Livin' Joy

Originally released by Undiscovered Recordings in 1994, Livin' Joy were fronted by American lead singer Janice Robinson and reached number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Dreamer". The song turned out to be a mild sleeper hit on pop radio, finally entering the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1995. It peaked at number 72 and spent seventeen weeks on the chart. The song had a more successful run in the United Kingdom, hitting the number one spot after being re-issued. In its original run in late 1994, "Dreamer" peaked at No. 18, spending 6 straight weeks in the UK top 100. It did re-enter the lower ends of the top 100 two more times that year bringing its total to 12 weeks inside the top 100.[1]

By the end of 1995, the re-issue of "Dreamer" ranked as the UK's 40th best selling single of the year logging a total of 21 weeks in the top 100.

In mid-1996, "Dreamer" re-entered the U.S. Hot 100 chart, this time peaking at number 95.

By 1996, Robinson had left - thus marking a new era for the group. She was replaced by American vocalist Tameka Starr, who was also the songwriter and choreographer. Starr's lyrics encapsulated a more 'uplifting' and 'motivational' approach to the content of the songs during this era of Livin' Joy. With Starr on lead vocals, the follow-up single "Don't Stop Movin'" peaked at number five in the UK and went on to become a big summer hit. It spent 14 consecutive weeks in the top 100, with 7 of those in the top 10.

"Don't Stop Movin'" topped the Italian charts in 1996 and also peaked at number three on the U.S. dance chart in early 1997 and became another modest, although long-lived, hit in the mainstream - climbing to number 67 on the Hot 100, spending twenty weeks on the chart. In Australia, "Don't Stop Movin'" peaked at number 6 on the national ARIA singles chart.

"Don't Stop Movin'" was followed by another Top 10 hit single in the UK, "Follow the Rules" which peaked at No. 9 on 2 November 1996, scoring Livin' Joy a hat-trick of top 10s at this point.

"Follow the Rules" was based around the subject of following your dreams and making them come true. The song wasn't as successful as its two predecessors; although peaking at No. 9 in the UK, it spent only a week in the top 10 before descending out of the top 100 after a total of 7 weeks on the chart.

"Where Can I Find Love" managed only 4 weeks in the UK top 100 chart.

Livin' Joy's fourth charting release in the UK was "Deep in You". The track took on a completely different sound which had a more R&B feel. Although moderately successful, peaking at No. 17 in the UK, it slowly descended out of the top 100 just 4 weeks after its release.

"Where Can I Find Love" was Livin' Joy's fifth and final single. Released on 4 May 1998 in the United Kingdom, it peaked at No. 12 on the UK charts. Lyrically, the track focusses on the struggles to find true love. This was further fleshed out with the accompanying music video featuring Tameka walking around a nightclub, bumping into various men who catch her attention. Each man is then shown to have an 'issue' which leaves Tameka disappointed.

Don't Stop Movin', was the parent album and grouped together the hits, including "Dreamer" with new vocals by Starr (although the original version with Robinson was a hidden bonus track). The album was released in the UK on 16 November 1996 (a week after the release of their third single "Follow the Rules"). The album peaked at No. 41 on the UK Albums Chart, and remained on the chart for only two weeks.

Plans for a widespread commercial release of a single entitled "Just for the Sex of It" in 1999 were scrapped, due to a label merger between MCA and Polygram who became Universal. With an entire new staff, there was a lack of interest in the 2nd album. It only received a limited club run, but was released as a single in Australia and the UK, and proved popular in the clubs. In 2008, tracks from the eventually-cancelled follow-up album, Just for the Sex of It, were leaked online and they included: "Love Yourself", "Lookin' Fine", "I Only Wanna Dance", "U R My Livin' Joy", "You Don't Love Me", and "Bump This".

Janice Robinson subsequently re-released 2005 remixes of "Dreamer", credited as a solo release, which charted at No. 5 on the U.S. dance chart.