''Martika'' is the debut studio album by former

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

and

teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...

singer

Martika Marta Marrero (born May 18, 1969), better known by her stage name Martika ( ), is an American pop singer and actress. She released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which sold over four million copies wor ...

, released October 18, 1988 through

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

Background

The album marked the solo debut for Martika, and spawned the American #1 single "

Toy Soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve c ...

". The song is about

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

, but can sound like a break-up

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. The song was later sampled by rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

for his 2004 song "

Like Toy Soldiers "Like Toy Soldiers" is a song by American rapper Eminem, from his fifth album ''Encore (Eminem album), Encore'' (2004). The song received positive reviews from Music journalism, music critics, and peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100, '' ...

" featuring Martika as the chorus singer. Songs that charted internationally included "More Than You Know", "Water", and "

I Feel the Earth Move I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

", a

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

cover that cracked the American Top 25. Stylistically the music was strictly pop, despite exploring some adult topics lyrically. The song "Water" is partially sung in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, a homage to Martika's

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n ancestry. Other songs were re-recorded fully in Spanish for international release. The album was successful in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; it managed to peak at #15 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, making it her best-selling album to date. The album peaked at #11 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, containing three top 20 singles there. In the UK, the song "Cross My Heart" had already been a top 20 hit for the band Eighth Wonder a year previously, whilst Big Fun pulled their planned single release of "I Feel the Earth Move" shortly before Martika's release.

Track listing

;Side one # "If You're Tarzan, I'm Jane" ( Michael Jay, Greg Smith) – 4:20 # " Cross My Heart" (Jay) – 3:52 # " More Than You Know" (Martika, Jay, Marvin Morrow) – 4:10 # "

" (Martika, Jay) – 4:51 # "You Got Me Into This" (Jay) – 4:11 ;Side two

"
I Feel the Earth Move I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...
" (Carole King) – 4:12
"
Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
" (Martika, Sue Sheridan, Larry Treadwell) – 4:39
"It's Not What You're Doing" (Roberts Etoll, Jay) – 4:13
"See If I Care" (Martika, Jay, Morrow) – 3:41
"Alibis" (Martika, Mitchell Kaplan) – 3:50

Alternative versions

Four of the tracks from the album were recorded in Spanish by Martika: # "Como Un Juguete" ''("Toy Soldiers")'' – 4:48 # "Siento Temblar La Tierra" ''("I Feel the Earth Move")'' # "Quiero Entregarte Mi Amor" ''("More Than You Know")'' – 4:13 # "Agua" ''("Water")'' "Toy Soldiers" was also recorded by Martika in Japanese, released on an EP in 1989 called "Special Touch".

Personnel

* Martika – lead vocals, backing vocals (2, 5, 8, 9, 10), shaker (10), arrangements (10), vocal arrangements * Greg Smith – keyboards (1, 4, 6), arrangements (1) * Claude Gaudette – additional keyboards (1, 6), keyboards (2, 7), drum programming (2, 5, 7), arrangements (2, 5, 7) * Brad Cole – additional keyboards (2), keyboards (3, 8), synth horns (5), arrangements (8) * Marvin Morrow – keyboards (3, 9), drum programming (3), arrangements (9) * Mitchell Kaplan – keyboards (10) *

Mark Leggett Mark Leggett is an American guitarist/composer who has composed music for hundreds of television and documentary productions in the U.S. Credits include television series My Name Is Earl, theme music for The Pretender (TV series), The Pretender (E ...

– guitars (1-5, 7, 8, 9) * Don Kirkpatrick – guitars (6) * David Macias – guitars (10) * Marc Jones – bass (10) * Michael Jay – drum programming (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9), backing vocals (1), vocal arrangements (1-9), arrangements (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10) * Christopher Ainsworth – drum programming (7) * Omar Martinez – drums (10) * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (5, 7, 9) * Michael Mattioli – saxophone (10) * Michael Cruz – backing vocals (1) *

Davey Faragher David Allen "Davey" Faragher (born August 18, 1957) is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band Cracker, and his subsequent work wit ...

