Whatever happened to... LIVIN' JOY?

Hi hi!

You know that we usually have a good time remembering the dance songs and singers of our youth (*tear*)... and it's always interesting to look into what some of those famous faces are doing now.

The other day we brought you a flashback to Everything But the Girl, but today I thought we'd delve a little into Livin' Joy! Now, I won't hold it against you if you don't know the name right off the bat... they only had two big hits in the USA (back in those glorious days of the mid-90s Eurodance explosion!). But boy... they were BIG ones!


Livin' Joy vocalist Janice Robinson in her "Dreamer" days!

Livin' Joy was an Italian house act composed of producers (and real life brothers) Gianni Visnadi and Paolo Visnadi. In 1994, they teamed up with vocalist Janice Robinson to record the single "Dreamer." This song has since become a House classic, but check out the video below if you don't remember it...


If you still can't recall this one, then you must have been dead (or had two left feet ;)) in the '90s. God, I LOVED this song. I remember trying to tape it off the radio (remember THAT??) so that I could slow it down and figure out what the HELL they're saying in that really really fast part. Haha.

(Sidenote: Thanks to the wonders of the modern internet, which was sadly missing from my 12-year-old existence back then, I've uncovered the lyrics:

Here we lie all alone in my dreamin'
Your eyes move my soul it's unbelievin'
Now you see the me, get my feelin'
How'm I feelin

I feel your hands, your lips the heat of your body
Whisper you love me, you say you love me
Please don't dumb it down and never leave me
I'm a dreamer

Aww how romantic ;)

Anyway, "Dreamer" was a #1 Billboard Club hit, and it even made it on to the pop charts... peaking in the Hot 100 at #72.

After the success of the song, Janice Robinson left the group... and was replaced by Tameka Star. She and the Visnadi brothers released a follow-up hit in 1997: "Don't Stop Movin'." This one was a smaller hit on the Club chart (peaking at #3) but a bigger hit on the pop one (#67)! Personally, I much prefer "Dreamer"...

They did release a full-length album ("Don't Stop Movin'") which produced a few more UK dance hits... but none stateside. In the last 90s a song "Just For the Sex of It" was released to build anticipation for a follow-up album. But that single fizzled, and the new record never materialized.

So... where are they now?

Gianni and Paolo Visnadi continued to produce and remix dance tracks for other European dance artists. They also released their own music under a different name: Alex Party. They released three international singles under that name throughout the mid-90s: "Alex Party (Read My Lips)" "Don't Give Me Your Life," and "U Gotta Be." All were hits across the pond, but none captured the American audience the way their work as Livin' Joy did! C*Y*B and Gradiva are two other pseudonyms that these producers would work under throughout their production career.

Tameka Starr has been pretty quiet over the years. She did release a solo song, "Going in Circles," and in 2005 she provided vocals for the dance act Each Others on "Fast Car," their Euro remake of the Tracy Chapman folk-rock hit.

If it's any consolation, Tameka's work with Livin' Joy has not been forgotten! In 2006, Swedish pop star Velvet released a cover version of "Don't Stop Movin" - you can check out HER video below:


Janice Robinson released a brilliant singer-songwriter album in 1999, "The Color Within Me." It's fantastic stuff, and highlights that Ms. Robinson... well, she's a lot more talented than the average person would suspect of a supposed "one hit wonder" dance artist! Actually, she's had several more hits... behind the scenes. Janice frequently lends her songwriting gifts to other dance artists, including Reina ("If I Close My Eyes" and "On My Own") and Brian Kent ("I Pray"). And she re-released "Dreamer" on her own in 2005 with all new mixes.


Janice Robinson in 2006.

The mainstream dance scene isn't what it used to be back in the '90s heyday... but I still owe Ms. Robinson and Livin' Joy one big THANK YOU for making my 'tween days and junior high dances that much more fun!! :)

Later kiddies!
JADE

Back to school with STEVIE JEWEL!!

Hey everybody,

Hope you guys all had a great Labor Day weekend filled with one final BBQ before the fall begins (although autumn just happens to be my favorite season - what can I say, I'm a New England boy at heart!). I spent my days off shoving myself full of cheeseburgers and clam chowder. Just the way you're supposed to spend Labor Day! ;)

Anyway, now that we're officially into September, there's one other thing that the impending fall always reminds me of: going back to school! Now now, I'm 25 years old so it's been a while since I was skipping class and doing weekend keg parties (not that I would EVER do such a thing - Johnny was such a gooood boy! ;) ), but I thought it would be fun to occasionally revisit those "good old days" throughout the blog in September...

