Songoftheday 8/6/18 - I was alone until you came and brought the sunshine, I was afraid but in your love I found peace of mind...
from the album Trey Lorenz (1992)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 10
Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Trey Lorenz, who got his break as a back-up singer for Mariah Carey as she was beginning her own superstar career. Appearing with Carey on her MTV Unplugged episode, he was featured prominently (and for a while, was credited on the charts) on her #1 pop hit cover of the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There" in the summer of 1992. He also co-wrote the pop hit "If You Go Away" for New Kids On The Block, which made the top-20 in March of that year. The exposure from those two songs set Lorenz up nicely for the release of his own debut solo album, which was released in September of 1992. The lead single from the record was another smooth adult-soul ballad, "Someone To Hold". Written by Trey and Mariah with producer Walter Afanasieff, it was in the wheelhouse of Mariah's easy-listening beginnings, and naturally grabbed the attention of those fans...
"Someone To Hold" became Trey's first and only single to land on the pop Hot 100 chart in America, reaching the top-20 in November of 1992. The song peaked at #5 on Billboard's R&B chart, while it climbed to #18 on their Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio format list. Internationally, the single hit #11 in New Zealand, and spent two weeks at #29 in Canada, while being a minor hit in the UK at #65.
The follow-up single from his self-titled debut was the uptempo "Photograph Of Mary", which climbed to #11 on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart, and got to #46 on the R&B tally, but on the pop chart it "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #118. Meanwhile in the UK that song was Trey's biggest hit, reaching #38, and stopped at #31 in New Zealand. The third and final release from Trey Lorenz, a cover of the Commodores' ballad "Just To Be Close To You", stalled at #66 on the R&B chart, but did a smidge better "bubbling under" the American pop chart at #103. But because of the lack of a big hit after "Someone To Hold", he was let go by Columbia Records, and went back to his back-up gigs, continuing his work with Mariah, with whom he sang with at Michael Jackson's funeral. He released a second record, Mimi Presents Mr Mista, independently in 2006.
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
And here's a (sorry, bad audio) clip of Trey appearing on television to promote the song...
Up tomorrow: Hip-hop group like women who wiggle their butts.
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