Chelsea Korka – “Make Me Feel”
No amount of Patron could ever possibly drown out the pain inflicted upon the pop industry since the untimely disbanding of short-lived girl group sensation, The Paradiso Girls.
As the European response to the Pussycat Dolls, the quintet was responsible for a slew of smashes–from the 21st century’s greatest ode to alcohol (“Patron Tequila”), to the very good, slightly unintelligible sing-songy sass attack (“Who’s My Bitch?”), to–well, that’s all they ever officially released, actually.
Still, the group was at the precipice of a seemingly immaculate debut when they suddenly stalled, faltered and fell apart in late 2010, as confirmed by a seemingly drunken Twitter rant by smiley face emoticon enthusiast and former member, Aria Crescendo.
But as with every girl group dissolution, there’s always a few solo aspirations: Lauren Bennett has already been confirmed as the first member of the reformed Pussycat Dolls, Kelly Beckett is working on a solo project under the rather ominous alias “Fuzzy,” while Aria’s doing…I don’t know, something weird.
Last night, Paradiso ex-member Chelsea Korka–the group’s US-bred brunette and former Pussycat Dolls Present: Search For The Next Doll runner-up–launched her official solo website, along with 5 brand new tracks as part of her solo debut EP, due out “soon” on iTunes.
From Korka’s journal (which, much to my dismay, is not titled “Korka’s Korner”):
I wouldn’t know where to begin to actually explain how excited I am to finally show you all what I love and what I have been up to since Search For The Next PussyCat Doll and Paradiso Girls. For the past year I have been working hard with Big Bad University and Mark Rosas on my solo project and now the time has arrived! I just want to have everyone escape to my world and have fun!
Chelsea Korka – “My All”
Crafted alongside rising producer Mark Rosas, LMFAO‘s SkyBlu and artist collective Big Bad University, Korka’s debut is a strictly dance-pop production–from “My All” and “Lost In The Music,” two straightforward forays onto the dance floor with wild, surging beat breakdowns not unlike LMFAO’s own drunk-pop tunes, to “Make Me Feel,” a slightly ’90’s-inflected club cut which provides a sparkle of Wynter Gordon‘s With The Music I Die: “I love the way you make me feel when I’m back in your arms again/Feels like a dream, I hope it never ends,” Korka dreamily croons on top of the soaring chorus, later diving into a Brit Brit-approved dub-pop breakdown.
Further into the collection, the gritty, rapid-fire dubstep beats and reverb-heavy vocals of “Big Cheese” vaguely recall M.I.A.‘s Vicki Leekx cut “Generation N.E.Y.”, while the whistle-happy “In Love Again” marries the sunshine glow of Alexis Jordan with a touch of throwback ’80’s euphoria a la classic Whitney Houston.
While it’s true that nothing could ever properly reproduce the spark of the Paradiso Girls, there’s certainly promise in Queen Korka’s solo project: She’s a great singer and a great dancer. So who knows? With some even edgier pop production and added polish, perhaps Korka herself will have us all drunk and throwing up again someday.