So today, we're starting by bringing you word of a new DIVA on the scene... who is still high school aged!! Her name is STEVIE JEWEL, and this young lady's first single, "Seal the Deal," has been remixed by Josh Harris and Junior Vasquez. What a way to celebrate your Sweet Sixteen, huh? Yep.. she's 16 freaking years old, and a student at Las Vegas Academy for the Performing Arts. Why couldn't I be accomplishing that much at the same age? (For that matter, how come I wasn't going to school in VEGAS?? haha)



Anyway, you can hear the song on her Official MySpace page. It's awesome! I mean, you have to figure it'd be pretty good if remixers like Harris and Vasquez were willing to lend their name to a teenager straight out of the gate, y'know??

Oh, and by the way... Stevie did write the song herself... guess she's good at English class :)

Some of Stevie's other high-profile gigs include singing for the President on Christmas at the White House, and also for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting event in Washington, DC as well. Damn, this is really making my SAT scores look like a weak accomplishment in comparison...

Well anyway, good luck to Stevie... for our first "back to school" post, we vote this Diva "Most Likely to Succeed!" :)

Later,
JOHNNY

We Got 'Em!: BRITNEY's COMEBACK SINGLES!

Hey there, kids!

Okay... it's the weekend, and have we got a post for you ;)

Britney Spears fans (are there are any left?), take heart - we've got her new comeback single "Gimme More" for you below! This is the one she filmed a video for the other month... you didn't forget these pics did you??



We also have a high-quality version of another song, "Cold Like Fire."

I'm not really into either of them, but I will say that "Cold" is kind of catchy after a few listens... maybe she should have picked that as her comeback single :-p

To be honest, I don't think either of them has what it takes to revitalize her career... they're just not different enough, or show off a previously unseen side, or crazily good enough... to make up for her annoyingness of the last few years.

Actually, it's not her wild ways that turned me off to Britney - it's been her bad parenting and "woah is me" sense of martyrdom. Sweetie, if you're going to complain about the paparazzi... then put on some panties, willya? (Especially if it's not worth lookin' at!)

Still, these are pretty juice songs, especially since Britney is rumored to be opening the VMAs next week... wonder if "Gimme More" will have grown on me by then!

The songs are below... but here's the thing: since we don't want any legal notices in our INbox, we're only leaving the songs up through the weekend. SO if you have any Britney fans, send them a link to the blog NOW! Sunday night... sayonara!

Enjoy, and have an awesome weekend ;)

Love,
JADE

Update: Release date change for JASON WALKER

Hey guys,

Just a quick update today!
If you've been looking for our July DIVO Jason Walker's new album, you've probably been disappointed to find that "Flexible" wasn't available for the original August 21 release date.

Problem solved! The release date has been rescheduled, and you can catch the album in stores and online on...

SEPTEMBER 4!



Phew... Walker fans, take a breath ;)

Full update tomorrow, gang!

Later,
JOHNNY

PAUL VAN DYK plays with DOLLS! (and pays tribute to MADONNA?)

Yep, you heard it here first... Paul van Dyk plays with dolls!!

Pussycat Dolls, that is ;)

First of all, head over to our Reviews section to get the skinny on Paul's new album, "In Between." I'd tell you what we thought of it... but I think it's more fun to read for yourself, don't you? :)

Aaanyway, the first single off the album is "White Lies," which has been heating up trance dance floors everywhere. It's a wild, hard-edged sonic ride - I love it! But like me, you've probably been thinking that the female guest vocalist (who also appears in the video) looks and sounds kind of familiar... but can't quite place her...

Mystery solved! The singer is Jessica Sutta, a member of the Pussycat Dolls!


Jessica must have a thing for club music, cause it's not the first time she's loaned her voice to a DJ/producer piece... earlier this year, she was the vocalist for Dave Aude's single "Make it Last."

