Belinda Carlisle | |
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 Carlisle in 1987 | |
| Born | Belinda Jo Carlisle (1958-08-17)August 17, 1958 (age 66) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1977–present |
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| Children | 1 |
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Musical artist | |
Belinda Jo Carlisle (/ˈkɑːrlaɪl/KAR-lyle; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist ofthe Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
Raised inSouthern California, Carlisle was the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, which she co-founded in 1978. With their chart-topping debut studio albumBeauty and the Beat in 1981, the group helped popularizenew wave music in the United States. The Go-Go's have sold over seven million records worldwide.[1]
After the break-up of the Go-Go's in 1985, Carlisle went on to have a successful solo career with radio hits such as "Mad About You", "I Get Weak", "Circle in the Sand", "Leave a Light On", "Summer Rain", and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". The Go-Go's reformed in 1999; Carlisle maintained her solo career and performed with the band until its disbandment in 2022.
Carlisle's autobiography,Lips Unsealed, published in June 2010, was aNew York Times Best Seller and received favorable reviews.[2] In 1999, Carlisle was ranked No. 76 with the Go-Go's inVH1's100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.[3] In 2011, Carlisle, as a member of the Go-Go's, received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[4] She and the band were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021[5] and theCalifornia Hall of Fame in 2024.[6]
Belinda Jo Carlisle was born inHollywood,Los Angeles, California, on August 17, 1958,[7] to Harold Carlisle, a gas station employee, and his wife, Joanne (née Thompson), a homemaker.[8] Her mother met her father, who was 20 years her senior, at age 18, and Carlisle was born nine months later.[7] She was named after her mother's favorite film,Johnny Belinda (1948). Carlisle was the first of seven siblings; she has three brothers and three sisters. When she was five years old, Carlisle's father abandoned their family, and she has stated that she spent most of her childhood impoverished.[9] As a teenager, she recalled owning "like, two outfits."[10] According to Carlisle, her mother was very religious, while her father was not.[10] In an interview withSlash magazine, she described herself as a reject from aSouthern Baptist household.[11]
Her mother later married Walt Kurczeski, who Carlisle says was analcoholic[10] and with whom she had a tumultuous relationship. She took on his last name during her high school years.[12][13] The family moved frequently during her childhood, fromSimi Valley toReseda, before settling inBurbank when Carlisle was seven years old.[14] At age ten, Carlisle began to express interest in music; she has identifiedthe Beach Boys,Cat Stevens,the Stylistics, andthe Animals as being early musical influences.[15]
The family relocated again during Carlisle's adolescence, this time toThousand Oaks, California. Carlisle attended Colina Junior High School in Thousand Oaks, where she was a third-string guard on the boys' basketball team. Later, she attendedNewbury Park High School, where she was acheerleader. During her teenage years, Carlisle became rebellious: "By the time I hit fourteen, I'd gone really wild," she said. "I ran away from home, smokedpot, droppedacid ... you name it, I'd try it."[16] After high school, Carlisle worked at aHouse of Fabrics store and as aphotocopier clerk at theHilton Hotels Corporation in Los Angeles.[17] She took night classes attendingbeauty college, but dropped out in the first year.[18] At the age of 19, Carlisle left home to pursue a career in music.[7][19]
Then there was a divide in the L.A. punk scene between the acid people and the opiate people. [Darby] was always with the heroin people, and I was always with the hallucinogenic crowd. But he was a genius and an amazing lyricist. There's no question he was a genius and way ahead of his time.
