Kevin Aviance - Box Of Chocolates (1999) & Entity (2003) DOUBLE POST!!

Kevin Aviance was born Eric Snead in 1968 in Richmond, Virginia. With a love for music, theatre, fashion and drama, he moved into drag at a young age, with punk being a huge influence, as well as obvious influences like Grace Jones and Boy George.  He moved to Washington, D.C. to be a hairdresser and drag performer, but also developed a bad drug habit.  Luckily his life turned around when he was discovered by The House Of Aviance, a vogue-ball house based in New York City that was one of the premiere groups on the voguing scene. Changing his name to Kevin Aviance, he moved first to Miami and then to New York City where he became an acclaimed drag performer at the Sound Factory. In 1994 he made a cameo in Madonna's "Secret" video and soon made the natural progression to making music of his own.  His first single, "Cunty (The Feeling)", was released on Strictly Rhythm in 1996 as 'Rageous Projecting Kevin Aviance'.  It garnered enough notice to get him signed to legendary DJ François Kevorkian's Wave Music.  His next single was a remake of George Kranz's 1983 dance hit "Din Daa Daa".  It quickly went to the top of the Billboard Dance Chart in 1997, and also hit #65 on the UK singles chart in 1998.  It is likely his best remembered song.  His next single was a remake of "Join In The Chant", a 1987 dance hit by EBM group Nitzer Ebb.  Kevin's version managed to reach #8 on the Billboard Dance Chart. The success of the singles led to the album A Box Of Chocolates, released in 1999.  That same year he performed in the film Flawless. The first single "Rhythm Is My Bitch" climbed to #2 on the Billboard Dance Chart, though the next single, "Dance For Love", failed to chart. Interestingly, that was the first single that Kevin actually sang on, as his signature style was spoken word.  He signed to Centaur Entertainment a couple of years later and released "Alive" in 2002, which once again hit the top of the Billboard Dance Chart.  The album Entity soon followed, as did the single "Give It Up", another #1 hit and his biggest to date.  This album had Kevin singing on all of the tracks, and is much better than his first, IMO. After leaving Centaur, Kevin released another single, "Strut", which managed to reach #13 on the Billboard Dance Chart in 2006, a couple months after Kevin was robbed and gay-bashed by a group of up to seven men.  This resulted in his jaw being wired shut for a month, as well as a fractured knee.  He persevered and discussed the experience on The Tyra Show.  Since then he has returned to the stage and reamins a drag icon.  He has released a few singles including "Hold On Me" with Tom Stephan vs S-Man in 2007, a remake of Britney Spears' "Gimme More" in 2009, and most recently "Bang, DaBeat" with Samuri in 2017.  Obviously Kevin will not be going anywhere anytime soon, and the gay world wouldn't have it any other way.

Download Box Of Chocolates

Video for Cunty

Video for Din Da Da

Video for Join In The Chant

Video for Rhythm Is My Bitch

Video for Dance For Love

1 Fanfare
2 Din Da Da Da
3 The Need
4 Chocolates
5 Do You Know Me
6 Dance For Love
7 Everyday
8 The Beats
9 Cunty
10 Robots
11 Join In The Chant
12 Rhythm Is My Bitch
13 Tonight
14 Home

Download Entity

Video for Alive (Remix)

1 Aviancetro "Clap Your Hands"
2 Alive
3 You've Got The Groove
4 Give It Up
5 Interlube Chant "Love"
6 Freak It (Live Out Loud)
7 Power
8 Seattle
9 Twirl (Don't Bring Me Down)
10 Fire
11 Ready Set Go
12 Alive (Victor Calderone Vs. The Tribalist Remix)

Ruby Amanfu - So Now The Whole World Knows (1998) and Smoke & Honey (2003) DOUBLE POST!!

