top 100 artists of the 90s!!!

[qnx100]

She's had quite a few good dance tracks. My favorite from her is "Never Knew", followed by "Sentimental", and then "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here".

[goodie]

#88. Five

Biggest Hit of the 90s: When The Lights Go Out

Biggest Album of the 90s: 5ive

Other Singles from the 90s: Slam Dunk (Da Funk), Got The Feelin', Until The Time Is Through, Everybody Get Up, It's The Things You Do, If Ya Gettin' Down, Keep On Movin' & Don't Wanna Let You Go.

Biography of the 90s: Five (originally spelled 5ive) are a British boy band that was put together in early 1997 by the same team who formed the Spice Girls. They enjoyed fair success worldwide, but particularly in the UK, parts of Europe, Russia, parts of Asia, Brazil, Israel and Australia. After selling close to 20 million records, and having 11 top ten UK singles and 4 top ten albums. The five members were Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville, Jason 'J' Brown, Richard 'Abz' Breen and Sean Conlon.

In 1997, an advertisement was placed in the UK performing arts newspaper The Stage, asking for young male singers/dancers to audition for a boy band-style group with "attitude and edge". Bob and Chris Herbert, the two men who had earlier created the Spice Girls, thought the time was right for a male group. 3,000 hopefuls auditioned and they were finally narrowed down to only fourteen, five of whom had arranged themselves into a group while waiting for their audition and subsequently were signed with BMG/RCA for a six-album deal.

In November of 1997, the band released their first single in the UK; "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)", which debuted at #10. The song was also released in the US in 1998 but had little success, although it was chosen as the new theme song by the NBA. In 1998 Five released their first major international hit, "When The Lights Go Out" which managed to crack the top 10 in the US and earned Gold status shortly thereafter. Five then went on an eight-day tour to promote the upcoming album, appearing in a concert special for the Disney Channel with Irish girl group B*Witched and at Times Square in New York City and also made an appearance on MTV's TRL. The debut album peaked at #27 in the US, and topped the charts in other countries worldwide, including the UK. "It's The Things You Do" was released in late 1998 in the US,only to receive a lukewarm reception and after the group started a US tour with boy band 'N Sync, they pulled out due to exhaustion and flew back to England to rest and start recording their second album, Invincible. "Everybody Get Up", "Got The Feelin'" and "Until The Time Is Through" were all released throughout 1998, reaching the top 5 in different countries around the world, and Five had well and truly made their mark in the world of Boy Band mania.

In August 1999, the first single of their second album, the catchy dance tune "If Ya Gettin' Down" was released and became a major hit worldwide but yet again failed top go to #1 in their home country, only to be stopped by Ricky Martin. Finally in October 1999, "Keep On Movin'" became their first #1, and the second album peaked at #1 shortly thereafter.

[Jason]

Love love LOVE Deborah Cox!

I'm probably one of the few who prefer the album version of "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" to the dance remix, though. I also like "We Can't Be Friends," "Sentimental," and I adore "Who Do You Love?" That's probably my favorite song by her. I also liked the dance mixes of "I Never Knew" and "Things Just Ain't The Same."

Five! Good group. "When The Lights Go Out" was really their only success in North America, but I also liked "It's The Things You Do" and "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)."

[Deleted]

Ahhh Five, their first two albums were really good! The last one was horrible.

[**TAMINA**]

I really liked Deborah Cox. I have one of her CD's. I don't remember Five.

[FreakyFlyBry]

Can't go wrong with Five... they had some cool songs in their day ;D

[goodie]

i like deborah cox!!!

5 had some alright songs also but alot of their music sounded the same imo!!!

[goodie]

#87. S.W.V.

Biggest Hit of the 90s: Right Here

Biggest Album of the 90s: It's About Time

Other Singles from the 90s: I'm So Into You, Weak, Human Nature, Downtown, You're Always On My Mind, Anything, You're The One, Use That Heart, Someone & Rain.

Biography of the 90s: SWV, also known as Sisters With Voices, is an American female R&B trio from New York that formed as three school friends in 1990: Cheryl "Coko" Gamble-Clemons (born June 13, 1974), Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George (born April 1974), and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons (born July 17, 1973). They were a hugely successful group of the 1990's, dominating the R&B charts with a slew of hits.

All three girls began singing in church at a young age. Brian Alexander Morgan took notice of a demo tape the trio had created. He was one of the main producers responsible for the making of their debut album, It's About Time, released in 1992. The album went double platinum within its first year of release. SWV's series of top 10 hits on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart made them one of the most successful and popular urban groups of the 1990s.

