Corona (band)

Corona is an Italian Eurodance band. Initially formed by Brazilian-born singer and model Olga Maria de Souza and producer Francesco "Checco" Bontempi (a.k.a. Lee Marrow), it found commercial success with worldwide hits "The Rhythm of the Night" (1993) and "Baby Baby" (1995). After the second album[1] Bontempi left the band and was replaced by Francesco Conte and Paolo Dughero.[2]

Not to be confused with The Coronas.
Corona
Corona's lead singer Olga de Souza performing in Brazil, 2013
Background information
OriginItaly
GenresEurodance
Years active1993–present
LabelsDWA (Dance World Attack)
Websitewww.coronadance.com
MembersOlga Maria de Souza
Past membersFrancesco Bontempi
Jenny B
Sandy Chambers
Francesco Conte
Paolo Dughero

History

Beginning of the band career: 1993–1996

Corona's first single, "The Rhythm of the Night", was released in Italy in November 1993[3] on Roberto Zanetti’s DWA record label, and became an instant hit. It featured the voice of Italian singer Giovanna Bersola, better known by her stage name Jenny B. It stayed at number 1 on the Italian music chart for eight consecutive weeks. However, the song was not released elsewhere until the following year. A remixed version of the song became a number 2 hit in the United Kingdom in September 1994.[4] Like several early 1990s Eurodance/Hi-NRG songs that eventually became American hits, such as "Get Ready For This", "Twilight Zone" and "Tribal Dance" by 2 Unlimited and "Strike It Up", "I Don't Know Anybody Else" and "Everybody Everybody" by Black Box, "The Rhythm of the Night" did not become popular in the United States until well after its success had peaked in Europe. However, by spring 1995, the song was all over American radio and clubs, eventually reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was later released as a track in the 1995 debut studio album "The Rhythm of the Night". Lead vocals for the remaining songs in the album were provided by Welsh singer Sandy Chambers who would also provide vocals on the group's second album Walking On Music.

Corona followed up with the 1995 singles "Baby Baby" and "Try Me Out", with similar success. The single "I Don't Wanna Be a Star" was a moderate hit. A fifth single, "Do You Want Me", became a regional hit in discotheques in the Eastern U.S. The album, The Rhythm of the Night sold modestly, peaking at #2 on the US Top Heatseekers chart and #154 on the Billboard 200.

1996–2004

In 1996, after the demise of Discomagic Records, DWA Records reorganized its staff due to internal conflicts.[5] As a result, the production of Corona was moved from DWA Records to Bontempi's own label (World Of Music, which was also a sublabel of Discomagic).

The third album, And Me U, was released in 2001 in Brazil's Abril Music, under the name Corona X. Olga De Souza took all vocal duties on herself for the very first time. Although Bontempi co-wrote some of the material in the album, he did not participate in the production and left the band. In 2004, as a tribute to Olga Maria De Souza native Brazil, Corona sang “A cor dos teus olhos” (The Colour of Your Eyes) which was distributed by ‘5000’. Souza defined the song like an imprint of her childhood memory. It became an immediate hit. The same year “Garota Brasileira”, a song with spicy samba sounds became a hit with the Japanese public.[6]

2005–2009

Towards the end of 2005, Corona re-emerged onto the European music scene with "Back in Time", peaking at #36 in the Italian charts. It was followed by “I’ll Be Your Lady” (2006), the first song co-authored by de Souza.

2010–2016

Corona's album Y Generation (2010), reached #1 on the Italian iTunes dance album chart. The first single was “Angel”, followed by “Saturday” and “My Song”. Corona's last single, "Super Model" reached #44 on the Italian Singles Chart and was later included in a re-edition of the album called Y Generation Remixed.

Legacy

In 2013, “The Rhythm of the Night” appeared on Grand Theft Auto V in the Non-Stop-Pop FM radio station.

