Dream (American group)

"Diana Ortiz" redirects here. For the American Ursuline nun, see Dianna Ortiz.
Dream
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active 1998–2003, 2015–present
Labels
Website Official website
Members
Past members
  • Alex Chester
  • Kasey Sheridan

Dream is an American pop girl group, active from 1998-2003 until their comeback in 2015. Their biggest success came in 2000 with their track, "He Loves U Not", a transatlantic hit single. On May 29, 2015, the original members of Dream announced via Twitter that they would be making a comeback with new music.[1]

History

1998–2000: Formation

The quartet was originally formed in October 1998 when talent scout Judith Fontaine selected Holly Blake-Arnstein (born August 3, 1985), Melissa Schuman (born August 21, 1984), Ashley Poole (born May 10, 1985), and Alex Chester (born December 28, 1984), four teens from California, to comprise a new girl group. The group's original name, First Warning, was later changed to Dream.

The outfit then left Fontaine and were signed by Sean Combs to his Bad Boy Records label. In January 1999, Chester was replaced by Diana Ortiz (born September 23, 1985). Fontaine later sued Combs and Blake-Arnstein, Schuman, and Poole, but lost her court case.[2]

2000–01: Debut and success

Dream released their debut single, "He Loves U Not", remixed by Marc Mozart, in 2000 and their debut album, It Was All a Dream, was released on January 23, 2001. "He Loves U Not" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 17 in the UK Singles Chart.[3] The video for the single peaked at number 2 on MTV's TRL. The subsequent single, "This Is Me", enjoyed a fair amount of success as well; the music video hit number 1 on TRL. The final single and video from the album was "This Is Me (Remix)" and featured rapper Kain as well as Sean Combs. The song was later featured on the compilation Totally Hits 2001.[4]

During this time, Dream participated in the 2001 TRL tour, and opened for Destiny's Child, Eve and Nelly.[5] They were featured in a segment of MTV Cribs. Play Along Toys released dolls of the group in 2001. Dream also made various appearances on television shows, including TRL, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Early Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, and Good Morning America.

2001–03: Lineup change and disbandment

Though Bad Boy Records had planned to release "Miss You" and "In My Dreams" as the third and fourth singles from It Was All a Dream and promotional copies of the latter were shipped, the singles were never released. According to Arnstein, this was partly due to the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.[6] Little was heard from Dream until April 2002, when Melissa Schuman left the group to pursue an acting career. Sean Combs appeared on TRL on April 3 to announce the news, noting that there were no bitter feelings.[7] A lengthy search conducted by Combs and the three remaining members led to 15-year-old Kasey Sheridan (born December 28, 1986) becoming the youngest member of the group in the early fall of 2002.[8]

Dream spent the subsequent months recording new songs for their second album. In the summer of 2003, the girls returned to the scene with a sexier image[6] and a new single featuring rapper Loon called "Krazy".[9] The single and its video did not receive the acclaim and success of "He Loves U Not", and the planned second single from the album, supposedly "That's OK", was never released. Dream's album Reality was to follow in the fall, but its release kept being postponed; Bad Boy Records later dropped Dream and they disbanded, although their dissolution was never formally announced.

2003–08: Post-breakup activities

Ashley Poole and Melissa Schuman are currently pursuing solo singing careers. Holly Blake-Arnstein has joined the California-based alternative band Whirl Magnet.[6]

In September 2005, the unreleased Reality CD was available for purchase by Clockwork/2620/Universal Records from French Virgin Megastores. In April 2006, an MTV News article discussed the reasons behind Dream's break-up. Blake-Arnstein was interviewed for the article and noted that the sexier, more mature image pushed upon the group by Combs and their management was not a welcome change, and that she and the other members were no longer enjoying the music and the experience.[6]

On May 9, 2008, two albums, Daddy's Little Girl and Dream Never Land, featuring songs recorded at Clockwork Entertainment with original member Alex Chester were released to iTunes. Subsequently, Reality was also available for digital purchase on iTunes on May 13, 2008.

