American actress and singer Alyssa Milano has recorded songs for four studio albums, two compilation albums, and an exercise video. She first came to prominence within the entertainment industry for her portrayal of Samantha Micelli in the television sitcom Who's the Boss?, which premiered in September 1984.[1] While acting on the television series, she recorded and released music exclusively in Japan through the Japanese record label Pony Canyon, Inc.[1][2] Pony Canyon, Inc. signed Milano to a five-album deal based on her appearance and personality, which was a common practice by Japanese record labels in their efforts to produce Japanese idols.[3][4] The label also choose Milano due to her popularity in Asia from her role as Jenny Matrix in the 1985 film Commando.[4][5] Throughout her musical career, Milano had little involvement with the songwriting and production of her albums.[4] She did not express any interest in releasing her music in the United States, and said: "A lot of actors who release albums here are laughed at, I'm not interested in crossing over. I'd much rather have it released where it's appreciated than laughed at."[1][6]
![A close-up of a light-skinned woman with long brown hair swept over her shoulder; she is seen smiling.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Alyssa_Milano.jpg/200px-Alyssa_Milano.jpg)
Prior to the release of her first album, Milano appeared in Japanese advertisements for pasta and chocolate milk; the jingles from the advertisements were written by producer Joey Carbone, and were later included on Milano's albums and released as singles.[5] Milano's debut studio album Look in My Heart was released in March 1989,[7] and peaked at number 68 on the Oricon Albums Chart.[4] Milano's music incorporated prominent elements of bubblegum pop and dance-pop.[2][3] Carbone was responsible for much of the album's songwriting and production, and Milano's father also contributed as co-writer of three songs.[8] Prior to the release of her debut album, Milano released an exercise video, titled Alyssa Milano's Teen Steam, and recorded its theme song along with a rap.[9][10] Milano's rap was written by producers Jason Hervey and Ryan Lambert.[10] Milano's second studio album Alyssa was released later that year,[11] peaked at number 15 on the Oricon Albums Chart and was certified platinum.[4] A majority of the songwriters and producers from Look in My Heart handled the creation of its follow-up album,[12] for which Milano earned her first songwriting credit as co-writer of "We Need the Children".[12][13]
The following year, Milano released her first compilation album, The Best in the World: Non-Stop Special Remix/Alyssa's Singles,[14] which included one new song, "The Best in the World".[15] In 1991, Milano contributed to the charity single "Voices That Care" as one of the choir members.[16] The record was followed by Milano's third studio album Locked Inside a Dream in May 1991.[17] The album featured Milano singing and rapping about more mature subject matter.[18] Milano again collaborated with her father and Carbone during its production.[19] Production duo Jamey Jaz and Ren Toppano also served as songwriters and producers on the record,[18][19] with their work being compared to the collaborations between Oliver Leiber and Paula Abdul.[18] Milano's fourth studio album Do You See Me? was released in May 1992,[20] and was the first record of hers not produced by Carbone.[21] The album was described as having a more "mellow, sophisticated" style, and incorporating "slightly funkier twists" and "pop/hip-hop" sounds.[22] Milano's final record was her second compilation album, The Very Best of Alyssa Milano, released in January 1995, which included one new song, "I Love When We're Together".[23] In May 2013, Milano said that she had not returned to Japan since the end of her music career.[1]
Songs
editContents |
---|
B · C · D · E · G · H · I · K · L · N · O · P · R · S · T · V · W · Y |
† | Indicates single release |
Song | Artist(s) | Writer(s) | Album(s) | Year | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Be My Baby/Tell Me That You Love Me – Medley" | Alyssa Milano | Jeff Barry Phil Spector Ellie Greenwich Joey Carbone Tom Milano |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"The Best in the World" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
The Best in the World: Non-Stop Special Remix/Alyssa's Singles | 1990 | [15] |
"Born to Love" | Alyssa Milano | Fonny De Wulf | Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"Can You Feel It" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Tom Milano |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"Care for Kids" † | Children Of The World Project | — | We Are The World, We Are The Children | 1985 | [24][25] |
"Closer to You" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jaz Ren Toppano Alyssa Milano |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"Count on Me" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"Da Doo Ron Ron/Magic in Your Eyes – Medley" | Alyssa Milano | Jeff Barry Phil Spector Ellie Greenwich Joey Carbone Tom Milano |
Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"Destiny" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone | Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"Do You See Me?" † | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Charles M. Inouye |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"Every Single Kiss" | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Charles M. Inouye |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"Everything You Do" | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Charles M. Inouye |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"Give a Little Kindness" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Tom Milano |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"Happiness" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Tom Milano Mark Davis |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"If Only" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jaz Ren Toppano |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"I Had a Dream" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"I Just Wanna Be Loved" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"I Love When We're Together" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
