Vitamin C (singer)

"Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick" redirects here. For the Australian actress, see Colleen Anne Fitzpatrick.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C at the premiere of Get Over It in 2001
Born
Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick

(1969-07-20) July 20, 1969 (age 55)
Old Bridge, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma materNew York University (BA)
Occupations
  • Record executive
  • singer-songwriter
  • record producer
  • dancer
  • actress
  • executive
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • bass
  • keyboards
Years active1987–present
Labels

Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick (born July 20, 1969),[1] known professionally as Vitamin C,[2] is an American record executive, former singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. She began her career as an Ivory soap baby and child actress, appearing in John Waters' film Hairspray (1988), and continued to appear in minor roles in films before launching a music career with the alternative rock band Eve's Plum in 1991.

In 1999, under the stage name Vitamin C, Fitzpatrick embarked on a solo career, releasing her eponymous debut album Vitamin C (1999), which was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Singles from the record include "Graduation (Friends Forever)" and the Top 20 single "Smile". Her second album, More (2001) spawned the singles "As Long as You're Loving Me" and "The Itch".

She appeared in the horror film Dracula 2000 (2000), and made cameo appearances in Get Over It (2001) and Scary Movie 2 (2001). She also appeared as a panelist on the spoof talent series The WB's Superstar USA in 2004. She was ranked No. 76 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001.[3]

In March 2012, Fitzpatrick was appointed as Vice President of Music at Nickelodeon.[4] Since early 2019, Fitzpatrick has served as a music executive for Netflix.[5]

Early life

Fitzpatrick was born in Old Bridge, New Jersey,[6] on July 20, 1969. She is the youngest of three children born to Vita, a legal secretary, and Gerard Fitzpatrick, a communications executive.[7][8] She is of Irish descent.[9] She graduated from Cedar Ridge High School in 1987 (now called Old Bridge High School),[10][11] where she was a classmate of Junot Díaz.[12] During her high school years she was a dancer who danced professionally in several TV ads, and also starred in her high school musical.[13] She later attended New York University, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.[12][13]

Career

Hairspray and Eve's Plum (1987–1997)

Fitzpatrick performing with Eve's Plum in 1997

In 1988, Fitzpatrick made her screen debut under her real name in the John Waters feature film Hairspray as Amber Von Tussle, the bratty on-screen daughter of co-stars Debbie Harry and Sonny Bono.[14]

She made her first musical outing as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Eve's Plum, named after The Brady Bunch actress Eve Plumb, formed in 1991.[15] She formed the band in 1991 with Michael Kotch, whom she met while studying at New York University.[16] A year later the group signed a record deal with Epic Records in 1992, releasing two albums and seven singles between 1993 and 1995.[17]

Vitamin C and More (1998–2001)

In 1998, Fitzpatrick launched a pop music solo project as "Vitamin C" and signed an album deal with Elektra Records.[7] Released in 1999, her debut solo album Vitamin C peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 29[18] and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[19] The album's first single, "Smile", peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100[20] and was certified Gold by the RIAA.[21] The second single from the album, "Me, Myself & I", failed to chart. The third single "Graduation (Friends Forever)" was more successful, peaking at number 12 on the Top 40 Mainstream Chart and number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100.[22] In Australia, the song peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Charts[23] and was certified Platinum.[24] It peaked at number 4 in the Republic of Ireland.[25]

Fitzpatrick at a record signing event in 2001.

In 1999, she wrote and recorded "Vacation", which became the opening theme to the short film Pikachu's Vacation (from Pokémon: The First Movie). Vitamin C's cover version of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons song "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" was used in promotional material for the American television network The WB during the 1999–2000 television season.[26] In 2000, Mattel produced a Vitamin C doll which was retailed at approximately $16, and a Vitamin C lipstick shade was made by Tommy Hilfiger.[27][28]

In late 2000, Vitamin C released "The Itch", the first single from her second album More. The song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 45.[29] "The Itch" had more success in Australia where it peaked at number 6 on the ARIA Charts and was certified Platinum.[30][31] That year, she played the role of Lucy Westerman in the horror film Dracula 2000 and appeared as herself in the spoof film Da Hip Hop Witch.[32] More was released on January 31, 2001 and debuted at number 122 on the Billboard 200.[33] "As Long As You're Loving Me" was released as the second single from the album, but failed to chart in the US. Subsequently, Vitamin C was dropped from Elektra Records.

