Rachel Alexandra Mercaldo (born March 4, 1977 in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

), better known as Rockell, is an American

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Lab ...

, hi-NRG and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

singer-

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, best known for her 1997 hit single, " In a Dream".

Music career

1996–2001: ''What Are You Lookin' At?'' and ''Instant Pleasure''

In 1996, Rockell released her debut single, " I Fell In Love". In the late 1990s, she had major dance hits with the songs " In a Dream", " When I'm Gone" and "

Can't We Try "Can't We Try" is a 1987 duet performed by Dan Hill and Vonda Shepard. The ballad was ''Billboard''s No. 1 Adult Contemporary Song of the Year for 1987. "Can't We Try" was released as a single from Dan Hill's 1987 self-titled album. The song r ...

" (a duet with

Collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

and remake of the

Dan Hill Daniel Grafton Hill IV (born 3 June 1954) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major international hits with his songs " Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try", a duet with Vonda Shepard, as well as a number of other charti ...

and Vonda Shepard 1987 hit song). All of these tracks appeared on her 1998 debut album entitled ''

What Are You Lookin' At? ''What Are You Lookin' At?'' is the debut album by Rockell, released on Robbins Entertainment on April 28, 1998. It includes the hit singles "I Fell in Love", "In a Dream", "Can't We Try" (featuring Collage Collage (, from the french: colle ...

''. "I Fell In Love", distributed by the then BMG Canada, reached #1 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by ''Jam!''/Canoe. It ...

while the follow-up classic inspired by DJ UpperCutz, "In a Dream" reached #6. She released a second album, '' Instant Pleasure'', in 2000. ''Instant Pleasure'' included the single " What U Did 2 Me" which reached #101 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 2001. She released a music video for the single. Remixes of "What U Did 2 Me" were released including the popular JP's Radio Mix.

2005–present: Return to music

In 2005, she returned with " L.O.V.E", produced by DJ Mickey Bono of the Beat Thrillerz. A limited independent release had a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

by Lenny "Linus" Douglas and freestyle remixes by

Russ Castella Russ Castella (born November 15, 1983) is an American record producer. He has found success in many genres of music, particularly dance, pop, and R&B. He has his own record label, Bliss Entertainment. He has produced and remixed for a var ...

and Randy Taylor-Weber, the original writer/producer of "In a Dream". In spring 2007, Rockell recorded the single "Playin' My Love". It was released to Dance/ Rhythmic format radio in July 2007. A freestyle remix by Salsation 3 was released in November 2007. A nationwide tour with several dance artists including Joe Zangie was announced as well. In November of that same year, she released a dance single with Canada's Odeon Records, "You Keep Me Hangin' On", a remake of

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

original. On June 3, 2009, Rockell released the duet single "When I Want You Back" with Joe Zangie. “When I Want You Back” was previously recorded by Wendy. Neither cuts of the song charted. Later in June, she released a dance cover of

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...

's "On the Radio". In 2012, Rockell signed a new management deal with BlackCole Entertainment. On December 11 of that year, she released her single "Turn Up the Heat" which had a new sound of freestyle and dance-pop from her previous works. The track contains a rap and usage of high vocals.

Chart success

"I Fell In Love" peaked at #61 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1997. It hit the #1 spot on the

during that year, making it the most successful freestyle dance music single of the decade in Canada. The single also peaked at #9 on the

Hot Dance Singles Sales In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...

chart in the US. "In a Dream", the follow-up to "I Fell In Love", peaked at #72 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June, 1998. It was #6 on the Hot 100

and solidified Rockell's position on the artist roster of the then

BMG Music Canada BMG Music Canada was the Canadian division of BMG, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History BMG was formed in 1970. In 1986, it acquired RCA Records. In the acquisition, the company acquired RCA Victor Ltd. to form BMG Music Canada as par ...

. It also peaked at #13 on the

chart. "Can't We Try" with

peaked at #59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1998. The single also peaked at #11 on the

chart. " When I'm Gone" failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1999, but appeared on the

Hot Dance Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...

and

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

charts. It also peaked at #21 on the

chart. Rockell's lead single to her second album '' Instant Pleasure'', "What U Did 2 Me", was her best-selling single. It fared well on the

and

charts. She also released "The Dance" (a cover of the

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

hit) and "Tears", but neither of these singles charted on the Hot 100. Both singles performed well on the

and

charts. "The Dance" peaked at #27 and "Tears" peaked at #16 on the

chart.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Cover versions

*"Dream Boy/Dream Girl" – original by Cynthia and Johnny O *"Can't We Try" – original by

and Vonda Shepard *"You Keep Me Hangin' On" – original by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

*"When I'm Gone" – original by Albert Hammond *"Show Me the Way" – original by

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

*"We Just Disagree" – original by

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

*"Love Won't Let Me Wait" – original by George Kerr *"The Dance" – original by

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1977 births Living people American women pop singers American freestyle musicians People from Staten Island American pop musicians Robbins Entertainment artists 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers