Like last year’s Jheri Curl June inductee Vesta Williams, Meli’sa Morgan was a backup singer for Chaka Khan before beginning her solo career. The influence is obvious. Morgan and Khan both have larger than life, soulful voices; even larger hair; and a connection to Prince: the title track and first hit single from Morgan’s solo debut album was a cover of “Do Me, Baby.”
But it’s the album’s third single, “Fool’s Paradise,” that I’m inducting into the hallowed halls of Jheri Curl June–mainly just because it’s a goddamn bop, and this video of Morgan lip-syncing, flanked by three dudes in half-shirts in a room full of bubbles, is what Jheri Curl June is all about: