Once Ultra Naté was “Free”, she “Found A Cure”! But what good did that do her career today?
Ultra Naté (yes, that is her real name!) was born in Maryland in March 1970. She released her debut album, “Blue Notes In The Basement”, aged 19 in 1989. The album featured the singles “It’s Over Now” and “Is It Love?” which just scrapped inside the ‘lower section’ UK singles chart, and “Rejoicing (I’ll Never Forget)”, which made the top ten on the US dance chart. This was where Ultra would reap her success Stateside, where, to date, she has accumulated seven number one’s and a further twelve top ten placings.
Her second album “One Woman’s Insanity” followed in 1993 and featured the singles “Joy” and “How Long” (both of which reached No.2 on the US dance chart) and “Show Me”, the song that gave Ultra her first chart topper. After changing record labels at the end of 1994, Ultra began recording her third album “Situation: Critical”, which took four years before it appeared in 1997. The lead single “Free” would ultimately become her biggest and most recognisable song, topping the US dance chart and reaching No.4 on the UK singles chart, “Free” became a massive club anthem all over the world and has been listed amongst the greatest dance songs of the 1990’s.
Ultra followed this success with “Found A Cure”, which again topped the US dance chart and made the top ten on the UK singles chart, the precursor to her album “Situation: Critical”, which was released in April 1998. Two further singes were lifted from the album, “Pressure” and “New Kind Of Medicine”, both of which charted on the US dance chart. Ultra joined forces with singers Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez for their cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s 1970 single “If You Could Read My Mind” for the film ’54’ that year, which reached No.3 on the dance chart, No.52 on the Hot 100 and No.23 on the UK singles chart.
Ultra reappeared at the beginning of the 21st century with her fourth album “Stranger Than Fiction”, which included two US dance chart No.1’s, “Desire” and “Get It Up”. Her fifth album “Grime, Silk And Thunder” was released in 2005 and featured the hits “Love’s The Only Drug”, “Automatic” and “Give It All You Got”, her seventh US dance chart topper. She released the albums “Hero Worship” in 2011 and “Black Stereo Faith” in 2017, which featured the top ten singles “Turn It Up” (No.4 2011), “Unconditional” (No.2 2014) and “I’m Too Sexy (Touch This Skin” (No.7 2017), “a spirited alt-funked out cover” of Right Said Fred’s 1991 hit!
Ultra has frequently been in demand by other producers and DJ’s for their tracks and has collaborated with the likes of Tony Moran (“Destination” 2010 No.10), Gaudino (“Bittersweet Melody” 2005) and B-Crew (“Partay Feeling” 1997, US No.22, UK No.45). Her most recent of these was with David Harness on the track “Feeling Mighty” in 2018. She has now amassed twenty top ten hits on the US dance chart including her seven number one’s and is currently on tour in clubs across America, both performing and DJ-ing, with the prospect of new music in 2020!
Stay in touch with Ultra Naté through her WEBSITE and her FACEBOOK page
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