In the February 2001 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, Vitamin C was voted as one of the "Fun and Fearless Females" of the year.[34][35] That same year Vitamin C was ranked No. 76 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001.[3] The 2001 video game EA Sports Triple Play featured Vitamin C as an animated baseball player.[36]

"Last Nite" and later activities (2002–2009)

Vitamin C signed with V2 Records in 2001 and released the single "Last Nite" in July 2003. It was a cover version of the hit song by The Strokes and sampled Blondie's "Heart of Glass".[37] The single failed to chart in the US, and peaked at number 70 on the UK Singles Chart.[38][39]

In 2005, Vitamin C's cover of "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday was included on the soundtrack for the Disney movie Sky High.[40] The same year, she wrote the song "We Are Gonna Happen" for Emma Roberts on the Unfabulous and More album.[41]

In 2006, she assembled a Radio Disney-aimed group of four teenagers named The Truth Squad. Vitamin C wrote and produced a number of song's for the group's debut album, which included a cover of "Graduation (Friends Forever)". The album was released on April 3, 2007, and made a brief appearance on the Top Kid Audio Chart, where it peaked at No. 23.[42] During this time, Vitamin C was reportedly working on two new albums, a children's world-music album and a pop album, neither of which were released.[37][43]

In 2006, Fitzpatrick created a production company and worked with various pop singers such as Miley Cyrus.[44] In 2008, she wrote the single "Make Some Noise" for Krystal Meyers.[45] In 2009, she wrote "Let's Get Crazy" for Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana.[46] Vitamin C also wrote the song "One and the Same", a duet recorded by Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez for the Disney Channel Original Movie Princess Protection Program.[47]

Music executive (2012–present)

On March 21, 2012, Nickelodeon named Fitzpatrick as VP of Music. She oversaw all music for Nickelodeon and its sister cable channels.[4][48][49] In 2016, she appeared as a featured artist on Information Society's cover of "Don't You Want Me"; her vocals on the release were recorded in 2001.[50]

In 2019, she joined Netflix as an executive in charge of "music creative production, spectacle and events".[44] In December 2020, Fitzpatrick released a rerecorded and rewritten version of "Graduation" titled "Graduation 2020 (Worst Year Ever)", with the lyrics changed to reflect on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.[51][52]

Discography

Main article: Vitamin C discography

Studio albums

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Hairspray Amber Von Tussle Credited as Colleen Fitzpatrick
1995 Higher Learning Festival Singer
Crinoline Head Credited as Colleen Fitzpatrick
1997 St. Patrick's Day Cassie
1999 My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception Paprika
2000 Da Hip Hop Witch Herself
Dracula 2000 Lucy Westerman Credited as Colleen Fitzpatrick
2001 Get Over It Herself
Scary Movie 2 Herself (voice)
Rock Star Guitarist in Crowd Outside Mansion
2005 Happy Is Not Hard to Be Chloe Credited as Colleen Fitzpatrick
2007 Along the Way Elizabeth McCaffrey

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1988 The Equalizer Susan / Beverly Heat 2 episodes
2000 The Amanda Show Herself
2001 Turn Ben Stein On 1 episodes
The Brothers Garcia
MADTv 2 episodes
Hollywood Squares 12 episodes
2002 Celebrity Bootcamp Television film
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Cathy Winters 1 episode
Haunted Bliss
2004 The WB's Superstar USA Herself Regular panelist
2008 Your Mama Don't Dance

