Stella Soleil
Encyclopedia
Stella Katsoudas is an American pop
and rock
singer better known for stage names Stella Soleil and Sister Soleil. Katsoudas also fronts Dirty Little Rabbits
.
singing on "Electric Molecular", the Ministry
song "Useless", from the album Filth Pig
and 16 Volt
on LetdownCrush
, singing on "Swarm". In 1996 Stella self-released "Drown Me in You" via her own label "Katharsis Records".
Additional collaborations included Die Warzau
as part of a side project with Van Christie which led to a collaborative effort on the album Soularium.
When working on her record at Real World Studios
Stella wrote two tracks with Joseph Arthur
"Butterfly" and "Hanging Around" during which time she derived much inspiration from him.
Peter Gabriel wanted to use a couple of producers she was working with to program a couple of tracks for him. He also worked on a song on the Soularium album called "Blind" that she had written in Chicago with Preston Klik and Thomas Cray while in the short-live trio, Juniper. There it was, like a mantra, he sang over and over "shine like the sun, shine like the sun.”
When Stella got her record deal with Universal
, Stella flew Corey Taylor
into Real World Studios
to record a song called "Liar". When Sister Soleil toured for the Soularium album in the midwest Corey would always come to do the show live with her, ending in a fist fight on the floor, their idea of an antithesis to "Baby It's Cold Outside".
Gaining a lot of recognition in the midwest, thanks to radio D.J. Sophia John of the once 107.5 KKDM Radio Station in Des Moines, Iowa, Sister Soleil had a lot of airplay featuring top songs "Red" and "Torch". Performing at the local radio station's music festival, "The Dotfest", the band received a lot of great feedback. However, at the time of her record release there was a different scene that was more popular.
"I spent two years by myself," she said. "[The label] was really supportive that I needed to go across the Atlantic to reinvent myself and to find my voice and my writing muse."
In 2001, Stella was transformed into "Stella Soleil" (Soleil is French for sun) a Pop princess
ready to compete with Britney Spears
, Mandy Moore
, Jessica Simpson
, and Christina Aguilera
who were all very popular at the time.
The record went through many different phases. While the tracks "Imperfect" and "Stand Up" were being worked on at such well known studios in London known as Milo Studios and Air Studios the track "Pretty Young Thing" was being worked on in the States. Once the tracks were finished, at last minute Universal decided to have her do a cover song.
The first single released was Kiss Kiss the English version of "Şımarık
" originally sung by Turkish star Tarkan. The song's popularity spread after first being played on Y-100, a South Floridian radio station. "Kiss Kiss" was one of Stella's biggest hits reaching #27 on the Billboard
Top 40 charts in the US.
On May 1, 2001, Stella released her 2nd album "Dirty Little Secret". Despite the success of 'Kiss Kiss' the album barely charted at #106 on Billboard though it did reach #2 on the Heatseekers chart. However her song "Stand Up" was featured on the WB Fall Line Up as background music. Several different artists, including Holly Valance
, also worked on versions of "Kiss Kiss".
A poll was held on her official website asking what the next single should be. "Pretty Young Thing" was chosen and released to the radio though it never charted. The following year, after low chart positions and a failed follow up single, Stella and Universal parted ways.
Many fans criticized Stella's sound during this time. They considered it 'selling out' and too 'poppy'. Unlike her fellow (and younger) Pop princesses, Stella was able to write her own music and had years of experience under her belt. Stella herself has expressed dissatisfaction with this era due to her lack of creative control. In her MySpace biography, it states "Dirty Little Secret was a hit. However, Stella decided to drop the pop act in search of something she could relate to easier."
song "A Warm Place", which was intended for use on the 1999 film Stigmata
soundtrack and is now available for free download at Nine Inch Nails' official remix site and in 2005 Katsoudas recorded a duet song "Глаза" ("Eyes") with Russian artist Dolphin
and Michael Pfaff of Grimes, Iowa
, met and started to collaborate on a project they called Pfaffenclown. After initial writing sessions, they began to look for members for this new band and eventually invited Jeff Karnowski of Des Moines, Iowa
on bass and Tyler Fyhrie of the Colorado-based band Murder of Crows on guitar. In April 2007, Crahan, who had known Stella since Slipknot began performing in Des Moines in 1995, invited her to become the lead vocalist for Dirty Little Rabbits
. She accepted. Since then, Dirty Little Rabbits have performed in Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, as well as being on a month-long tour with Stone Sour
and Sydonia
in August 2007.
Stella resumed working under the moniker Sister Soleil and self-released "Eskimo" in May 2011.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer better known for stage names Stella Soleil and Sister Soleil. Katsoudas also fronts Dirty Little Rabbits
Dirty Little Rabbits
Dirty Little Rabbits is an American alternative rock band formed in 2007 in Johnston, Iowa. They are often referred to as a side project of Shawn Crahan, a member/founder of Heavy Metal band Slipknot.-History:...
