Marie-Claire Cremers (born 9 May 1969), known professionally as Amber, is a Dutch-born singer, songwriter, label owner, and executive producer. She is best known for her hits "This Is Your Night", "If You Could Read My Mind", and "Sexual (Li Da Di)". In December 2016, Billboard ranked her as the 34th-most successful dance artist of all time.[1] The magazine later declared her the #7 Dance Singles Sales Artist of the 2000s.
Amber | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Marie-Claire Cremers |
| Born | 9 May 1969 Ubbergen, Netherlands |
| Origin | Netherlands |
| Genres | Eurodance, house, R&B, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | Tommy Boy Records (1996–2003), Rhino, Ada, JMCA Enterprises (2003–present) |
| Website | facebook |
Amber is extremely popular among dance club music enthusiasts and especially in the gay community. She is an outspoken LGBTQ advocate who has headlined dozens of Pride celebrations, earning her recognition as one of the "Queens of Pride".
Recently, Amber's career has experienced a resurgence. Tommy Boy Records, the singer's original label now owned by Reservoir Media, began releasing previously vaulted remixes of her songs to digital platforms worldwide in 2022. Six of 9 releases have been Top 3 hits on the iTunes US Dance Albums Chart, four going all the way to #1: "Above the Clouds (Remixes)," "Love One Another (Remixes)," "Colour of Love (Remixes)," and "If You Could Read My Mind (25th Anniversary Edition)". The success of the 2022 and 2023 re-releases of Amber's singles reignited interest in her catalog. Her "This is Your Night (1996)," "Amber (1999)," and "Naked (2002)" CDs charted on the Amazon Euro Pop and Dance Pop Bestsellers charts in Summer and Fall 2023 with "Naked" placing as high as #23.
Career
editThis section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2020) |
1996–1997: This is Your Night
editAmber's music career took off when one of her demos, "This Is Your Night", was released by Tommy Boy Records. The single was on the Hot 100 chart for one year in 1996 and 1997.[2] The song was later used in the film A Night at the Roxbury and appeared on many dance compilations.
A full-length album of the same name soon followed,[3] which spawned two additional hit singles: "Colour of Love" and the Hani remix of "One More Night".
1998–1999: Amber
editIn 1999, Amber released her self-titled second album, which garnered the most mainstream attention thus far. The album was preceded in 1998 by the single "If You Could Read My Mind", by a collaboration with Ultra Naté and Jocelyn Enriquez, which was recorded for the Miramax film 54. Amber performed the song with Naté and Enriquez in the closing scene of the movie.
The first official single from Amber was "Sexual (Li Da Di)", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 17 weeks at #1 on the Singles Sales Chart. The album also included the #1 dance hits "Above the Clouds" and "Love One Another". The former song as well as the album track "Object of Your Desire" later gained additional exposure when licensed for the television series Sex and the City.
In addition to the four American singles, German label ZYX also released "Do That To Me One More Time" and "I Found Myself in You". "Do That to Me One More Time" was recorded exclusively for the European market and issued with an accompanying video that was shot in Manhattan.
2000: The Hits Remixed
editAmber's next album, The Hits Remixed, was released in 2000. The album included remixes of all of her singles to that time, including "If You Could Read My Mind", as well as the non-album track "Taste the Tears", which she recorded for the Sex and the City soundtrack. "Taste the Tears" was written by Diane Warren and produced by Thunderpuss.
Remixes of "Love One Another" and "Taste the Tears" were commissioned to promote the album. "Love One Another", which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Play Chart, thus became the fourth overall single from Amber and the first from The Hits Remixed.
In addition to her own recordings, Amber co-wrote "Bless You Child", which Bette Midler recorded on her 2000 album Bette, with Billy Steinberg and Rick Nowels. She also sang on Nile Rodgers' charity single "We Are Family"; Amber can be seen sharing the microphone with Dionne Warwick in the music video, directed by Spike Lee.
Another milestone was achieved in 2001 when Cher covered "Love One Another" for her album Living Proof. In 2003, the song returned to #1 in Cher's recording (as a double A-side with "When the Money's Gone") and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, an accolade that Amber shared as co-songwriter.
2001–2003: Naked and departure From Tommy Boy
editAmber's third album, Naked, was released in early 2002. Musically, Amber continued the path she had started with: she continued to co-write her own songs and lyrics and attempted even more of a departure from her original Eurodance sound. Three singles were culled from the album: "Yes",
The lead single "Yes" was written by Steinberg, Nowels, and Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, who had previously penned Amber's "Above the Clouds" as well as Celine Dion's "Falling Into You". The track used lyrics from James Joyce's novel Ulysses, which were licensed from Joyce's estate; Joyce was credited as co-songwriter. Mainstream radio's reaction to "Yes" was reminiscent of the attitude towards "Sexual (Li Da Di)" two years earlier. Programmers expressed concern about the perceived sexual subtext of the track and the use of the word "breast". It was suggested[by whom?] that Amber change the lyric from "breast" to "breath", which she refused to do.
Two further singles were released from the album: "The Need to Be Naked" and "Anyway (Men Are From Mars)". The latter was Amber's first single written entirely on her own.
