Nemorin - Creole Dance (1992) and Mission Of Love (1995) DOUBLE POST!!

So, I was looking into the work of Toby Gad, the Danish super-producer and songwriter who has worked with the biggest pop stars in the world, including Madonna, Fergie, Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, and Beyonce, and I came across an artist he worked with who I had never heard of before, Nemorin.  I checked out a couple of her videos and liked what I heard, so I ordered her two CDs.  Little did I know at the time that she was once Toby's girlfriend and that she had an extensive career of her own. Jacqueline Nemorin was born in Mauritius. She moved to London with her parents, and then to Germany on her own, where she married German producer and composer Frank Diez.  In Germany she also hooked up with disco composer and producer Veit Marvo and became part of his Red Point Orchestra in 1972.  She also did a lot of session singing.  She soon changed her name to Jackie Carter and briefly became part of disco trio Silver Convention.  Before they released their first album and biggest hit, "Fly, Robin, Fly", Jackie was replaced in the group and only sang lead on one album track, "Please Don't Change The Chords Of This Song".  However, she soon signed a solo deal with Atlantic Records and released her first album Treat Me Like A Woman in 1976.  She released the moderately successful singles "Treat Me Like A Woman" and "Just Like Lightning", but then lost her deal with Atlantic. In 1977, she performed in the German musical Tell!, and in 1978 she released disco remakes of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" and The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". In 1979, she released her second album, Ruby Shoes, which was produced by her husband.  She released the singles "Stay For The Night" and "Ohh, What A Way To Go" to little success. In 1980, she and her husband joined Eric Burdon's Fire Dept. for one album.  She did mainly backing vocal gigs after that and then released her last single as Jackie Carter, "Heat Of The Night" in 1985.  She also returned to Mauritius that year for her own TV special. Also that year, she joined the pop vocal quartet The Hornettes.  She stayed with the group until 1993, wanting to concentrate on her solo career.  During her time in the group, she released the solo single "A Ci Lelao", which took influence from her Mauritian background and took on a world pop sound. In 1990, she met Toby Gad, who at the time was best known for his work with producer Frank Farian with Milli Vanilli.  She had divorced her husband in 1987. When Jackie left the group, she and Toby started writing together, which led to her first album as Nemorin, Creole Dance.  It included "A Ci Lelao" and took it's overall sound from that.  Toby took the reigns as producer, and they both wrote the songs.  "It Feels Good To Be Loved" was the only other single released.  Working on the album began a long romantic and professional partnership between the two, and Jackie started to write and produce as well.   In 1994 she had two songs on the soundtrack for The Neverending Story III, "Mission Of Love" and "Dream On (The Neverending Story)".  "Mission Of Love", which was in the eurohouse vein, was released as a single and saw some success in clubs.  An album followed the next year, with Toby again producing and the sound again incorporating world music. "Boat On The River" was released as the only other single. Jackie and Toby also formed the group Love You that year, and released three singles. including "Countdown For The Summer". The two then moved to New York and started working together for other artists, writing and producing pop songs for artists like Enrique Iglesias, Taylor Dayne, PYT, Sita and K-Otic.   They also released a song, "Free As A Bird", as Qute in 1999. After they separated in 2000, Jackie moved back to Germany and sang with the band Rubbersoul, and later moved to London, where she continues to write, produce and record. A pretty full career, I'd say, especially for someone I'd never heard of before!

Video for Accillelao

Live performance of It Feels Good To Be Loved

Download Creole Dance

1 Accillelao
2 Creole Dance
3 Aloha Mahe
4 Bajo
5 Tale About Freedom
6 It Feels Good To Be Loved
7 Around The World
8 Blood Of The Kings
9 Merry Go Round
10 Wheels On Fire


Video for Mission Of Love

Live Performance of Aloha Wahine

Download Mission Of Love

1 Mission Of Love
2 Aloha Wahine
3 Boat On The River
4 Angelina
5 Fire Of Love
6 Why?
7 Shine On
8 Le Le Kasbah
9 What If?
10 For The Children
11 Dream On - The Neverending Story III
12 Mission Of Love (Classic Version)

Mrs Robinson - Obsession (2006)

