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 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 Eternal(s) or The Eternal may refer to: * Eternity, an infinite amount of time, or a timeless state * Immortality or eternal life * God, the supreme being, creator deity, and principal object of faith in monotheism Comics, film and television * ...

'N Sync NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to Europe ...

, 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 Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...

'' 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 Ric Wake is an American record producer who has won four Grammy Awards and two Oscar Awards. During his tenure as staff producer with Sony Music Entertainment he has worked with vocalists such as Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Lucero, Taylor Da ...

. 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 "Waiting for Tonight" is a song written by Maria Christensen, Michael Garvin, and Phil Temple. It was originally recorded by Christensen's girl group 3rd Party for their debut studio album, ''Alive (3rd Party album), Alive'' (1997). Two years ...

", 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 ''Queer Eye'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the cable television network Bravo in July 2003. Originally ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'', the title was later shortened to broaden the overall scope. The series was cr ...

". 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 East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

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 Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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