Amber bought out her contract with Tommy Boy Records after the promotional cycle for Naked, citing creative differences. According to Amber, she was unhappy with the direction of her career as well as how the label had handled the marketing of Naked.
2004–2005: My Kind of World
editFollowing her departure from Tommy Boy, Amber created her own label, JMCA Enterprises, through which she issued her fourth album, My Kind of World, in 2004. The album's moodier tone and more intimate songs were a departure from her previous uptempo dance music. Amber nevertheless released remixes for three singles: "You Move Me", "Voodoo", and "Just Like That".
The same year, she released Undanced, a collection of previously unreleased remixes.
2006–2011: Re-recordings and non-album singles
editAfter promotion for My Kind of World had run its course, Amber collaborated with Sweet Rains on the stand-alone single "Melt with the Sun". The single was released on December 12, 2006, and was remixed by Tracy Young, Hex Hector, and Lance Jordan among others.
In 2007, Amber re-recorded many of the tracks from her second and third albums for digital release, as well as Undanced II, which included entirely unreleased songs as well as demos and remixes. The following year, she re-released her debut single "This Is Your Night" with new remixes. She followed up by collaborating with Zelma Davis of C+C Music Factory fame on a cover of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)". Both songs were accompanied by new music videos.
In 2009, she released "I Don't Believe in Hate (Drip Drop)" after discovering the track on the MySpace page of singer/songwriter Kelly Mueller. In 2011, she issued her final new recording to date, a remake of "One More Night".
2022–present: Further reissues
editIn 2022, Tommy Boy Records, now under new ownership, began reissuing Amber's hit singles with previously unreleased remixes, including:
- "Sexual (Li Da Di)" (Plasma Trance Remix – Extended) (May 2022)
- The Hits Remixed – Extended (June 2022)
- "Above the Clouds" (July 2022)
- "Love One Another" (August 2022)
- "Colour of Love" (September 2022)
- "This Is Your Night" (Special Edition) (June 2023)
- "If You Could Read My Mind" (25th Anniversary Edition) (July 2023)
- "Being with You" (August 2023)
- "Colour of Love", Part II (September 2023)
- "One More Night" (October 2023)
- "Sexual (Li Da Di)" (February 2024)
On May 31, 2024, a 25th anniversary edition of Amber was released on CD and vinyl. The set includes the original album as well as remixes.
Discography
editAlbums
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [4] |
US Electr [5] |
US Indie [6] |
US Heat [7] | ||
| 1996 | This Is Your Night
|
44 | — | — | 49 |
| 1999 | Amber
|
— | — | 10 | 10 |
| 2002 | Naked
|
— | 7 | 20 | 20 |
| 2004 | My Kind of World
|
— | — | — | — |
Compilation albums
edit- Remixed (2000)
- Undanced (2004)
- Undanced II (2007)
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [8] |
AUS [9] |
FRA [10] |
NED [11] |
NZ [4] |
SPA [12] |
UK [13][14] |
US [2] |
US Dance [15] | ||||||
| 1996 | "This Is Your Night" | — | 11 | — | 14 | 40 | — | 143 | 24 | 10 | This Is Your Night | |||
| "Colour of Love" | — | 66 | — | — | 31 | — | — | 74 | 5 | |||||
| 1997 | "One More Night" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 58 | 9 | ||||
| 1998 | "If You Could Read My Mind" (Stars on 54: Ultra Naté, Amber, Jocelyn Enriquez) |
— | 3 | 82 | — | 6 | 10 | 23 | 52 | 3 |
|
Amber | ||
| 1999 | "Sexual (Li Da Di)" | 87 | 55 | 40 | 94 | 24 | — | 34 | 42 | 1 |
| |||
| 2000 | "Above the Clouds" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | ||||
| "Love One Another" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | |||||
| 2001 | "Yes!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | Naked | |||
| 2002 | "The Need to Be Naked" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | ||||
| "Anyway (Men Are from Mars)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 116 | — | 12 | |||||
| 2004 | "You Move Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | My Kind of World | |||
| 2005 | "Voodoo" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | ||||
| 2006 | "Just Like That" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | ||||
| "Melt with the Sun" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | Non-album single | ||||
| 2008 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (Amber and Zelma Davis) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | "I Don't Believe in Hate (Drip Drop)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
See also
editExternal links
editOfficial YouTube Official Instagram Amazon Music Spotify Apple Music
References
edit- ^ "Greatest top dance club artists". Billboard
- ^ a b "Billboard > Amber Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ Paul Verna (25 January 1997). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 59. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b "charts.org.nz > Amber in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Billboard > Amber Chart History > Top Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Billboard > Amber Chart History > Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Billboard > Amber Chart History > Heatseakers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Suchen nach "Amber"" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
- Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Amber in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 13.
- ^ "lescharts.com > Amber dans les Charst Français" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl > Amber in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ Spanish chart peaks:
- "If You Could Read My Mind": "spanishshcarts.com > Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ UK chart peaks:
- Top 100 speaks, other than "If You Could Read My Mind": "Official Charts > Amber". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- "If You Could Read My Mind": "Official Charts > Stars on 54". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- Top 200 peaks to December 2010: "Chart Log UK 1994–2010: A – Azzido Da Bass". zobbel.de. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 21. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Billboard > Amber Chart History > Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 13.