The Very Best of Alyssa Milano | 1995 | [23] |
"I Want Your Number" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jaz Ren Toppano |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"Kimi Wa Sunshine Boy" | Alyssa Milano | Brian Richy Mark Davis |
Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"Let My Love Show You" | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Gary Mallaber |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"Locked Inside a Dream" | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Charles M. Inouye |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"Look in My Heart" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"New Sensation" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Jeff Carruthers |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"No Secret" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Jeff Carruthers Mike Watson |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"One Last Dance" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jez Ren Toppano Viqui Denman |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"Puppet on a String" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jez Ren Toppano |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"Rap" | Alyssa Milano | Jason Hervey Ryan Lambert |
Alyssa Milano's Teen Steam | 1988 | [10] |
"Say a Prayer Tonight" | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Charles M. Inouye |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"Somewhere in Jamaica" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jez Ren Toppano |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"Step by Step" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"Straight to the Top" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"Talk to Me" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jez Ren Toppano |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"Teen Steam Theme" | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Sonny Gordon |
Alyssa Milano's Teen Steam | 1988 | [10] |
"Through It All" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jaz Ren Toppano Bobby Huff |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
"Voices That Care" † | Voices That Care | David Foster Linda Thompson Peter Cetera |
Voices That Care | 1991 | [16] |
"Waiting for My Star" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Tom Milano Mark Davis |
Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"Waiting for Your Love" | Alyssa Milano | Tom Milano Charles M. Inouye |
Do You See Me? | 1992 | [21] |
"We Are The World" † | Children Of The World Project | Michael Jackson Lionel Richie |
We Are The World, We Are The Children | 1985 | [24][25] |
"We Need the Children" | Alyssa Milano | Alyssa Milano Joey Carbone Tom Milano |
Alyssa | 1989 | [12] |
"What a Feeling" † | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Dennis Belfield |
Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"You Lied" | Alyssa Milano | Joey Carbone Tom Milano |
Look in My Heart | 1989 | [8] |
"Your Lips Don't Lie" | Alyssa Milano | Jamey Jaz Ren Toppano Ron Freeland |
Locked Inside a Dream | 1991 | [19] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Alyssa Milano Embarrassed By Teen Singing Career, She Was The 'Japanese David Hasselhoff'". The Huffington Post. AOL. May 23, 2013. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016.
- ^ a b Kantor, Justin. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016.
- ^ a b "What Happened to Alyssa Milano – What's She Doing Now". The Gazette Review. February 22, 2016. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Barthel, Mike (March 14, 2013). "The Japanese Pop Album Alyssa Milano Made As A Teenager". The Awl. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Markman, Jon D. (April 26, 1995). "Made in the U.S.A. : Joey Carbone Packages Acts the Japanese Love. His Secret? Think Cute". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012.
- ^ Arkush, Michael (December 29, 1991). "Goodby to Samantha : Alyssa Milano will leave her long-running 'Who's the Boss?' TV sitcom role : in the spring, and at 19 she is eager to embark on a new artistic path". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016.
- ^ "ルック・イン・マイ・ハート" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Look in My Heart (Media notes). Alyssa Milano. Pony Canyon. 1989. D25Y0273.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Shewfelt, Raechal Leone (September 8, 2015). "Alyssa Milano Remembers Her Totally Awesome '80s Workout Video 'Teen Steam'". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Elgood, Rick (Director), Woffinden, Howard (Director) (September 8, 1988). Teen Steam (Video tape). United States: Canadian Video Factory. ISBN 9781558750296.
- ^ "アリッサ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Alyssa (Media notes). Alyssa Milano. Pony Canyon. 1989. PCCY-00026.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Kantor, Justin. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ "ザ・ベスト・イン・ザ・ワールド~ノンストップ・スペシャル・リミックス" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b The Best in the World: Non-Stop Special Remix/Alyssa's Singles (Media notes). Alyssa Milano. Pony Canyon. 1990. PCCY-00059.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Voices That Care (Media notes). Various Artists. Giant. 1991. 0-40054, 9 40054-0.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "ロックト・インサイド・ア・ドリーム" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c Kantor, Justin. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Locked Inside a Dream (Media notes). Alyssa Milano. Pony Canyon. 1991. PCCY-00204.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "愛を素直に" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Do You See Me? (Media notes). Alyssa Milano. Pony Canyon. 1992. PCCY-00368.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Kantor, Justin. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016.
- ^ a b The Very Best of Alyssa Milano (Media notes). Alyssa Milano. Pony Canyon. 1995.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b We Are The World (Media notes). Children Of The World Project. SMS Records. 1985. SP07-13.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Melendrez, Sonny. "The Children of The World Project". SonnyRadio.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013.