She had “joy and pain, sunshine and rain…” but which did Donna Allen prefer in the 80’s and what happened after that?
Florida born singer Donna Allen made her ‘serious’ debut in 1986 with…”Serious” having been a cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a backing singer for three dance groups. The single made No.21 in the US and No.8 in the UK and was quickly followed by her debut album “Perfect Timing” which reached No.33 Stateside. Two further singles were released, “Satisfied” which made No.14 on the US R’n’B chart and No.92 in the UK, and “Sweet Somebody” which didn’t do anything at all.
Donna was back in 1988/89 with her second album “Heaven On Earth” which slightly bettered her debut in reaching No.28 in the US. Again, three singles were lifted from the album, the title track, “Can We Talk” and “Joy And Pain”, which made No.3 on the US R’n’B chart and No.10 on the UK singles chart in June 1989. At the same time, Donna was supporting Gloria Estefan on her world tour.
From now on, Donna seemed to have more success in the UK with the single “Real” in 1995 (UK No.34), which was used in the Sylvester Stallone film ‘The Specialist’. That same year UK dance outfit Strike used the chorus hook from “Serious” for their huge chart hit “U Sure Do” (UK No.4). Donna was back in 1997 with “Saturday” which made No.29 in the UK, her fourth and to date, her last top 40 showing there. The single “He Is The Joy” in 1999 failed to chart anywhere.
Donna made a comeback of sorts in 2010 with the single “He Got The Power” and in 2013 she entered the US celebrity version of The Voice, but being defeated at the second round by Jamaican singer Tessanne Chin, who went on to win the series. Donna continues to play select gigs across America as well as making the occasional TV appearance. She has recently celebrated thirty years of “Joy And Pain” with a number of performances.
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