Here we have an artist who, like so many other lost pop stars, was a victim of record label turmoil and interference. Ruby Amanfu was born in Accra, Ghana, and as a small child moved to Tennessee, where she honed her songwriting and vocals and, while attending high school, recorded and released her debut album, So Now The Whole World Knows, on an indie label (Thanks Liz!). She then attended Berklee College Of Music in Boston, but soon moved back to Nashville to attend Belmont University and worked on promoting the album. Ruby was compared to artists like Tracy Chapman and Jewel due to her thoughtful lyrics and folk sound. She was soon snatched up by Polydor - but in the UK. It's actually not that surprising, as Ruby comes off as a cross between two once popular British singers, Gabrielle and Samantha Mumba. She was teamed up with a slew of popular Nordic producers, some who worked with artists like Britney, Dannii, Geri, and Sophie, and also on other albums featured here like Stella Soliel, Juliette, and Lene, who recorded Ruby's song "Surprise" for her solo album. The resulting album contained very soulful pop laced with rock. The first single "Sugah" became a huge hit in the UK and Europe. The second single, "Chocolate Pie", did not. But by this point Ruby was back in the US, tired of label pressure and strife. She asked to be dropped, and the album never made it over the pond. She then pursued an independent path, writing songs for others (one - The Duhks' version of "Heaven's My Home" - was even nominated for a Grammy in 2007) and also hooked up with longtime friend Sam Brooker for the folk duo Sam & Ruby in 2005. They have released one album on Rykodisc and two EPs since, and they also joined Nashville vocal group The Collective and appeared on Season 3 of The Sing Off, coming in eighth.  In 2011, Ruby toured with Jack White and did vocals for his album Blunderbuss, and she released her EP The Simple Sessions the following year. She also sang co-lead vocals on the single "Love Interruption" with White, which they performed on the Grammy's in 2013.  That year she also released the single "I Wonder" with Brittany Howard, the lead singer of Alabama Shakes, on Jack White's label. Most recently she appeared on Jack White's second album, Lazaretto, and has been touring with indie sensation Hozier and appeared with him on Saturday Night Live in 2014, so clearly she is still going strong and the best is likely yet to come...and it has!  Ruby released a new album at the end of August, 2015!  Check out Standing Still on iTunes!!

Download So Now The Whole World Knows

1 Crybaby
2 Sleeper And The Gong
3 Hide Away
4 Aaron
5 Mr. Cunningham
6 Empty
7 Because Of Love
8 Simplicity
9 Release
10 True Love

Video for Sugah

Download Smoke And Honey

1		Sugah
2		Chocolate Pie
3		Just Until
4		Know You Better
5		Different Is Good
6		Work It Out
7		For Life
8		I Will Pray
9		Morning
10		Whether You Fall
11		You Can't Use Me
12		Bless You
13		Ying To The Yang

Mary Zilba - Out Of The Blue (1999), Fly (2003) & Flashback Fast Forward (2009) TRIPLE POST!!

I have long been a casual fan of American/Canadian pop singer Mary Zilba.  However, I must confess that I never followed her career too closely, and I lost touch with her goings-on somewhere in the mid-2000s.  So not only was I surprised when, late in 2011, it was announced that there would be a Canadian version of the Real Housewives franchise (one of my fave series), but also that Ms. Zilba herself would be one of the "housewives"!  I must admit, I didn't hold out much hope for the show, as most Canadian versions of American shows are embarrassingly weak and uninteresting copies of the American versions.  But soon after The Real Housewives Of Vancouver began, I was hooked, and it has since become one of my faves of the series.  Who knew Canadian women could be SO bitchy!?  Mary is portrayed as the sweet, innocent one who is basically the punching bag for the other ladies, and it seems to reflect her true nature, though this season it appears she may be a little more calculating than she at first appeared...  Anyway, the show renewed my interest in Mary's music, so I dragged out my copy of her first album and was reminded how talented a singer she is and how fun her music can be.  Her story is easy to find on the internet - born in Ohio, Mary sang throughout school and joined a band called Junkyard.  Discouraged by the Ohio music scene, she went to college and got a degree in Journalism.  She worked as a reporter and TV host, and in 1986 (or 1987, depending on the source) she won the Miss Ohio crown, and won the talent portion of the Miss America competition, but not the title (incidentally, she and her sister Juliana are the only sisters to ever have competed in the Miss America pageant - and her sister won the talent portion as well in 1981).  Soon after, Mary moved to Florida and created and hosted a travel show called Eye On Fort Lauderdale.  But her true passion was for music, so she moved to Los Angeles to pursue it and scored a music deal with an indie label.  There she hooked up with popular pop producer Ian Prince (who also worked with previous Isle postees Elisa Fiorillo, Starleana, Adele Bertei, Stacy Earl, Kiara Hunter and Sheree Jeacocke) and released her self-titled album in 1998.  Though it went unnoticed in the US, interest was brewing in Canada, where the album was re-released as Out Of The Blue the next year.  Mary moved to Vancouver to pursue this Canadian interest, and she had three Canadian Top 40 hits off of the album - "Seduction", "Do Me Right" and "See You Again".  Her next album Fly was released in 2003 and produced only minor hits with "Put Your Arms Around Me", "Whatever" and "Give It Up".  Left with no album deal, Mary continued to perform and also pursued acting and philanthropy.  She did release a 'best of' entitled Flashback Fast Forward in 2009 to appease her fans, and it included seven new tracks - "Little Miss Reckless", "Unconditional", "Too Many Times", "This Is Me", "I Will Never Have You", "Delusion" and "Afterglow".  With her interest in music still strong and a desire to promote it, Mary soon applied for the Real Housewives Of Vancouver and got the gig.  Though the show has increased her profile in Canada and given her a minor hit with a song she wrote and performed on the show, "Hero", it remains to be seen if the show will give her the music success she still craves.  But she has used the abuse that she has received on the show to her and others' advantage, as she is now involved in anti-bullying campaigns, in addition to work for PETA, Tuberous Sclerosis and Epilepsy.

