Expose is an all-female group that was formed in 1984. The group had a long span of hits that went on throughout all the glory days of freestyle music. Expose was there from the beginning of freestyle music to the end. Although mainly known for their freestyle dance hits, Expose also had numerous ballad hits.
They were the first group to ever have four top 10 hits from their debut album. Expose would eventually put out eight top 10 hits on the U.S. Billboard Charts (with “Seasons change” making #1.) They would have six songs make the Top 5 on the U.S. Dance Charts (with three songs making it to #1.) On the U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart, Expose would have four songs in the top 10, with two of their songs making it to the top of the chart at #1.
As one of the most successful freestyle groups ever, Expose helped pave the way for other all-girl groups that were later put together. If the group already existed, the success of Expose enticed major labels to sign these all-girl groups. Out of this would come other terrific freestyle groups such as The Cover Girls, Sweet Sensation, Seduction and Company B. In 2015, Billboard magazine named Expose as the eighth most successful female group of all time. This includes all genres of music, not just freestyle. If talking about freestyle music only, Expose would most likely get the most votes for the greatest group of all time.
Top songs from Expose
Expose entered the music industry in a fashion that most bands could only dream about. In 1985, Expose released their first song, the original version of “Point of no return” with Ale Lorenzo as the lead vocalist while Sandra “Sandee” Casanas and Laurie Miller did background vocals. The song became the #1 hit on the U.S. Dance Chart. Not bad for a first release. They also released “Exposed to love,” with Ale once again singing lead and the song making it to #12 on the U.S. Dance Chart.
The success of those two songs was enough to get the attention of Arista Records and an album was to be made. During the middle of recording the “Exposure” album, a major lineup change was then made, and all original members of Expose were no longer with the group. The new members of Expose would then be Jeanette Jurado, Gioia Bruno and Ann Curless.
Exposure album
In 1987, the new lineup of Jeanette, Gioia and Ann would have their “Exposure” album released. The album went triple platinum in the United States while ranking #16 on the U.S. Album Chart and #20 on the U.S. R&B Chart. In Canada the album went gold while making it to #61 on the Canadian Album Chart.
From the “Exposure album” would come many Expose hits. “Come go with me” was a major success as it made its way to #5 on the U.S. Billboard, #1 on the U.S. Dance Chart for two weeks and #14 on the U.S. R&B Chart. The song would stay on the U.S. Billboard Top 40 for 12 weeks. It also made in to #19 on the Canadian chart. Jeanette Jurado would sing lead vocals on “Come go with me” while Gioia and Ann would sing background vocals. There were some vocals from the original Expose members that could be heard on the track.
Two songs that fans were already familiar with were also on the “Exposure” album. “Exposed to love” was on the album with the original voices of the original Expose members. They re-recorded “Point of no return” though. Even though the original “Point of no return” led by Ale Lorenzo was a smash hit and as good as it gets, the new Expose members were to show their talents with this song. Everything went great because with this new Expose version of “Exposed to love” led by Jeanette Jurado, the song once again made its way to #1 on the U.S. Dance Chart. It also made it to #5 on the U.S. Billboard, #39 on the U.S. R&B Chart, #22 in Canada and #83 in the United Kingdom.
“Let me be the one” was another hit for Expose from the “Exposure” album. Gioia Bruno took over the lead vocals for this song as it reached #7 on the U.S. Billboard, #2 on the U.S. Dance Chart, #29 on the U.S. R&B Chart, #47 on the Canadian Chart and #76 in the United Kingdom on the British Pop Chart.
With their music being dance oriented music, Expose would also show the world that they could put out a slow love balled hit with Jeanette Jurado as the lead vocal. The song “Seasons change” was the groups biggest hit ever. “Seasons change” would make its way to #1 on the U.S. Billboard, #1 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart, #32 on the U.S. Dance Chart, #27 on the U.S. R&B Chart, #11 on the Canadian Chart and #97 in the U.K.
What you don’t know album
The “What you don’t know” album was released in 1989, and although not as successful as the “Exposure” album, there was no disappointment here as the album went gold in the United States. It reached #33 on the U.S. Album Chart, #94 on the U.S. R&B Chart and #66 on the Canadian Chart.
