Amber | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marie-Claire Cremers (1969-05-09)9 May 1969 (age 56) Ubbergen, Netherlands |
| Origin | Netherlands |
| Genres | Eurodance,house,R&B,pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | Tommy Boy Records (1996–2003),Rhino, Ada, JMCA Enterprises (2003–present) |
| Website | facebook |
Marie-Claire Cremers (born 9 May 1969), known professionally asAmber, is a Dutch-born singer, songwriter, label owner, and executive producer. She is best known for her hits "This Is Your Night", "If You Could Read My Mind", and "Sexual (Li Da Di)". In December 2016,Billboard ranked her as the 34th-most successful dance artist of all time.[1] The magazine later declared her the #7 Dance Singles Sales Artist of the 2000s.
Recently, Amber's career has experienced a resurgence. Tommy Boy Records, the singer's original label now owned by Reservoir Media, began releasing previouslyvaulted remixes of her songs to digital platforms worldwide in 2022. Six of 9 releases have been Top 3 hits on the iTunes US Dance Albums Chart, four going all the way to #1: "Above the Clouds (Remixes)," "Love One Another (Remixes)," "Colour of Love (Remixes)," and "If You Could Read My Mind (25th Anniversary Edition)". The success of the 2022 and 2023 re-releases of Amber's singles reignited interest in her catalog. Her "This is Your Night (1996)," "Amber (1999)," and "Naked (2002)" CDs charted on the Amazon Euro Pop and Dance Pop Bestsellers charts in Summer and Fall 2023 with "Naked" placing as high as #23.
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Amber's music career took off when one of her demos, "This Is Your Night", was released byTommy Boy Records. The single was on the Hot 100 chart for one year in 1996 and 1997.[2] The song was later used in the filmA Night at the Roxbury and appeared on many dance compilations.
A full-lengthalbum of the same name soon followed,[3] which spawned two additional hit singles: "Colour of Love" and the Hani remix of "One More Night".
In 1999, Amber released her self-titledsecond album, which garnered the most mainstream attention thus far. The album was preceded in 1998 by the single "If You Could Read My Mind", both a cover version of the 1970 song of the same name by Canadian singer-songwriterGordon Lightfoot and a collaboration withUltra Naté andJocelyn Enriquez; the trio recorded and performed the track under the nameStars on 54 for the closing scene and end credits of the Miramax film54.
The first official single fromAmber was "Sexual (Li Da Di)", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 17 weeks at #1 on the Singles Sales Chart. The album also included the #1 dance hits "Above the Clouds" and "Love One Another". The former song as well as the album track "Object of Your Desire" later gained additional exposure when licensed for the television seriesSex and the City.
In addition to the four American singles, German label ZYX also released "Do That To Me One More Time" and "I Found Myself in You". "Do That to Me One More Time" was recorded exclusively for the European market and issued with an accompanying video that was shot in Manhattan.
Amber's next album,The Hits Remixed, was released in 2000. The album included remixes of all of her singles to that time, including "If You Could Read My Mind", as well as the non-album track "Taste the Tears", which she recorded for theSex and the Citysoundtrack. "Taste the Tears" was written byDiane Warren and produced byThunderpuss.
Remixes of "Love One Another" and "Taste the Tears" were commissioned to promote the album. "Love One Another", which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Play Chart, thus became the fourth overall single fromAmber and the first fromThe Hits Remixed.
In addition to her own recordings, Amber co-wrote "Bless You Child", whichBette Midler recorded on her 2000 albumBette, withBilly Steinberg andRick Nowels. She also sang onNile Rodgers' charity single "We Are Family"; Amber can be seen sharing the microphone withDionne Warwick in the music video, directed bySpike Lee.
Another milestone was achieved in 2001 whenCher covered "Love One Another" for her albumLiving Proof. In 2003, the song returned to #1 in Cher's recording (as a double A-side with "When the Money's Gone") and was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Dance Recording, an accolade that Amber shared as co-songwriter.
Amber's third album,Naked, was released in early 2002. Musically, Amber continued the path she had started with: she continued to co-write her own songs and lyrics and attempted even more of a departure from her originalEurodance sound. Three singles were culled from the album.
