3rd Party
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- This article is about the band. For other uses, see third party.
| 3rd Party | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Dance-pop |
| Years active | 1997 |
| Label(s) | DV8 Records (now a division of A&M Records) |
| Members | |
| Maria Christensen (vocals) Karmine Alers (background vocals) Elaine Borja (background vocals) |
|
3rd Party was a three-member dance-pop group that released a single album in 1997. They are best known for their dance hit "Can U Feel It," and for the song "Waiting for Tonight," which was remade by Jennifer Lopez.
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[edit] Background
Lead singer Maria Christensen was a songwriter before the band, singing since the age of 5 and writing songs since she was 10. She has written songs for Nana Mouskouri, Eternal,[1] 'N Sync and Celine Dion.[2]
Backup singers Karmine Alers and Elaine Borja filled out the racially-diverse group.
They formed in the wake of the mid-90s dance-pop movement, following such acts as the Spice Girls. They performed on the Today Show.[3]
The band released their album Alive in 1997. The album was recorded on Long Island, New York[4], and produced by Rick Wake. Four of the songs were written by Christensen.
Two singles were released from it. "Can U Feel It" (#43[5]) was their highest-charting song. "Love is Alive" (#61[5]) was a remake of the song by Gary Wright from his album The Dreamweaver. The album also contained the single "Waiting for Tonight," which was remade by Jennifer Lopez for her first album, On the 6, and charted at #8.
Other personnel in the band include:[4]
- Gary Haase (various instruments)
- Tom Crapanzano (guitar)
- Mathew Scott Noble (keyboards, bass, drums, percussion)
- Rich Tancredi (keyboards, drums)
- LCD, Dave Scheuer (programming)
- Eric Kupper, Andy Marvel (keyboard programming)
- Audrey Martells (background vocals).
[edit] After the band
[edit] Maria Christensen
Maria Christensen independently released a solo album, Beautiful Now, in 2004. In contrast to 3rd Party's uptempo dance music, Christensen's music is more soulful and pensive, in the style of Norah Jones.[6] She sang the song "Someone to Someone" on the show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". Song-writing proceeds from Lopez's remake of "Waiting for Tonight" allowed her the freedom to release her own CD.[2]
[edit] Karmine Alers
Karmine Alers was raised in the Spanish Harlem, and has been acting and performing since she was a teenager.[3] During college, she was a member of several bands.[7] After leaving 3rd Party, she auditioned for the musical Rent in 2001. Like her older sister, Yassmin Alers, she took the role of Mimi. She released her solo album For You... in 2005, which was produced by Jimmy Greco. Like Beautiful Now, it is also soulful and melodic, and showed no trace of Alers' 3rd Party past. A single, "It Matters To Me," was released with a music video.[3] She still performs in Rent as the understudy to Mimi and Maureen.
[edit] Alive
| Alive | |
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