Five female acts return to Hawaii

When R&B duo A Taste of Honey declared themselves the “Ladies of the Eighties” in 1982, it may have been a tad premature.

LADIES OF THE 80S: THE FINAL CHAPTER Where: Blaisdell Arena When: 7 p.m. Saturday Cost: $45-$120 Info: 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com

Turns out that album was their last, but it set the tone for countless women to make great dance music throughout the decade, and four such acts — plus one from the early ’90s — will perform their hits Saturday in a “Ladies of the 80s” concert at the Blaisdell Arena.

The five acts — Expose, Lisa Lisa, Sweet Sensation, Karyn White and interloper En Vogue — combined for five No. 1 singles, 22 top 10 hits and more than 13 million albums sold in the U.S.

As big as they were nationally, though, they had even more success here in Hawaii, where even lesser national hits such as Sweet Sensation’s “Take It While It’s Hot” and Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s “Can You Feel the Beat” were radio staples.

So it’s no surprise that coming to Hawaii has extra meaning to many of them.

“Hawaii holds a really special place in our heart,” said Betty LeBron of Sweet Sensation, which last performed here in 2008, sharing the bill with Lisa Lisa and Expose. “It was one of the first places that really embraced us.”

Jeanette Jurado of Expose echoes that: “We love Hawaii so much. It’s special and amazing.”

For Lisa Lisa, who still resides in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, the love for Hawaii goes beyond the aloha she feels from fans.

“The best thing about Hawaii is getting off the plane and that smell hitting you,” Lisa Lisa said. “It’s wonderful. In New York, it smells like factories. Don’t get me wrong, I love New York; but I love that about Hawaii.”

Coming to Hawaii is a reunion of sorts for those three acts, whose “paths have crossed more times than I can count,” according to LeBron, dating back to their late ’80s breakouts. Mention to one that you’re going to talk to the others and you invariably get “Oh, my god! Tell them I said hi!” in response.

There’s definitely a sisterhood among the “Ladies of the 80s.” They’ve always viewed each other’s successes as catalysts for their own further success, rather than as a threat. They root for each other.

“There is some sense of rivalry, but it’s all in fun,” LeBron said.

WHEN IT comes to Lisa Lisa, that feeling of “sisterhood” turns to awe.

Though they broke through only a few years apart, LeBron credits Lisa Lisa with blazing the trail for Sweet Sensation’s success.

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were one of the freestyle movement’s first crossover artists, though their sound was always fuller than most freestyle acts, thanks to the presence of real musicians — guitarist Alex “Spanador” Moseley and keyboardist/percussionist Mike Hughes — and the songwriting and production of Full Force.

That sound helped Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam notch back-to-back No. 1 singles — “Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion” — off the 1987 album “Spanish Fly.”

The “Ladies of the 80s” acts will perform to background tracks on Saturday, so Cult Jam will not make the trip, but Lisa Lisa said they still perform together and are working on new music.

“We remain friends … they’re like brothers,” she said of Moseley and Hughes. “We hope to get in the studio with Full Force soon.”

In the meantime, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam have kept busy with an assortment of themed shows similar to Saturday’s.

“We do doo-wop shows, the Ebony Tour, worked with UTFO and Full Force on what they call the House Party Tour,” Lisa Lisa said.

Whatever the audience, she always appreciates the reception she gets.

“I owe my whole entire career to the fans,” she said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have a stage to play on.”

BESIDES BEING a charter member of the “Ladies of the 80s” shows, Expose is used to themed shows of other types.

“Love songs, freestyle … acoustic sets,” Jurado said.

Expose started in Miami as a freestyle act with dance-floor smashes like “Come Go With Me,” but crossed over to success on adult-contemporary radio.

“‘Seasons Change’ opened a door for us,” Jurado said, speaking of the multi-format No. 1 ballad from its debut album. “We always loved harmonizing. Ballads lend themselves to that.”

Reaching the top 10 with love songs “When I Looked at Him” and “I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me” sealed the deal.

Though their music moved away from the freestyle that made them famous, they haven’t forsaken their dance hits, so expect healthy doses of both Saturday.

“What I’d like us to do eventually is a set of acoustic versions of our freestyle songs,” Jurado said.

For now, though, Expose is working on new music, with a Christmas song out last year and a new CD awaiting release.

THIS “Ladies of the 80s” show, billed as “The Final Chapter,” also is the end of the line for Sweet Sensation.