Video for Seduction

Video for See You Again

Video for See You Again (Remix)

Download Out Of The Blue

1		See You Again (Radio)
2		Do Me Right
3		Seduction
4		Runaway
5		Groovin
6		The Question Of You
7		All I Wanna Do
8		Right Back In Love
9		Did You Know
10		Big Time
11		Lately
12		Try Again
13		See You Again
14		Runaway - Outro
15		See You Again (Extended Mix)
16		Seduction (Dance 12 Inch Edit)
17		Do Me Right (House Mix Extended)

Video for Put Your Arms Around Me

Video for Whatever

Download Fly

1		Fly
2		All Out Of Love
3		Tell Me, Tell Me
4		Give It Up
5		Put Your Arms Around Me
6		Whatever
7		Everything
8		Last Night
9		All Out Of Love (Remix)

Download Flashback Fast Forward

1		Little Miss Reckless
2		Do Me Right (Radio Mix)
3		All Outta Love
4		Seduction
5		Unconditional
6		Two Many Times
7		See You Again (Radio Mix)
8		Give It Up
9		Put Your Arms Around Me
10		Afterglow
11		Delusion
12		So Right
13		I Will Never Have You
14		This Is Me

Lene - Play With Me (2003)

Everyone knows Lene Nystrøm, the beautiful lead singer of Danish bubblegum europop group Aqua whose song "Barbie Girl" was a huge worldwide hit.  After the group released two albums, Aquarium in 1997 and Aquarius in 2000, and countless hit singles (well, hits everywhere except North America, where "Barbie Girl" remains their only top ten song), they broke up in 2001, amid rumours of discord within the group, and diminishing sales.  All of the members pursued other projects, with Lene being the most logical to pursue a solo career.  Over the next couple of years she gathered together top producers and writers for her debut album.  The producers included pop heavyweights like Brian Rawling, Xenomania, BAG & Arnthor and Bloodshy & Avant, and the writers included Kandi Burruss and Isle postees Ruby Amanfu (on "Surprise") and Stella Soleil.  Lene obviously wanted to distance herself from the chirpy bubblegum sound of Aqua, which had pretty much worn thin by the end of their run.  Instead she displayed her vocal prowess, lowering her register and slowing the beats down to sexier, more electro-inflected pop and even some rock.  The song "Virgin Superstar" was released to radio, and it's success led to the proper release of her first single, "It's Your Duty".  The song was an instant hit in her native Scandinavia, hitting #3 on the pop charts, no doubt aided by the sexy video.  The next single was "Pretty Young Thing", a remake of the Stella Soleil song which was also released as a single.  As with Stella's version, it failed to hit (Tina Cousins also recorded the song in 2006 and had a minor hit with it, finally).  The album also failed to hit in her native land, and was only given limited release in the rest of the world, with no release in the coveted US.  Unfortunate, as it's a fun, solid pop album.  Promos for "Here We Go" (a cover of the Moonbaby track) and "Scream" were released but to no success and Lene was dropped from Polydor/Universal.  After that she appeared on the song "I Love N.Y." on the album by husband and Aqua bandmate Søren Rasted's Lazyboy project, and she had success as a songwriter in 2006 when Girls Aloud recorded her songs "No Good Advice" (which was a huge hit) and "You Freak Me Out" for their debut album (they also later covered "Here We Go" in 2004 and "We Wanna Party" in 2008).  In 2007, Aqua reformed to tour Denmark, which led to the release of a greatest hits album in 2009 that included three new songs, and a new album in 2011 entitled Megalomania.  Soon after Lene was enlisted to be a judge on the Danish edition of the singing competition The Voice, where she still holds court. (BTW, the album is available on iTunes in some of Europe and Amazon in the US if you are from there and want the best quality version of it.  The rest of you will have to settle for this download for now. ;)

