Seduction was a three girl group that came together in the late 1980s. Seduction consisted of Michelle Visage, Idalis Deleon and April Harris. The group had a short lived presence, but while they were together they created a large fan base. Their songs received regular radio play around the nation, and the girls became very popular in a very short period of time.
How did Seduction get started?
The three girls were assembled together when producers Robert Clivilles and David Cole needed a three girl group to fill the shoes for the surprising hit “Your my one and only true love.” This song was not expected to be a hit, so the rush to find girls to join Seduction could not be delayed. They needed three beautiful girls that they felt were marketable. Of course, Michelle Visage, April Harris and Idalis Deleon were the chosen three.
Top songs from Seduction
In 1989 the album “Nothing matters without you” was released and featured many of the songs that Seduction will always be known for. The first released song that became a hit was “You’re my one and only true love.” There was a bit of controversy later surrounding that song, but you can read about that in our fun facts section below. This song hit #23 on the US chart, #3 on the U.S. Dance chart and #56 on the R&B chart. The girls of Seduction once said that the video of “You’re my one and only true love” did not really show who they were, and they looked forward to their future release video of a song called “It takes two.”
The hit song “It takes two” certainly was released and powered the airwaves throughout much of 1989. The song went gold and hit #2 on the U.S. chart and made it to the #1 spot on the U.S. dance chart. “It takes two” was an international hit enjoying success globally. “Heartbeat” (#13 on the U.S. chart) and “Could this be love (#11 on the U.S. chart) also enjoyed some success.
Although Seduction did make a few more albums, there was never anything major, and the girls all went about to do their own things. Eventually, during the first few years of the 1990s, the name Seduction would be legally sold to April Harris. There was no future success though, and Seduction will always be remembered as the group composed of April, Michelle and Idalis.
Michelle Visage went on to become a famous radio personality and a judge on RuPauls Drag Race television show. Idalis Deleon became a MTV video jockey, entertainment reporter and appeared in numerous movies and television shows establishing herself as an actress. April Harris furthered her education and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree while also performing in many plays. She also stayed active in music and formed her own distinctive all girl group.
Fun facts about Seduction
Madonna was ready to sue Michelle Visage and Seduction
Madonna had Michelle Visage served with a cease and desist letter claiming that Michelle Visage was purposely copying Madonna’s look. This happened during the time when Seduction was enjoying their success, which was really only about one year. On a side note here, there is speculation out there that Madonna may have been the one that did a bit of copying. Madonna may have been the one to see Michelle Visage at a club vogueing. A few months later, Madonna’s Vogue video came out. To make matters worse, Madonna had knee pads and a high pony-tail, a look that Michelle Visage sported while vogueing. Just a coincident?
Seduction was supposed to be a four girl group
In an interview with the late Melvin Lindsey, the girls of Seduction shared how the group was supposed to have four girls. Idalis explained how the producers wanted Seduction to represent the four main groups of America. In her words that meant white, black, Puerto Rican and Oriental. Surely that came out wrong as her mouth should have stated white, black, Hispanic and Asian. To continue on with the story here , she explains that they found a lot of beauty but could not find a good Oriental singer. I know, I know. Permission to roll your eyes is granted.
The girls really didn’t sing “You’re my one and only true love”
Of course none of this was known at the time, but it would later be revealed that Martha Wash was the vocalist of “Your my one and only true love.” The song was a surprise hit for the producers, and they felt that they had to gather up three beautiful girls that they could market as Seduction. They felt that Martha Wash was too old and too overweight to market. For your information, Martha Wash later sued and won. The three girls did sing all the rest of their songs with April Harris doing most of the lead singing. Michelle Visage also did some lead singing. Idalis Deleon rarely did any lead singing and was more background vocals and dancing.