Melissa Lefton
Melissa Lefton | |
---|---|
Born |
Melissa Janis Lefton August 13, 1975 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Occupation | Singer, songwriter, comedian |
Musical career | |
Instruments | Vocals |
Labels | Jive |
Melissa Janis Lefton (born August 13, 1975) is a singer, songwriter, and self-styled comedian.
Her debut major label album, with her punk rock band "Product", was slated to be released in 1999 but was shelved two weeks beforehand. Her second album, Melicious, for Jive Records, was slated for release on August 21, 2001 but was also never released. Melicious took on topics like pollution, date-rape, occultism and murder, with tongue in cheek. Stylus Magazine gave Melicious a positive review and referred to Lefton as the "queen of shelved teenpop".[1] AllMusic also spoke highly of the album, saying it "matches the pop sassiness of the Go-Go's and Cyndi Lauper".[2] Lefton was also once referred to as the "anti-Britney."[1] Seattle Weekly called her "cute, perky and evil incarnate."[3]
Three of Lefton's songs from 2001 were commercially released. "I Love Life" appeared on the soundtrack to The Princess Diaries. "My Hit Song" appeared on the soundtrack to On the Line and also appeared on the compilation album Cool Traxx! 3. Her cover of "He Blinded Me With Science" appeared on the soundtrack to Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Her track "Radio Rainbow" appears in the film Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge, though the film did not release an accompanying soundtrack.
In an attempt to salvage her career, the label set her up with a manager who sent her to Los Angeles to become an actress. Discouraged with the roles she was offered she returned to New York City. She spent several years working professionally as a commercial jingle writer; Lefton's vocals can be heard in the famous commercial for Pepsi by Britney Spears as well as ads for T.J. Maxx and Chevrolet.
In 2006 Lefton released an album with her band Hello on the record label Frisbie.
Discography
Studio albums
- 2001: Melicious (Unreleased)
Videos
- 2001: Behind The Muse: A Mockumentary
References
- 1 2 Moore, David (November 8, 2006). "Sugar Shock #006: Screwed: The Lost World of Shelved Teenpop". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ↑ "Melissa Lefton". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ↑ Reighley, Kurt B. (July 5, 2001). "Two Ears and a Tale: Melissa Lefton". Seattle Weekly. p. 47.
External links
- Biography for Melissa Lefton at the Internet Movie Database
- Official (self-claimed) fan site at the Wayback Machine (archive index) - The site may not have been updated since 2001.
- Melissa Lefton at AllMusic
- McDonnell, Evelyn, "Melissa Lefton - musician - Brief Article - Interview", Gale Group at FindArticles.com. April 2001.
- Melissa Lefton at Discogs