Let's discuss american singer Lutricia McNeal - Do we rate her and how big a star was she in the US back in the day?

A two-minute scan of the wiki entry would have answered your ridiculously uninformed "just asking" questions about her NONEXISTENT career in the USA.

She had a few significant hits in Europe but, as far as I know, she never became a star in the US or anywhere else in the world, for that matter. She had a very warm, earthy voice that lent itself rather well to ballads, but that is all I know.

OP, no one here has ever heard of this person. But you knew that.

She didn't JUST have 3 consecutive top 10 hits in the UK, she made 3 consecutive appearances on the Now albums.

Thanks r2 I assumed she was an established star in the US before they tried to launch her here in the UK. I was surprised she fizzled out because I felt she had enough talent to carve out a niche career with at least some longevity.

Let's discuss Surviving Angel's trolling career. Do we rate her and how big a troll is she internationally across multiple forums, nowadays?

r4 Hosh it's been years since I bought a NOW album! My First one was in 1987 and featured Johnny Hates Jazz, Bananarama, Alexander O'Neal and Jellybean if memory serves me right!

r3 Incorrect r2 has ..but then you knew that?

r1 A discussion is encouraged not a cut and paste Wikipedia q+a.Your 'critique' could apply to many a great forum thread. Opinions and discussion not just a few basic facts is the name of the game.

Word it better then.

Never heard of her.

Sometimes when I was a tad melancholic Lutricias song Stranded really resonated with me and strangely lifted my mood after a few plays.

r9 Maybe but in reality I think most people know that an opening post on a celebrity is just a starting point or launch pad for discussion.Just as answering it with basic Wikipedia facts/ information is not the be all and end all but rather the start of a chat.

[quote][R4] Hosh it's been years since I bought a NOW album! My First one was in 1987 and featured Johnny Hates Jazz, Bananarama, Alexander O'Neal and Jellybean if memory serves me right!

Your memory is failing you I'm afraid. Alexander O'Neal was on one of the record labels serviced by the inferior Hits albums (he appeared on Hits 7, Hits 8 and Hits 9), but Johnny Hates Jazz, Jellybean and Bananarama did feature on Now 10, Now 11 and Now 12.

For info Lutricia appeared on Now 39, Now 40 and Now 41.

OP/R11, after you've reminded me about her I've gone back through her discography and she did have some great songs. Stranded is a really great mid-tempo ballad and her voice was perfect for it. By the way, I was wrong - she also had some big hits in New Zealand, so she wasn't only successful in Europe.

Also, her debut album was apparently released in the US, but it wasn't successful, evidently. I am curious as to why she didn't achieve more longevity and some measure of success in the US, as her sound was extremely popular at the time and she adapted really well to the poppier sound that became popular around 1998. Her voice wasn't as glorious as Whitney Houston's nor as distinctive as Toni Braxton's, but she had more than enough talent to achieve stardom. It just goes to show how luck plays an extremely important role in how successful someone becomes in show business.

r13 Thank you!! I think I stopped buying NOW albums altogether in around 2002 at the latest but there was a time they were must have. I think I remember Joyce Sims being on a complilatoon type album with Come into my life. LOVED that song but I think it was on NOW 11?

[quote][R13] Thank you!! I think I stopped buying NOW albums altogether in around 2002 at the latest but there was a time they were must have. I think I remember Joyce Sims being on a complilatoon type album with Come into my life. LOVED that song but I think it was on NOW 11?

Yes that was Now 11. I now associate Come Into My Life with a clearasil advert which claimed you could cure acne by rubbing blue liquid on your face.

r14 Thanks . Good post. Yes I think luck can be an oveooked ingredient in success in the entertainment industry. Also timing or if the field is overcrowded and lots of competition at the time. Eg it is possible if she released songs a year earlier or a year later she might have had more success?

r16 LOL Thank you! I haven't noticed that advert so I still remember Joyce Sims elegantly and funnily playing the piano as she sung her heart out loudily!

r18 Should say funkily ^^

Personally, I don't think so, R17. Her second album was a combination of Max Martin-esque clinical pop and R&B, and it was SUPER commercial. I think that her problem is that she changed too fast from a grittier, more urban sound to a poppy, ultra-polished style that people ten years younger were promoting. She was more of a belter diva, not a Steps / A*Teens / Britney bubblegum type of singer. Still, Whatcha Been Doing is a very enjoyable album that she co-wrote, which I didn't know at all.

If she had gone into a more of a Destiny's Child route and had the opportunity to work with someone Rodney Jerkins, I'm sure that she would have been able to maintain her momentum and she'd have been more successful. However, I'm sure that her record company wouldn't have invested in big American producers, given her utter lack of success in the US. They tried to do what was successful in Europe and she got lost in the wave of teens who were doing the same, and were oriented toward the tween market.

Anyway, she had a nice voice and she proved to be very versatile.

r20 Good analysis