Livin' Joy

Livin' Joy
Origin Italy
Genres
Years active 1994–1999
Labels MCA Records
Associated acts Alex Party
Past members Paolo Visnadi
Gianni Visnadi
Tameka Starr (1996–1999)
Janice Robinson (1994–1996)

Livin' Joy was an Italian Eurodance group who released two successful hits during the mid-1990s, "Dreamer" and "Don't Stop Movin'". The group consisted of Italian brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi (also members of Alex Party) and singers Tameka Starr and Janice Robinson.

"Dreamer"

Originally released by Undiscovered Recordings in 1994, Livin' Joy were fronted by the American lead singer Janice Robinson and reached number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Dreamer". The song turned out to be a mild sleeper hit on pop radio, finally entering the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1995. It peaked at number 72 and spent seventeen weeks on the chart. The song had a more successful run in the United Kingdom, hitting the number one spot after being re-issued. In its original run in late 1994, "Dreamer' peaked at #18, spending 6 straight weeks in the UK top 100. It did re-enter the lower ends of the top 100 two more times that year bringing its total to 12 weeks inside the top 100. (18-22-24-32-46-67-85-97-99-85-97) [1]

By the end of 1995, the re-issue of 'Dreamer' ranked as the U.K's 40th best selling single of the year logging a total of 21 weeks in the top 100. (1-2-4-10-18-26-34-41-60-67-70-78-78-85-83-81-86-92-85-98-83).

In mid-1996, "Dreamer" re-entered the U.S Hot 100 chart, this time peaking at number 95.

"Don't Stop Movin'"

By 1996, Robinson had left the group marking a new era for the group. Robinson was replaced by American vocalist Tameka Starr, who was also the songwriter and choreographer. Starrs lyrics encapsulated a more 'uplifting' and 'motivational' approach to the content of the songs during this era of Livin' Joy. With Starr on lead vocals, the follow-up single "Don't Stop Movin'" peaked at number five in the UK and went on to become a big summer hit. It spent 14 consecutive weeks in the top 100, with 7 of those in the top 10. (5-6-7-8-9-8-9-12-13-24-29-35-41-71).

"Don't Stop Movin'" topped the Italian charts in 1996 and also peaked at number three on the U.S. dance chart in early 1997 and became another modest, although long-lived, hit in the mainstream - climbing to number 67 on the Hot 100, spending twenty weeks on the chart. In Australia, "Don't Stop Movin'" peaked at number 6 on the national ARIA singles chart.

The album and other singles

"Don't Stop Movin'" was followed by another Top 10 single in the UK ("Follow the Rules"). "Follow the Rules" peaked at #9 in the UK on 2 November 1996 scoring Livin' Joy a hat-trick of top 10s at this point.

"Follow The Rules" was an anthemic dance track based around the subject of following your dreams and making them come true. The song was similar to "Don't Stop Movin'" but with a heavier piano house/organ sound.

"Follow The Rules" wasn't as successful as its two predecessors, although peaking at #9 in the UK, it spent only a week in the top 10 before descending out of the top 100 after a total 7 weeks on the chart. (9-17-25-49-63-83-87)..

"Where Can I Find Love" managed only 4 weeks in the UK top 100 chart (12-19-26-49).

Livin' Joy's 4th charting release in the UK was "Deep in You". The track took on a completely different sound which had a more 'r&b' feel. Although moderately successful, if peaked at #17 in the UK and slowly descended out of the top 100 just a mere 4 weeks after release. (17-29-33-49).

"Where Can I Find Love" was Livin' Joy' 5th and final single. Released on 4 May 1998 in the United Kingdom, it peaked at #12 on the UK charts. Lyrically, the track focusses on the struggles to find true love. This was further fleshed out with the accompanying music video featuring Tameka walking around a nightclub, bumping into various men who catch her attention. Each man is then shown to have an 'issue' which leaves Tameka disappointed

Don't Stop Movin', was the parent album and grouped together the hits, including "Dreamer" with new vocals by Starr (although the original version with Robinson was a hidden bonus track). The album was released in the UK on 16 November 1996 (a week after the release of their 3rd single "Follow The Rules". The album peaked at a disappointing #41 on the UK albums chart, and remained on the album chart for only two weeks. (41-62).

Plans for a widespread commercial release of a single entitled "Just for the Sex of It" in 1999 were scrapped, due to lack of interest. It only received a limited club run, but was released as a single in Australia and the UK, and proved popular in the nightclubs. In 2008, tracks from the eventually-canceled follow-up album, Just For The Sex Of It, were leaked online and they included: "Love Yourself", "Lookin' Fine", "I Only Wanna Dance", "U R My Livin' Joy", "You Don't Love Me", and "Bump This".

Janice Robinson subsequently re-released 2005 remixes of "Dreamer", credited as a solo release, which charted at #5 on the U.S dance chart.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[2]
Don't Stop Movin'
  • Released: November 1996
  • Label: Undiscovered Records
 41
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
ITA
[3]		 AUS
[4]		 BEL
[5]		 FIN
[6]		 GER
[7]		 IRE
[8]		 NED
[9]		 SWE
[10]		 UK
[2]		 US
[11]
1994 "Dreamer" — — — — — — 23 — 18 — Don't Stop Movin'
1995 "Dreamer" (re-issue) — 90 — 10 87 7 36 — 1 72
1996 "Don't Stop Movin'" 1 6 36 7 — 14 19 8 5 67
"Follow the Rules" 2 73 — 12 — 28 — 29 9 —
1997 "Where Can I Find Love" 22 142 — — — — — — 12 —
"Deep in You" — — — — — — — — 17 —
1999 "Just for the Sex of It" — 76 — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 325. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. 1 2 "Official Charts > Livin' Joy". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  3. ↑ "Italian Singles". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  4. ↑ Australian (ARIA) peaks:
    • Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Livin' Joy in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
    • Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
    • "Dreamer": "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 13 Aug 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 2017-06-01. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
    • "Where Can I Find Love": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 28 April 2017". Imgur.com. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
    • "Just for the Sex of It": "ariaNET The Chart! Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 22nd March 1999". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  5. ↑ "Belgian (Flanders) Singles". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  6. ↑ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961" (in Finnish). Sisältää Hitin - Suomen listalevyt (Timo Pennanen). Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  7. ↑ German Singles:
    • "Dreamer" (re-issue): "Livin' Joy - Dreamer (re-issue)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  8. ↑ "Irish Singles". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  9. ↑ "Netherlands Singles". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  10. ↑ "Swedish Albums". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  11. ↑ "US Singles". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  12. 1 2 "BPI Certification". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  13. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1996". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Archived from the original on 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.