My Passion For Her
When Jody first bursted unto the music scene in 1987, I was intrigued by her. I mean, I didn't really fall in love with her right away. But I noticed instantly that she was different, and so decided to see what she would do next. At that time, I was looking for a female music artist to be impressed by.

I know that sounds kind of weird, but I was attracted to female artist in general at the time, and one that had a special quality would have surely won my heart. There was, of course, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson. Both were quite impressive, and caught my attention, enough that I would follow them and buy their music. Yet, none of them did it.

I must admit, there was one female artist that almost won me over, VANITY, now known as Denise Matthews. The former Prince protege had all the qualities I was looking for in a female artist: sexiness, attitude, beauty, and a knack for funky alternative soul music (with the Prince sound). However, Vanity didn't produce enough material to keep me a big fan for long. Before long, I didn't even hear about her, and now and then she would do a cheezy movie role.

It was at this point that Jody Watley entered the picture. She had achieved a major hit with "Looking for A New Love", and I remember listening to Casey Cason's top 40 radio show one morning, and Jody was at the #2 spot, outdoing one of Madonna's songs. That really caught my attention, she had achieved pop success, and I was impressed !

But then she released the single, "Still A Thrill", and that was the nail in the coffin. I had fallen for her. And the video was superb: filmed in black and white, at the Paris Opera House, and it had the appeal of a previous Vanity video, "Under the Influence". And the song, of course, was very catchy.

When Jody released "Don't You Want Me", it quickly became my favorite Jody tune at the time. Before I knew it, I had become a die-hard fan. There was no going back! And I'm sure this was the experience many Jody fans had. And it's not only her music, but her whole persona. She's not conceited, very down-to-earth, and very serene. These are amazing qualities to have, especially if you are a major music celebrity. And so that's all I have to say, "Hasta la vista Baby !"

---Die Hard Jody Fan