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 17–23". The Associated Press. July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2023. Singer Vitamin C is 53
  2. ^ Room 2010, p. 496.
  3. ^ a b "Maxim Magazine Hot 100 Women of 2001". May 2001. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Rys, Dan (March 21, 2012). "Colleen Fitzpatrick, a.k.a. Pop Star Vitamin C, Named VP of Music at Nickelodeon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  5. ^ "You'll Never Guess What Pop Star Vitamin C Is Up to Now". E! Online. October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Whitburn 2009, p. 270.
  7. ^ a b "Pop and Circumstance". People.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  8. ^ "Colleen Fitzpatrick Biography". Filmreference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Dougherty, Tara (March 10, 2010). "Fitzpatrick". Irish Central. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "Jersey Girl Scores Major Gig For Nickelodeon", WSJO; accessed November 7, 2017. "Colleen grew up just over the Monmouth County border in Old Bridge (the same town that produced Brian O'Halloran – Dante of Clerks and Clerks II fame), graduated from Cedar Ridge High School in 1987, and about a year after her graduation found herself on the big screen playing Amber Von Tussle in the 1988 hit movie Hairspray."
  11. ^ Benning, Erin. "`Graduation' blues – Vitamin C shares memories of senior year", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 8, 2000.
  12. ^ a b "Ben Stein with Vitamin C & G Love". Turn Ben Stein On. April 5, 2001. Comedy Central. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Pop and Circumstance". People.com. May 22, 2000. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  14. ^ "Hairspray". Rotten Tomatoes. June 19, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "Elektra's Vitamin C Gives Pop a Twist". Billboard. July 17, 1999. p. 12.
  16. ^ Billboard bio on Vitamin C
  17. ^ John Bush. "Eve's Plum | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  18. ^ "Vitamin C Music News & Info". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  19. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – July 14, 2014". RIAA. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  20. ^ Huey, Steve. "Vitamin C | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  21. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – July 14, 2014". RIAA. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  22. ^ Huey, Steve. "Vitamin C | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  23. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Vitamin C – Friends Forever (Graduation)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  24. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Singles". Aria.com.au. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  25. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Vitamin C". irishcharts.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  26. ^ "Oh, What a Primetime Party: The Night is Young on the WB | In Media Res". mediacommons.org. April 3, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  27. ^ "Vitamin C". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  28. ^ Bonin, Liane. "'C' Change". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2009. Her scary yellow and orange dye job has inspired a Mattel Vitamin C doll, a garish shade of Tommy Hilfiger lipstick, and even a question on ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
  29. ^ "Vitamin C – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  30. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Vitamin C – The Itch". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  31. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles". Aria.com.au. Archived from the original on February 5, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  32. ^ "Eminem, Vitamin C, More Take On "Hip-Hop Witch"". MTV. May 17, 2000. Archived from the original on March 7, 2001. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  33. ^ "Vitamin C – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  34. ^ "Cosmo Honors 'Will & Grace' Star – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  35. ^ "Naked Colleen Fitzpatrick aka Vitamin C: nude scenes from past movies (videos & pics)". Onlinemoviemagazine.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  36. ^ "Music News: Latest and Breaking Music News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 18, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  37. ^ a b Kaufman, Gil (May 8, 2006). "Where Ya Been? Vitamin C Juicing Up A Comeback, Fastball Heading Back to the Mound – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Archived from the original on May 18, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  38. ^ "Official Charts Company – Vitamin C". Archive.is. July 31, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  39. ^ Roberts 2006, p. 588.
  40. ^ Vitamin C at AllMusic
  41. ^ Unfabulous and More liner notes. Columbia (2005)
  42. ^ "T-Squad | Discography". AllMusic. April 3, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  43. ^ "Where Ya Been? Vitamin C Juicing Up A Comeback, Fastball Heading Back to the Mound". MTV. May 5, 2006. Archived from the original on May 18, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  44. ^ a b "Netflix's In-House Music Maven Is a Former Pop Star". Variety. October 19, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  45. ^ Johnson, Jared (July 9, 2008). "Krystal Meyers - Make Some Noise Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  46. ^ Phares, Heather (March 24, 2009). "Hannah Montana - Hannah Montana: The Movie Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  47. ^ Monger, James Christopher (June 9, 2009). "Various Artists - Disney Channel Playlist Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  48. ^ "Nickelodeon Names Colleen Fitzpatrick VP/Music". AllAccess.com. March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  49. ^ "Comings & Goings :: CableFax Portal". Cablefax.com. March 23, 2012. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  50. ^ Gourley, Bob (March 18, 2016). "Information Society discuss ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE". Chaos Control Digizine. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  51. ^ Gianatasio, David (January 12, 2021). "Vizzy Hard Seltzer Remade the Vitamin C Song 'Graduation' as a Kiss-Off to 2020". Muse by Clio. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  52. ^ Seltzer, Vizzy Hard. "Say Goodbye to 2020 With Vizzy's Remake of Vitamin C's Graduation (Friends Forever)". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved December 23, 2024.

Sources

  • Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  • Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5 ed.). McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-44373-4.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Music Stars: Brief Bios of Every Recording Artist who Ever Charted. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-898-20176-5.