.
Early life and career beginnings
Stella started in Chicago, Illinois doing back up vocals for a number of local bands including Chemlab's album East Side MilitiaEast Side Militia
East Side Militia is an album by industrial rock band Chemlab. It was re-released on November 30, 1999 with two additional songs, Vera Blue remixed by PIG and Exile on Mainline remixed by Haloblack.-Track listing:# "Exile On Mainline" – 4:33...
singing on "Electric Molecular", the Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
song "Useless", from the album Filth Pig
Filth Pig
Filth Pig is the sixth studio album by industrial metal band Ministry, released in 1996 on Warner Bros. Records. The title was allegedly derived from a statement made in the British Houses of Parliament, where bandleader Jourgensen was described as a filthy pig by MP Teddy Taylor...
and 16 Volt
16 Volt
16Volt is an industrial rock band featuring Eric Powell and Mike Peoples with various other performers added for live shows.-History:Powell became interested in music early on, and formed 16Volt in 1988. While shopping his demos several years later, he met up with a college-radio music director who...
on LetdownCrush
LetDownCrush
LetDownCrush is the third album released by 16 Volt in 1996. The album was produced by founder Eric Powell with the song writing help of Marc LaCorte.- Track listing :# Swarm - 3:23# The Dreams That Rot in Your Heart - 3:28# A Cloth Like Gauze - 4:03...
, singing on "Swarm". In 1996 Stella self-released "Drown Me in You" via her own label "Katharsis Records".
Additional collaborations included Die Warzau
Die Warzau
Die Warzau was an industrial music band formed in 1987 by performance artists Jim Marcus and Van Christie.-History:...
as part of a side project with Van Christie which led to a collaborative effort on the album Soularium.
When working on her record at Real World Studios
Real World Studios
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio in Box, Wiltshire, England associated with the Real World Records Ltd. record label founded by rock musician Peter Gabriel...
Stella wrote two tracks with Joseph Arthur
Joseph Arthur
Joseph Arthur is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. Combining poetic lyrics with a layered sonic palette, Arthur has built his reputation over the years through critically acclaimed releases and constant touring; his unique solo live performances incorporate the use of a...
"Butterfly" and "Hanging Around" during which time she derived much inspiration from him.
Peter Gabriel wanted to use a couple of producers she was working with to program a couple of tracks for him. He also worked on a song on the Soularium album called "Blind" that she had written in Chicago with Preston Klik and Thomas Cray while in the short-live trio, Juniper. There it was, like a mantra, he sang over and over "shine like the sun, shine like the sun.”
When Stella got her record deal with Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, Stella flew Corey Taylor
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...
into Real World Studios
Real World Studios
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio in Box, Wiltshire, England associated with the Real World Records Ltd. record label founded by rock musician Peter Gabriel...
to record a song called "Liar". When Sister Soleil toured for the Soularium album in the midwest Corey would always come to do the show live with her, ending in a fist fight on the floor, their idea of an antithesis to "Baby It's Cold Outside".
Gaining a lot of recognition in the midwest, thanks to radio D.J. Sophia John of the once 107.5 KKDM Radio Station in Des Moines, Iowa, Sister Soleil had a lot of airplay featuring top songs "Red" and "Torch". Performing at the local radio station's music festival, "The Dotfest", the band received a lot of great feedback. However, at the time of her record release there was a different scene that was more popular.
1997-2001: Life at Universal Records
To gain inspiration for her next album, Stella took a two year trek around the world, during which she read, wrote in journals, and practiced yoga while recording in five different countries."I spent two years by myself," she said. "[The label] was really supportive that I needed to go across the Atlantic to reinvent myself and to find my voice and my writing muse."
In 2001, Stella was transformed into "Stella Soleil" (Soleil is French for sun) a Pop princess
Pop icon
A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from...
ready to compete with Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
, Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
, and Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
who were all very popular at the time.
The record went through many different phases. While the tracks "Imperfect" and "Stand Up" were being worked on at such well known studios in London known as Milo Studios and Air Studios the track "Pretty Young Thing" was being worked on in the States. Once the tracks were finished, at last minute Universal decided to have her do a cover song.
The first single released was Kiss Kiss the English version of "Şımarık
Simarik
Şımarık is a 1997 song by Turkish singer Tarkan. Its lyrics were written by Sezen Aksu, with music credited as composed by Tarkan, Aksu and Ozan Çolakoğlu at the time. However, Tarkan later admitted in a 2006 interview that this had been done without Aksu's consent, who was the true copyright owner...
" originally sung by Turkish star Tarkan. The song's popularity spread after first being played on Y-100, a South Floridian radio station. "Kiss Kiss" was one of Stella's biggest hits reaching #27 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top 40 charts in the US.