Carlisle's first venture into music was in 1977 as drummer for thepunk rock band theGerms, under the name Dottie Danger.[21] She was recruited into the band byLorna Doom, whom she had met in an art class while a student atNewbury Park High School.[22][23] However, her time in the band was short owing to her contractingmononucleosis, and she never recorded or performed live with the Germs. According to Germs guitaristPat Smear, upon quitting, she introduced her friend, Donna Rhia, who became her replacement.[24] Carlisle does appear on one recording introducing the band at a 1977 performance at theWhisky a Go Go, heard on the live albumGermicide (1977).[25] Around this time, Carlisle provided some backing vocals forBlack Randy and the Metrosquad.[26]
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Soon after leaving the Germs, she co-founded the Go-Go's (originally named the Misfits) with friends and fellow musicians Margot Olavarria, Elissa Bello, andJane Wiedlin. Olavarria and Bello were soon out of the group, and the new line-up included Carlisle, Wiedlin, bassist-turned-guitaristCharlotte Caffey, guitarist-turned-bassistKathy Valentine, and drummerGina Schock.[27] All five women were largely untrained musicians, and Carlisle recalls having to use tape asfret markers during their initial songwriting: "[Charlotte] had to show us how to plug in our amps," she said.[10]
The Go-Go's went on to become one of the most successful American bands of the 1980s, helping ushernew wave music into popular American radio, and becoming the first and only all-female band that wrote their own music and played their own instruments[10] to ever achieve a No. 1 album,Beauty and the Beat (1981), which featured the hits "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed".[28] The Go-Go's recorded two more studio albums onI.R.S. Records, including 1982'sVacation, which wentgold. "Head over Heels", from their 1984 albumTalk Show, made it to No. 11.[29] In 1984, Carlisle made a foray into acting in the movieSwing Shift, appearing as a band singer alongsideGoldie Hawn andKurt Russell.[30]
The Go-Go's broke up in 1985, and Carlisle embarked on a solo career. Carlisle's debut solo studio albumBelinda was released in 1986,[31] also on I.R.S. Records.[27] This album was successful in North America and was certified Gold in the United States and Platinum in Canada. Her summer hit "Mad About You" peaked at No. 3 in the United States,[27] and charted in the Top 10 in Australia. "Mad About You" was followed by theMotown-influenced single "I Feel the Magic" written byCharlotte Caffey, and by a cover version of theFreda Payne song "Band of Gold". All three songs were included on her debut studio album. The single "Since You've Gone", co-written byLindsey Buckingham ofFleetwood Mac, was used only for promotion.Susanna Hoffs co-wrote the single "I Need a Disguise" in which she also sang backing vocals along withJane Wiedlin.Duran Duran'sAndy Taylor played guitar on some album tracks and appeared in her "Mad About You"music video.[32] During this time, Carlisle also had songs featured onmovie soundtracks, notably "In My Wildest Dreams" from the movieMannequin (1987), "Shot in the Dark" from theAnthony Michael Hall thrillerOut of Bounds (1986), as well as "Dancing in the City" from theWhoopi Goldberg movieBurglar (1987).[33]
The musical style of 1987'sHeaven on Earth eschewed the 1960s-influenced pop of Carlisle's debut studio album in favor of slickly produced 1980spower pop. It was released in the United States throughMCA, and in the United Kingdom throughVirgin Records. The album became a Top 5 bestseller in the UK and Australia, and was nominated for aGrammy Award.[16] The album's first single, "Heaven Is a Place on Earth", topped the single charts in the United States and the UK, with thedance mix of the song also topping theBillboard dance chart in the US. Thepromotional video was directed byAcademy Award–winning American actressDiane Keaton. The second single from the album was theDiane Warren–penned "I Get Weak", which peaked at No. 2 in the United States and No. 10 in the UK. The third single from the album was "Circle in the Sand", another Top 10 hit in the United States, the UK, and Germany. "World Without You" was another British hit. Following the success of the album, Carlisle embarked on theGood Heavens world tour, which sold outWembley Arena in London.[34]
Carlisle's follow-up to the success ofHeaven on Earth wasRunaway Horses, released on October 23, 1989. The album hit the Top 5 in both Australia and the UK, certifieddouble platinum in Australia andplatinum in the UK and in Canada. The first release, "Leave a Light On", peaked at No. 11 in the United States, and became another Top 5 smash in the UK, Australia and Canada.[35] That year, Carlisle also performed co-lead vocals withthe Smithereens in a duet with the band's lead vocalistPat DiNizio on the song "Blue Period". The song was featured on their third studio album11.[36]