In 2018 Just Dance 2019 featured a cover of "The Rhythm of the Night" by Ultraclub 90 as part of its setlist.[7]

Various remixes of “The Rhythm of the Night” have been made, two of which were released on DWA Records: one by British producer duo Frisco (Frisco vs. Corona, 2008) and the other one by Italian producer Simone Bontempi, son of Corona's original producer Francesco Bontempi (Simon from Deep Divas vs. Corona, 2010). The song has become one of the biggest 90s eurodance classics worldwide, being remembered till today as one of the greatest dance floor anthems of that era.[8]

Other notable cover versions of the song were recorded by Dutch pop group Hermes House Band in 2008, and the German dance group Cascada in 2012. Bastille also released a cover titled "Of the Night" on their 2013 album All This Bad Blood.

In 2019, "The Rhythm of the Night" was sampled in The Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin's soundtrack release "Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)" from the Will Smith film of the same name.

Discography

Studio albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
AUS
[9]		 FIN
[10]		 SCO
[11]		 JAP
[12]		 SWI
[13]		 UK
[14]		 US
[15]		 US
Heat
[16]
The Rhythm of the Night 10 30 21 1 35 18 154 2
Walking on Music
  • Released: June 1998
  • Label: RTI Music (Italy)
 — — — 5 58 — 196 4
And Me U — — — 10 — — — —
Y Generation
  • Released: July 2010
  • Label: 1st Pop (Italy)
 — — — 8 59 — — —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles
Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
ITA
[18]		 AUS
[19]		 AUT
[20]		 FIN
[21]		 FRA
[22]		 GER
[23]		 NED
[24]		 SPA
[25]		 SWE
[26]		 UK
[27]		 US
[28]
1993 "The Rhythm of the Night" 1 8 6 — 3 8 5 3 28 2 11 The Rhythm of the Night
1995 "Baby Baby" 1 7 13 6 16 41 26 2 10 5 57
"Try Me Out" 2 10 20 5 11 40 45 4 17 6 —
"I Don't Wanna Be a Star" 2 109 25 6 18 69 — 1 37 22 —
1996 "Megamix" 20 161 — — 40 — — — 43 36 — Non-album single
1997 "The Power of Love" 25 — — — — — — 7 — — — Walking on Music
1998 "Walking on Music" — — — — — — — 4 — — —
"Magic Touch" — — — — — — — 3 — — —
2000 "Good Love" — — — — — — — — — — — And Me U
"Volcano" — — — — — — — — — — —
2006 "Back in Time" 36 — — 15 — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"I'll Be Your Lady" — — — — — — — — — — —
2008 "Baby I Don't Care" — — — — — — — — — — —
2009 "La Playa Del Sol" — — — — — — — — — — —
2010 "Angel" — — — — — — — — — — — Y Generation
2011 "My Song (La Lai)" — — — — — — — — — — —
2012 "Hurry Up" (featuring Mikey P.) — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
2013 "Queen of Town" — — — — — — — — — — —
2014 "Stay with Me" — — — — — — — — — — —
2015 "We Used to Love" — — — — — — — — — — —
2016 "Super Model" — — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

References
  1. http://www.eurokdj.com/search/eurodb.php?name=Bontempi_Francesco
  2. Corona on Discogs.com
  3. "Corona, biography discography, recent releases, news, featuring of eurodance group".
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 121. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. DWA Records at archive.org
  6. "Me - Corona - Olga Maria de Souza". Coronadance.it. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MH5e7Gx8wU
  8. "Corona's "Rhythm of the Night" Is the Only Song That Matters Now (Thanks to James Franco)". Consequence of Sound. 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  9. "Australian Albums". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  10. "Finnish Albums". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  11. Scottish Albums:
  12. "Ranking > CD Album" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  13. "Swiss Albums". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  14. "UK Albums". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  15. "Billboard 200: Corona". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  16. "Heatseekers Album: Corona". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  17. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1995 (page 2)". imgur.com. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  18. "Italian Singles". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  19. Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
  20. "Austrian Singles". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  21. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961" (in Finnish). Sisältää Hitin - Suomen listalevyt (Timo Pennanen). Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  22. "French Singles". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  23. German Singles:
  24. "Netherlands Singles". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  25. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  26. "Swedish Albums". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  27. "UK Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  28. "Billboard 100: Corona". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  29. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1994". Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-22.. Imgur.com.
  30. French certifications (Retrieved January 17, 2009)
  31. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Corona)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  32. "BPI Certification". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  33. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  34. https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/7787-71-1
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