''Fire'' was the unreleased third album by Wild Orchid. The album was meant to be released on June 19, 2001, but was shelved after the group was dropped by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. It was the group's final recording with

Stacy Ferguson Stacy Ann Ferguson; born March 27, 1975), professionally known as Fergie, ( ) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and businesswoman. After earning recognition as a child actor, child actress in the 1980s, Fergie achieved inter ...

Production

The album was recorded from 1999 to 2000, with several of the tracks being co-written and co-produced by

'N Sync NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey ...

member

JC Chasez Joshua Scott "JC" Chasez (; born August 8, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He started his career as a singer, actor, and dancer on '' The All-New Mickey Mouse Club'' before rising to prominence as a ...

, Oliver Leiber,

Robbie Nevil Robert S. Nevil (born October 2, 1958) is an American pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist who had five ''Billboard'' top 40 hits including his songs " C'est la Vie" (#2, 1986), "Dominoes" (#14, 1987), and " Wot's It to Ya" (#1 ...

, 3AM and Sweden's

Epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

Stefanie Ridel Stefanie Jill Ridel (born May 17, 1973) is an American singer and actress. She was a member of the girl group Wild Orchid, and was a co-host of the television show '' Great Pretenders''. Early life Stefanie Jill Ridel was born in Hollywood, Ca ...

told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine, "The album's lighter, more fun - and more in step with how we feel about ourselves." She also stated that the album would be filled with energy and spirit, in comparison to the group's previous two albums, which she thought were overly serious. The group, during this time, was being managed by Johnny Wright, for "Wright Entertainment Group", and Rickey Reynolds, for "Rickey Reynolds Entertainment", A&R: Dave Novik,"RCA Records".

Release and promotion

Promotion for the album began in 1999 while Wild Orchid was in the midst of recording. They performed "World Without You" and "Candle Light" while opening for

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

Do You Believe? Tour Do You Believe? Tour, also known as the Believe Tour, was the fourth solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. The tour, which took place in 1999 and 2000, promoted her album, '' Believe.'' History The tour began on June 16, 1999 and w ...

. While opening for 'N Sync's 'N Sync in Concert tour during their winter shows, they performed the title track "Fire." The group performed "World Without You" on ''Great Pretenders''. "It's All Your Fault" was also featured in the 2000 film ''

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film was released on December 15, 2000 by ...

''. ''Fire'' was slated to be released in August 2000 and in support of it, Wild Orchid was due to be the opening act for

No Strings Attached Tour The No Strings Attached Tour was the third concert tour by American boy band, NSYNC. Primarily visiting North America, the tour supported the band's third album '' No Strings Attached''. Beginning in May 2000, the tour sold out all dates within t ...

. Unfortunately, Stacy Ferguson became addicted to

crystal meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity d ...

at the time, and because of this, the group had to cancel touring plans with 'N Sync, and the release date of ''Fire'' was pushed back to June 19, 2001. "Stuttering (Don't Say)" was released as the album's lead single on May 8, 2001, and the group toured with other teen-pop acts and performed at clubs and small venues from May to August 2001. The group even had a concert special called ''Shoutback!'', which was taped on April 8, 2001, and broadcast by MuchUSA on July 29, 2001. During the special, the group performed several songs from ''Fire'', as well as from '' Wild Orchid'' and ''

Oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

''. Also, radio station KDME in Minneapolis hosted a concert on May 28, 2001, which featured not only Wild Orchid but

The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

as well, which Stacy Ferguson would later become a member of. Ultimately, the group's label would shelve plans to release the album and drop the group altogether by September 2001. However, promotional copies of the album would later be sold on the secondary market. Ferguson would later exit the group and continue on as a duo.

Track listing

B-Sides

*"Lies" (Chasez) - 3:34

Charts

Singles - ''Billboard'' (North America)

References

{{Wild Orchid Wild Orchid (group) albums Unreleased albums