Hello again.  I am finally coming to terms with Prince and Vanity passing, and think it's time to add another post to lighten the mood here! This time I'm taking you into the mid-2000s, which is rare here.  There are other blogs that focus on this era of pop music (and I suspect some will 'borrow' this link for their own - if you must, give credit where credit is due, people!), but this album is special.  Earlier this year I discovered the Real Housewives Of Cheshire.  Being a rabid fan of the Real Housewives franchise, I was shocked that I hadn't heard of this series sooner.  But I binge watched and liked what I saw.  I usually need to look up info on all of the housewives, and these ladies were no exception.  During my research, I discovered that one of the ladies, Tanya Bardsley, was once in a girl group, when she was still known as Tanya Robinson, and they recorded an album.  Of course I needed that album ASAP! And I ordered it immediately.  Funny enough, the week I received the CD, I was finally caught up in the series, and in the new episode that week, Tanya finally discussed her brief time in the group, with a lot of self-deprecation. Tanya was a pretty successful 'glamour' model in the UK in the early 2000s, thanks to winning a modelling competition in 2003 thrown by magazine FHM, who were looking for the 'FHM High Street Honey'.  As a result, she became a presenter on two shows, Gamenation and Strike.  Also, unbeknownst to me at the time, she was featured in a video that my boyfriend and I used to love, a dance remake of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" by Girls Of FHM, which was a top ten hit in 2004.  The video featured a who's who of sexy British models, singers and starlets (catch her around the 2:34 mark).  She was also part of the offshoot FHM High Street Honeys, who had a top 40 hit with a dance remake of the Divinyls' "I Touch Myself" in 2006. Although she did not contribute vocals, this experience in music tempted Tanya to pursue a solo music career.  With the help and input of irritating photographer and media personality Darryn Lyons (whom I loathed when he was on Celebrity Big Brother), Tanya decided that perhaps a girl group would be a better idea, as she was not a very good singer. They soon recruited two other ladies, Shereen Guerin, who Tanya had met during the High Street Honeys competition, and Paula Jade (Cremin), a singer they met at a recording studio, who would end up singing all of the leads.  They chose the name Twisted Sisterz, though they were soon threatened with legal action by the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, and changed it to Mrs Robinson, a play on the Simon and Garfunkel song and Tanya's last name.  Hoping to copy the success of girl groups like Atomic Kitten and Girls Aloud, the ladies teamed up with Ryan Laubscher, who wrote and produced the whole album, except for the first single, "I'm A Little Obsessed".  The single was not a success, however.  They did get some minor attention for the follow-up, "Don't Forget My Name", which was a tribute to the troops and supported the Army Benevolent Fund.  This wasn't enough to garner worldwide - or even countrywide - fame, however, and the girls disbanded.  On RHOC, Tanya remembered her time in the group as fun but underwhelming, due to their lack of success and her lack of talent.  But she shouldn't be so hard on herself, as the album is full of fun pop songs that fit the time perfectly (though they do sound a bit dated...) And while the other ladies have maintained a low profile since, Tanya is killing it, having married hot footballer Phil Bardsley, and she continues to be a hoot on The Real Housewives Of Cheshire.  She is hilarious, and really should consider a career in comedy instead of music (though I must say, her battle with equally amusing Ampika last season did not please me.  I blame pregnancy hormones. ;) ) Though I won't hold my breath, would it be too much to ask for a Mrs Robinson reunion on the next season of RHOC?

Video for I'm A Little Obsessed

Live performance of Don't Forget My Name

Download Obsession

1 Teacher
2 I'm A Career Girl
3 Don't Ask Me
4 Beautiful World
5 Touched
6 I'm A Little Obsessed
7 Don't Forget My Name
8 Hollywood Film Star
9 Survive
10 Falling Asleep
11 Faded Heart

Jacynthe - I Got What It Takes (1998) & Seize The Day (2003) DOUBLE POST!!