The second American single, "Summer Rain", reached No. 30 in early 1990.[37] The song reached No. 6 in Australia. It was the final release fromRunaway Horses in the UK where it was released as the album's sixth single in December 1990, peaking at No. 23 in January 1991.[37] Three further singles were released: the title track; "La Luna", which reached the Top 10 in Switzerland and Top 20 hit in Germany and Australia; and "(We Want) The Same Thing", which reached No. 6 in the UK.[37]
In the late autumn of 1990, the Go-Go's reunited for a tour to support their first greatest hits album,Greatest, including a new recording of the cover song "Cool Jerk" (The Go-Go's original cover was featured on their 1980 European EP, with a second version being released in 1982). A notable feature of the tour was an anti-fur campaign, where the band members supported theanimal rights organizationPETA.[38]
In 1991, Carlisle released her fourth solo studio album,Live Your Life Be Free. The album marked somewhat of a return to 1960s-influenced music for Carlisle and included songs mainly written and produced byRick Nowels but also two songs co-written by Carlisle. The single "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" was accompanied by a music video inspired by theB movieAttack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). The title track, "Live Your Life Be Free", released as first single outside the United States, was a Top 20 hit single in many countries reaching No. 12 in the UK[37] and No. 13 in Australia. Subsequent releases "Half the World" and "Little Black Book" (co-written byMarcella Detroit under her real name Marcy Levy) were also hits outside the United States. The album was also a success in Europe (Top 10 in the UK and Gold certification). "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" is Carlisle's final single to enter in theBillboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 73.[39]
Still active in Europe and Australia with arecording contract at Virgin Records, her 1992 greatest hits albumThe Best of Belinda, Volume 1 reached No. 1,[37] and was certified double platinum in the UK and platinum in Australia. Carlisle's fifth solo studio album,Real, was released in 1993 on the Virgin label in the United States and in Europe. Produced without Nowels, the album was a departure from Carlisle's polished pop music formula.[40] Carlisle co-produced and co-wrote much of the album, collaborating heavily with friend and ex-Go-Go memberCharlotte Caffey. The album was Carlisle's fifth consecutive to reach the UK Top 10 peaking at No. 9.[37] It also peaked at No. 23 in Sweden. Itslead single, "Big Scary Animal", peaked at No. 12 in the UK.[37] The second single fromReal was "Lay Down Your Arms", which made the Top 30 in the UK.[37] Also in 1993, Carlisle provided guest vocals onthe Lemonheads sixth studio albumCome on Feel the Lemonheads,[41] and appeared with Crash Baptists for their songOne by One, on theirsoundtrack to the movie The Harvest.
The Go-Go's reunited in 1994 to support the retrospective double-CDReturn to the Valley of The Go-Go's, their second collection, which featured three new songs, including the single "The Whole World Lost Its Head". However, the band broke up again, soon after the promotionaltour. Carlisle returned to the recording studio, and resumed working again withRick Nowels. In 1996 she released in the UK and Australia her sixth solo studio album,A Woman & a Man, on theChrysalis label. This album, consisting of mostly relaxedadult pop, revitalized her solo career in Europe, and included several hits. The leadoff single, "In Too Deep", returned Carlisle to theUK Top 10 for the first time in six years, reaching No. 6. "Always Breaking My Heart", written and produced byPer Gessle ofRoxette, also made the UK Top 10, peaking at No. 8.[37]
The album spawned two further hits in the UK: "Love in the Key of C", and "California", which featured arrangement and backing vocals byBrian Wilson ofthe Beach Boys.[42] The album reached No. 12 in the UK,[37] and was certified gold. As a result ofA Woman & a Man's UK success, the album was released in the United States during the summer of 1997 on the smallArk21 label. In 1997, she recorded "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" for the Disney movieHercules.[43]
In 1999, Carlisle released a greatest hits album in the UK, a double-disc on the Virgin label, collectively titledA Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits. The first disc featured Carlisle's hits plus three new tracks recorded for the album: the single "All God's Children", and the songs "A Prayer for Everyone" and "Feels Like I've Known You Forever". The second disc, subtitledA Place on Earth, contained previously releasedremixes of her hits andB-sides which had not previously been released. Despite being released only seven years after her previous greatest hits compilation,The Best of Belinda, Volume 1, the collection was a success in the UK where it made the Top 20 and was certifiedgold.
