Here For
10		Angie Baby
11		I See Stars (DJ Sharaz's Night Sky Remix)
12		Superstar (Ford's Big Beat Remix)