Songoftheday 11/29/20 - Don't you know my tears will burn the pillow, set this place on fire 'cause I'm tired of your lies...

 

 

"All Cried Out" - Allure featuring 112

from the album Allure (1997)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 24

 

Today's song of the day comes from the female R&B vocal group Allure, who was the first (and only) big success for Mariah Carey's "boutique" (read "vanity") label Crave Records. Their debut single "Head Over Heels" reached the top-40 on both the pop and R&B charts in the spring of 1997. The second release from the record would be a cover of one of the most beloved ballads of the Latin freestyle genre of the late 1980s and early 1990s. "All Cried Out", written by the members of the production team/recording act Full Force and recorded by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, reached the American pop top ten in the autumn of 1986. Over a decade later, Carey along with producers Walter Afanasieff and Cory Rooney recreated the song for the 90s post-new-jack-swing soul era, with the vocal group 112 filling in for Bowlegged Lou and Paul Anthony for the male counterpart in the song. With Carey's then A-list clout, this remake was taken to well by radio and fans, and ended up surprassing the original on the charts...

Allure's version of "All Cried Out" returned the song to the pop top ten in the U.S. in November of 1997. The song also climbed to #9 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart as well. Internationally, the single rose all the way to #2 in New Zealand, and was a top-40 hit in Australia (#11), the UK (#12), Denmark (#16), and Iceland (#39). Despite the success, follow-up single "Last Chance" was pretty much ignored. 

Unfortunately, Mariah's Crave Records didn't last much longer, finding the group in limbo for years before MCA picked them up for a second album Sunny Days in 2001. Lead single "Enjoy Yourself" was a minor hit at #50, with the album reaching #68 on the R&B albums chart, but pop stations gave it a pass, and soon they found themselves on their own again (and a trio, losing member Linnie Belcher). Since then, Alia Gray, Akissa Mendez, and Lalisha Sanders have released two more albums independently, the most recent being 2010's Time's Up. 

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's Allure performing on a TV appearance to promote the single...

and at the Teen Summit along with Busta Rhymes afterwards...

Up tomorrow: Rock band sees a comparison.