In 2001, the Go-Go's reunited again and released a studio album of new material,God Bless the Go-Go's.Green Day's lead vocalistBillie Joe Armstrong co-wrote the only released single "Unforgiven".[44]God Bless the Go-Go's received mixed reviews from critics. Peter Fawthrop ofAllMusic wrote "Every bit as Go-Go's, that is, as their non-hits and less remarkable material. While the Go-Go's sound is intact, there is not a "We Got the Beat" or a "Head Over Heels" to be found. It is feasible that in this age of pop rebirth, the Go-Go's decided it was now or never ... The album doesn't attempt to update the band's sound withhip-hop moves orelectronic frippery, for which God should bless 'em, indeed. The girls' hold on the current pop world remains so strong that Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong co-writes a song ("Unforgiven") in impeccable Go-Go's drag".[45] In spite of the mixed reviews, the album charted in the USBillboard 200, peaking at number No. 57. Around the time of the Go-Go's definitive reunion tour, Carlisle appeared nude for the cover feature and a full pictorial of the August 2001 edition ofPlayboy.[46]
In 2007, Carlisle released her seventh album,Voila, which was her first full-length solo studio album in more than ten years.[47] The album was produced byJohn Reynolds and includedBrian Eno on keyboards.[48] Consisting of a mix of French pop tunes andchanson standards, including covers ofFrançoise Hardy andÉdith Piaf classics,Voila was released viaRykodisc in the UK on February 5 and in the United States the following day, February 6, 2007.[48] In early 2009, Carlisle was on theeighth season ofDancing with the Stars, paired withJonathan Roberts. She was the first star to be eliminated from the competition, on March 17.[49] In October 2009, Carlisle took over the role of Velma Von Tussle in London'sWest End production ofHairspray at theShaftesbury Theatre.[50] She remained with the show until late January 2010[51] and was replaced bySiobhán McCarthy.[52]
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Between 2011 and 2012, Carlisle embarked on a United States tour with the Go-Go's, which included concerts at theGreek Theatre in Los Angeles in August 2011 and theHollywood Bowl in September 2012. In March 2013, Carlisle released her first US single in seventeen years titled "Sun", an up-tempo pop song, which was included onICON – The Best of Belinda Carlisle, a new greatest hits compilation album. The single was also released in the United Kingdom. The song was written by Carlisle,Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's and singer-songwriterGabe Lopez. Lopez also produced the song. While the track did not chart, it received positive reviews.[53][54]
In August 2013,Edsel Records released remastered, three-disc versions ofHeaven on Earth,Runaway Horses,Live Your Life Be Free andReal. Each album comprised a remastered version of the original LP followed by the7-inch or radio edits of each single from that album, a second disc of remixes and12-inch versions of all the singles, and a DVD comprising the promotional videos for the singles. Some of singles and remixes had never previously been released on CD. In March 2014, a newGreatest Hits titledThe Collection was released containing 18 hits and one new song, "Goodbye Just Go", along with a DVD of 18 videos. The album reached No. 24 in the UK albums chart.[37]
Also in March 2014, another digitally remastered, five-disc retrospective collection titledAnthology was released. The anthology included "Dancing in the City", which had previously only been available on the Japanese LP/CD for the soundtrack to the 1987 movieI Won't Say I'm in Love which had previously only been released in 1997 as a CD single in France. It also included all three singles from her debut studio album and all four singles fromA Woman & a Man. Later in 2014, Carlisle's three other studio albums,Belinda,A Woman & a Man andVoila were re-issued by Edsel on CD, although there were a number of issues with their production.[55]
Carlisle confirmed in a radio interview in August 2015 that she had completed work on a new studio album, earmarked for release in January 2016. She commented that the music on the album would be partly inspired byKundalini yoga, which she had taken up while pregnant during 1991–1992 and of which she had qualified as a teacher since becoming sober in 2005.[56] Also in August 2015, Edsel released a box set of all the commercially released singles from Carlisle's studio albums, plus a bonus disc featuring a previously unreleased recording of "In My Wildest Dreams", which had featured in the 1987 filmMannequin. In late 2016, the Go-Go's completed an international tour withBest Coast as a supporting act, which Carlisle stated would likely be their last tour together.[20] Carlisle's eighth studio album, a selection ofGurmukhi chants titledWilder Shores, was released in September 2017.[57] Carlisle and the Go-Go's announced an 11-date reunion tour scheduled to begin in June 2020. However, in May 2020 the tour was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[58]