2008–12: Lady Phoenix

On January 28, 2008, Melissa Schuman announced that after a failed attempt to reunite Dream's original lineup, she and Ashley Poole were starting a new band under a new name and a reality show documenting their auditions for new members was in the works.[10] On July 27, 2008, she announced the name of their new group would be Lady Phoenix. On August 7, 2008, Schuman announced that Diana Ortiz, also from Dream, would be joining the group. In 2012, Schuman confirmed that Lady Phoenix had disbanded following Ashley Poole's departure from the group and the reality show was not picked up by any networks.

2015-Present: Comeback

On May 11, 2015, the original members of Dream got together for a mini-reunion and posted a video online performing a acapella version of their 2000 single "He Loves U Not" and the video quickly went viral with over 23,000 views so far and gaining online attention from MTV, Seventeen Magazine, Perez Hilton and other media sites.[11][12] On May 29, 2015, the original members of Dream all announced they would be making a comeback and launched a Twitter and Facebook page. The Twitter page has gained over 18,000 followers since its launch.[13] On December 17, 2015, DREAM recorded and released a studio recording of "O Holy Night" as a treat to fans for the holidays while they work on the new album scheduled for 2016.[14]

Discography

Year Title Label Certifications
2001 It Was All a Dream Bad Boy Records
2003 Reality Universal Records

Chart history

Album Chart (2001) Peak
position
It Was All a Dream U.S. Billboard 200 6
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 11
Singles Chart (2001) Peak
position
"He Loves U Not" U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 2
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 15
UK Singles Chart[3] 17
Australia ARIA Singles Chart 35
"This Is Me" U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 39
Hot R&B/Hip-hop Singles & Tracks 80

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2001 Teen Choice Awards Choice Music: Breakout Artist Themselves Nominated [17]
Choice Music: Pop Group Nominated
Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year, Group, Band or Duo It Was All a Dream Nominated [18][19]
Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist, Group, Band or Duo "He Loves U Not" Nominated

References

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/DreamFanGroup/status/604366735857201152
  2. ↑ Hiatt, Bryan (August 13, 2001). "Judge To Dream's Ex-Manager: They Owe You Not". MTV.com. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
  3. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 168. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ↑ Totally Hits 2001 at AllMusic. accessed 2010-02-09
  5. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (July 19, 2001). "Destiny's Child, Eve, Nelly Get The Kids Riled On 'TRL' Tour Opener". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Kaufman, Gil (April 12, 2006). "Where Ya Been? Dream Wake Up, 'Sex' Burns Marcy Playground". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
  7. ↑ Norris, John (April 3, 2002). "Dream Member Quits To Pursue New Dream: Acting". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
  8. ↑ unknown (May 14, 2003). "P. Diddy Dreams Another Dream". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved July 18, 2006.
  9. ↑ Moss, Corey (April 25, 2003). "Dream Get 'Krazy' With Loon On New LP Featuring P. Diddy". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  10. ↑ Schuman, Melissa (January 28, 2008). "The Official Melissa Schuman Website". News. Retrieved March 5, 2008. After a failed attempt to get DREAM back together within the last few months, Ashley Poole and I are searching for new talent to start fresh with a new group, new sound, and new friendships. We are also looking forward to an upcoming reality show which will follow us on this new journey together. Since this will be a new group, we need a new name, so we would love to hear anybody's thoughts on what we should call our band.
  11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlUDvM7GlQE
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkHcqjGpdqo
  13. ↑ https://twitter.com/DreamFanGroup/status/604366735857201152
  14. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDreamGirlGroup/posts/1650030681937831
  15. ↑ RIAA.com Gold & Platinum search database
  16. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 193. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
  17. ↑ "2001 Teen Choice Awards". Hollywood.com. August 12, 2001. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Scott, 3LW, Anderson Lead Lady Soul Noms". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. July 31, 2001. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  19. ↑ van Horn, Teri (August 29, 2001). "Aaliyah's Absence Felt At Lady Of Soul Awards". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved July 8, 2015.

Further reading

External links

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