The song” What you don’t know” had Gioia as the lead vocalist and made its way to #8 on the U.S. Billboard, #2 on the U.S. Dance Chart, #17 in Canada, #99 in the UK, #55 on the Dutch chart and #69 in Australia. Expose had their second love balled hit song on this album titled “When I look at him” with lead vocals by Jeanette Jurado. The love song made it to #10 on the U.S. Charts, #3 on the U.S. Contemporary Chart, #18 on the Canadian Chart and #5 on the Dutch Chart.
The song “Tell me why” was another song from the album that was a hit. Gioia Bruno had the lead vocals on this song that had a message against urban gang violence and the nonsense that goes along with the lifestyle. The name of the song, “Tell me why” gives the basis of the song which is asking why all the bullcrap has to go on. Why are people killing each other for unknown reasons? Killing each other for blocks and neighborhoods that they don’t really own. The video shows the girls singing in urban areas of Los Angeles. Although different ethnic groups are shown, the majority of filming was scenes of Chicano gang members in the Dog Town gang area (which is one of the oldest gangs in Los Angeles.)
“Your baby never look good in blue” was a hit song with Jeanette Jurado on lead. The song was another love ballad that Expose seemed to be making part of their regular music. The song’s lyrics are about an individual who’s lover is rumored to have found somebody knew. “Your baby never looked good in blue” hit #17 on the U.S. Billboard, #9 on the U.S. Contemporary Chart and #17 on the Canadian Chart.
“Stop, look and listen” was also a dance hit coming in at #19 on the U.S. Dance Track. Ann Curless did the lead vocals on this song while Jeanette Jurado and Gioia Bruno did background. This song was on the soundtrack of the film “The forbidden dance.”
Expose album
Expose’s album titled “Expose” was released in 1992. Kelly Moneymaker became a new member of Expose as she would replace Gioia Bruno. Like the previous album, this album would go gold. It would rank at #135 on the U.S. Album Chart.
“I wish the phone would ring” would be the first song released featuring new Expose member Kelly Moneymaker. Lead vocals were sung by Jeanette Jurado. The song would make #28 on the U.S. Billboard Chart, #49 on the U.S. Dance Chart and #49 on the Canadian Chart. “As long as I can dream” was a song on the album that had Ann Curless as the lead vocalist. The balled made it to #55 on the U.S. Charts, #21 on the U.S. Contemporary Chart and #41 on the Canadian Chart. “In walked love” was another song with lead vocals done by Ann Curless. This song made it #84 on the U.S. Billboard Chart, #17 on the U.S. Contemporary Chart and #49 on the Canadian Chart.
The biggest hit from the “Expose” album was a love ballad with Jeanette Jurado as the lead vocalist titled “I’ll never get over you getting over me.” It peaked at #8 on the U.S. Chart while hitting the #1 spot on the U.S. Contemporary Chart. It also made it to #16 on the Canadian Chart and #75 in the UK.
Greatest hits album
In 1995, a greatest hits album was released featuring all of Expose’s top songs. There were a few songs that made late entries though. Expose had a song titled “I’ll say goodbye for the two of us” which was on the “Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home” soundtrack. Jeanette Jurado sings this beautiful balled without any background vocal singers. Although the song did not chart, it was a fan favorite and was included on the groups “Greatest hits” album that was released later that year.
The song “I specialize in love” was also a late entry on the “Greatest hits” album. This song was a cover of the 1981 recording by Sharon Brown. Expose’s version did not make the U.S. Billboard Top 100, but the song did make it to #6 on the U.S. Dance Chart.
Expose 1995 and beyond
Toward the end of 1995, Expose was released by Arista Records. It may have been because of mainstream music going in a different direction. By the mid 1990s, freestyle music was basically being put on the side for newer types of music, particularly rap and hip-hop. Mainstream radio stations that used to play freestyle were now playing rap and hip-hop. This was a tough time for all freestyle music artists even though Expose seemed to have endured the change of times better than most other freestyle artists.
The girls ended up parting ways and doing their own things. They all ended up having their own individual projects that they worked on. Jeanette and Ann would both go on to get married and have children. Kelly Moneymaker would get married and release four solo albums. During 1997, Giaia Bruno recovered from her illness, got her voice back and began singing again. She made her own solo album titled “Expose This” which was released in 2004 and had mild success. The songs were dance orientated music.