Jacynthe (pronounced Jah-Saint) is a pretty big deal in Quebec here in Canada. She is essentially seen as a much more talented French-Canadian version of Paris Hilton. This has less to do with her singing career than it does with her appearance in the French-Canadian version of The Simple Life, entitled La Vie Rurale, in 2004 with fellow Quebecois singer Anne Marie Losique. Before this she had a very successful singing career in Quebec and Japan, but not in the rest of the world, including most of the rest of Canada. She grew up in Quebec taking part in choirs and loving opera. She caught the attention of local label KLM Records and released the eurohouse song "Try My Love" in 1996 when she was 16. It was a modest dance hit and led to a second eurohouse single in 1997, "This Is The Night", which was nominated for a Juno award. The local success of both singles led to a full album deal. Jacynthe and her producers obviously wanted to broaden her sound and, taking a cue from Britney Spears, who was currently atop the charts, created a more teen pop sound for the rest of the album (BTW, the version on the pic above was the rerelease, so the version I have doesn't include the bonus track "I'll Be". Sorry!) The single "One More Time" was a mid-tempo pop number whose remixes got more attention. The song was also recorded in French as "Encore Un Fois", and she also released a French album which included some of the tracks from I Got What It Takes and new French tracks, including the bilingual single "Gimme Your Love". But it was the release of "Give It Up", her remake of KC from KC & The Sunshine Band's hit, that got her on the national Canadian charts, due in large part to KC's appearance on the track. She released a few more singles and was rumoured to have been working with the Backstreet Boys production team on her follow-up (the one-off single "Listen To My Heart" may be a result of that), but nothing more came of it. It took five years for her next album to appear (not counting the French Christmas album 12-25). This time she worked with Tito Izzo and had a much rockier pop sound. Though four videos and a remake of INXS' hit "Need You Tonite" were released from the album, Jacynthe's star failed to shine outside of Quebec. It was soon after that she filmed La Vie Rurale and became an even bigger star there. Then in 2006 she toured with Cirque Du Soleil's Delirium and recorded the album with them. She left them after the tour and has remained a fixture in Quebec and is also rumoured to be releasing new music soon.

Video for This Is The Night

Video for One More Time

Video for Don't Let Me Down

Video for Give It Up

Download I Got What It Takes

1		Answering Machine
2		Don't Let Me Down
3		One More Time
4		Piu Bella Cosa
5		Never
6		Sweet Caress
7		I Got What It Takes
8		Have A Party
9		I Want U Back
10		This Is The Night
11		Give It Up
12		Try My Love
13		Encore Une Fois
14		Interview
15		One More Time (Skee Dooo Remix)

Video for Look Who's Crying Now

Video for Seize The Day

Video for Undecided

Video for Don't Waste My Time

Download Seize The Day

1		Look Who's Crying Now
2		Seize The Day
3		Rescue Me
4		Undecided
5		Next In Line
6		Don't Waste My Time
7		Need You Tonight
8		Broken Love

Midi, Maxi & Efti - Midi, Maxi & Efti (1992)

Midi, Maxi & Efti were a very curious and very brief pop act from the early 1990s. It consisted of three 16 year old African girls, twin sisters Midi & Maxi Berhanu from Ethiopia and Freweyni "Efti" Teclehaimanot from Eritrea. Separately the twins and Efti moved to Sweden with their parents, and they lived and met in the same Stockholm suburb. Somehow they were discovered by Alexander Bard, then best known as the mastermind behind bizarre pop group Army Of Lovers. He and his partner in crime Anders Wollbeck (they would eventually form the group Vacuum together) decided to write and produce an album for the girls, even though they displayed no vocal talent whatsoever. LOL But with fellow Swede act Dr. Alban having success with his ragga-pop and Ace Of Base, also Swedes, getting ready to release their equally catchy (and soon to be popular) reggae-pop, the climate seemed right for just such an act, and the girls were cute to boot! The single "Bad Bad Boys" was released to limited success in Sweden. But that success was apparently enough to get the attention of Columbia Records in the US, who signed them immediately, as unlikely as that would seem. The track got some attention in North America thanks to it's inclusion on the Beavis & Butthead television show and the soundtrack for the movie Untamed Heart. Another single, "Masenko", was featured on the soundtrack for the Michael J. Fox film For Love Or Money. They released a third single, "Ragga Steady", but it, like their other singles and album, remained a novelty, and the girls soon broke up after a quick tour. All I can find of their whereabouts now is that Midi & Maxi live in England, and Efti is still in Sweden, getting ready to release a solo album! We can only hope!