In May 2021, it was announced that the Go-Go's would be inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[59][60] The band performed "Vacation", "Our Lips Are Sealed", and "We Got the Beat" during the induction ceremony. Her ex-bandmate fromthe Germs,Pat Smear was also inducted on a same day as a member ofFoo Fighters.[61]
The band confirmed plans for a 2022 UK tour withBilly Idol that was supposed to start in June 2022 but was later scrapped due to Idol's health and the Go-Go's other commitments.[62] The band was forced to postpone a short West Coast tour scheduled for the first week of January 2022 due to aCOVID-19 case involving someone on the tour, saying that rescheduled dates for the shows would be announced.[63] However, in 2023, Carlisle declared that the group had disbanded.[64]
On March 16, 2023, Carlisle released "Big Big Love", the first single fromKismet, a five track EP, penned byDiane Warren. The EP, released May 17, 2023, marks her first release of English-language pop music in twenty-seven years. It charted in several countries, marking a return to the charts for Carlisle. She also announced her intention to follow up on the release with a new English-language studio album, produced byGabe Lopez.[65] In February 2024, Carlisle andThe Go-Go's were inducted into theCalifornia Hall of Fame by theGovernor of California,Gavin Newsom and his wife, First PartnerJennifer Siebel Newsom.[66]
One day I walked into the record store and I saw the cover of [the Stooges']Raw Power. And I said, "Who's that?" I bought the album and it opened up a whole new world I didn't even know existed...I started going into L.A. to see bands. Post-glitter bands.
Carlisle has been noted by critics for her dynamicsoprano vocal range.[68] While Carlisle's discography both with the Go-Go's and in her solo work has been predominately characterized as pop music, some music scholars such asGreil Marcus have noted a confluence of subtlepunk influences as well as pop rock, specifically in the Go-Go's early releases (Marcus suggests that any traces of punk influence were carried over from Carlisle's brief tenure in the Germs).[69]
Carlisle has been alternately described by critics as a "punk diva"[70] and "pop princess".[71] As a singer in the Go-Go's, Carlisle was associated with thenew wave genre, and the band was remarked by critics for their style that "inject[ed] punk with the sound of Californiasurf music."[72] Her subsequent solo releases, beginning with her self-titled solo debut,Belinda (1986), were described by critics as more polished contemporary pop music.[47]
Her early inspirations during her childhood werethe Beach Boys,Cat Stevens,the Stylistics, andthe Animals.[15] As a teenager, she sawIggy Pop on the cover ofthe Stooges'Raw Power (1973) in a record store,[26] an album which she credited as a gateway exposing her to punk and art rock acts such asthe Velvet Underground,New York Dolls,Roxy Music, and theSex Pistols.[73][74] In a 2013 interview, Carlisle stated that despite having recorded an abundance of it throughout her career, she "didn't really listen to pop music", and had recently been inspired by jazz artists such asMiles Davis.[75]
Carlisle had a two-year relationship withBill Bateman, drummer forthe Blasters, in the early 1980s. She broke up abruptly with Bateman because she had taken up withMike Marshall of theLos Angeles Dodgers. Hercocaine use was a negative influence on these relationships.[76]
In 1986, Carlisle married political operative and film producerMorgan Mason, son of actorJames Mason and actressPamela Mason. He made appearances in Carlisle's music videos "Mad About You" and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". They have one son, James Duke Mason, a prominent writer, activist and political commentator, who was born in 1992.[77] After the1994 Northridge earthquake, Carlisle and her family moved toFréjus in south-eastern France.[78] They lived between there and the U.S.[79][80] In 2017, the couple moved toBangkok, Thailand.[81] As of 2024, they now reside inMexico City, Mexico.[82]
