Everyone gets songs stuck in their heads that just won’t go away. They sneak into your subconscious. They are epic earworms that you find yourself humming uncontrollably, singing in the shower, or tapping the beat to with your foot or ballpoint pen when you should be working. Sometimes they even keep you awake at night. Whether they are current hits, one-hit wonders, movie soundtrack gems, holiday favorites, or songs from your youth, their catchy vocals, riffs, hooks, and choruses seem to linger for days.
Here, those songs find a home, no matter the genre. Here, those epic earworms are revisited, explained, and celebrated. Here, you may find the song that haunts you tomorrow. Here is today’s unescapable song of the day…and the story behind it.
Today’s Epic Earworm: Martika — “Toy Soldiers”
When Martika’s self-titled debut album came out in 1988, the young singer and actress was just 19 years old. Her time on the television program “Kids Incorporated” had gotten her noticed by Columbia Records, and the young talent made the most of her opportunity. The album was certified gold in the United States and platinum or multi-platinum in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
A large part of the record’s success came from the second single, “Toy Soldiers.” Martika wrote the song with her producer about a friend who was battling drug addiction. The song spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the Top Ten in ten other countries.
Sadly, Martika got burned out on life in the public eye after her second album and left the music industry in 1992. Years later, she eventually returned and began recording with her husband Michael Mozart, as the duo Oppera, but that, too, was short-lived. Today, Marta “Martika” Marrero is semi-retired and concentrating on married life.
The Kids In The Choir
Most people familiar with “Toy Soldiers” knew the story behind the lyrics. What most fans didn’t know, though, was the story behind the song’s backing vocals. What sounds like a children’s choir backing Martika on the song is no ordinary group of “kids.”
Included in that group were five castmates from Martika’s time on “Kids Incorporated.” Those five castmates were Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson (Black-Eyed Peas, Wild Orchid, solo singer), Jennifer Love Hewitt (“I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “9-1-1”), Rahsaan Patterson (singer and songwriter for Tevin Campbell, Brandy, and others), Devyn Puett (“American Masters”), and Renee Sands (singer with Fergie in the girl group Wild Orchid). That was a star-studded choir of teenagers!
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