After a long hiatus, Jeanette, Ann and Kelly got back together in 2003 and performed live at Paso Robles, California. The girls wanted to continue on singing together, but for reasons of their own they were not able to do so. In 2006, Gioia Bruno returned to the group which had decided to begin performing again. It would be the first time since 1990 that the Expose line-up of Jurado, Gioia Bruno and Ann Curless would be performing again.
Expose has since participated in many Freestyle Explosion type concerts where many old school freestyle singers get together and put on a concert for freestyle fans. Kelly Moneymaker is still part of the group, and one can say a fourth member of Expose. She will replace any of the other members if they cannot perform for whatever reason. There has been at least one occasion where all four girls were on stage at the same time. In 2012, Expose released a new single called “Shine-on” with Ann Curless as the lead vocalist.
Fun facts about Expose
How did Expose get started?
The group was put together in 1984 when Lewis Martinee, a Miami disc jockey and music producer, decided that he wanted to put together an all girl group. With a talent search, the members of this new group ended up being Alejandra Lorenzo (Ale,) Sandra Casanas and Laurie Miller. At this time, the name of the group was X-Posed. Years later, there would be a new Expose line up, but Ale, Sandra and Laurie were the original Expose members and will always be credited with setting the foundation for the group.
The name change then happened, and the girls officially became known as Expose. In 1985, this three girl group would then record their first single under Pantera Records which was titled “Point of no return.” With Ale singing the lead, the song was a hit as it became the most famous and popular song at the dance clubs. This song also helped establish the sound for the up and coming genre of music called freestyle; or Latin hip-hop.
The success of “Point of no return” caught the attention of Arista Records who then signed Expose. The girls would then record “Exposed to love,” with Ale Lorenzo once again as the lead vocalist. Expose had another monster hit as the dance clubs and fans couldn’t get enough of this new group.
With the success of these two releases, Arista Records decided that it was time for Expose to record a full length album. While doing so, there became a major line-up change and the original three members of Expose were replaced with three new girls. The new Expose members were Jeanette Jurado, Gioia Bruno and Ann Curless. From here, Expose would become one of the greatest groups of all time.
Did the original members of Expose get fired?
It depends who you ask. If you ask “People’s Magazine,” two of the original girls quit and the third got fired. If you ask Lewis Martinee, he got rid of all three of the girls. It’s also been said that Arista records felt that the three original girls didn’t have the star potential that they were looking for.
Laurie Miller, an original member of Expose has stated that all of the girls made their own choice to leave the group. All of the original girls would go on to start solo careers and enjoyed mild success.
Why did Gioia Bruno leave Expose?
In late 1990, while Expose was touring, Gioia Bruno began having throat problems. It was found out that there was a benign tumor on her vocal cords, and the group had to cut their tour short. Expose took time off hoping that Gioia would recover. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen though and Gioia lost her voice. It was years before she would be able sing again.
Who was the lead singer of Expose?
From the original three Expose members, Ale Lorenzo was the lead singer of Expose. From the later three girls, Jeanette Jurado was the lead singer of Expose. With that said, Jeanette would sometimes give up the lead vocals in some songs to Gioia Bruno and Ann Curless. Having all members being able to step up as lead singers proved just how talented the group was.
Where is Expose from?
The band is originally from Florida meaning that the creation of Expose occurred in Florida. With that said, Ann Curless (excluding the original members) was the only member from Florida as she was raised in Miami Beach. Ann wasn’t born in Florida though as she was born in Albany, New York. Jeanette Jurado was born in East Los Angeles and raised in Pico Rivera, California which is only a few miles from East Los. Jeanette is Mexican-American and has positively described growing up as a Chicana in a mostly Latin neighborhood. Gioia Bruno is from New Jersey, though she was born in Italy.
What movie did Jeanette Jurando make a cameo on?
In 1995, Jeanette Jurado made a cameo in the movie “My family.” In the movie, she is on stage playing the role of Rosie Hamlin singing “Angel baby.” Jeanette actually sung her own cover of “Angel baby” and sounded great on the track.
Jeanette has spoken about her love for oldies music or what she has described as East L.A. oldies. What she is talking about is the R&B oldies from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Think groups such as Thee Midniters, Brenton Wood, The Temptations, The Platters, The Stylistics, etc.