Video for Bad Bad Boys (Version1)

Video for Bad Bad Boys (Version 2)

Video for Ragga Steady

Download Midi, Maxi & Efti

1		Ragga Steady
2		Poppadink Tribe
3		Masenko
4		Basement Boyfriend
5		I Got Riddim
6		Go Girlie Go
7		Culture Of Youth
8		Bad Bad Boys
9		Jamma On Da Savannah
10		You Can Make It
11		Sisterhood Of Africa
12		Ragga Steady Dub

La Camilla - Temper (1996)

This is an album I just HAD to share here, even though I found it elsewhere... It is posted on the Alcazarland blog and it's a must have, and no doubt will be highly pleasing to many of you! It was never officially released and is quite hard to find. La Camilla (Henemark) was formerly the exotic front-woman for Swedish kitch-pop group Army Of Lovers. After leaving due to disagreements with the other members (though she would record with them again many years later), she embarked on a solo career. She released the single "Everytime You Lie", which was a minor hit (and does not appear on the album). But the follow-ups "I'm Not In The Mood For Lovers" (obviously a sly slight to her former band) and "The Witch In Me" did not perform well, and the album was not released. But it's a HOT album, very house influenced. La Camilla isn't a singer so much as a speaker, with her exotic and smoky low voice purring dramatically a la Grace Jones. The fact that she doesn't really sing may have contributed to her lack of success as a solo star, but for fans of this blog, it is heaven! For more info on the lady, there are two Myspace pages dedicated to her that will fill you in on the details. Enjoy, and thanks a ton to Alcazarland for posting!

Video for Everytime You Lie

Download Temper

1		I'm Not In The Mood For Lovers
2		Liar
3		JB Baby
4		Free Your Mind
5		The Witch In Me
6		U.S. People
7		Queen Bitch Day
8		Tango Life
9		Caballeros
10		Silencio
11		Dissidents
12		Twin Souls

Crush - Teenage Kicks (1996) & Crush (1997) DOUBLE POST!!

Thanks to the kind generosity of my dear buddy Maxwell K, I can now share with you the only North American album by British pop duo Crush. Crush began as Byker Groove, which consisted of three stars of the teen soap Byker Grove. Two of these ladies, Donna Air and Jayni Hoy, then renamed themselves Crush and released the single "Jellyhead", to some success. They recorded an album for Telstar, Teenage Kicks, which was promptly shelved (though it was released in Japan). But thanks to the buzz that the Motiv 8 remix of "Jellyhead" created, US label Robbins wanted to sign the girls. Jayni had left by then, so Luciana Caporaso was recruited (thankfully, as the girls' vocals were lackluster without her, to say the least!). Luciana had already released a few minorly successful solo singles for Chrysalis. A few new songs were recorded with her for the new album, while the songs from Teenage Kicks remained, some in remixed form. Robbins wanted to present the girls with an entirely new image and sound. They went from being punky, poppy teenage trouble, a lot like Shampoo, to dance divas. The new songs had the euro-house sound, then in vogue, and the pop-punk vibe of the original album was diluted. "Jellyhead" became a North American hit, big in Canada and even making an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100. But the follow-ups, "Luv'd Up" and "Love's Hold", made little impression and they split. Donna has since focused on modeling and television work, while Luciana has remained heavily involved in music, being part of groups Shooter and Portobella (awesome!), having huge dance hits singing with Bodyrox, Richard Vission & Static Revenger, Super Mal and David Vendetta, among others, and writing for artists like Kylie and Erika Jayne.

