David Cole (later of
C+C Music Factory
C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''.
History
"C" ...
), originally consisting of members April Harris,
Michelle Visage
Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...
, and
Idalis DeLeón.
History
Intended as a studio project, and prior to any assemblage of the aforementioned trio, the first track produced, "Seduction" (later renamed "Seduction's Theme" on their album), featured vocals by Carol Cooper, and was released to dance clubs and became a top 20 hit on the dance charts. The second single, "
(You're My One and Only) True Love" featured uncredited vocals by
Martha Wash
Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...
. Against its producers' expectations, it ended up becoming a hit. Envisioning a potential hit phenomenon, Cole and Clivillés set to the task of assembling a group of women who displayed talent, sex appeal, and multi-format potential. Visage, DeLeon and Harris were assembled as a group to promote the single.
[Michelle Visage young: Strictly Come Dancing star looks completely different in old photos](_blank)
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
(5 August 2019)
The group quickly recorded the album ''
Nothing Matters Without Love'' and subsequent singles. Their biggest hit came in early 1990 with "
Two to Make It Right
"Two to Make It Right" is a song by the American girl group Seduction, released as a single in late 1989. It appears on the group's first album, '' Nothing Matters Without Love'' featuring April Harris and Michelle Visage on lead vocals. "Two to ...
" (featuring April and Michelle on Lead Vocals), a No. 2 pop hit. The hit music video was created and produced by the production team of Director Stu Sleppin and Producer Bob Teeman. In mid–1990, DeLeon left the group and was replaced by Sinoa Loren (born December 6, 1966). After a pair of hits with this lineup, the group disbanded in 1991. Harris owns the rights to the name Seduction and reassembled the group with two new members, Maria Flora and Eunice Foster, and released an album of new material, ''Feel Brand New'', through AVH Entertainment (her own label) under the name Seduction in 2005.
Alumnae and further works
* DeLeón went on to become a prominent
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
VJ as well as an actress on TV shows such as ''
Living Single
''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profes ...
'', ''
Six Feet Under'', ''
Nip Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...
'', ''
Burn Notice'' and feature films like ''Running Scared'' and ''Vicious Circle''. Today, she runs an entertainment-related website where she coaches clients to brand their act through precision on camera performance coaching and career brand media strategy.
* Michelle Visage performed guest vocals on the single "Crash" by Freestyle act
TKA, as well as the single "
It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" by C+C Music Factory alter-ego
The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.
The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. was an American R&B and dance music group, assembled by Robert Clivillés and David Cole of C&C Music Factory, that was active in 1992. The group featured lead vocals by Michelle Visage, who was formerly a member of an ...
from the soundtrack to the
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
film ''
The Bodyguard''. Visage later co-hosted a
VH1 talk show, ''
The RuPaul Show
''The RuPaul Show'' is an American talk/variety show that premiered on VH1 in 1996. Hosted by the drag performer RuPaul, the show had many famous musical guests and was notable as being one of the first national television programs in the United ...
'' with
RuPaul, and eventually went on to become a popular on-air personality for New York radio station
WKTU
WKTU (103.5 FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighbo ...
. In 2005, Visage joined the morning show "The Morning Mix" on
WNEW-FM
WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Ma ...
"Mix 102.7" FM. While working at 102.7, Visage held a month-long contest called "Singing With Seduction" where she picked two lucky winners to perform backup with her as Seduction at a summer music festival. Since January 2011, she has been the second permanent panel judge on the popular reality television series ''
RuPaul's Drag Race
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...
'' which airs on the
VH1 cable television network. She has stood in for Elaine Paige on her radio show Elaine Paige on Sunday, which airs on BBC Radio 2.
* April Harris earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
’s School of Communication. She has performed principal roles in the following plays: ''Dreamgirls'' (National Tour), ''Wicked Ways'' (National Tour), ''Smokey Joe’s Café'' (National Tour), ''Footloose'' (National Tour), ''Ain’t Misbehavin (National Tour), ''The Wiz'', and ''Medea and Beehive''. She toured internationally with her all-female band (Koffee), being featured on the BET Soundstage Tour, Blackapalooza Tour, and the U2/Kelis European Tour. In 2004, April established AVH Entertainment, LLC, a music and television production company. Current projects in development include a television show geared towards teens.
* Singer and actress Sinoa Loren went on to perform for two movie soundtracks on Universal: ''Carlito's Way'' (1993) and ''The Shadow'' (1994). Her songs were "Pillow Talk", a remake of the classic 1970's hit, and "Some Kind of Mystery" (written by
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award.
Wa ...
and produced by
Jellybean Benitez
John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters. H ...
). Sinoa has also written and recorded several dance songs played throughout South America and Mexico. She is currently working with SKY, an original group performing a tribute to Seduction, along with original songs. Along with Sinoa, SKY is made up of
Karmine Alers
3rd Party was an American three-member dance-pop group that released one album in 1997. They are best known for their ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charting dance hits "Can U Feel It" and "Love Is Alive".
Background
Lead singer Maria Christensen was ...
and
Yassmin Alers
Yassmin Alers is an American actress born in New York City's Spanish Harlem as the middle child of a close-knit family of five children. She was dance captain and understudy in the original broadway cast of Jonathan Larson's ''RENT'' on Broadway. S ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
Remix albums
Singles
;Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seduction
American dance girl groups
Musical groups established in 1989
American house music groups
American freestyle music groups
American dance music groups
Musical groups from New York City