Their first single, "Right Here", was released in the autumn of 1992. It peaked at #13 on the R&B chart, but the hit follow-up single, "I'm So Into You", is what caused them to become a commercial force among urban fans. The two singles were followed by the biggest hits of their career, "Weak" ( later sung by Jojo )and "Right Here/Human Nature" (a remix of their first single featuring samples of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature", produced by New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley) Also Right Here (Human Nature) contains a small rap performed by a young and then unknown Pharrell Williams. "Weak" became their only single to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart where it stayed for 2 weeks while "Right Here (Human Nature)" peaked at #2. The fifth single, "You're Always on My Mind" was another top ten R&B hit. In December 1993 the group was honored with 11 Billboard Music Award nominations.

In the spring of 1994, SWV contributed the old school radio version of "Anything", featuring Wu-Tang Clan to the soundtrack of the movie Above the Rim; it became another hit single. Their remix EP, The Remixes, was unleashed the same year and reached gold status by the end of the year. In the summer of 1995, they lended their vocals to Blackstreet's top 40 hit "Tonight's The Night".

The trio returned in 1996 with a sophomore album, New Beginning, and had another #1 R&B hit with the song "You're The One" and follow-up single "Use Your Heart" was a Top 10 R&B hit. The album was followed by next single, "Can We" produced by Timbaland and Missy Elliott, which appeared on the Booty Call soundtrack. Then they released a third album Release Some Tension in 1997, which featured a bevy of guest appearances by rappers Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Snoop Dogg, and E-40. Release Some Tension contained the hits "Someone" and "Rain" (another Top 10 R&B Hit). Later that year, they released a Christmas album titled A Special Christmas.

SWV disbanded in 1998 and Gamble moved on to continue with a solo career. Her solo debut, Hot Coko, was released in 1999, but the album and its main single, "Sunshine," which was dedicated to Coko's firstborn son, Jazz, did not receive much commercial attention. The compilation Greatest Hits was released in 1999.

[goodie]

i liked swv!!!

[FreakyFlyBry]

SWV had some great stuff... I especially liked their 1993 singles ;D

[qnx100]

Five was always kinda ehh to me. I was never too crazy about anything they did.

I've always liked SWV, though. I'd say "Downtown" and "Weak" are my favorites from them. ;D

[goodie]

#86. The Prodigy

Biggest Hit of the 90s: Breathe

Biggest Album of the 90s: Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

Other Singles from the 90s: Firestarter, Smack My Bitch Up, Poison, Voodoo People, Charly, No Good (Start The Dance) & Out Of Space.

Biography of the 90s: The Prodigy are an English band. Their music consists of various styles ranging from rave, hardcore techno and industrial in the early 1990s to alternative rock and bigbeat with punk vocal elements in later times. The current band members include Liam Howlett (composer/keyboards), Keith Flint (dancer/vocalist) and Maxim (MC/vocalist). Leeroy Thornhill (dancer/very occasional live keyboards) was a member of the band from 1990 to 2000, as well was a female dancer/vocalist called Sharky who left the band during their early period. The Prodigy first emerged on the underground rave scene in the early 1990s, and have since then achieved immense popularity and worldwide renown. Some of their most popular songs include "Charly", "Out of Space", "Smack My Bitch Up", "Voodoo People", "No Good (Start the Dance)", "Breathe" and "Firestarter".

The Prodigy began with an initial 10-track demo by Liam Howlett, put together on a Roland W-30 sequencer keyboard in Essex, England. XL Recordings picked up the demo and an initial 12" pressing of What Evil Lurks was released in February 1991. There are some few thousand bootlegs of this release; it should have "the exchange" carved in the vinyl around the center of the single. The Prodigy's name was a moniker Liam had chosen as a tribute to his first analogue synthesiser, the Moog Prodigy.

The Prodigy's first public performance (with Howlett augmented by dancers Keith Flint and Leeroy Thornhill) was at the Four Aces in Dalston, London. Charly released six months later, became a huge hit in the rave scene at the time, catapulting the band into the wider public consciousness for the first time. The Kaos Theory compilation of contemporary hardcore tracks also contained the Prodigy Track "G Force (Energy Flow)":

The music charts were filled with unsophisticated "hardcore" rave tracks to which speed and ecstasy-filled clubbers had danced all night to but which did not appeal to critics in "the music press" such as Urban Hype's Trip to Trumpton, and Smart E's (a reference to Ectasy) Sesame's Treet, instigating death-by-publicity to the underground "hardcore rave" scene. Charly (a contemporary reference to cocaine), with its memorable sample of the "Charley Says" children's Public information films and The Prodigy were thus identified as "kiddie rave".

Charly was soon followed by the band's first full length album, Experience, a landmark release in the history of British rave music. After Experience (album track "Death of the Prodigy Dancers" featured Ragga MC band member Maxim Reality) and the run of singles that accompanied it, the Prodigy moved to distance themselves from the "kiddie rave" reputation that now dogged them. The rave scene was beginning to move on from its hardcore phase, with the Criminal Justice Act's "anti-rave" legislation on the horizon. In 1993, Howlett released an anonymous white label, bearing only the title Earthbound I. Its hypnotic, hard-edged sound won wide underground approval. Many former critics of the band were astounded when Howlett finally acknowledged responsibility for the record. It was officially released as "One Love" later that year, and went on to chart at #8 in the UK.

