Finally at terms with this crippling loss — two and a half years wasted in a perpetual state of mourning — I feel compelled, at long last, to resume this project, if for no other reason than the opportunity to spread the gospel and good news of our Lord and savior, Johnna Christ.
The legend of Boy Krazy begins — as all good tales of girl group formations do — with an open casting call held at some point in 1991. From a pool of hundreds, five vivacious young beauties would be initiated into the group of predetermined name and begin a turbulent ascent to pop stardom.
(Boy Krazy from left to right: Josselyne "Mom" Jones, Kimberly "Who?" Blake, Renée "P!nk" Veneziale, Johnna "OMG Queen" Lee Cummings and Ruth Ann "Fan Girl" Roberts)
After some months of being shopped around, the fierce fivesome would eventually secure the support of a major label and begin recording material in London with venerated production trio, Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman (commonly abbreviated SAW) — frequently dubbed the UK's "Hit Factory" (they're the team that brought you Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and The Reynolds Girls) — with plans for a UK launch and hopes of dominating British airwaves.
Released in July 1991, The group's debut single "That's What Love Can Do" stalled at a disappointing #86 on the UK Singles Chart. Originally conceived for Samantha Fox's 1991 LP, Just One Night (which features the preposterously named "(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On"), the tune would, in a moment of great fortune, be passed along to SAW's then fledgling girl group.
"That's What Love Can Do" is a peculiarly sunny-sounding affair; a sumptuous break-up bop that abounds with honking horns, sassy sax, choppy synth-vox, and some of the richest harmonies to ever grace human ears.
A music video (see first embedded clip) featuring the group pantomiming into an assortment of inanimate objects was issued in support of the single. The camera's lens is carefully trained on lead vocalist Johnna's svelte figure as she seductively coos into a payphone, but it's young Ruth Ann who steals the show and garnered positive notice in Wind Blower Weekly for her daring performance opposite Emerson House Fan Model No. 6478Q.
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"Never does a glimmer of fear — not even the slightest concern that a stray hair might become entangled in the unrelenting whirl of the 6478Q's titanium blades — register on young Ruth Ann's innocent face. This former Miss Junior America is as cool as a cucumber (but of course she is; the 6478Q is our "1991 Best Buy" among fans in its category!) as her luscious, dark curls take to the wind like an American flag waving proudly on the front lawn of the White House. We predict big things for this little starlet! There's a storm brewing, gentlemen. Let your hearts be carried away in the stiff breeze of Hurricane Ruth.
Renée would abandon the dream shortly after the release of the group's debut single, but the group would carry on as a quartet, issuing a worthy follow-up, the utterly divine "All You Have to Do", in 1992. When this project also failed to make a serious dent in the UK charts, the girls were unceremoniously dumped; released from their contracts and sent home to the States. Boy Krazy had come and gone... or had they?
A grassroots effort that would afford Boy Krazy a second shot at the "big time" was taking shape in the US. In discotheques across America, a new audience was discovering the girl group's magical debut single. And when a Denver-area radio DJ began including the track in the station's broadcasts in late 1992, the stage was set for a major BK comeback that would culminate in "That's What Love Can Do" rising to an impressive top twenty peak on the Billboard Hot 100.
The ladies of Boy Krazy have crafted an interesting and fairly ambiguous mythos regarding the commercial success of their breakthrough hit, describing it in various sources as a "top five hit on the Denver charts," the "biggest song in the US," or the song that "knocked Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' off the top of the charts." Revisionist and implausible as these claims might be, what cannot be disputed is the fact that "That's What Love Can Do" became a certifiable stateside hit. "The original Spice Girls," as both Johnna and Ruth Ann have referred to the group, had arrived.
In London, work resumed (by which I mean an assortment of tracks that had been in the PWL vaults since 1991 were haphazardly strung together and rushed for release) on the group's debut LP and an American promotional blitz, including at least one television appearance (marvel at the way they masterfully dodge questions regarding their manufactured formation and ruin every soundbite by speaking over each other) was planned. A music video incorporating bits of the original video (with shots of Renée carefully edited out) and new, casual, footage of the girls lunching at a NYC diner and rehearsing a dance routine was released in support of the single's second-wind success.
While Boy Krazy seemed only to have reason to celebrate, behind-the-scenes not everything was just like a dream come true. Tensions within the ranks were mounting and the girls seemed to be at odds, not only with each other, but the team responsible for guiding their burgeoning career.
A follow-up single, the rauchy and rockin' "Good Times with Bad Boys", was being pushed by the label despite some degree of protest from the group. "Good Times" sees the girls living it up fast and easy and stands in stark contrast to the squeaky clean material that dominates their eponymous debut album. The suggestive tune, the girls feared, would not resonate with their young and impressionable fanbase. And perhaps their fears were justified; the single would peak at a discouraging #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the accompanying video, which depicts in nearly-****ographic detail a hot and steamy day at the gym, was banned from rotation on MTV. Also, the song sucked.