Video for Jellyhead

Video for Luv'd Up

Video for Jellyhead (Motiv 8 Mix)

Download Teenage Kicks

1		Jellyhead
2		We Got The Beat (Original Mix)
3		Penthouse Girl, Basement Boy
4		Mexican Moon
5		Teenage Kicks
6		Luv'd Up
7		Picture This
8		Bloody Nose
9		He's Stupid
10		Feels So Fine
11		Jellyhead (Motiv 8 Mix)
12		We Got The Beat (Switch-Back Mix)

Download Crush

1		Love's Hold
2		We'll Find The Sunshine
3		Feel So Fine
4		Jellyhead (Motiv 8 Mix)
5		We Can Make It Happen
6		Mexican Moon
7		Penthouse Girl, Basement Boy
8		Tease Me
9		Luv'd Up
10		Bloody Nose
11		He's Stupid
12		We Got The Beat

Sister2Sister - One (2000)

Sister2Sister are Australian sisters (natch!) Christine and Sharon Muscat. As young girls they had a drive to perform, and they were fortunate enough to perform for Australian hitmaker Tina Arena, who was so impressed that she got her manager (and husband) to sign them to a record deal. They were an instant success in Australia, with their first single "Sister" debuting in the top ten, and their second single "What's A Girl To Do" also reaching the top ten. "Sister" also reached the top ten in the UK. But although they went on a Disney tour with other pop acts across North America and opened for Britney, their music never caught on with North Americans. Perhaps the pop world was over-saturated with teen pop acts. Whatever the reason, the girls returned to Australia. But instead of following up their success with another album, they hosted a show on MTV Australia and then opened up their own school, the Sister2Sister School of Singing, which is still going strong.

Video for Sister

Video for What's A Girl To Do

Video for Too Many Times

Download One

1		Sister
2		Differently
3		Never Like That
4		What's A Girl To Do?
5		Tender
6		Too Many Times
7		How Could You Doubt Me?
8		Friend Of Mine
9		Too Close To Heaven
10		Count On Me

Los Umbrellos - Flamenco Funk (1998)

Here is an act that I actually saw in person during their heyday - not performing, but signing the wall at Toronto's most celebrated record store, Sam The Record Man. Two gargantuan girls in brightly coloured knee-high boots and cowboy hats were kind of hard to miss. I didn't really know who they were, but I grabbed this CD for $1 years later and soon found out. The album was produced by a crew that were primarily known for making euro-house music. That's what I expected from this album. Instead, it sticks pretty closely to what the album title suggests. A man (African Al Agami) rhymes verses in a fake Jamaican accent while two ladies (Danes Mai Britt Grondahl & Grith Höifeldt) sing the choruses in often fake Spanish accents, while the music incorporates pop, latin, funk, ragga, hip hop, R&B and a host of other styles. The mix resulted in their first single, "No Tengo Dinero" (unfortunately not a cover of the Righeira italo disco classic), almost making it into the Billboard Top 40 and becoming a hit worldwide. Alas, a sound so unique and, yes, so cheesy would not leave much hope for a follow-up, and their subsequent singles "Gigolo", "Easy Come Easy Go" and a remake of The Cars' "Drive" (!?) did not fare near as well. But it was fun while it lasted!

Video for No Tengo Dinero

Download Flamenco Funk

1		Sweep
2		Easy Come, Easy Go
3		No Tengo Dinero
4		Flamenco Funk
5		Drive
6		Road To Carlos
7		Running
8		Gigolo
9		Obsession
10		Little Locolito

Sweetbox - Everything's Gonna Be Alright (1998)

It's amazing that some acts that we see in North America as one hit wonders live on throughout the rest of the world with flourishing careers. One such act is Sweetbox. Created in Germany in 1995 by Roberto 'Geo' Rosan, Sweetbox was to be an exploration of different kinds of music, fronted by different voices over time. They released a few hip-house singles with various rappers/singers to some success in Europe, including "Shakalaka", "Booyah (Here We Go)" and "Wot". Then Geo met American singer Tina Harris, who had previously recorded as part of eurohouse groups B.O.Y., Security and 2 Secure. Impressed by her ability to both rap and sing well, he recorded an album with her, self-titled in Europe and titled "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" in North America. The title cut, which incorporated "Air On The G String" by Johann Sebastian Bach, was released worldwide and became a huge hit everywhere, even almost hitting the Billboard Top 40 (like Isle postees The Braids, almost but not quite). It stood out as it was a hip hop track that incorporated classical music in the background (a theme that the album and Sweetbox's future music would also follow), and also echoed Bob Marley in the chorus. The album followed suit, featuring Tina's raps and considerable vocals over pop-rap tracks. Four more singles were released from the album, but nothing became of them in North America.  After one last non-album single, "Shout (Let It All Out)," Tina left to pursue a solo career, releasing a solo album, Love Makes The World Go Round, in 2003 in Japan, but never managed to reach the same heights. But Geo kept the group alive, hiring Jade Villalon as lead vocalist. With Jade he recorded several albums, with the focus on a more J-Pop sound (they even remade "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"). Unsurprisingly, they were huge in Japan, and also Europe. None of these albums were released in North America, however, and Sweetbox faded from memory. In 2007, Geo and Jade left Sweetbox and now record as Jade Valerie, while Sweetbox - The Next Generation emerged in 2009 with new frontwoman Jamie (and also recorded a new version of "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"). Who knew?