In 1994, the Prodigy's second album, Music for the Jilted Generation, displayed a wider spectrum of musical style. Heavyweight dancefloor tunes still abounded, but were complemented by more unusual tracks such as the concept piece The Narcotic Suite, and rock-oriented inclinations ("Their Law", featuring Pop Will Eat Itself). The album was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. In the sleevenotes, however, Howlett reaffirmed his dedication to the rave music scene.

The international success of Music for the Jilted Generation meant that touring beyond the UK was now a viable prospect. The band augmented their line-up with guitarist Jim Davies (who, later, joined the group Pitchshifter) in 1995 for tracks such as Their Law, Break And Enter 95, and various live-only interludes and versions. The 1996 release of Firestarter, featuring vocals for the first time courtesy of a new-look Keith Flint, helped the band break into the US and other overseas markets, and reached number one in the UK. In this year the Prodigy also headlined the prestigious Lollapalooza festival. The Prodigy have toured all over the world, including Beirut and Moscow's Red Square.

The third Prodigy album, The Fat of the Land, was released in 1997. Like its predecessors, the album represented a new milestone in the development of both the band and the wider mainstream dance scene. Featuring simplified melodies, sparser sampling, and more sneering, punk-like vocals (supplied by a shockingly madeover Flint), the album nevertheless retained the bone-jarring breaks and buzzsaw synth so idiomatic of the band. The album cemented the band's position as one of the most internationally successful acts in the hard dance genre, entering the British and American charts at number one. The best selling single, Breathe (1996), was taken from this album, as was Firestarter, the group's first UK number one.

The Prodigy have been nominated twice for the Mercury Music Prize, in 1994 with Music for the Jilted Generation, and again in 1997 with The Fat of the Land, however they failed to win both times.

Prodigy was getting a lot of airplay on rock stations with their track, "Smack My Bitch Up," and were getting even more negative backlash for the song. Time-Warner, Prodigy's parent company, was feeling the heat from the National Organization for Women (NOW) over the track. Although the song's lyrics are few but repetitive (in their entirety, the lyrics are "Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up"), NOW stated that the lyrics are a "...dangerous and offensive message advocating violence against women." Howlett responded to the attacks by claiming that the song's lyrics are being misinterpreted: (the song means) "...doing anything intensely, like being on stage – going for extreme manic energy." The band did not write the lyric, but rather sampled it from the classic Ultramagnetic MCs' track "Give The Drummer Some" which also appears on the Dirtchamber Sessions (they had also sampled another Ultramagnetic MCs song "Critical Beatdown" on their earlier "Out of Space" single).[3] Several radio stations defended the song, yet only played the track at night. The music video (directed by Jonas Åkerlund) featured a first-person point of view of someone going clubbing, indulging in large amounts of drugs and alcohol, getting into fist fights with men, abusing women and picking up a prostitute. At the end of the video the camera pans over to a mirror, revealing the subject to be a woman. MTV only aired the video between 1 and 5 a.m. in order for mature viewers to see the "groundbreaking" images. The director got the inspiration for contents of the video after a night of drinking and partying in Copenhagen.

During a peformance at the Reading Festival (August 29th, 1998) The Prodigy and the Beastie Boys had an onstage disagreement over the track - with the Beastie Boys requesting the song should be pulled from their set as it could be considered offensive to those who had suffered domestic abuse. Choosing to ignore the Beastie Boys plea, Maxim introduced "Smack My Bitch Up" with the declaration "They didn’t want us to play this f*cking tune. But the way things go, I do what the f*ck I want". The incident has since become part of festival folklore, and was voted one of the greatest ever live moments by the now defunct Select Magazine.

Wal-mart and Kmart later announced they would pull The Fat of the Land off their shelves. Even though the LP had resided on their store shelves for over 20 weeks, the two stores found the marketing campaign for the new single release offensive.

In mid-2002, the complete, unedited video was aired on MTV2 as part of a special countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. This countdown was only shown late at night because of the graphic imagery of "Smack My Bitch Up" and several other videos on the countdown. This video in particular was deemed the "Most Controversial Video" by MTV and showed at the #1 spot on the countdown.

[goodie]

i like the prodigy alot!!!

they have some great music!!!

[Jason]

I loved SWV! I liked all of the singles David listed in their bio. One of the great R&B acts of the 90s!

Prodigy was okay. I only really liked "Breathe," though. "Firestarter" & "Smack My Bitch Up" were all right. I don't know any other songs by them.

[FreakyFlyBry]

Not really a fan of the Prodigy, to be honest...