On May 1, 2001, Stella released her 2nd album "Dirty Little Secret". Despite the success of 'Kiss Kiss' the album barely charted at #106 on Billboard though it did reach #2 on the Heatseekers chart. However her song "Stand Up" was featured on the WB Fall Line Up as background music. Several different artists, including Holly Valance
Holly Valance
Holly Valance is an Australian actress, singer, and model, who has dual United Kingdom citizenship. Valance began her career as Felicity "Flick" Scully on the Australian soap opera Neighbours...
, also worked on versions of "Kiss Kiss".
A poll was held on her official website asking what the next single should be. "Pretty Young Thing" was chosen and released to the radio though it never charted. The following year, after low chart positions and a failed follow up single, Stella and Universal parted ways.
Many fans criticized Stella's sound during this time. They considered it 'selling out' and too 'poppy'. Unlike her fellow (and younger) Pop princesses, Stella was able to write her own music and had years of experience under her belt. Stella herself has expressed dissatisfaction with this era due to her lack of creative control. In her MySpace biography, it states "Dirty Little Secret was a hit. However, Stella decided to drop the pop act in search of something she could relate to easier."
Side projects
In 1999 Stella remixed the Nine Inch NailsNine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
song "A Warm Place", which was intended for use on the 1999 film Stigmata
Stigmata (film)
Stigmata is a 1999 supernatural horror film directed by Rupert Wainwright and starring Patricia Arquette as a hairdresser from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who is afflicted with the stigmata after acquiring a rosary formerly owned by a deceased Italian priest who himself suffered from the phenomena...
soundtrack and is now available for free download at Nine Inch Nails' official remix site and in 2005 Katsoudas recorded a duet song "Глаза" ("Eyes") with Russian artist Dolphin
Dolphin (musician)
Andrey Vyacheslavovich Lysikov is a Russian poet and musician, known by his stage name Dolphin . He won the award of best artist at the 2004 MTV Russian Music Awards...
Dirty Little Rabbits
In January 2007, Shawn Crahan of SlipknotSlipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
and Michael Pfaff of Grimes, Iowa
Grimes, Iowa
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,098 people, 1,887 households, and 1,437 families residing in the city. The population density was 569.4 people per square mile . There were 1,958 housing units at an average density of 218.7 per square mile...
, met and started to collaborate on a project they called Pfaffenclown. After initial writing sessions, they began to look for members for this new band and eventually invited Jeff Karnowski of Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
on bass and Tyler Fyhrie of the Colorado-based band Murder of Crows on guitar. In April 2007, Crahan, who had known Stella since Slipknot began performing in Des Moines in 1995, invited her to become the lead vocalist for Dirty Little Rabbits
Dirty Little Rabbits
Dirty Little Rabbits is an American alternative rock band formed in 2007 in Johnston, Iowa. They are often referred to as a side project of Shawn Crahan, a member/founder of Heavy Metal band Slipknot.-History:...
. She accepted. Since then, Dirty Little Rabbits have performed in Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, as well as being on a month-long tour with Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
and Sydonia
Sydonia
Sydonia is an alternative rock band formed in 1997 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band consists of Dana Roskvist, Adam Murray, Sean Bailey and Sam Haycroft....
in August 2007.
Stella resumed working under the moniker Sister Soleil and self-released "Eskimo" in May 2011.
Albums
- Drown Me in You (EP released under the name Sister Soleil)
- Soularium (released under the name Sister Soleil)
- Dirty Little Secret (released under 'Stella Soleil')
- BreedingBreeding (EP)Breeding is the first EP by American indie band Dirty Little Rabbits. It was released on August 15, 2007, for sale exclusively through the New York-based record shop Looney Tunes.-Personnel:* Stella Katsoudas - vocals* Ty Fyhrie - guitars...
(EP released with Dirty Little Rabbits in 2007) - SimonSimon (EP)Simon is the second EP by American indie band Dirty Little Rabbits. The EP was recorded and produced at the Sound Farm Studio & Recording Environment in Jamaica, Iowa and was scheduled for release on January 20, 2009, however it was pushed back a week and released on January 27, 2009 through The...
(Second EP released with Dirty Little Rabbits in 2009) - Dirty Little RabbitsDirty Little Rabbits (album)Dirty Little Rabbits is the debut album by American indie band Dirty Little Rabbits released on July 6, 2010. "Hello" was previously released on Breeding and Simon...
(Debut album with Dirty Little Rabbits in 2010) - Eskimo (2011)
External links
- Official Site (MySpace fansite)
- Official Personal Site
- Dirty Little Rabbits' MySpace Site
- StellaSoleil.net
- [ Allmusic Stella Soleil page]
- The New Era of Stella Soleil Interview 2006
- (Stella Soleil, Sister Soleil Discography)
- (Live concert photos of WHORSE on Revenant Media)
- (Live photos of Dirty Little Rabbits on Revenant Media)