Ultra Naté
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Ultra Naté (born November 2, 1968 in Havre de Grace, Maryland) is a popular American house music and sometimes Dance-pop musician who has achieved a respectable amount of success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free" and "If You Could Read My Mind" as part of Stars on 54. Virtually all of her singles have reached the Top 10 of the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Such singles include "Show Me", "Free", "Desire", "Get it Up (the Feeling)", "Love's the Only Drug", and the current chart climber "Automatic".
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[edit] Early Life
Born in Havre de Grace, (near Baltimore, Maryland) as Ultra Naté Wyche, Ultra Nate displayed her singing talent at an early age.
[edit] Crossover Success
She is best known in her home country for her classic 1990s dance crossover smash, "Free". She is also remembered in America for her team-up with Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez as Stars on 54 on a 1998 cover of "If You Could Read My Mind", which was also a mainstream American hit. It reached #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Though she has had club success in America, she has found the majority of her singles and, especially, album sales success in Europe.
[edit] Career
Ultra Naté is noted for taking the opposite path to that which most musicians take. She began her recording career on a major label, Warner Brothers. Through them, the artist released her first two albums. Her debut album, the house classic 'Blue Notes in the Basement' (1991) was created along with the Basement Boys and it featured the singles "It's Over Now," "Deeper Love (Missing You)," "Is It Love," and the gospel-tinged "Rejoicing."
In 1993 the alternative dance/house 'One Woman's Insanity' was released to much critical praise and recognition by the dance community. Although it still featured the Basement Boys' production on several tracks, this time Ultra found herlself working with the likes of Nellee Hooper, and D-Influence. At a time when soulful house performers like Robin S and Crystal Waters were scoring cross-over top ten singles, it was believed that Ultra Naté would score a similar level of commercial success. Mainstream sales however were not achieved even though "Show Me" received some mainstream pop radio airplay. Still, the performer's diva status was cemented by dance-floor classics like "How Long," "Show Me" (her first song to reach the top position on the U.S. Dance charts) and "Joy."
In 1995, Ultra Naté contributed the song "Party Girl (Turn Me Loose)" to the soundtrack to the similarly titled independent film starring Parker Posey. The single was commercially released by the King Street Sounds label and has become a hard to find collectors' item.
When Warner Brothers tried to push her in a more R&B, less house, direction, Ultra Naté left the major label and fled to the independent dance label, Strictly Rhythm. It was here that "Free", her biggest mainstream hit in America, was released in 1997. The song enjoyed heavy airplay throughout the rest of the millennium, not only in clubs, but on rhythmic and mainstream radio stations across the country. The song peaked at #75 on the Hot 100. It became a substantial hit in the UK, where it peaked at number four, helping its parent album 'Situation: Critical' reach number seventeen on the album charts.
It was with this album that Ultra Naté's greatest commercial success was achieved, particularly in Europe, where singles such as "Found A Cure" (#6 in the UK), and "New Kind of Medicine" (#14 UK) became immediate dance classics.
In 1998, a new single "Pressure" was released internationally. Taken from the soundtrack to the film 'The 24 Hour Woman', it contained three club mixes. The original, funkier version of the track was found on 'Situation: Critical" but listed as "Release The Pressure."
[edit] The 2000s
Her follow-up album 'Stranger Than Fiction,' which was released in 2001, featured the production work of respected artists such as Attica Blues, 4 Hero, and Mood II Swing. Four singles were released: "Desire," "Get It Up (The Feeling)," "Twisted," and "I Don't Understand It." By this point, Ultra Naté's level of mainstream chart success had diminished, with only "Desire" making it to the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
More recently, Ultra contributed the song "Wonderful Place" to the AIDS benefit compilation Keep Hope Alive: A Lifebeat Benefit Compilation. Additionally, in 2004, she released the singles "Feel Love," "Brass In Pocket," "Time Of Our Lives" (released as Ultra Devoted Featuring Ultra Nate & Gerry DeVeaux), and a new version of "Free" that features twelve new mixes. In 2005, she collaborated with respected DJ Gaudino and released the single "Bitter Sweet Melody". Later in the same year she found herself again on the charts, when her featured vocals on the Stonebridge single "Freak On" became a successful dance hit. She also performed on the British show Hit Me Baby One More Time.
Having become a mother for the first time in the fall of 2005, Ultra is continuing to put the finishing touches on her forthcoming album 'Grime, Silk, and Thunder' her debut album on the major label, Tommy Boy Records. She recently performed at The Melting Pot club in New York City and announced the new album would be released in April 2007; however, her MySpace music page now indicates the release date to be May 22, 2007. The first single released was "Love's the Only Drug," which became available through iTunes August 8, 2006 and reached #2 on the American Hot Dance Music/Club Play and made the Top 30 on the Hot Dance Airplay chart. The second single "Automatic" (a cover of the Pointer Sisters hit) sits at #10 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts (the week ending April 14, 2007). It is also rising on Rhythmic/Dance format radio where it in the Top 30 of most playlists in this radio format.
[edit] Chart Performance
- 2007 Automatic US Hot Hot Dance Music/Club Play #10, US Dance Radio Airplay #18
- 2006 Love's The Only Drug US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #2
- 2005 Freak On (with Stonebridge) UK Singles Chart #37
- 2004 Free (Oscar G./Trendriod/J. Sanchez/Corbett & Troia Mixes) US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #23
- 2002 I Don't Understand It US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #25
- 2001 Get It Up (The Feeling) US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1, UK #51
- 2000 Desire US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1, UK #40
- 1999 Pressure US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #3
- 1998 If You Could Read My Mind (with Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez) US Hot 100 #52, US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #3, UK #23
- 1998 New Kind Of Medicine US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #28, UK #14
- 1998 Found A Cure US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1, UK #6
- 1998 Free (The Mixes) UK #33
- 1997 Partay Feeling (with B-Crew, Barbara Tucker, Dajae And Mone) UK #45
- 1997 Free US Hot 100 #75, US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1, UK #4
- 1995 Party Girl (Turn Me Loose) US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #6
- 1994 How Long US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #2
- 1994 Show Me US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1, UK #62
- 1993 Joy US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #2
- 1992 Rejoicing (I ll Never Forget) US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #7
- 1991 Is It Love? US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #45, UK #71
- 1989 It's Over Now UK #62
Ultra Naté has amassed five #1 hits on the Billboard club charts, between 1994 and 2001. They are as follows:
- "Show Me" (1994)
- "Free" (1997)
- "Found a Cure" (1998)
- "Desire" (2000)
- "Get It Up (The Feeling)" (2001)
[edit] Albums
- Grime, Silk, & Thunder - tentative May 22, 2007 release date
- Blue Notes in the Basement
- One Woman's Insanity
- Situation: Critical
- Stranger Than Fiction
[edit] External links
- [1]- My Space Link
- Ultra Nate
- Sugar Party
