On April 6, 1991 the self-titled debut album by Alanis1 was released in Canada on MCA Records. While the album went gold in Canada, it received mixed to negative reviews, with Alanis (who was 16 years old at the time) being compared unfavorably to Debbie Gibson and Paula Abdul. Nonetheless, lead single “Too Hot” and follow-up “Feel Your Love” both fared well, going into heavy rotation on Much Music and the former peaking at #14 on the Canadian singles chart. Two more singles, “Walk Away” (the music video which featured a pre-Friends Matt LeBlanc) and “Plastic” were also released from the album but failed to gain much traction.
Alanis released a follow-up album titled Now Is the Time in 1992, but while lead single “An Emotion Away” was moderately successful (peaking at #24) the album was a commercial and critical flop; subsequently, Alanis’ contract with her label expired. Then in 1995, for some reason executives at Maverick Records persuaded MCA to withdraw the albums from circulation, and they were never mentioned again.
For those interested in finding out more about Alanis, I recommend this CBC news clip from 1991, which documents a day in the life of the then 18-year-old singer/songwriter. Also of interest: numerous sources have referred to Alanis as the real-life inspiration for Robin Sparkles, a character from the TV series How I Met Your Mother.
One more thing: in spite of the thumbnail being horribly pixelated, the video is perfectly watchable (though I wouldn’t recommend doing so in full-screen mode).
Have a Great Night Thread, Avocado!