– backing vocals (1) *

Clif Magness Clifton “Clif” Magness is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for co-writing and producing several tracks on Avril Lavigne’s 2002 debut album, '' Let Go'' including the song "Losing Grip". ...

– backing vocals (1) * Rick Jude Palombi – backing vocals (1, 3, 6, 7) *

Donna De Lory Donna De Lory is an American singer, dancer and songwriter. Part of a musical family, De Lory has been performing since a young age. Her voice can be heard on albums by Carly Simon, Ray Parker Jr., Kim Carnes, Santana, Martika, Laura Branigan, Be ...

– backing vocals (3, 6) *

Niki Haris Niki Haris (born April 17, 1962) is an American singer and dancer of pop, R&B, dance music and jazz, perhaps best known for having been one of Madonna's backing vocalists from 1987 to 2001, and as being the guest lead vocalist on various Snap! s ...

– backing vocals (3) *

Stacy Ferguson Stacy Ann Ferguson (born March 27, 1975), better known by her stage name Fergie (), is an American singer and rapper. She first achieved chart success as part of the hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. Her debut solo album, ''The Dutchess'' ( ...

– backing vocals (4) * Marlen Landin – backing vocals (4) *

Kimberly McCullough Kimberly Anne McCullough (born March 5, 1978) is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her role as Robin Scorpio on the soap opera ''General Hospital'', a role which she originated at age seven, playing the characte ...

– backing vocals (4) *

Rahsaan Patterson Rahsaan Patterson (born January 11, 1974) is an American singer and actor, best known for portraying "The Kid" on the 1980s television show ''Kids Incorporated.'' Career 1984: ''Kids Incorporated'' After appearing in a school talent show in 198 ...

– backing vocals (4, 7, 10) *

Devyn Puett Devyn June Puett (born November 22, 1977 in West Covina CA.) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and real estate agent. She is best known for her role as Devyn on ''Kids Incorporated''. Devyn is the younger sister of former '' Life Goes On' ...

– backing vocals (4) *

Renee Sands Renee Ilene Sandstrom (born February 15, 1974) is an American singer and former child actress better known by her stage name Renee Sands. She is best known for her role as Renee on ''Kids Incorporated'', and as a vocal member of the American girl ...

– backing vocals (4) * Alitzah Wiener – backing vocals (4) * Mona Lisa Young – backing vocals (6) * Laura Creamer – backing vocals (7) * Mendy Lee – backing vocals (7) * Sue Sheridan – backing vocals (7)

Production

* Michael Jay – producer * Michael McDonald – engineer, mixing (1-4, 6, 9, 10) * Peter Arata – assistant engineer * Ric Butz – assistant engineer * John Hegedes – assistant engineer * Greg Loskorn – assistant engineer * Karen Siegel – assistant engineer * Russ Iadevaia – lead vocal recording (2) * Keith "KC" Cohen – mixing (5, 8) *

Brian Malouf Brian Malouf (born September 8, 1955) is an American producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with acts such as Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, Tokio Hotel, Wolfmother, and All Time Low. Also se ...

– mixing (7) * Garden Rake Studios (Sherman Oaks, California) – mixing location *

Larrabee Sound Studios Larrabee Sound Studios is a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, originally established in 1969. Facilities Located at 4162 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, Larrabee has six studios, three tracking spaces, and a prod ...

(North Hollywood, California) – mixing location *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

– mastering at Precision Lacquer (Hollywood, California) * Nancy Donald – art direction *

Tony Lane Anthony Samuel Lane (May 2, 1944 – January 1, 2016) began his career as an assistant to Alexey Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar, and became an early art director for Rolling Stone magazine. He was the designer of iconic album covers for Simon & Garf ...

– art direction * Arnold Levine – art direction * David Coleman – design * Alberto Tolot – photography

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martika (Album) 1988 debut albums Martika albums CBS Records albums Columbia Records albums Spanish-language albums