#1412: Mica Paris

80s Snapshot:

• Number of songs on Hot 100: 1
• Highest peak position: 97
• Cumulative weeks on Hot 100: 4

Blending soul, R&B and dance in the vein of late-80s stars like Anita Baker and Karyn White, Mica Paris (pronounced “MEE-sha”) certainly had what it takes to have been a star on both sides of the pond. Unfortunately, her time on the U.S. charts paled in comparison to her steady and fruitful career in the U.K.

Born Michelle Wallen in London, she grew up as a church choir vocalist, and was a part of the gospel group Spirit Of Watts who released a number of recordings in the mid-80s. Her first breakthrough into secular music came at age 17 when she was a backing vocalist for Hollywood Beyond, a pop-rock group who had a Top-10 U.K. hit in 1986 with “What’s The Colour Of Money?” and saw three singles reach the U.K. charts.

Paris soon signed with 4th & Broadway Records, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Island Records. Her debut single as a solo artist was “My One Temptation”, a smooth soul track with enough tempo to sway its way onto a dancefloor playlist. Released in the U.K. in spring 1988, it quickly became a big hit, reaching #7 on the singles chart there. The single served as excellent promotion for her debut album So Good, which released in August 1988 and became a top-10 album in the U.K. (peaking at #6). Three additional singles from the album all made the Top 40 in the U.K.: “Like Dreamers Do” (featuring Courtney Pine) made #26, “Breathe Life Into Me” also hit #26, and her cover of the Roberta Flack / Donny Hathaway classic “Where Is The Love” (duetting with American singer Will Downing) peaked at #19. The album earned Paris a nomination at the 1989 BRIT Awards for Best British Female Solo Artist.

As the aforementioned Anita Baker and Karyn White were hitting the American top 10 in the fall of 1988, Paris’s work began to get noticed in the U.S. as well. She became a favorite of Billboard‘s dance music and singles review editor Bill Coleman, who gave Paris her first write-up in the magazine in its 9/3/1988 issue. In the 1988 year-end issue, Coleman put So Good at the top of his list of favorite records of 1988 and tagged Paris as a breakout candidate for 1989.

Paris made her first appearance on American airwaves in February 1989 when a U.S. radio mix of “My One Temptation” began making the rounds. With many of the other tracks similarly remixed, the U.S. release of So Good finally came in April. “My One Temptation” debuted on the Black Singles chart that same month, eventually reaching #15 on that chart. In a rare feat for songs at this time, “My One Temptation” also caught on both at easy listening radio and dance clubs: the track reached #36 on the Dance Club Songs chart and #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart. So Good debuted on the Billboard 200 albums chart in May and would reach a peak of #86.

Thanks to multi-format success, “My One Temptation” finally made its way onto the flagship Hot 100 chart in its 6/24/1989 issue, debuting at #97. Despite its numerous accolades and continued promotion in Billboard, a four-week chart run with that peak position of 97 was all the track could muster. “Breathe Life Into Me” was the only other So Good track to impact the U.S. Charts, reaching #24 on the Black Singles chart.

Paris released her sophomore album Contribution in 1990 to further U.K. success, earning a second BRIT nomination for Female Solo Artist as the album and its title track (featuring Rakim) both made the Top 40 there. “Contribution” made #39 on the R&B Singles chart (renamed in 1990 from its prior “Black Singles” name) and “South Of The River” hit #59, but neither threatened to make the Hot 100. Her only other single to reach the R&B charts in the U.S. was 1993’s “I Wanna Hold On To You” which hit #46 on that chart. While Billboard once touted her as a potential “Dionne Warwick of the 90s”, chart success in America cruelly never materialized for Mica Paris.

Throughout the 90s, Paris continued to hit the U.K. charts with regularity, ultimately logging nine Top-40 hits in her career. While still maintaining an active recording career, she also became a regular fixture on British television and radio, ranging from presenting musical documentaries to branching out into acting. In 2020, she was even cast on British mega-soap Eastenders, receiving a short but well-regarded storyline. That same year, she returned to her religious music roots with the album Gospel, which reached #1 on the U.K. R&B Albums chart. Though never as big a star in America as she once seemed poised to become, Paris nonetheless carved out a long and fruitful career in her home country that still continues to this day.

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