Livin' Joy

Livin' Joy was a house dance music group from Italy that originally consisted of brothers Paolo & Gianni Visnadi (who were members of an Italian dance music project called Alex Party) and singer Janice Robinson.

In 1994, the group released their debut single "Dreamer." The song topped Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart for a week in November of that same year. It also peaked at #16 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. It wasn't until a year later that the song topped the U.K. Singles chart.

In the United States, the song was a sleeper hit on pop radio, but finally managed to peak at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100, #38 on Billboard's Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #10 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #40 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. In mid-1996, "Dreamer" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #95.

During that same year, Livin' Joy released their only album "Don't Stop Movin'" which peaked at #41 on the U.K. Albums chart.

By that time, Janice left the group and was replaced by singer Tameka Starr (born Doris Diggs). The album grouped together the hits including "Dreamer" with new vocals by Tameka (but the original version with Janice Robinson was a hidden bonus track).

The title song peaked at #5 on the U.K. Singles chart, #67 on the Billboard Hot 100, #23 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #3 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The song was also moderately successful in Australia, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden.

The third single from the album "Follow the Rules" peaked at #9 on the U.K. Singles chart. The song was also moderately successful in Australia, Finland and Sweden.

The fourth single "Where Can I Find Love" peaked at #12 on the U.K. Singles chart. The last single from the album "Deep in You" peaked at #17 on the U.K. Singles chart.

In 1999, Livin' Joy's plans for a widescale commercial release of a single called "Just for the Sex of It" were scrapped due to lack of interest, but it managed to receive a limited club run, was popular in the nightclubs and released as a single in Australia where it peaked at #76 on the charts.

After that, it seemed as if Livin' Joy faded into obscurity. In 2008, recordings from their follow-up album were leaked online which were "Love Yourself," "Lookin' Fine," "I Only Wanna Dance," "U R My Livin' Joy," "You Don't Love Me" and "Bump This."

It is unknown what the Visnadi brothers and Tameka Starr are up to today, but Janice Robinson continues to be active in the music business as a solo artist.

To see the music video for "Dreamer," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VuyQuRAsHI

To see the music video for "Don't Stop Movin'," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvUjmbxEsqs

To see the music video for "Follow the Rules," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6-HwoqVHCw

To see the music video for "Where Can I Find Love," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjk4cb8tpU

To see a fan-made video for "Deep in You," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qrdICbkbZ8

To see the music video for "Just For the Sex Of It," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVEj1WQ5ftw