The three members of Allure began honing their skills back in high school, singing in each other's churches on weekends. Alia, Lalisha and Akissa all attended New York's famed LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. Inspired by prominent musical acts, such as Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men, and Jodeci, the girls began practicing songs in their spare time with dreams of stardom. Still modest about their potential, they decided to enter a talent show; by the end of the night they were announced the winners. "When we won," recalls Lalisha, "we knew we were on to something. We sang an original song written by one of our friends, and we beat out quite a few acts that we, ourselves, were very impressed with." When the girls walked away from that talent show, it was a sure sign that the best was yet to come. Through mutual acquaintances, the still-unsigned-and-unnamed, Allure was brought to the attention of producer Poke of the Trackmasters production team. Soon after they auditioned for him, Poke gave the group its name and signed Allure to Trackmasters in 1996. He eventually secured them a record deal with Crave Records, which was the label headed by R&B/Pop superstar Mariah Carey. Needless to say, expectations for Allure were set high. With two certified singles, ("Head Over Heels" went gold and "All Cried Out" achieved platinum status), the group attained moderate success with the release of their 1997 eponymous debut. Adds Akissa, "Back then, we weren't very involved in the making of our music, we were more just a part of the end results. It's hard to be truly into your work if you're not a true part of the evolution process." After a rather unsuccessful attempt to get off the ground, Allure was forced to call it a day. However, they never called it quits. Having spent the past couple of years elevating their talents to the levels of producing and writing, Akissa, Lalisha, and Alia are on the cusp of establishing themselves as bona fide musicians. And having gone through the storm, Allure is poised to finally get some sunshine. It should surprise no one that the members of Allure have stuck together and never let go of their collective aspirations. Whether through good times or bad, they've supported each other and helped one another pull through. They've gone from being the first act signed to Mariah Carey's Crave Records, to being the next group looking for a record deal, to now..being on the brink of a break-out year and quite possibly possessing the best-kept secret in R&B/ Soul releases. "We believe that whoever's never heard us sing before will see firsthand that we can really sing, and everyone who's familiar with us will be astonished at how much we've matured," assures Lalisha. Judging from the overall aura....the sky is the limit for Allure.
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LaLa - Alia - Akissa
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