Video for It's Your Duty

Video for Pretty Young Thing

Download Play With Me

1		Virgin Superstar
2		Pretty Young Thing
3		It's Your Duty
4		Play With Me
5		Bad Coffee Day
6		Here We Go
7		Bite You
8		Up In Smoke
9		We Wanna Party
10		Pants Up
11		Surprise
12		Scream

W.I.T. - Whatever It Takes (2003)

W.I.T. (short for Whatever It Takes) were queens of the Electroclash movement in the early 2000s. Electroclash, which is considered electro music with punk attitude, was basically the brainchild of DJ/producer Larry Tee. He had a love of 80s electro, new wave and synth-pop music and saw it as something that demanded a comeback, albeit with an updated sound. At the time there were many acts emerging, like Felix Da Housecat, Peaches, Chicks On Speed and Fischerspooner, who were working the Electroclash sound. Many of the acts at the time we fairly faceless or visually 'challenging'. After being approached by model Melissa Burns to put her in a group called W.I.T., Larry realized that an attractive electro girl group would be just the ticket to get attention for the genre, the Electroclash Festival and his label Mogul Electro. He convinced another attractive lady, Christine Doza, to join and they recorded the song "Hold Me, Touch Me". Luckily he got the legendary Arthur Baker to remix the track and it took off in dance clubs, and was included in many Electroclash compilations. The ladies toured with the Electroclash Festival and recorded more songs that ended up on compilations, including "Inside Out", which appeared on the Party Monster soundtrack. Along the way they added a third member, Mandy Coon, more for eye candy than anything else as she apparently didn't sing on the tracks. Finally, in 2003, the previous tracks and a couple new ones, including a remake of The Cars' "Just What I Needed", were pulled together for their debut album, which was produced by Larry Tee. Though they had received plenty of media coverage, the Electroclash movement was arguably coming to a very quick and painful demise (I say arguably because many groups from that era are still recording and successful now) and W.I.T. failed to break out of the pack. Only two other known songs, "Boy's Club" and "Bad Idea", were released on compilations and the group apparently disbanded. It's a shame, as the group harkened back to classic electro girl groups like The Flirts and Company B, with influences from everyone from Stacey Q to Blondie, and their sound is currently successful for acts like Sally Shapiro and Annie. But it appears both Melissa and Mandy are currently involved in modelling and fashion, so their moment in the spotlight isn't likely over yet.

Download Whatever It Takes

1		I Surrender
2		Ooh, I Like It
3		Hold Me, Touch Me
4		It Kills
5		Just What I Needed
6		Playboy
7		Whatever It Takes
8		Inside Out

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

New School - New School (2003)

New School is a collective of singers masterminded by Canadian producer Adam H. Though described at the time as something new, the sound is very much the pop of the time: Britney, Backstreet Boys, et al. The two constant members aside from Adam were female singers A.J. and Strawberry. The first single, "Back In The Day", which used a sample from Spandau Ballet's hit "True", was a local hit in their native Vancouver. They even got a grant to film a video, which featured J Lo's ex Cris Judd. The song apparently had some success nationally, and two other singles were released from the album, "What You Gonna Do About You" and "Misunderstood", but met with little success. Two non-album singles, "The Sweetest Christmas" and "Alright", also failed to get much attention, and it would appear that the group ceased to exist. They do still have a Myspace site HERE however. Adam H has continued to produce successful pop and R&B acts as part of production team The BananaToons (and even worked with previous postee Max-A-Million) and runs a label, RockSTAR Music Corp., whose last national success was pop starlette Elise Estrada.

