Phoenix
In 2005 the music industry was in desperate need of a kick up the ass when the only mixed popgroup around was Twist. This was until Phoenix came onto the scene and promised to take the charts by storm. The band consisted of Cady Johnson, an ex receptionist, Tyler Jay, an ex club DJ, Jada Williams, an ex Burger King worker, Kyle Simpson, an ex catalogue model and Paris Sharp, an ex [Walmart] manager.
Full Throttle[edit | edit source]
The band were quickly signed up to Spike Records and were detirmined to achieve the success they had been dreaming for, for many years. Their debut single Forbidden Fruit was released in August 2005 and was produced by the legendary Xenomania and had an electronic sound that went down a storm in the clubs. The song was critically acclaimed and despite the rave reviews of being the song of the summer, the track charted at number 13. The band politly thanked the thousands who bought the single, though inside they felt cheated. The band considered releasing the title track of their album Full Throttle as their second single but thought that maybe they needed to alter their sound if they were ever to stand a chance of scoring a hit in the charts. The band announced that their second single was to be Staring At The Stars featuring the main man of hip-hip MC Labels. The track had a R&B/Gospel sound to it, and Phoenix declared it as the strongest song they had recorded for the album. Despite the bands hectic promotion schedules, the track charted at a very disapointing number 22 (though did climb to number 16 the following week) and this time the band couldn't hide the fact that they were pissed off. And to top it off, their debut album Full Throttle failed to reach the top 20 and charted at number 21. But in the following weeks the bands record label Spike Records shut down and became an Indie Label for R&B superstar Justin Case.
So in the space of a month, the bands single and album flopped and they were left label-less. But this however wasn't for long. The band were soon signed up by Ensemble, run by Jon Farley and Jack Stevens. The groups album continued to sell at a steady pace and didn't fall out of the top 40 and it quickly went silver. The band however decided they would re-release the album, and include 7 new tracks. Another reason for the re-release was so Ensemble's greddy bosses Jon Farley and Jack Stevens could cash in on its success and make themselves more money. The single that was to promote the re-release was fan favourite Jet Lag along with a cover of the Emotions classic Best Of My Love that was also featured in one of 2006's comedy smashes Just Friends. The AA-side was released at the beginning of January 2006 and the bands hard work soon paid of as their single charted at number 6 and their re-release album at number 8. The album soon went gold, and Phoenix did plan on releasing one more single of the album but felt the album had done what was needed and decided to take a break and begin work on the follow up. Whilst having a break, Kyle Simpson who had been dating singer Trish bought a house together, and Jada Williams was featured in Tango Orange's TV Adverts.
The Plot Thickens[edit | edit source]
In may 2006, Phoenix announced that they were making a comeback with a single produced by Cleo Clarice entitled Adrenaline Junkie. The song was a fine piece of electro-pop and like their previous electro offering Forbidden Fruit, it was destined to be the song of the summer. The track was to be released in June but due to unfortunate circumstances surrounding Cadys fathers death, the release was cancelled, leaving thousands disapointed. The band again announced another comeback in October, this time on a new record label Soho, after leaving Ensemble due to not getting the attention they deserved to complete their sophomore album. The comeback single had now changed and was now a song called Firestarter produced by the legend that is Miss Drips. The song blended sounds of Hip-hop, electro-pop and reggae with this certain track and was nothing more than a crowd pleaser to both Phoenix fans and haters. The release was again cancelled, this time because of the lawsuit the band were facing surrounding them leaving their record label (Phoenix did win this battle). The gropu however did keep giving their fans information on their upcoming album and promised it was worth the wait. They also said that they would have two albums out in 2007, one being their comeback album The Plot Thickens: Dramatic and the other been the sequel The Plot Thickens: Romantic. The albums were themed and were about telling a story about the highs and lows of love, set in the style of a musical.
{dramatic}[edit | edit source]
On 25th December (Christmas), the band posted a message on the official Phoenix forum stating that if all goes well, they would have a single out by February. The band had been droped by Soho because they had lost so much money fighting in the lawsuit but that didn't stop the band as they were soon signed up by Politik. They released their comeback single Firestarter through Politik a year after their last single Jet Lag/ Best of my Love was released. The song was also the first song released from the groups second album The Plot Thickens: Dramatic which was about the drama surrounding love, ie. cheating etc. The band took a more gentle and suttle appraoch with promotion and hoped that it would pay of and give them the first top 5. And their hard work did pay off. Their album was released on January 22nd and charted at a respectful number 6 with no singles released from it. Firestarter was rleased a week later and charted at number 2, selling just 2,000 copies less than that weeks number 1, Alesha. On the same week, their album was certified silver and climbed 5 places to the number 1. The band were overjoyed with their success and realised that hardwork does pay off. They weren't the only ones who felt their success was earned as URAPs greats stated that they were glad that success had finally come their way and Russ Hooch even said that The Plot Thickens: Dramatic was the best album he had ever come across. The band have also just announced that the follow up to Firestarter will be the fan favourite The Puppeteer. It is set for release in May.
{romantic}[edit | edit source]
The Plot Thickens: Romantic the second installment of The Plot Thickens set is due for release in November and is based on the joys of loves. There a rumours that the band are working with the likes of Russ Hooch, Emma Brown and Richard X on this record.
also[edit | edit source]
Whilst recording their latest albums, the group have also been writing and producing for many other artists. Some of these artists include, Sophie Ramone, Tiara Coles, Alicia B, Sleazy Sisters, Intoxicated, Christine Tyler and many more. Kyle has also signed up for a show about pranking celebrities after wowing execs whilst hosting URAPs Idol 8.
