''Melicious'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Melissa Lefton. It was intended for release on August 21, 2001, by

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

, however, it was delayed indefinitely. The album was produced by The Matrix and explores a variety of eccentric topics through a satirical lens. ''Melicious'' received generally favorable reviews from critics, with many praising the radio-friendly nature of the album and the unorthodox themes explored throughout it. Prior to the album's shelving, a mockumentary titled ''Behind the Muse'' was produced in order to promote ''Melicious''. Two songs from the album were commercially released; "My Hit Song" and "I Love Life" were included on the soundtracks to the films '' On the Line'' and ''

The Princess Diaries ''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers ...

'', respectively.

Background

The album was originally stated to be due for release on August 21, 2001 on

.''Behind the Muse''. Directed by Scott Lochmus, Produced by Jen Dana. A production of the "Jack My Dog Corporation". Released by ''

'' on June 11, 2001 and distributed on mini DV tape. It was later said to be due for release in Spring 2002, but was eventually suspended indefinitely. The album was produced by The Matrix. The only copies of the album that exist are full length promotional copies, none of which include the publicized album cover. There are two variations: one is an acetate promo which has a stick-on label and comes in an orange jewel case. The other comes in a cardboard sleeve and features Lefton in a T-shirt with a

jolly roger Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...

on it. A three song sampler also exists which plays the songs "My Hit Song," "Ozone" and "Sugar Daddy". Melicious took on topics like pollution, sugar daddies, occultism and murder, with tongue in cheek lyrics. Two songs on this album were commercially released on other albums. "I Love Life" appeared on the soundtrack to ''

''. Commenting on the soundtrack Heather Phares from ''AllMusic'' spoke favourably of the track. "My Hit Song" appeared on the soundtrack to '' On the Line'' and also appeared on the compilation album ''Cool Traxx! 3''. Heather Phares said the track was "sending up and relishing teen pop's plastic sound and mindless appeal". The track "Radio Rainbow" appears in the film '' Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge'', though the film did not release an accompanying soundtrack.

Promotion

A promotional short film was created to promote the album. Called ''Behind the Muse'', it was a mockumentary spoofing the '' Behind the Music'' program and format. In it, Lefton is depicted as an already-famous musician who rose to fame as a pop star only to succumb to an IV addiction to SunnyD. After a nearly fatal car crash she records a critically panned album titled "Ouch!", and then revitalizes her career as a Las Vegas lounge singer. The humor in the film is decidedly not for young people; for example, regarding her addiction, Lefton states: "I was making love to sweaty bums just to score a hit of SunnyD, and it didn't feel good on my vagina." The film was promotionally distributed on VHS and Mini DV tapes.

Critical reception

The month before it was due for release, the '' Seattle Weekly'' gave a favourable review of the album, as did the Autumn 2001 edition of ''

Elle Girl ''Elle Girl'' was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of ''Elle'' magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainm ...

''. MacKenzie Wilson from ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' also spoke highly of the album, saying it "matches the pop sassiness of the

Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda ...

and Cyndi Lauper". Jimmy Draper from ''AllMusic'' gave the album four stars out of five, concluding "This isn't your typical Top 40 fodder because, thankfully, there isn't anything typical about Lefton's surprisingly enjoyable and energetic debut." Five years after it was cancelled,

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

gave the album a positive review and referred to Lefton as the "queen of shelved teenpop".

Track listing

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Melissa Lefton Myspace page
with 2 songs from the album
Behind the Muse
full mockumentary including interviews Melissa Lefton albums Jive Records albums Unreleased albums