Elisa Fiorillo
Encyclopedia
Elisa Fiorillo is an American
singer
.
was a classical
pianist
, who was under the guidance of Vladimir Horowitz
. Her ancestry is vast as it includes German
, Italian
, Irish
and Cherokee
. Fiorillo also has three brothers
and is married to Michael Dease.
At the age of fifteen she won the 1983 Star Search
talent show. In 1987, she was signed to Chrysalis Records
. She first performed the song "Jackie" on the Summer School
soundtrack and caught the eye of John "Jellybean" Benitez who asked her to be the lead vocalist on two songs on his 1987 album Just Visiting This Planet. One of the song, "Who Found Who", was a hit worldwide reaching the Top 20 in many countries in addition to great club success. At the same time, Fiorillo released her self-titled debut album that she promoted with the help of the pop single "How Can I Forget You" but she did not manage to get the same success.
She released her second album I Am in 1990 recorded at Prince
's Paisley Park recording studio after she had contributed, as a backing vocalist, to the soundtracks of Graffiti Bridge
and Batman. Several songs from the album were produced and written by Prince. The album scored a Top 30 hit
in the U.S. and Top 20 in Australia with "On The Way Up". Fiorillo also appeared on Prince
's album Diamonds And Pearls being the backing vocalist
on two songs.
She then mainly did back-up singing. Fiorillo sang back-up for Savage Garden
on the Superstars and Cannonballs tour and for Billie Myers
among others. As a lead singer, she has appeared on Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
, singing "Don't Be Afraid". She also did a duet with Darren Hayes titled "Right Dead Back On It".
As well as singing she has also directed
a few TV
series, such as the 2001 Mahô shôjo neko Taruto as well as the 2002 TV series Mao Dante. Fiorillo also voiced the (English
) parts of Ayamo Nakamura in the 2003 TV series Stratos 4
. She voiced a part in Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity
.
Fiorillo's 2007 album
entitled Labour Of Love is available at her website. She turned to her musical direction towards jazz
in the 2000s.
Prince performed for three consecutive nights, March 25–27, 2009 on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and Fiorillo performed as one of Prince's backing vocalists on the 25th, and 27th shows. Fiorillo became a member of Prince's band in 2009. In 2010 she is currently on a world tour with Prince playing in sold out shows across Europe.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
.
Career
Her fatherFather
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
was a classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, who was under the guidance of Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
. Her ancestry is vast as it includes German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
. Fiorillo also has three brothers
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
and is married to Michael Dease.
At the age of fifteen she won the 1983 Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
talent show. In 1987, she was signed to Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
. She first performed the song "Jackie" on the Summer School
Summer School (film)
Summer School is a 1987 film directed by Carl Reiner about the travails of a high school gym teacher who is forced to teach a remedial English class for a bunch of maladjusted goof-off students. It stars Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. The original music score was composed by...
soundtrack and caught the eye of John "Jellybean" Benitez who asked her to be the lead vocalist on two songs on his 1987 album Just Visiting This Planet. One of the song, "Who Found Who", was a hit worldwide reaching the Top 20 in many countries in addition to great club success. At the same time, Fiorillo released her self-titled debut album that she promoted with the help of the pop single "How Can I Forget You" but she did not manage to get the same success.
She released her second album I Am in 1990 recorded at Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's Paisley Park recording studio after she had contributed, as a backing vocalist, to the soundtracks of Graffiti Bridge
Graffiti Bridge (album)
Graffiti Bridge is the twelfth studio album by Prince and the soundtrack to the 1990 film Graffiti Bridge.The album was much better received in sales than the film, reaching #6 in the US and #1 in the UK. Nearly every song on the record was written by Prince despite the handful of artists...
and Batman. Several songs from the album were produced and written by Prince. The album scored a Top 30 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in the U.S. and Top 20 in Australia with "On The Way Up". Fiorillo also appeared on Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's album Diamonds And Pearls being the backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on two songs.
She then mainly did back-up singing. Fiorillo sang back-up for Savage Garden
Savage Garden
Savage Garden were an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994...
on the Superstars and Cannonballs tour and for Billie Myers
Billie Myers
Billie Myers is an English rock singer-songwriter. She is probably best known for her 1998 transatlantic hit, "Kiss the Rain".-Biography:...
among others. As a lead singer, she has appeared on Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
is an award-winning stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima. Snake Eater was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2, and was released on November 17, 2004 in North America; December 16, 2004 in Japan; March 4, 2005 in Europe; and on...
, singing "Don't Be Afraid". She also did a duet with Darren Hayes titled "Right Dead Back On It".
As well as singing she has also directed
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
a few TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, such as the 2001 Mahô shôjo neko Taruto as well as the 2002 TV series Mao Dante. Fiorillo also voiced the (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) parts of Ayamo Nakamura in the 2003 TV series Stratos 4
Stratos 4
is an anime series by Studio Fantasia and Bandai Visual, and directed by Takeshi Mori. Originally spanning a 13-episode anime TV series, which premiered across Japan between January 5, 2003 to March 30, 2003, the series was continued onto three OVA-series sequels, the first of which was released on...
. She voiced a part in Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity
Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity
Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity is a game for PlayStation 2 published in Japan by Atlus in North America by Atlus USA and in Europe by 505 Games. It is a Tactical RPG genre game with highly stylized artwork and animated cutscenes.-Gameplay:...
.
Fiorillo's 2007 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
entitled Labour Of Love is available at her website. She turned to her musical direction towards jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
in the 2000s.
Prince performed for three consecutive nights, March 25–27, 2009 on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and Fiorillo performed as one of Prince's backing vocalists on the 25th, and 27th shows. Fiorillo became a member of Prince's band in 2009. In 2010 she is currently on a world tour with Prince playing in sold out shows across Europe.
Albums
- 1987 Elisa Fiorillo (U.S. #163)
- 1990 I Am
- 1996 Nursery Rhymes
- 2001 Undecided
- 2002 Teach Me Tonight
- 2007 Labor Of Love
- 2008 Light That Shines
- 2010 Songs From the Fiorillo & Esposito Catalog
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
U.S. Dance | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "Who Found Who" (with John "Jellybean" Benitez) | 16 | 3 | 10 | Just Visiting This Planet (from John "Jellybean" Benitez) |
| 1987 | "A Little Too Good To Me" (with John "Jellybean" Benitez) | - | - | - | Just Visiting This Planet / Elisa Fiorillo |
| 1987 | "How Can I Forget You" | 60 | 47 | 50 | Elisa Fiorillo |
| 1988 | "Forgive Me For Dreaming" | 49 | - | - | Elisa Fiorillo |
| 1988 | "You Don't Know" | - | 50 | - | Elisa Fiorillo |
| 1988 | "Do Something Foolish" | - | - | - | Elisa Fiorillo |
| 1988 | "High Bright Night" (Japan only) | - | - | - | - |
| 1990 | "On The Way Up" | 27 | 31 | - | I Am |
| 1991 | "Ooh This I Need" | 90 | - | - | I Am |