We're JJ Fad and we're here to rock...

As a child the opening lines of J.J. Fad's (Just Jammin' Fresh and Def) lone hit Supersonic will forever be etched in my brain. The late 80s were a fun and carefree time in popular music and J.J. Fad certainly fit the bill. J.J. Fad was comprised of 3 female rappers: MC J.B. (Juana Burns), Baby-D (Dania Birks) and Sassy C. (Michelle Franklin). Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, the ladies were signed to Ruthless Records and their debut album was produced by Dr. Dre and Yella. While there seems to be some confusion as to who the original members were of this all female rap group, according to a visitor of discogs.com here is a little background:

JJ FAD does not mean "Just Jammin Fresh And Def"; that was a revision. Originally, there were 5 girls in the group, and JJ Fad was an acronym of their names:

Juana, Juanita, Fatima, Lady Anna, and Denea (JJ FAD).

The original version of Supersonic had this spelled out in to beat-box intro, which was revised later when remixed, and the group reduced to a trio (and adding DJ Train to replace Lady Anna

But before we get to Supersonic, it must be noted that their first single was actually Another Hoe released in 1987 which took many jabs at fellow female MC Roxanne Shante. Unlike many West Coast rappers of the day, their producers made J.J. Fad's sound easily accesible to a pop audience by including many electro elements throughout (fabulously displayed on my personal favorite track Blame It On The Muzick).






(L-R: Supersonic CD, Supersonic 12", Not Just A Fad CD, We In The House 12")

Their lone hit was the aforementioned Supersonic. While this song is fondly remembered by many (inspiring Fergie's recent hit Fergalicious) I was quite surprised to see that it only peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 & #22 on the R&B charts. Two more singles were released from their debut album, Is It Love (#92 Hot 100) and Way Out (#61 Hot 100), but neither did much chart-wise. All three singles were pulled from their debut album Supersonic: The Album which peaked at #49 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts and #20 on the R&B album charts.

After being away for a few years, the ladies returned in 1991 with their follow-up album Not Just a Fad. Unfortunately the album flopped. Two singles were released from this album, Gold and We In The House. The latter heavily using the house music sound which was oh so popular during the early 90s. A year after this album was released the trio disbanded and have yet to be heard from. According to wikipedia the ladies are likely to be featured on Dr. Dre's upcoming album Detox.

We couldn't leave you without sharing some videos now could we? First up an old promo for J.J. Fad's 1-900 line!



Of course the infamous Supersonic video:



And did I mention I found a recent interview / the ladies? Grimmie Wreck TV recently interviewed the ladies but not once did they talk about what they are up to. Hmmm...at least we get to see what they look like now!

Jeremy Jordan

In 1993 Jeremy Jordan exploded onto the music scene via the popular teen drama Beverly Hills 90210. Included on the soundtrack to the show, his video was shown during the closing credits and in the process helped the Indiana native become a teen mag sex symbol. With his model good looks (and his apparent dislike of shirts), Jeremy's afore mentioned debut single The Right Kind Of Love peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single Wannagirl also made the Top 40 peaking at #28. Both singles fared well in Australia as well peaking at #5 and #22 respectively. Two more singles were pulled from this album but did not chart, Try My Love & My Love Is Good Enough. Despite two Top 40 singles Jeremy's deubt album Try My Love only peaked at #176 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. After his singing career fizzled out, Jeremy tried his hand at acting. Appearing in films like Nowhere, Never Been Kissed (where he sang on the film's soundtrack), Leaving Las Vegas, Dreamers, etc. It's been nearly 10 years since his last role. Not much has been heard from Mr. Jordan since then. Rumours of his whereabouts have plagued internet message boards ever since. When searching for this piece, I was only able to find that there is a gay porn actor with the same name. So anyone know what's become of Mr. Jordan?