I have to hand it to her, she's pretty good. I kind of figured that Nicole Scherzinger was the only one who could actually sing... since she's the only one who usually does! Plus, unlike most music artists, all the members of PCD are actually salaried employees of the record label (weird, huh??) which gave rise to rumors that all the girls other than Nicole were basically picked to be talentless, backup arm candy.

Okay, but here's my one beef... have you checked out the "White Lies" video? If not, first give it a gander below:



Okay... a chair dance in a black corset with a bowler hat... on a stage in front of three little peep show windows... does this bear a striking resemblance to another dance video from yesteryear?

Say... Madonna "Open Your Heart"??
Don't believe me?? Check THAT clip out below:



I need to compile a list of all the times I see Madonna's inspiration in current dance music... and then write all the newer artists letters to see if it was intentional!

Okay, so obviously we need to pit these two videos together in another face-off vote.
You might recall that our last one was between two "free-running videos": David Guetta's "Love Don't Let Me Go" and Madonna's "Jump."

You guys voted, and the results were:

David Guetta "Love Don't Let Me Go" - 48%
Madonna "Jump" - 52%

I have to say, I was surprised... I actually voted for David this time around!

So check the poll at the top of the blog and the homepage...
... and check out our review of Paul van Dyk's "In Between..."
... and the next time you're listening to "White Lies," check out your own Pussycat Doll moves in the mirror! ;)

Loosening up my buttons,
JADE

LIL SUZY is going to have a littler Suzy!

We're a little belated here, but it seems that congratulations are in order for one of dance music's infamous divas... LIL SUZY!

The Princess of Freestyle is 6 and 1/2 months pregnant with a baby girl!

Lil Suzy at 6 months pregnant, 2007

It's been a while since we've heard new music from Suzy, and now we know why: she's been playing wife and (soon to be) mother :)

If you need a refresher course on exactly WHY Lil Suzy has her place in dance music industry, here's the short of it: at the age of 14, this Freestyle Diva became the youngest EVER President of a record label (her own Empress Records). Of course, there's also the fact that she was performing alongside artists like Judy Torres by the age of 8, had churned out her first hit by the age of 13 ("Take Me in Your Arms"), and spent the next two decades popping out dance projects that I, for one, love. Of course, I'm not gonna lie... I always DID get a little self-conscious about having a CD that said "LIL SUZY" in my car. Haha. Manly pride, y'know? ;)

Anyway, sample her "Greatest Hits" album on iTunes if you need a reminder of her successes. My fave was always "When I Fall in Love." Gotta love the mid-90s wailing-Diva-meets-white-boy-rapper combo!

Aanyhow, Lil Suzy is now all grown up. She was married in October of 2005, and now she and her hubby are expecting their first child.

Lil Suzy wedding picture, October 2005

Oh, and we hear that the little girl's name is already picked out: Angelica Juliet.

Now THAT is a pretty name!

Congratulations, Lil Suzy. And here's hoping motherhood inspires her to write some new music! Every baby needs a lullaby, after all...

... even if it's a Freestyle jam!

Haha.

Later,
JOHNNY

DIVO to watch: BRIAN KENT!

Hi guys,

You know how excited we get when we hear of a new DIVO on the scene (cause they're so hard to come by!)... so fire up the speakers and check out someone new we've come across: Brian Kent.



Brian's hard two singles so far that you've probably heard: The first was "I'm Not Crazy," but the second was what really made an impact on me. It was a remake of the Journey hit "Don't Stop Believin'"... you know, that standby karaoke song that usually involves a group of drunks slinging their arms around each other and belting an inspirational anthem ;) (NOT speaking from personal experience, of course!)

I actually was NOT a big fan of his "Don't Stop Believin'" cover. It's not often that I like when dance artists cover rock songs... some things are better left alone! It's worked before, of course... check out this old blog I wrote that pairs classic rock songs against their dance version remakes.

Anyway, I'm happy to say that Brian Kent's first full album, "Breathe Life," is actually quite good! (So I forgive him for the Journey debacle ;) ) It's basically all high-energy dance cuts, so click the cover below to sample it through iTunes:



Yay, another guy in the dance world... you go, boy!

Love,
JADE

PS. Here's a little piece of trivia about Brian... he was a member of the original cast of the show Naked Boys Singing. Haha. Anyone have any pictures of that?? You'll be my hero!! ;)