1990–92: Formation Wild Orchid began in 1990 when former
Kids Incorporated cast members
Renee Sandstrom and
Stacy Ferguson and their friend
Stefanie Ridel decided to form an all-girl group based on their shared love of music and poetry, and they originally called themselves New Rhythm Generation, or NRG. Heather Holyoak soon joined the group and they began searching for a record contract. As they wrote their songs and recorded their first single, entitled "Get Crazy – Work It," the girls also began coming up with choreographies for their music. In February 1991, NRG gave their first performance in a Los Angeles nightclub. Heather Holyoak returned to college, and was replaced by Micki Duran.
Ron Fair became the group’s A&R rep, eventually co-producing their first album. Duran left the group to work on the Nickelodeon TV show
Roundhouse, leaving Wild Orchid as a trio. In 1995, Wild Orchid recorded the theme song for the NBC sitcom
Hope & Gloria. In September 1996, the group released "At Night I Pray" as the first single from their debut album. The song peaked at number 63 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and on the R&B Singles charts at number 49 in November 1996. A music video directed by
Marcus Nispel was in heavy rotation on MTV, BET and VH1. The largely self-written album sold nearly a million units worldwide. In July, the group went on a promotional tour of
Malaysia, where the album was certified gold. In August, the group released the third and final single from the album, "Supernatural". Wild Orchid spent most of 1997 promoting their debut album, making appearances on various TV shows such as
Oddville, MTV, The RuPaul Show,
Vibe,
Mad TV,
Soul Train, and
The Jenny Jones Show, in addition to a guest appearance on the UPN sitcom
Goode Behavior. The group were frequent guest hosts on E!'s
The Gossip Show. The trio toured as an opening act for
98 Degrees and
'N Sync across the U.S. They also became spokesmodels for
Guess.
1998–99: Oxygen In May 1998, the group promotionally released "I Won't Play the Fool" and "Follow Me". That same month, they performed at "Divas Simply Singing", an annual AIDS benefit concert in Los Angeles hosted by
Sheryl Lee Ralph. In September 1998, they released their second album,
Oxygen, which included the first and only single "Be Mine". The album release coincided with the group signing a new wardrobing pact with
Guess, continuing their partnership as spokesmodels. To promote the record, they embarked on a brief promotional tour throughout the U.S., performed "Be Mine" on
Donny and Marie, and were an opening act during the
NSYNC in Concert tour. That year, Wild Orchid were featured on the song "I Will Show You Mine” on the album
Home Again by Dutch singer
Rene Froger. In October 1998, Wild Orchid debuted as hosts of the
Fox Family Channel's Saturday morning show
Great Pretenders, which featured hits lip-synced by young kids, while competing for prizes. The show lasted for four seasons through 2002. That year, the group also filmed a pilot for
Sirens, a scripted female-driven action television program, but it was not picked up; the group also continued to host on E!'s
The Gossip Show. In February 1999, the group performed "Declaration" and "Come As You Are" on the ninth season
Beverly Hills, 90210 episode "Beheading St. Valentine". In summer 1999, they opened for
Cher's
Do You Believe? Tour alongside
Cyndi Lauper, which toured 52 cities across the U.S. and Canada.
1999–2003: Fire, Ferguson's departure, and Hypnotic Between 1999 and 2000, the group worked on their intended third studio album,
Fire, which included several tracks co-written and produced by
JC Chasez of
*NSYNC. The album was initially planned for an August 2000 release according to
Billboard, but was later pushed back to June 2001. The track "It's All Your Fault", which was slated to be on
Fire, was featured in the 2000 film
What Women Want, but was not included on the film soundtrack. In May 2001, the group released the first intended single from
Fire, "Stuttering (Don't Say)", which reached #33 on the Billboard Top 40 Singles Sales chart. They also became models for Bongo Jeans. The group co-wrote the song "What's Good 4 the Goose", which appeared on pop group
Eden's Crush debut album
Popstars (2001). Wild Orchid went on a U.S. promotional tour for
Fire between May and July 2001, where they performed mainly in clubs and small venues with other teen-pop acts. On July 29, 2001, the had a concert special on
MuchUSA titled
Shoutback. The newer release date for
Fire was shifted to June 5, 2001, then eventually June 19; however their record label RCA ultimately declined to release it. On July 19, 2001, the group performed their last concert together at
Sea World in San Diego. In 2002, Wild Orchid worked on material as a duo of Sandstrom and Ridel. Their album
Hypnotic was released independently in January 2003, and reportedly sold 5000 copies online. On September 26, 2006, the greatest hits album
Talk To Me: Hits, Rarities & Gems was released by Sony BMG Special Products. == Solo efforts ==