Download New School

1		Keep It On The Hush
2		Misunderstood
3		Back In The Day
4		Come Back Home
5		Feet On The Ground
6		Shorty
7		The Rest Of Always
8		What You Gonna Do About You
9		Freaky Girl
10		Bigger Than The Both Of Us
11		Every Other Day
12		Cappuccino
13		Got Me Open
14		Turn To Me
15		Back In The Day (Remix)

Sarai - The Original (2003)

Like previous Isle postees Icy Blu and Misa before her, Sarai got no respect as a white female rapper in the world of hip hop. She grew up in New York, and became exposed to the sounds of hip hop thanks to her brother. She loved it so much that she began writing raps at 15 and, on a trip to Atlanta, was discovered by a producer who thought her raps were impressive. She moved to Atlanta and worked with short-lived R&B/pop teen girl group P.Y.T. (who will be featured here in the future as well!), appearing in their song and video "Same Ol' Same Ol'" in 2001. One of her solo songs, "The Original", even appeared at the end of their album. Then in 2003 she released her album. The singles "Pack Ya Bags" and "Ladies" both made appearances on several Billboard charts, except for the most vital one, The Hot 100. The media kept calling her the female Eminem or 'Feminem', but reviews of her album weren't exactly kind, and the comparison ended there. I think it's unfair, however, as I quite enjoy the album and think she has a much better flow than most of the white (and some of the black) female rappers before her. But the criticism pushed her out of the spotlight. I have discovered, however, that she re-emerged in 2005 as Miss Eighty6, and has her own Myspace page, and also appeared on Paul Oakenfold's album A Lively Mind in 2006. In addition, she has had songs appear in Gossip Girl, among other TV shows and movies, so it looks like she may yet have another chance to prove a white woman can make it in hip hop.

Video for Ladies

Bonus video, with P.Y.T. in video for Same Ol' Same Ol'

Download The Original

1		Intro
2		I Know
3		Mind Ya Business
4		Ladies
5		What Mama Told Me
6		It's Not A Fairytale
7		Pack Ya Bags
8		Swear
9		You Could Never
10		L.I.F.E.
11		It's Official
12		Mary Anne
13		Black & White

Kim Esty - Variety Show (2003)

I first took notice of Kim Esty in the 1980s on the Toronto dance show Electric Circus (where I also discovered fellow Canadian divas and previous postees Pobi and Michelle Blade), where she performed her local club hit "Come On". Kim was very prolific in the late 80s and early 90s, releasing several singles that would appear on the Canadian dance charts, with assistance from top Canadian producers like Barry Harris (of Kon Kan and Thunderpuss fame) and Vincent Degiorgio, the king of Canadian HiNRG music. She was especially popular in the days of the eurohouse craze, with her original songs like "Make You Mine" and "I Dream Of Happiness" and her remakes of dance hits like Stacey Q's "Two Of Hearts", Carrie Lucas' "Summer In The Street" and Connie's "Funky Little Beat". But she gained the most notice when she hooked up with the Boomtang Boys in 1999 and released the song "Squeezetoy", a cutesy Aqua-esque pop song that became a local hit. Other songs with Boomtang, like "Pictures" and a remake of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" were equally as popular in Canada, but they all only gained limited international exposure. In 2003 she finally released this, her only solo album so far, on her own label. It contains several re-recordings of her past singles and newer material, and covers all pop genres. With the success of the cutesy "Squeezetoy" she also created her own pop "group", Kartoon Kids, whose music was aimed at the pre-teen audience. Esty is a beloved Canadian presence and she will no doubt continue to release much more pop music in the future. In fact, she recently released her "Best Of" which includes several of the songs here. There is good reason that she's considered Canada's Madonna.