And another one bites the dust...
Sensing perhaps that the group's good fortune was in short supply, Johnna would choose to part ways with Boy Krazy. There appears to be no love lost between Johnna and the other girls. During a 2014 radio interview, Ruth Ann not-so-subtly suggested that it was a certain member's ego that ruined the vibe. And for her part, Johnna made little attempt to disguise her feelings of superiority in a recent interview conducted by a fan. I'll just say it — Johnna seems like a supreme ****, but supreme is the operative word there. That she would be groomed on the side for solo glory comes as little surprise.
The remaining girls would try their luck as a trio, but Josselyne needed to pick up the kids at school, or something, so they all agreed to throw in the towel — the same one they used to wipe down those sweaty boxer dudes in the GTwBB video.
Epilogue
Renée
Kimberly
Ruth Ann
Following the demise of Boy Krazy, Ruth Ann would dabble for several years in various musical projects before transitioning into a fairly successful hosting career. In 2003 she would reemerge as Rue DeBona (pronounced rutabaga, I think), a correspondent for the WWE. Recent credits include a hosting gigs on something called The Italian American Network and Firebrand, a ill-fated show which attempted to air commercials as compelling content.
Josselyne
Josselyne is now an agent/manager type living and working in New York City whose clients include onetime bandmate, Rue DeBona. She operates a YouTube channel which preserves a small selection of hard-to-find Boy Krazy video clips.
Johnna
Following her departure from Boy Krazy, Johnna returned to the US, where her dreams of a solo career would hang in limbo for several years. She would eventually sign a new deal with PWL and return to London to begin work on a solo LP. Pride is a thumping and largely underwhelming club affair which failed to garner much interest in the UK upon it's 1996 release. The album's titular track, a forward-thinking and surprisingly opaque gay anthem, is its crowning glory.
Eat. Your. Heart. Out. Gags.
With the commercial failure of her album, Johnna returned to the States and resumed life as normal. She has maintained a low-profile in the years since, most notably emerging in 2006 to appear in a student docu-short entitled Expect Less... and it is really bleak stuff.
Patrick, I am actually crying from laughter. This is beyond amazing. In a history of brilliant ATRL posts, it might be your magnum opus.
But "That's What Love Can Do" was ROBBED. Not even top ten? What were you all thinking?! No wonder Patrick hasn't been able to bring himself to update this thread in almost three years. At least the Boy Krazy quadrinity came through with those rightful 10's. LOAPers for life!
At least the Boy Krazy quadrinity came through with those rightful 10's. LOAPers for life!
<3 <3 <3
I just hope that these women, should they ever stumble upon this post, are not offended by my editorializing and unfunny jabs. I love them all so dearly... even Josselyne and Kimberly.
I just hope that these women, should they ever stumble upon this post, are not offended by my editorializing and unfunny jabs. I love them all so dearly... even Josselyne and Kimberly.
Identical twins Jessica and Lisa Origliasso were already an established pop commodity in their native Australia before achieving breakthrough status in the United States with the second single from their sophomore album, Hook Me Up. "Untouched" explodes out of the gate, brimming with energy, angst, and an appealing degree of quirk. (How great are those stuttering verses?) It's the sort of frantic, turmoiled, pop tune Demi Lovato might release if she had a distinctive musical identity.
"Untouched" was an unexpectedly forward-thinking and distinguished offering, at least in comparison to the singles (as fantastic as they are) that issued from the sisters' debut, The Secret Life of The Veronicas, which tended to alternate between shades of Avril and P!nk. ("4ever" and "U + UR Hand" are virtually indistinguishable.)
Whatever potential "Untouched" might have alluded to, it wasn't enough to really launch The Veronicas into the American mainstream. This remains their first (and likely last) flirtation with the Billboard top twenty. Subsequent releases have gone untouched and the girls, it appears, are forever locked in the later-mid-Myspace-oughts, as evidenced by their YouTube channel which is stylized as— I kid you not — ThEvErOnIcAs.
The song is half nonsense, but it works so well! I still get butterflies, especially when that chorus breaks out.
If this was 2009, "Untouched" surely would have been a top five contender. I remember how excited ATRL was when it finally hit.
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Originally posted by Patrick
the girls, it appears, are forever locked in the later-mid-Myspace-oughts, as evidenced by their YouTube channel which is stylized as— I kid you not — ThEvErOnIcAs.
Wait, so this was on hiatus for three years because Patty couldn't cope with his grief of losing Boy Krazy?
I remember thinking "Untouched" was sooo "egdy" and "different" back when I was 16. It's still a cool bop (sorta), but I mostly just feel embarrassed when I listen.
I wanna see if LoveFool won. That was the song I picked.
All the one hit wonder song suggestions I want to share. 