(L-R: Try My Love CD; The Right Kind Of Love CD single; Wanna Girl CD single; My Love Is Good Enough 12")


While we wait let's relive some of his music video moments:

Jeremy Jordan - The Right Kind Of Love
Uploaded by abessolo

Jeremy Jordan - Wannagirl
Uploaded by abessolo

I'm With The DJ

After a quick visit to remix source I was reminded how much I loved a forgotten 90s dance ditty by the name of DJ Girl. "Excuse me? Excuse me? Excuse me Mr. Bouncer!" Who could forget those infamous opening lines to this club smash. Katalina was signed to the California dance label Thump Records. Quite honestly the only reason I even knew of this label was because of their issuing of a Stacey Q greatest hits. And speaking of Ms. Q...long time collaborator Jon St. James was responisible for the bulk of Katalina's one and only album, Sonic Grooves. But I digress...Katalina's debut single was entitled DJ Girl and was an anthem for girlfriends of DJs around the globe. The song peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not sure of it's club chart peak as Billboard's chart link seems to be down at the time of this writing. But you can check that out later for yourself by clicking here. Like I mentioned before a large bulk of her debut album was produced by Jon St. James while the rest were produced by Carlo Zanella. The album straddled the lines between dance, pop, freestyle, synth-pop, etc. Two more singles were released, the title-track Sonic Groove and You'll Be My Future. Neither did much either chart wise. After this album came and went, little has been heard from Katalina. That's where you, are trusty readers come in. Got any info on her whereabouts? Let us know! Are you in fact Katalina and reading this, let us know what you're up to! We'd love to know.







(L-R: Sonic Groove CD; DJ Girl CD Single; Sonic Groove CD Single; You'll Be My Future CD Single)

Unfortunately we were unable to locate the video online to share with you all. Let us all cry in silence.

UPDATE...

I was snooping around IMDB and lo and behold found some more info. Katalina's real name is Kara Wethington and is from Chicago. According to the site here is some more background info:

She was working part time at a recording studio when a vocalist failed to show up for a session. The producer asked her to sit in and do a scratch vocal. After only 10 minutes it was obvious that DJ Girl was a smash and Katalina had a career.

They also state she sang on a song called Wish Me Well with the band The Bouncing Souls and appeared as a singer in the 1999 film Simply Irresistible billed under her real name. Who knew?

UPDATE NO. 2

After doing even more digging around, we were able to get in touch w/ Kara, aka Katalina, and she had this message to share with our readers:

Just want everyone to know that I am now a fashion publicist who gets to work with bands that inspired me growing up.

I still make cameo appearances on various artists albums and will be singing with the Bouncing Souls again for the first time in over 8 years at the Bamboozle show at the Verizon Wireless show in Irvine - April 5.

For more on the Bouncing Souls click here. Thanks so much to Kara for sharing that with our readers. If you're in her neck of the woods for that upcoming show, check it out and tell her Milk Carton Pop Stars sent ya!

Teen Dream

I really don't know much about this group. I vaguely remember seeing the album back in the day. I picked up this CD at a flea market for a mere $1...boy am I glad I did! This is a funky r&b/dance/pop girl group that should have been huge! This is what little info I could found out about the group was from the actual CD. The three ladies that made up Teen Dream were Lisa, Nikki & Terri and they hail from Columbus, Ohio. For whatever reason they are constantly referred to as bitties and phrases like throwin' down, get live, mixin' 'n' relaxin', fresh, hittin' hard & freeze it are sprinkled throughout. Basically the artwork (and even the font) looks like an 1987 issue of Seventeen magazine. Anyhoo back to the gals. Their debut single was Let's Get Busy which featured Valentino. From what info I was able to gather, Valentino is indeed actor Michael DeLorenzo. (Source) According to Billboard.com the group never even charted w/ any of the singles released from this album (something I find a little hard to believe...so if anyone has any other chart facts let us know).

