Music Music Music

[CellarDweller]

Katy Perry hit #1 with her song "I Kissed A Girl".  Here's her new song, "Hot N Cold"


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEzDsQP9o1o[/youtube]

[CellarDweller]

Dance act Cascada Hit the Top 10 with "Everytime We Touch", and had two huge dance hits with "Miracle" and "What Hurts The Most".

Here is her new song, "Faded".



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3S-uVrJep4[/youtube]

[optom3]

I voted, Cook, Hudson and Perry all hot. The hottest of the hot for me is Cook. The other David, is a bit too squeaky clean for me.

[CellarDweller]

Today, I'm givng you all an 80s music lesson. 

Why?  The reason will be posted on the last post of this series, which will have two videos per post.

The subject?  The 80's answer to The Supremes,  girl group Exposé.



In the mid 80s, freestyle was just beginning to gain popularity, and producer Lewis A. Martinée had two songs written in this style, and had put together three ladies in a group, originally called "X-Posed".




The name was later changed to Exposé, and the three ladies, Alé  (pronounced Al ay), Laurie, and Sandée (pronounced San day) went to the recording studio




The demo was given to Arista records, who signed the group to an album deal.  The first single "Point Of No Return" was released to clubs and dance radio stations, and became a huge hit in dance clubs, and on dance radio stations.



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgqd2WdOyEs[/youtube]


Exposé recorded the follow up single "Exposed to Love" to equal success.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y_bGu82SbY[/youtube]


Lewis Martinée had the material for the full length CD ready to go, when the group split apart.  Finding himself with a recording contract, and no group, he decided to reform Exposé with three new members.

[CellarDweller]

After some auditions, Lewis Martiné found Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless, and Gioia Bruno to be the "new" Exposé.  They went into the studio, and finished recording the CD, as well as re-recording the single "Point Of No Return".  The debut disc was called "Exposure".




The group's next single was "Come Go With Me", lead vocal by Jeanette, and like the prior singles, a freestyle/dance driven song.  However, this time, pop radio picked up on the single, and it shot up the Billboard Hot 100.  Arista Records quickly shot a video for the song, and it ended up being a Top 5 hit.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxd5QV1CF60[/youtube]

Wanting to strike while the iron was hot, Arista Records, instead of releasing a new single, re-released "Point Of No Return", which now had the vocals of the new members.  A video was shot, and Exposé got a 2nd Top 10 hit.



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWz5qHVQQOc[/youtube]

[CellarDweller]

The record company was not ready to slow the succes of Exposé, but they did slow down the pace of the next two singles.  Wanting to show Exposé was more than just freestyle, they released the group's 3rd single, "Let Me Be The One", this time, lead vocals by Gioia.  This mid tempo jam got to #7 on the charts, becoming their 3rd Top 10 Hit.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPSo4WhJL0U[/youtube]

Continuing to slow the pace a bit, Exposé released their love ballad, "Seasons Change", with Jeanette back on lead.  It became their first #1 single.  By now, the "Exposure" CD sold 2 million copies.



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcWfpPgeAP4[/youtube]

[CellarDweller]

In 1989, Exposé released their follow up CD, "What You Don't Know".






Wanting to avoid the "sophmore slump", they stuck to the formula that made the "Exposure" CD a success, dance songs, and some love ballads.  The first single was the title track, "What You Don't Know" with Gioia on lead, and it was another Top 10 Hit.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JoIhUwUnKQ[/youtube]

The next single to be released was "When I Looked At Him", with Jeanette on lead, it became their 6th Top 10 hit.



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNkPV3NzHe8[/youtube]

[CellarDweller]

Bringing the tempo back up, Exposé released "Tell Me Why" (lead vocal by Gioia), with a message against violence.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYrIJcryulU[/youtube]

The last single to be released from "What You Don't Know" was "Your Baby Never Looked Good In Blue".  With Jeanette on lead, this single got to #17 on the Hot 100, and was the first Exposé single not to hit the Top 10.



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyqJ_yMYtcc[/youtube]



Final sales figures for "What You Don't Know" were between 1 and 2 million.  Before Exposé could start their 3rd CD, Gioia's doctor found a cyst on her vocal cords.  She was unble to sing, and surgery to remove it would affect her voice.  Gioia left Exposé, and was replaced with Kelly Moneymaker.  At this point in time, the ladies also decided to break away from Lewis Martinée, in an effort to work with other producers, as the "freestyle" sound was losing popularity.

[CellarDweller]

1992 saw the release of the 3rd Exposé Cd, simply called "Exposé.





Changing sounds from the freestyle that gave them success turned out to be a bad idea.  The R&B lead single "I Wish The Phone Would Ring" (lead vocals by Jeanette), managed to only get to #28 on the Hot 100 chart, a disappoinment compared to past single success.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMED1MM5X1I[/youtube]

Hoping to get a hit, Arista released "I'll Never Get Over You" a love ballad which featured Jeanette on lead.  This single managed to get to #8 on the Hot 100, giving Exposé their 8th Top 10 single.



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6A3IOEU1zw[/youtube]

[CellarDweller]

Hoping to follow up the success of their last Top 10 hit, Arista records released a second love ballad from the "Exposé" Cd, a song called "As Long As I Can Dream", which featured Ann on lead vocals this time.  However, after hearing a love ballad from them previously, pop radio overlooked this sweet song, and it only got to #56 on the charts.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eDbHed67Xs&feature=related[/youtube]


Realizing that their hit streak had basically come to an end, Ann, Jeanette, and Kelly decided to go their seperate ways.  In 1995, Arista Records released a "Greatest Hits" Cd, which featured all their Top 10 hits, as well as two final new songs.  A remake of the disco song "I Specialize In Love" (which wasn't released as a single) and the love ballad "I'll Say Goodbye For The Two Of Us".  However, this single failed to chart at all, and Exposé dropped off from the music scene.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdfShOpNkIo&feature=related[/youtube]



In early 2001, Gioia found that the cyst on her vocal cords disolved without surgery.  She recorded a solo CD called "Expose This", but didn't find success.

Fast forward to recent years.  Ann, Jeanette, and Gioia have reconnected, pooled their money together, and purchased the rights to the name Exposé.  Riding the "80s revival" that's going on, they've hit the road, and have been doing live shows again, including a number of gay pride events.  Here is a recent publicity pic.





Why am I posting all this?  Well, a friend of mine is one of their road managers, and their next date is tomorrow, in Long Island.  If all goes well, I'll be at the concert, and hopefully, backstage to meet and get pics with Exposé!