Daphne and Celeste

Daphne and Celeste
Origin New Jersey, United States
Genres Teen pop, bubblegum pop, indie pop, electropop
Years active
  • 1999–2002
  • 2015–present
Labels MCA, Balatonic
Associated acts Max Tundra
Website daphneandceleste.tv
Members Celeste Cruz
Karen DiConcetto

Daphne and Celeste (also typeset Daphne & Celeste) are an American pop duo, comprising Celeste Cruz (born September 24, 1983, Newark, New Jersey, United States)[1] and Karen 'Daphne' DiConcetto (born December 1, 1980, Long Branch, New Jersey, United States).[2] They are best known for their songs "Ooh Stick You" and "U.G.L.Y.".

Success and album reaction

They released three singles in the UK: "Ooh Stick You!", "U.G.L.Y." and a cover version of Alice Cooper's "School's Out".[3] A full-length album, We Didn't Say That!, was released in June 2000 to generally positive reviews (Melody Maker awarded it four out of five stars). Another single, "Party", was due in November 2000, but was never released.

During their performance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2000, the crowd's negative reception towards Daphne and Celeste's incongruous music resulted in the duo being bottled by the audience.[4] Despite the hostile crowd response, Daphne and Celeste remained on stage and continued to perform their songs.[5]

A few pop fans were vociferous in their dislike for Daphne and Celeste. "U.G.L.Y." in particular was criticised, many feeling that it promoted bullying. Daphne and Celeste countered this by saying their lyrics were meant to be tongue-in-cheek. In an interview included on the "U.G.L.Y." single, Daphne stated: "Everyone is indeed ugly in their own special way." Daphne and Celeste made an appearance at Feet First.[6] Daphne and Celeste also had a television and film deal.[7]

Daphne and Celeste were dropped by their label. Their official website closed down in October 2001, and their management company, Perfect Noise Limited, was dissolved in November 2002. After the band broke up Celeste went back to school.

Later activities

In a "Where Are They Now?" interview with Q magazine in 2005, Karen DiConcetto stated that the whole project was "100% manufactured", and that the girls auditioned for it in New York in 1998: "I just talked about shoes for an hour." She considered the Reading Festival to be the highlight of the whole experience, and mentioned her work in theatre afterwards, specifically a play called Tourrettaville, written by a boy with Tourette's syndrome. DiConcetto received positive reviews[8] for her portrayal of "CB's Sister" in the FringeNYC award-winning Peanuts spoof Dog Sees God. That production was adapted for an Off-Broadway debut featuring a number of big-name celebrities, including Eliza Dushku and America Ferrera.

In the same interview, Celeste Cruz said that she had also worked in theatre and that the duo were planning to break into television. In 2004, Celeste also took the role of "Maria" in the movie Brooklyn Bound. Although not a main character, she is involved in a pivotal scene which fuels the tragedy of the denouement. She also features quite prominently on the DVD cover. In 2009 she appeared in an Emmy-nominated episode of 30 Rock entitled "Generalissimo". Celeste can also be found on Twitter. Unlike DiConcetto, she considered the Reading Festival incident the "end of the party for us".

Daphne and Celeste were also interviewed by Bad Horsey towards the end of 2005, with the questions coming from the B3ta web community. The interview was posted on the Estudio Caballito Malo website and featured in the Popbitch newsletter. An edited version was published in the January 2006 edition of the UK publication Fused Magazine.

DiConcetto has a role in Holger Ernst's The House Is Burning, which premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival on May 26.[9] The film was produced by Wim Wenders, and is considered a German production, despite being filmed around New Jersey. In 2005, Daphne and Celeste had a mini reunion tour in the UK with Lolly.[10] Celeste Cruz sang guest vocals on a song for Kent Odessa.[11]

Reunion and recording

On March 29, 2015, the duo had a second reunion and released a single titled "You and I Alone",[12] produced by Max Tundra. The song is the first single from the album Daphne & Celeste Save the World,[13] and was written and produced by Max Tundra.

On February 7, 2018, Daphne and Celeste announced the comeback album with the launch of another song, "BB", produced by Max Tundra.[14] The duo and Tundra performed at London's Boston Music Room to promote the release.[15]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[16]		 NZ
[17]		 UK
[18]
We Didn't Say That!
  • Release date: June 26, 2000
  • Label: MCA
  • Formats: CD
 273 4 140
Daphne & Celeste Save the World — — —

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[16]		 CAN
[19]		 NZ
[17]		 UK
[20][21]
1999 "Ooh Stick You" 54 — 5 8 We Didn't Say That!
2000 "U.G.L.Y." 40 18 7 18
"School's Out" 96 — — 12
2015 "You and I Alone" — — — — Daphne & Celeste Save the World
2018 "BB"[22] — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. ↑ ""Celeste Cruz". "Born" - Google Search". Google.co.uk. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  2. ↑ ""Daphne DiConcetto". "born" - Google Search". Google.co.uk. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ "SUMMER 'SCHOOL' FOR DAPHNE AND CELESTE". NME. June 21, 2000.
  4. ↑ "BBC News - ENTERTAINMENT - Reading Diary 3: Daphne and Celeste's battle". news.bbc.co.uk.
  5. ↑ Jonze, Tim (March 29, 2015). "Daphne and Celeste: 'They hated us so much!'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  6. ↑ "'OOH STICK YOU' 2002!". NME. November 22, 2001.
  7. ↑ "TV AND MOVIE FOR D&C". NME. June 29, 2000.
  8. ↑ David Ng (September 7, 2004). "Good Grief! - Page 1 - Theater - New York". Village Voice. Archived from the original on December 10, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  9. ↑ James, Alison (April 27, 2006). "More competish at Cannes". Variety. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Whatever Happened To... Daphne And Celeste". Femalefirst.com.
  11. ↑ "Bushwick Music Crush: Kent Odessa". Bushwickdaily.com.
  12. ↑ Popjustice. "Daphne And Celeste - The Comeback Interview". Popjustice. Archived from the original on March 31, 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 "Daphne & Celeste on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Daphne & Celeste Enlist Max Tundra for New Album, Share Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  15. ↑ Johnson, Laura. "Daphne And Celeste Announce New Album And London Show". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
    • Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Daphne & Celeste in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
    • Top 100 peaks: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
    • "Ooh Stick You": "ariaNET The Chart! Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 7th February 2000". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved September 23, 2016.
    • "School's Out": "ARIA Report Issue 569" (PDF). Pandora Archive (original document published by ARIA). Archived from the original on February 21, 2002. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
    • We Didn't Say That!: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  17. 1 2 "charts.org.nz > Daphne & Celeste in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Chart Log UK 1994-2010 > Asher D – Dyverse". Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  19. ↑ Billboard - Google Books. September 30, 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2013 – via Google Books.
  20. ↑ "Official Charts > Daphne & Celeste". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  21. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  22. ↑ "Daphne & Celeste on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
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