Early career (1977–1980) Vidal was a founding member of the New York City-based band
Desmond Child & Rouge. They released two well-received albums in 1979 and 1980 for
Capitol Records. They toured the country and were the musical guests on
Saturday Night Live. Their iconic hit "Our Love Is Insane" was their own particular blend of rock and
disco. The band is known for their inclusion on the soundtrack to
The Warriors in 1979, with the song "Last of an Ancient Breed". Vidal, as a member of Rouge along with Diana Grasselli and Myriam Valle, was asked by
Paul Shaffer (the band's keyboardist), to sing on a live comedy album that he was the musical director on for
Gilda Radner. While making the album, Radner and producer
Lorne Michaels decided instead to turn it into a Broadway show:
Gilda Radner – Live From New York opened at the
Winter Garden Theater in the summer of 1979. Rouge performed as musicians as well as a variety of characters on stage. They toured Boston and Chicago, where the performances were made into the film
Gilda Live directed by
Mike Nichols.
Solo career When the band parted ways, her first solo endeavor was an album with
EMI, where she worked with producer
John "Jellybean" Benitez. While working on the album, she was asked to sing the theme song for the 1984 film
Body Rock, produced by
Phil Ramone. It became an international hit, peaking at number No. 26 in Australia. Vidal toured around the world promoting it. She appeared in the 1985 horror comedy film
Once Bitten as a member of a high school band, and contributed two songs to the
Once Bitten soundtrack.
Jimmy Iovine then signed Vidal as a solo artist to
A&M Records after hearing her demo of "Do Me Right", which had been written and produced for her by Desmond. It became the first single off her 1987
self-titled debut solo album and was very popular internationally, especially in South America. The music video was directed by
David Fincher. In 1991, she sang a duet with
Desmond Child on the
Burt Bacharach/Desmond Child penned
power ballad "Obsession". At the time, Vidal was making her third solo album with British-owned
Charisma Records, but the album was never released. As a singer, songwriter and producer, Vidal has contributed to many other artists' music. Vidal contributed backup vocals to
Kiss's
Paul Stanley's solo album,
Stevie Nicks' single "
I Can't Wait" as well as a few other tracks from Nicks' solo album "
Rock a Little", and was a featured vocalist for
The Smithereens' single "
A Girl Like You". She appears on many of
Belinda Carlisle's solo albums, including the 1989 album "
Runaway Horses". Other highlights include vocals for artists such as:
Aerosmith,
Seal,
Celine Dion,
Toto,
Bette Midler and
Cher. Vidal also appears on albums from
Cat Stevens, and, most recently,
Lana Del Rey. As a songwriter, Vidal wrote the hit single
"Summer Rain" for
Belinda Carlisle, which was covered in 2004 by
Slinkee Minx, as well as the title song to Carlisle's album "
A Woman and a Man". The song "Angel", which she co-wrote (from her 1987 solo album), was also recorded by Exposé on their 1992 self-titled album. Vidal has written songs with
Desmond Child,
Billy Steinberg, and
Rick Nowels, including Ace of Base single "
Every Time it Rains" and Belinda Carlisle's "
California." As a studio vocal arranger and producer, Vidal has worked with a myriad of artists. Vidal's credits include
Carrie Underwood and the other finalists on
American Idol season 4. In May 2009, Vidal announced the release of her album
Living in Radical Radiance. ==Personal life==