Video for Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Video for Don't Go Away

Video for I'll Die For You

Download Everything's Gonna Be Alright

1		Don't Go Away
2		He Loves Me
3		Mama Papa
4		Everything's Gonna Be Alright
5		If I Can't Have You
6		U Make My Love Come Down
7		Never Never
8		Get On Down
9		Never Wanna Be Alone
10		Sometimes
11		I'll Die For You

S.O.A.P. - S.O.A.P. (1998) & Miracle (2000) DOUBLE POST!!

S.O.A.P. were Danish sisters Heidi (born Suriyatim) & Saseline Sørensen. After releasing their debut album, Not Like Other Girls, in their native Denmark and achieving local success, they were chosen by Mariah Carey to be on her short-lived vanity label Crave. The teen pop scene was booming, and obviously Mariah (or more likely her 'people') thought S.O.A.P. were the next big thing. They released the album in North America with only the group's name as the title. The first single "This Is How We Party" made it onto the Billboard charts, but only to number 51. They also toured NA with the Backstreet Boys. But thanks to label turmoil and changing public tastes, no other single was released in NA, though "Ladidi Ladida" and "Stand By You" (also recorded by S Club 7) were released in Europe. Again, it's a huge shame that this group did not make it big, as this is one of my fave pop albums ever. The melodies are pop perfection, and the girls harmonies are gorgeous. There are excellent dance numbers, a la fellow Danes Aqua, and the ballads are fantastic (and I'm not usually a fan of ballads). Every song on the album is perfect, IMO, and I was so sad nothing more was released by the girls in North America. They released a follow-up album in 2000, Miracle, but only in Europe, and it fared OK, but not near as well as their debut, with only the first single "S.O.A.P. Is In The Air" hitting the Danish and Swedish charts.. They have recorded nothing together since, though there was talk that Saseline, now known as Line, was recording a solo album. She also hosted a dance music show in Denmark titled Boogie, and models and has a make-up line called Sasé. And I can find nothing solid on Heidi (though there is a former Playboy model and a Norwegian politician who have the same name and much more internet presence). I so wish these ladies would get back together and make my pop fantasies come true once again!

UPDATE: Saseline did indeed finally release her solo album Restart in 2010 as well as the singles "Best Friend" and "I Hate To Say It", which have all done fairly well in her homeland. Her style is still fun dance pop, thankfully. Check out her Facebook page. And Heidi, under the name Suriya, released the fun pop-rock tune and video "My Desire" in 2007, appeared as a featured vocalist in 2009 on the song "Yeah That's Me" by Lexicon Saints and is currently working on her solo album. Check out her Myspace page.

Video for This Is How We Party

Video for Ladidi Ladida

Video for Not Like Other Girls

Download S.O.A.P. 

1		Stand By You
2		This Is How We Party
3		Romeo & Juliet
4		Not Like Other Girls
5		Who Can I Talk To
6		Simon Says
7		Ladidi Ladida
8		Wishing
9		Deep In My Heart
10		Dowuchalike
11		Live Forever

Video for S.O.A.P. Is In The Air

Download Miracle

1	S.O.A.P Is In The Air
2	We Are The Good
3	Mr. DJ
4	One Love Only
5	Welcome To My Party
6	Like A Stone (In The Water)
7	Abracadabra
8	Give It All You Got
9	Smile At Me
10	Good 2 Me
11	I Wanna Go Back

Solid HarmoniE - Solid HarmoniE (1997)

