3rd Party was an American three-member

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

group that released one album in 1997. They are best known for their ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charting dance hits "Can U Feel It" and "Love Is Alive".

Background

Lead singer Maria Christensen was a songwriter before the band, singing since the age of 5 and writing songs since she was 10 years old. She made her performing debut in 1988 as one half of the Latin

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

duo Sequal. She has written songs for

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ge ...

, Eternal, 'N Sync, and

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

.
"Maria Christensen Wishes You Happy Gay Pride!" - interview by Jed Ryan She had released a self-titled solo album in 1993. Backup singers Karmine Alers and Elaine Borja filled out the racially diverse group. The group formed in the wake of the mid-90s

movement, following such acts as the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vi ...

. The group released its album '' Alive'' in 1997. The album was recorded on Long Island,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

,
CD Universe overview of ''Alive'' and produced by Rick Wake. Four of the album's songs were written by Christensen, and two singles were released from it. "Can U Feel It" ( #43[] Allmusic charts) was their highest-charting song. "Love is Alive" (Billboard Hot 100, #61) was a remake of the song by Gary Wright from his album ''The Dream Weaver''. The album also contained the song " Waiting for Tonight", which was covered by Jennifer Lopez in 1999 for her debut album, '' On the 6''. The remake charted at #8.

After the band

Maria Christensen

Maria Christensen independently released her second solo album, ''Beautiful Now'', in 2004. In contrast to 3rd Party's uptempo dance music, Christensen's solo music is more soulful and pensive, in the style of

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the ...

. She sang the song "Someone to Someone" on the show " Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". Song-writing proceeds from Lopez's remake of "Waiting for Tonight" allowed her the freedom to release her own album.

Karmine Alers

Karmine Alers was raised in Spanish Harlem and has been acting and performing since she was a teenager.
Karmine Alers' official Web site During college, she was a member of several bands.

CD Baby CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that " ...

: ''For You...'' After leaving 3rd Party, she auditioned for the musical '' Rent'' on Broadway in 2001. Like her older sister, Yassmin Alers, she took the role of Mimi. She released the solo album ''For You...'' in 2005, which was produced by Jimmy Greco. Like ''Beautiful Now'', it is also soulful and melodic, and showed no trace of Alers's 3rd Party past. A single, "It Matters to Me", was released with a music video. In 2015 she returned to Broadway in '' On Your Feet!'', and she has appeared in national tours of the same musicals."Karmine Alers"
Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on October 25, 2022

References

{{Authority control American girl groups American dance music groups American Eurodance groups