Wild Orchid was an American pop vocal group led by a singer named Fergie. [1]
History
Wild Orchid began while the girls were in their mid-teens starting off as a quartet; songwriter Bobby Sandstrom helped them write and record demos. They eventually signed a music publishing deal with Sony Publishing before signing with RCA Records in 1994. [2] Their original name was NRG, but due to legal reasons it was changed. The original line up included singer Heather Holyoak, who later left the group for college, and was replaced by Micki Duran. Micki later left to pursue acting.
Their first single "At Night I Pray" hit the Billboard charts in winter of 1996; a video directed by Marcus Nispel, known for his work with Janet Jackson, hit heavy rotation on MTV and VH-1. In 1997, Wild Orchid released their self-titled debut album. The largely self-written album sold nearly a million units worldwide and included the singles "Talk to Me" (which was included in the hit movie Fools Rush In), "At Night I Pray," and "Supernatural." The album received two Billboard Award nominations for "Talk to Me," two Lady Of Soul/Soul Train Award nominations - one for Album of The Year by A Group, Band or Duo and one for Best Music Video for "Talk To Me," and an American Music Award nomination for Favorite R&B/Soul New Artist.
Wild Orchid spent most of 1996-1997 promoting their debut album, making appearances on the Ricki Lake show, Access Hollywood, MTV, RuPaul show, Hard Copy, VIBE and Soul Train, as well as a guest appearance on the UPN sitcom Goode Behavior.
In late 1997, the group toured with 98 Degrees and 'NSYNC across the US and Asia. In August 1997, they were featured on Canada Muchmusic's Electric Circus where they performed live versions of their singles "Talk To Me" and "Supernatural".
In May 1998, they released dance remixes of their songs "I Won't Play The Fool" and "Follow Me" (from their debut album) which were underground club hits. "I Won't Play The Fool" remix even ended up on a Top 10 Dance Remixes list of 1998 in Billboard Magazine.
In September 1998, they released their second album, Oxygen which included the single "Be Mine"[3] This album release coincided with their stint as Guess? Jeans spokespersons and models.
In September 1998, Wild Orchid started to host the Fox Family Channel's Saturday morning show Great Pretenders, which featured chart hits lip-synched by everyday kids, while competing for prizes. This show lasted four seasons from 1998 to 2001.
In February 1999, the group performed "Declaration" and "Come As You Are" at the fictitious Peach Pit After Dark during the ninth season of the Aaron Spelling primetime soap-drama Beverly Hills, 90210 (episode titled Beheading St. Valentine).
From June 16 to August 28, 1999, they opened for Cher's "Believe Farewell Tour" alongside Cyndi Lauper which took them to 52 cities across the US and Canada.
In November 1999, they sang a two-minute clip of their song "25 Days Of Christmas" on Macy's Annual Thanksgiving Parade which was broadcast live on NBC.
In December 2000, their song "It's All Your Fault" was featured in the film What Women Want with Mel Gibson, but was not included on the movie soundtrack. This song was also slated to appear on their 3rd album Fire which was never released.
In May 2001, the group released the first single from their album Fire called Stuttering (Don't Say), which reached #33 on the Billboard Top 40 Singles Sales chart, and had a concert special on MuchMusic USA called Shoutback on July 29, 2001. Shoutback was taped in New York City on April 8, 2001. They also became models for Bongo Jeans for a short period, and their advertisement was featured in the August 2001 issue of Cosmopolitan. Their 3rd album Fire was supposed to be released on June 19, 2001 but their record label RCA declined to release it, and by September 2001 the group was dropped from RCA. Stacy left the group and joined the Hip-Hop group Black Eyed Peas in 2003 under the stage name Fergie.
In 2003, Wild Orchid performed with only Renee and Stefanie. Their album Hypnotic failed to make the Billboard charts. Since then, Renee has been doing work as a session singer and Stefanie is now a member of the House/Techno duo, 5th Element, as well as writing and producing songs for other artists such as the Slumber Party Girls and Girlicious.
"Talk To Me: Hits, Rarities & Gems" was released by Sony BMG Special Products on 9/26/06. It is fundamentally a greatest hits package, featuring (all previously released) singles and album tracks from WILD ORCHID and OXYGEN as well as the lone single from FIRE, "Stuttering (Don't Say)" and its B-side, "Lies."
In a 2006 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fergie revealed that both frustrations with the band's image and personal drug problems led her to leave Wild Orchid. However, she met her future Black Eyed Peas bandmate will.i.am at one of Wild Orchid's final concert appearances together in 2001.[4]
Renee is now doing the singing voice for Princess Fiona from Shrek and her vocals are featured on several prominent Disney albums, including SuperStar Kidz (2003 and 2004), Mousercise (2007), Disney Cuties (2008) and Camp Rock Sountrack (2008). Renee also sang on several television commercials, including Crystal Light.
Stefanie has turned her focus towards writing and producing music. She co-wrote and produced all the tracks on the Slumber Party Girls debut album Dance Revolution. Along with songs on Joanna's debut CD and two tracks on Fergie's debut CD The Dutchess. Stefanie also co-founded the Talent Bootcamp; coaching some of today's aspiring music sensations. Stefanie is now in the studio writing and producing songs for Prima J's soon to be released debut CD. In the mean time Stefanie has written and sang on several tracks from the Bratz movie soundtrack. As well as lending her voice to the music vocals of Yasmin in the Bratz: The Movie. She has written for Girlicious & the Pussycat Dolls.
Discography
Studio Albums
Compilation Albums
Singles
Music Videos
- "At Night I Pray"
- "Talk To Me"
- "Supernatural" (Without rap)
- "Supernatural" (With rap)
- "Merry Kris - Mix"
- "Be Mine"
External links
References
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