(L-R: Let's Get Busy LP; Slip-Slide 12"; Let's Get Busy 12", Toy 12")

But back to their debut album. It was executive produced by Chris Powell & Benny Medina (Medina as you may or may not know has gone on to represent people like Jennifer Lopez & Tyra Banks) and released by Warner Bros. Records. Subsequent singles were released, Slip-Slide and Toy, but failed to do anything chart wise. By 1990 the group was signed to the label Muscle Shoals Sound Records (huh?) and released a single entitled Games which spent 4 weeks on the Billboard R&B charts peaking at #90. Needless to say the label went under and so did this project. Though it seems an album did get released and is deemed very rare. Only one of the original members remained for this release with 2 new replacements. As to who stayed and who left remains a mystery. So what's become of the ladies of Teen Dream? Who knows!!! But that's why wer'e here to found out. So if you're out there ladies let us know what you're up to! BTW...they would be perfect for our sister blog, The Isle of Deserted Pop Stars run by our very own Grant.

React

Produced by The Berman Brothers (known for their work w/ Real McCoy), 1998 saw the release of React's self-titled debut album. Made of up of two former models (makes sense, cause if I recall I only bought their single because I thought they were cute), Timothy Cruz and Daniel Metreyeon, their album spanwed 2 singles Can't Keep My Hands Off You and Let's Go All The Way. While neither song did much chart wise (...All The Way peaked at #3 on the Bubbling Under Chart in Billboard and hit #4 on the Club Charts) it must be noted that they had some FIERCE remixes! The Vission & Lorrimer Extended Mix of Can't Keep My Hands Off You alone is worth a visit to amazon.com. It shouldn't come to any surprise with the Berman Bros. on board, but I'll be honest, their album was not what I was expecting at all. The signature dance sound of their previous efforts (Real McCoy, She Moves) was replaced by a more teen pop sound. Check it out for yourself:




It's been about 10 years since this album came and went, so I got to wondering what ever became of the boys of React. After doing a little digging around, it didn't take much to find them. A quick visit to discogs.com lead me in the right direction.



Finding info on Daniel was a little more difficult probably because he now goes by the name Daniel Metrey. Seems he has been writing and producing for other acts over the years. The exact details are a little vague on his myspace page. He had a song featured in the film Laws Of Attraction and is currently working on his own album. You can visit his myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/danielmetrey




The other half of React was Timothy Cruz who goes by Timothy Andrew Cruz now. After the group disbanded, Tim went on to join the boyband B3 which had a lot of success in Germany. They were most noted for their cover of the Bee Gees I.O.I.O.



After 4 albums the band broke up and Tim is now a solo artist. You can visit his official site at http://www.tim-cruz.com/




From what I can tell Tim's current music is very far removed from his boy band past. It's nice to know that some of these forgotten acts are still doing their thing.

Baby love

Ok so we've been pretty slow in our posts of late. I apologize. To make it up, I offer not one lost pop star, but 2 lost pop stars! First up...





Regina scored big in 1986 with her Madonna-esque hit Baby Love. Produced by Stephen Bray (who worked with Madonna during her early days up until Like A Prayer) the song instantly became a smash and peaked at #10 in the US. (Source)

Regina didn't just come out of nowhere. She had previously released an album on A&M Records fronting the band Regina & The Red Hots in 1981. Prior to signing with Atlantic Records, she released a single independently entitled Deep Dreaming. While the Madonna comparisons were inevitable, if anyone listened to Regina's debut album Curiosity one would know that Regina was no Madonna clone.

While Regina here undeniably employs the chirpy tone and coquettish nuances Madonna had become known for, a few listens to Curiosity demonstrate who's the better vocalist of the two. (All Music Guide)

Released in 1986 the album peaked at #102 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. While subsequent singles came and went (Beat Of Love peaked at #40 on the Dance Charts but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100), Regina was able to stay in the public eye. Thanks mostly in part to this PSA:



Thanks to Regina and her crazy hair, what child of the 80s does not remember that Users are losers!