The lead single "Yes" was written by Steinberg, Nowels, andMarie-Claire D'Ubaldo, who had previously penned Amber's "Above the Clouds" as well asCeline Dion's "Falling Into You". The track used lyrics fromJames Joyce's novelUlysses, which were licensed from Joyce's estate; Joyce was credited as co-songwriter. Mainstream radio's reaction to "Yes" was reminiscent of the attitude towards "Sexual (Li Da Di)" two years earlier. Programmers expressed concern about the perceived sexual subtext of the track and the use of the word "breast". It was suggested[by whom?] that Amber change the lyric from "breast" to "breath", which she refused to do.
Two further singles were released from the album: "The Need to Be Naked" and "Anyway (Men Are From Mars)". The latter was Amber's first single written entirely on her own.
Amber bought out her contract with Tommy Boy Records after the promotional cycle forNaked, citing creative differences. According to Amber, she was unhappy with the direction of her career as well as how the label had handled the marketing ofNaked.
Following her departure from Tommy Boy, Amber created her own label, JMCA Enterprises, through which she issued her fourth album,My Kind of World, in 2004. The album's moodier tone and more intimate songs were a departure from her previous uptempo dance music. Amber nevertheless released remixes for three singles: "You Move Me", "Voodoo", and "Just Like That".The album featured guitaristHendrik Helmer, who contributed to several tracks on the release.
The same year, she releasedUndanced, a collection of previously unreleased remixes.
After promotion forMy Kind of World had run its course, Amber collaborated with Sweet Rains on the stand-alone single "Melt with the Sun". The single was released on December 12, 2006, and was remixed byTracy Young,Hex Hector, andLance Jordan among others.
In 2007, Amber re-recorded many of the tracks from her second and third albums for digital release, as well asUndanced II, which included entirely unreleased songs as well as demos and remixes. The following year, she re-released her debut single "This Is Your Night" with new remixes. She followed up by collaborating withZelma Davis ofC+C Music Factory fame on a cover of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)". Both songs were accompanied by new music videos.
In 2009, she released "I Don't Believe in Hate (Drip Drop)" after discovering the track on theMySpace page of singer/songwriter Kelly Mueller. In 2011, she issued her final new recording to date, a remake of "One More Night".
In 2022, Tommy Boy Records, now under new ownership, began reissuing Amber's hit singles with previously unreleased remixes, including:
On May 31, 2024, a 25th anniversary edition ofAmber was released on CD and vinyl. The set includes the original album as well as remixes.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [4] | US Electr [5] | US Indie [6] | US Heat [7] | ||
| 1996 | This Is Your Night
| 44 | — | — | 49 |
| 1999 | Amber
| — | — | 10 | 10 |
| 2002 | Naked
| — | 7 | 20 | 20 |
| 2004 | My Kind of World
| — | — | — | — |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [8] | AUS [9] | FRA [10] | NED [11] | NZ [4] | SPA [12] | UK [13][14] | US [2] | US Dance [15] | ||||||
| 1996 | "This Is Your Night" | — | 11 | — | 14 | 40 | — | 143 | 24 | 10 | This Is Your Night | |||
| "Colour of Love" | — | 66 | — | — | 31 | — | — | 74 | 5 | |||||
| 1997 | "One More Night" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 58 | 9 | ||||
| 1998 | "If You Could Read My Mind" (Stars on 54:Ultra Naté, Amber,Jocelyn Enriquez) | — | 3 | 82 | — | 6 | 10 | 23 | 52 | 3 |
| Amber | ||
| 1999 | "Sexual (Li Da Di)" | 87 | 55 | 40 | 94 | 24 | — | 34 | 42 | 1 |
| |||
| 2000 | "Above the Clouds" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | ||||
| "Love One Another" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | |||||
| 2001 | "Yes!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | Naked | |||
| 2002 | "The Need to Be Naked" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | ||||
| "Anyway (Men Are from Mars)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 116 | — | 12 | |||||
| 2004 | "You Move Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | My Kind of World | |||
| 2005 | "Voodoo" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | ||||
| 2006 | "Just Like That" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | ||||
| "Melt with the Sun" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | Non-album single | ||||
| 2008 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (Amber andZelma Davis) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | "I Don't Believe in Hate (Drip Drop)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
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