Video for Squeezetoy

Video for Pictures

Video for Dancing With Myself

Download Variety Show

1		Prelude...
2		Fame
3		Dedicated To You
4		American Boys
5		Book Of Life
6		Maybe
7		Think About The Children
8		You Got Me Movin'
9		Make You Mine
10		Gigolo
11		One More Night
12		Dancin' With Myself
13		Squeezetoy
14		Pictures
15		Summer In The Street
16		Gigolo (STG Mix)
17		Dedicated To You (STG Mix)
18		Teddy Bear
19		You Got Me Movin' (Widelife Radio)
20		You Got Me Movin' (Widelife Mixshow)

Jessy Moss - Street Knuckles (2003)

Next up, Jessy Moss. Jessy had 'Next Big Thing' written all over her. Born in England, raised in Australia and discovered in the US, she was signed to Dreamworks, who put a lot of advance hype on her debut album. She became a critical darling as a result. Her talents lied in a combination of singing and rapping, a rarity for a British white girl. She was no doubt seen as the female equivalent of acts like The Streets and Just Jack. Her music was based heavily in hip hop, but with a more trip-hoppy vibe. And the lady made it work. Unfortunately the album didn't get a proper release, likely due to Dreamworks' unexpected lack of success as a label. Her track "Telling You Now" appeared on soundtracks like D.E.B.S. and Win A Date With Tad Hamilton, however, and she worked with groups like Cypress Hill, so her name did get around. After Dreamworks' dissolution, Jessy decided to go independent and has released two more albums, Fast And Cheap in 2005 and Down At The Disco in 2006, as well as three EPs - Polyamorous in 2005, Shutup! & Dance in 2011, and Hold On in 2013.  She has evolved as an artist, still combining singing and rapping, but expanding her musical palette to include punk, rock, reggae, electro, pop and dance, most notably on the track "Sugar" from Fast And Cheap, which became a dance hit thanks to a remix by Armand Van Helden, who also included the track on his album Nympho. I strongly suggest you go to CD Baby and buy her independent work. It seriously rocks, and you just never know what to expect from this lady. I only hope she gets signed to another major label so the world at large can appreciate her genius!

Video for Telling You Now

Download Street Knuckles

1		Build You Up
2		Pick A Card
3		Telling You Now
4		Confessions
5		Chapters
6		Alarm
7		Landbitch
8		Owed A Living
9		Thanks For The Pictures
10		The Baddest
11		I'll Manage

Cooler Kids - Punk Debutante (2003)

Cooler Kids was an act that had seemed to have tons of support and publicity, but somehow failed to attract a large audience. They were a dance-pop duo composed of singer Sisely Treasure and musician Kaz Gamble (formerly of hip-pop group Bad Ronald), with a great deal of assistance from Jill Cunniff of Luscious Jackson and production by Pop Rox. It's one part house, one part electro and two parts pop, often reminiscent of acts like Girls Aloud or Rachel Stevens. It's really a lot of fun, which makes it a shame it never hit (though "All Around The World (Punk Debutante)" was a huge Billboard dance hit). The duo also recorded as boygirL, with a much more underground electro sound. Gamble also records as DJ Kazimir and produces gay electro rapper Cazwell, and Sisely fronted the alt-rock band Sisely & the Safety Pin-ups. Sisely also had another chance at pop fame as one of the finalists on The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For The Next Doll. Unfortunately she was eliminated early in the series, mainly due to the fact that she really wasn't a fit for that type of group. And really, perhaps that's just as well, as the winner of that show has yet to appear with Pussycat Dolls anywhere except for on the show. It seems Sisely is better off doing her own thing.

**UPDATE - In 2008, Sisely joined the awesome electro group Shiny Toy Guns, replacing their last female singer. She stayed with them for one album and a few singles, including "Ricochet," "Ghost Town," and a remake of Peter Schilling's 80s classic "Major Tom (Coming Home)".  She was replaced in 2011 by the singer that she originally replaced, and released her first solo single "That You Like," produced by Dave Aude, whom she had worked with on various singles as a featured vocalist in previous years. Since then Sisely has appeared occasionally as a featured vocalist, most recently on Ikon & Exodus' "Shadow Of The Sun" in 2013.

Video for All Around The World

Download Punk Debutante

1		All Around The World (Punk Debutante)
2		Morning Star
3		Viva La Fever
4		Sha La La (Wake Up Next 2 U)
5		Remember That Son
6		Bali Hideaway
7		E Is For Everybody
8		The Last Summer
9		Sugartown
10		Hook Up
11		Blue Nile
12		All Around The World (Punk Debutante) (Remix)