LeBron, the group’s one constant, confirms that this will be its final show.

“We’ve grown with each other from being young girls on the road to being women,” LeBron said of Jenae Colon and Belle Ritter, her bandmates since 1991.

Sweet Sensation emerged from the Bronx in 1987 with light dance fare like “Hooked On You” and “Sincerely Yours,” and their popularity peaked when their ballad “If Wishes Came True” knocked Mariah Carey’s debut single “Vision of Love” off the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

LeBron has since moved to quiet upstate New York (“I grow my own vegetables!” she exclaimed) and does fewer and fewer shows.

Fittingly, she says farewell Saturday in a city that loves her as much as any, with some of her favorite fellow hitmakers nearby.

THE ENTHUSIASM is not limited to those who have done reunion shows here before.

En Vogue and White are new to the revues, but White said this is a high point of performing again after 17 years off.

When hits like “Secret Rendezvous and the chart-topper “Romantic” stopped coming in 1995, White focused on her family (she has one daughter) and eventually worked in real estate, interior design and flipping homes.

But last year White decided to go back to her first love.

“My favorite thing to do is perform,” she said.

White has done shows in Japan and San Francisco in support of her new album (“Seize the Day”), which has her as excited as she ever has been about music, she said.

“I feel like I’m starting over, With time, I just got better, the music is better. My producer (Derek ‘DOA’ Allen) is incredible.”

That’s high praise from an artist whose first two albums were produced by the top production teams of that era — L.A. Reid & Babyface and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

She doesn’t have record company money behind her this time, but she values the freedom that gives her. (“No more quotas or pressure to sell a certain number of records.”)

And the singer who helped empower females nearly 25 years ago with the hit “Superwoman” feels she is doing it again by coming back to music.

“Hopefully people will see me singing again, and it will inspire them to do what they love, to say ‘I can do that, too.’”

WHY “LADIES of the 80s”? This series has gone five years strong in Hawaii, but there’s been no sign of a “Men of the 80s” show.

OK, internal rhyme is the obvious reason, but Cindy Herron of En Vogue has another theory, based on 20-plus years of concerts.

“Ticket sales are driven by women, and they drag their men along,” she said with a laugh. “But women are the main money spenders.”

Herron is dragging her man along on this trip (as well as their two boys and two girls). But odds are he’s coming willingly, considering that Herron’s husband is Glenn Braggs, who played baseball at the University of Hawaii in the early ’80s and went on to play in the major leagues for seven years.

En Vogue broke out in 1990, so they are honorary members of the “Ladies of the 80s.”

With more than 5 million records sold, it’s easy to see why an exception was made for the trio, even if the lineup it brings will not be the one from its heyday.

Original member Dawn Robinson left the group, and Maxine Jones is unavailable. Fellow founders Herron and Terry Ellis will be joined by Rhona Bennett, a former member who has performed with the group when needed.

Fortunately, En Vogue has never been about just one singer, so Herron and Ellis will fill in on Robinson’s and Jones’ leads, Herron said, and fans will still get all the hits, which includes three songs that fell one rung short of the top of the charts.

En Vogue is second only to Creedence Clearwater Revival in number of songs that peaked at No. 2 without having a No. 1 hit, but Herron said that doesn’t bother them.

“We always wanted our songs to hit,” she said, “but the fans don’t pay much attention to what’s No. 1. (People in the industry) do, but fans don’t know what hits No. 1. They just know what they like.”

With all due respect to Herron, 22 top 10 hits say the fans like these “Ladies of the 80s” plenty.

SIGNATURE SONGS

EN VOGUE

“My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” (1992), “Hold On” (1990), “Don’t Let Go (Love)” (1996), “Giving Something He Can Feel” (1992)

EXPOSE

“Seasons Change” (1988), “Come Go With Me” (1987), “I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me” (1993)

LISA LISA

“I Wonder If I Take You Home” (1985), “All Cried Out” (1986), “Head to Toe” (1987), “Lost in Emotion” (1987)

SWEET SENSATION

“If Wishes Came True” (1990), “Hooked On You” (1987), “Sincerely Yours” (1989)

KARYN WHITE

“Superwoman” (1988), “Romantic” (1991), “The Way You Love Me” (1988), “Secret Rendezvous” (1989)

– Sjarif Goldstein / sgoldstein@staradvertiser.com