In a 1990 interview withSpin, Carlisle stated that she was not close with her siblings or parents, saying: "I want to be close to them. I kind of feel uncomfortable. I think I feel guilty sometimes about my success in some ways."[10]
During the initial stages of her tenure with the Go-Go's, Carlisle developed a serious addiction tococaine and alcohol that went on to span 30 years.[83] Simultaneously, she had developed aneating disorder which she said stemmed from media comments regarding her appearance; her excessive cocaine use helped keep her weight down.[80] Additionally, Carlisle admitted to usingLSD,quaaludes, andMDA regularly as both a teenager and adult.[10] In a 2017 interview, she toldThe Guardian that she "couldn't believe [she wasn't] dead".[57]
In 2005, at the height of her drug abuse, Carlisle spent three days isolated in a London hotel room binging cocaine.[84] At one point, she recalled that she looked at herself in the mirror and was alarmed that she "didn't see a light or a soul" in her eyes.[85] "I sat in my room and did [cocaine] all evening. Between lines [of cocaine], I smoked cigarettes, played games on my laptop, and paced the room. I must have smoked ten packs of cigarettes in two days."[84] On the third day, Carlisle said she had a vision of herself being found dead in a hotel, accompanied by anauditory hallucination in which a loud voice informed her: "You are going to die here if you carry on like this."[86] The incident jarred Carlisle into seeking sobriety, and she says she has been sober since 2005.[86]
She toldThe Sydney Morning Herald in 2014: "I don't smoke anymore, I don't drink any more and I don't do drugs any more. I am very much into myBuddhism. I found turning 40 [in 1998] a real passage in time for me."[87] Carlisle states in her autobiographyLips Unsealed: A Memoir (2010) that she has practicedNichiren Buddhism as a member of theSoka Gakkai International since 2002,[88] and she often mentions in press interviews that she chantsNam Myōhō Renge Kyō daily.[89] She has also credited the practice with helping her maintain sobriety.[90]
Carlisle supportsLGBT rights, which she made public after her son, Duke,came out to her at age fourteen in 2006.[91]
In 2014, Carlisle co-founded Animal People Alliance,[92] a nonprofit organization based inCalcutta, India, that raises funds and trains and employs impoverished women to care for street animals. "We are teaching people that animals have feelings," says Carlisle. "How to recognize a street animal in distress. There is amiddle class developing and they still don't have proper vet care, so a lot of what we do will be educational. We're partnering with a hospital in Calcutta to teach about adoption and to get access to emergency rooms."[92]
In May 2024 Carlisle was honored with theHarvey Milk Medal, presented to her by her son and byStuart Milk, by theHarvey Milk Foundation for her gay rights advocacy.[93] In June of that same year she was awarded with the 2024 YGB Namaste Award for her animal advocacy by the organization Yoga Gives Back.[94]
Billboard Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Herself | TopBillboard 200 Artist | 91st | [95] |
| TopBillboard 200 Artist – Female | 11th | |||
| Top Hot 100 Artist | 91st | |||
| Top Hot 100 Artist – Female | 9th | |||
| Belinda | TopBillboard 200 Album | Nominated | ||
| "Mad About You" | Top Hot 100 Song | Nominated | ||
| 1987 | Herself | Top Hot 100 Artist | Nominated | [96] |
| Top Hot 100 Artist – Female | Nominated | |||
| 1988 | Herself | Top Female Artist | Nominated | [97] |
| Top Hot 100 Artist – Female | Nominated | |||
| TopBillboard 200 Artist – Female | Nominated | |||
| Top Adult Contemporary Artist | Nominated | |||
| Top Adult Contemporary Artist – Female | Nominated | |||
| "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" | Top Hot 100 Song | Nominated |
Other Awards
| Year | Awards | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | American Music Awards | Herself | Favorite Female Pop/Rock Video Artist | Nominated |
| "Mad About You" | Favorite Pop/Rock Video | Nominated | ||
| 1988 | Smash Hits Poll Winners Party | Herself | Best Female Solo Singer | Nominated |
| Worst Female Solo Singer | Nominated | |||
| Grammy Awards | "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated | |
| 1989 | Brit Awards | Herself | International Breakthrough Act | Nominated |
| 1996 | Smash Hits Poll Winners Party | Herself | Best Female Singer[98] | Nominated |
| 2016 | Independent Music Awards | "California Blues" (ft.Gabe Lopez) | Best Pop Single | Nominated |
| 2018 | Music Week Awards | Herself | Catalogue Marketing Champaign | Nominated |
Studio albums
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
