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Don’t miss your chance to dance under the disco mirror ball and sail the Music & Style Icon, Legend Grammy Winner Jody Watley February 21-26. She will deliver a show that will take you on her unique and incredible ongoing music journey. Disco and BEYOND!
Start planning your outfits and give yourself the music vacation you deserve. Plan it. Book It.
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Celebrating a milestone 🎶✨
Released March 27, 1989 — the platinum-certified second solo album “Larger Than Life” from Jody Watley.
A defining project of the late ’80s, the album delivered three Billboard Top 10 hits, with Watley contributing once again to the song narratives co-writing 9 of the 10 songs produced by Andre Cymone:
“Real Love” (Gold-certified), also her second R&B #1, “Friends,” and “Everything.”
“Real Love” — directed by Oscar-winner David Fincher— became one of MTV’s most nominated videos, pushing visual storytelling and fashion-forward aesthetics while cementing Watley as a true music and style trailblazer.
The groundbreaking “Friends” featuring Eric B & Rakim helped pioneer the fusion of R&B, hip-hop, pop, and dance (Source: Okayplayer), becoming one of the first crossover collaborations to hit the Top 10 across multiple charts. The video also featured voguing, street dance, with a cast of true New York club kids and sub culture icons such as Connie Fleming. The album also showcased emotional depth with the timeless ballad “Everything.”
Album Cover: Steven Meisel
Art Direction & Design: Lynn Robb | Jody Watley
Recognized among the greatest visuals in music history, Larger Than Life is featured in 1000 Record Covers by Taschen.
Stream Larger Than Life and explore the ongoing music discography of Jody Watley across your favorite digital platforms.
About the Artist:
Jody Watley is a GRAMMY® Award–winning Best New Artist and 3x nominee, multi-platinum singer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, and style icon.
Renowned as one of the most defining female artists of the 80s and 90s with Top 10 hits including the iconic “Looking for a New Love,” “Don’t You Want Me,” “Friends” ft. Eric B. & Rakim, and the gold-certified “Real Love,” she has built a genre-spanning, critically acclaimed catalog across R&B, Pop, Dance, Jazz, Electronica, 80s, 90s, 2000s-Present including 2025’s #1 iTunes Dance Electronic Album “Let’s Dance Vol.1”
To date she has 6 Hot 100 Top 10 Singles, 13 Number 1 Dance Singles, 2 Number 1 R&B Singles, 15 Top 40 Singles, 3 Number 1 Dance Electronic Albums in the 2000s, numerous UK Soul Chart Top 5 singles in her ongoing independently released music.
An award-winning songwriter (BMI Medal of Honor, Women’s Songwriters Hall of Fame), Watley is ranked by Billboard among the Top 25 Dance Artists of All Time and Top 65 Hot 100 Female Artists of All Time. Her honors include Black Music Honors Crossover Icon and the 2022 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award + more. A former member of the group Shalamar (1977-1983), Jody Watley was a part of the Band Aid #1 UK charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas.
She was the first artist to brand herself and release a #1 Fitness Video to her music, in 1989, the first artist and black woman to appear on the cover of a Japanese fashion magazine, with the launch of SPUR that same year.
Celebrated as a fashion and cultural trailblazer, Watley has features in GAP, VOGUE, Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, People Magazine (Most Beautiful Issue) and more.
A pioneer at the intersection of music and style. Her multi-decade, multi-generational career continues to evolve since her early Pop R&B era with MCA (1986-1994) through progressing into her independent label Avitone era 1995 into the present.
A soul music revolution of love through music is in progress with Jody Watley & SRL.
Read what Poptastic Confessions has to say about the hot new single “The Passion” : Poptastic Confessions
“DANCER” featuring Luminodisco from the current release “PARADISE” has remained a stand out favorite according to my hardcore fans. I was inspired to write it for the spirit of the dancer that lives in all of us, it’s about confidence. “Clock this confidence – this ‘aint no coincidence – baby I’ve got style..I can be ruler of the world, queen of technology — doctor, lawyer, 9 to 5’er..don’t matter I was born to shine..” Shine on no matter what you do and what your job is in life. Get it : Here at iTunes (also available at other digital outlets), available worldwide.
#TBT #Classic “Everything” cover art from my 1989 second solo album ‘Larger Than Life’ my commerical Pop/R&B era. #4 Hot 100, #3 R&B, #11 Adult Contemporary – beautifully written by Gardner Cole and composer James Newton-Howard produced by Andre Cymone, with me at the helm as executive producer. I still love singing it – 25 years later, I’m proud to say that about all of my songs. I never wanted to sing anything back then or now – that would make me feel regret and not age well. The song remains a crowd pleaser. The cover is simple and understated but still very chic and timeless. I’m wearing a custom made burnt orange velvet dress that I designed and was tailored by Sylvia Payne-Loveless the oldest sister of Andre Cymone who used to sew for me from time to time back then.
The dress:
– the dress, also worn in my Meisel sessions.
Jody Watley “Everything” Official Video, my daughter make a brief onstage appearance which is one of my favorite moments in this live tour documentary style, day in the life on the road film: http://youtu.be/gD0GJrm8lYE
Photography: Victoria Pearson
Art Direction: Lynn Robb and Jody Watley
We saw this jeep totally by accident while scouting locations on a photo session for my tour book in 1989. It was too good to pass up. The shot only took a few minutes, renegade style and we were out of there.
All self styled – my vision was for the tour book to be all about a fashion editorial aesthetic and nothing like any tour book photo’s I’d seen with my own sense of style and individuality captured. Although not included in the current Gaultier exhibition, I was an early supporter of his designs as seen in a lot of my early photo’s and video’s, and as early as 1984 discovering him while living in London. Although this was decades ago, it’s totally timeless; picture Rihanna, Solange or one of today’s young fashionable artists – would still work.
#tbt #throwbackthursday #classic #jodywatley
Photography: Victoria Pearson. Make-up: Beth Katz . Art Direction: Lynn Robb and Jody Watley. Styling: Jody Watley. Downtown Los Angeles, 1989 in Gaultier
Photography: Victoria Pearson, Makeup: Paul Starr, Design: Lynn Robb and Jody Watley
I love all of my songs, including this one so I chose this as today’s #tbt #throwbackthursday spotlight on my Facebook and Twitter pages. Thank you Gardner Cole and James Newton Howard for writing such a great song, I feel like it came from my own heart as one I’d write myself! –Wiki: “Everything” is the third single from my second album, Larger than Life. “Everything” was my third consecutive top-ten Pop and R&B single from that album in the U.S., peaking at #4 and #3, respectively.” Produced by Andre Cymone, Executive Producer Jody Watley. Official Jody Watley “Everything” Video:
“Not everyone fits in with the mainstream. Some are born to be different. They are misfits, individualists, outsiders, and eccentrics that let their freak flags fly. Yet they have found a way to thrive on their own terms, transcending barriers of categorical concepts and popular expectations.” Read the article: Wax Poetics
Buy the issue on newsstands now.
Issue 57 Wax Poetics featuring cover girls Janelle Monae and Jody Watley
Photo: Jody Watley from Soul Train: The Music, The Dance, The Style of a Generation by Questlove, Soul Train Holdings LLC
I’d changed clothes after performing my first solo #1 single “Looking For A New Love” to perform “Still a Thrill.” I loved that funky top hat which I’d purchased in Japan – my style always represents what I’m feeling. I still rock denim and ankle boots but wear them differently..the bra tops, not so much!