Solid HarmoniE (aka SHE) were an even more obvious attempt at making another Spice Girls. They were Brits formed around the same time as the Spices and their music was pure pop. They were fortunate enough to be produced by many of the same people, including Max Martin and Kristian Lundin, responsible for the teen pop revolution and the success of acts like Robyn, Britney, 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys. The songs are good pop tunes, as would be expected. Despite the presence of these super producers, however, the girls didn't make much of an impact in North America. They had a few semi-hits in Britain and were hugely successful in the Netherlands, but North American audiences apparently only had room in their hearts for one British girl group. The girls did manage to record a follow up, but it was unfortunately shelved. Three of the members went on to pursue solo careers, while one, Mariama, briefly joined successful UK R&B girl group Honeyz. (Pay special attention to their reinterpretations of Hi-Five's "She's Playing Hard To Get" and trash pop lovers' fave Bardeux's "When We Kiss".)

Video for I'll Be There For You:

Video for I Wanna Love You

Video for I Want You To Want Me

Video for To Love Once Again

Bonus video, for the pre-album single when the group was a threesome Got 2 Have Ya

Download Solid HarmoniE

1		I'll Be There For You
2		I Want You To Want Me
3		To Love Once Again
4		Come And Get It
5		Walk Away
6		You Got The Flava
7		He's Playing Hard To Get
8		I Wanna Love You
9		I Gotta Get My Groove On
10		When We Kiss (Missing You)

Aleesha Rome – Aleesha Rome (2000)

Aleesha Rome was an Australian pop singer obviously modeled to succeed Britney as pop royalty. Of course, as happened to almost every other pop tart pushed into Britney’s shadow, she was a resounding flop. I picked this album up for $1 and figured I’d give it a go. It’s OK, but pretty dated sounding IMO. Her voice is quite Britney-esque and the music is pure pop, without the faux R&B sound of early Britney. But Aleesha is less memorable in looks, voice and sound, and she failed to make an impact almost everywhere in the world (though she did manage minor success in her native Australia). The album does contain fun dance mixes of two of her singles, however – “Search My Heaven” and “One Of Us Has Changed”. And Aleesha has continued on in an indie-rock group called Ivy York. But for the full love on Aleesha, please visit our friends at Pop Trash Addicts, whose tribute I discovered while searching for info on the girl. Thankfully there are sites like this and theirs to keep the flame lit for these types of artists!

Video for Search My Heaven

Video for One Of Us Has Changed

Download Aleesha Rome

1		Search My Heaven
2		One Of Us Has Changed
3		If Only I Could Cry
4		Without You
5		I Didn't Have The Heart
6		Yours Truly
7		Do You Feel Me
8		3 Words
9		Hazy Days
10		Real World
11		Search My Heaven (Mont Blanc House Mix)
12		One Of Us Has Changed (Absolute Spirit Mix)

Tekla - Somebody Else (1999)

What's in a name? In the case of Tekla, it seems her name almost defines her music. Released on Nettwerk Records in 1999, this album is sort of techno-folk, following very closely in the footsteps of Madonna' acoustic-electro moments on her Ray Of Light and Music albums. In fact, the title track (a semi-successful dance "hit") sounds like a Madonna left-over, a "Ray Of Light" companion piece with Tekla even sounding like Madge in places. The rest of the album follows it's lead, with mostly mid-tempo techno-lite tracks. Tekla's voice is very Nordic (indeed, she released two albums in Swedish before this), which means melodic and Abba-esque. She's like a tamer version of fellow former Nettwerk signee Bertine Zetlitz. Unfortunately, like Bertine, Tekla garnered little attention in North America, but unlike Bertine, she also seems to have faded into obscurity even in her homeland. Nothing much can be found about her now, a shame as she was one potential pop-star who showed promise.

(For the maxi-single of "Somebody Else", please visit my sister blog HERE.)

Download Somebody Else

1		Somebody Else
2		Like No One Else
3		One Day
4		Two Persons
5		Wasted
6		Hide Behind My Pride
7		Run Over By A Car
8		Better Than Reality
9		Even Cactuses Bloom
10		Always Running
11		So It's Over Now
12		Somebody Else (Precision Edit Mix)