A second album, Best Kept Secret, was planned but after the 1st single bombed, the album was scrapped. That single Extraordinary Love did however peak at #11 on the club charts. Her last known recording was released in 1990 on the small label Centurion entitled Track You Down. She is not to be confused with a Brazilian singer also named Regina who scored a club hit in 1997 with Day By Day. Of note, in 1991 Dannii Minogue covered Baby Love where it made the UK Top 20.

So readers we ask you, where is she now? Any leads would be greatly appreciated. But before we leave, let's take a trip down memory lane...

Tara Kemp

While some might argue that the early 90s were flooded with female singers on the charts, I'd like to take a moment in bask in those glory days. Ok moment is up. Now let's find out what became of Tara Kemp. Born Tara Leslye Kemp May 11, 1970 in Livermore, CA Kemp came out of nowhere with her debut hit "Hold You Tight". With her pop and new jack lite sound she took the Billboard Hot 100 by storm peaking at # 3. The song also fared well on the R&B charts peaking at #4. (Source)

Check out the rare 1st version of the video:



The more well known 2nd version:



Lightening struck twice with her follow up "Piece Of My Heart" which also made the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #7. (Source)




A third single came and went entitled "Too Much". It failed to set the charts on fire and stalled at #95. (Source)


All three of these songs were from Tara's self-titled debut album.



Released on Giant Records, the album peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and at #34 on the R&B album charts. (Source)


While fans waited for a follow-up to Tara's self titled debut, Tara appeared on the soundtrack to the 90s hit teen show Beverly Hills 90210 with the track "Action Speaks Louder Than Words". Then in 1992 Tara appeared on the soundtrack to Class Act with the track "Anything You Ask".

After a successful debut, one would think her label would be rushing to release a follow-up. Word is that Tara left Giant in 1992 to record for Nerve Records. A single was released in 1994 entitled "Come Off" and flopped, thus the infamous follow-up never saw the light of day.

It's been about 16 years since her debut. So readers, we ask of you...what became of Tara Kemp? Anyone??? All I was able to find was a fan made myspace profile. Sigh.

Delicious

So if you haven't guessed by now, we've been kinda stuck in the 80s and the early 90s. What can we say...that's the era of pop music we tend to like here @ Milk Carton Pop Stars...so sue us. To mix things up a bit, today I've decided to feature one of my favorite one album wonders of all-time, PURE SUGAR. Comprised of DJs Richard 'Humpty' Vission, Peter Lorimer and vocalist Jennifer Starr.

The first known recording came in 1995 via the Aqua Boogie label under the name Richard "Humpty" Vission Presents Sugar with the single The Feeling.

By 1998 the act was now known as Pure Sugar and signed with Geffen Records. Their debut single was Delicious:



The single stalled at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 while peaking at #8 on the Billboard Dance Chart.

The video, the group's only video effort as far as we know, was a colorful campy delight:



Subsequent singles failed to set the charts afire, save the Billboard Dance Charts where Hands To Heaven ('98) and These Are The Times ('99) peaked at #8 and at #3 respectively.

All these singles were culled from the group's sole album, the self-titled Pure Sugar.



(Now this is my own personal opinion, but this album has to be one of the BEST dance albums of all time. The beats, the sexy lyrics, THOSE vocals. Pure dance heaven. That's all I can say. If you don't own this album get it today. Hell you can get it for 1¢ used on amazon.com!!)



Aside from their debut, Pure Sugar also appeared on the 1998 soundtrack for the TV series Sabrina The Teenage Witch with a cover of the Waitresses's classic I Know What Boys Like.

After the group disbanded, Vission and Lorimer continued to DJ and create new music, etc. But what became of that soulful, big voiced diva Jennifer Starr? That's what we'd LOVE to know here at Milk Carton Pop Stars. Faithful readers, help us out?