Belinda Carlisle

Singer Belinda Carlisle earned a place in pop music history as a founding member of the female pop band The Go-Go's before going on to release over 30 singles as a solo artist. Born Belinda Kurczesky was raised in Northern Los Angeles County and gravitated towards Hollywood's burgeoning punk scene in the late 1970s. She formed The Go-Go's with guitarist Jane Wiedlin in 1978, and when the punk band grew to include Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, and Kathy Valentine, and its sound evolved into kitschy, '60s-flavored power pop, they were signed to IRS records. In 1981, The Go-Go's became the first self-contained female band to hit No. 1 on the record charts with the release of their multi-platinum debut Beauty and the Beat, which spawned such classic New Wave hits as "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed." Overnight, The Go-Go's became pop stars and fashion trendsetters, and as frontwoman, Carlisle earned the lion's share of the attention. The Go-Go's 1982 follow-up album Vacation hit Gold status but despite the hit single "Head Over Heels," their 1984 release Talk Show marked a decline in overall popularity. The band split up in 1985. Carlisle immediately went on to launch a successful solo recording career, enjoying a No. 3 pop hit with "Mad About You" in 1986 and returning to the charts in 1987 and 1988 with "Heaven is a Place on Earth" and "I Get Weak." Following the release of a Go-Go's CD retrospective, there was a brief reunion tour in 1994 before Carlisle and her family moved to Europe. She went on to hit the UK charts with Adult Contemporary offerings like "A Woman and a Man" and "Voila," which marked a departure for Carlisle as it showcased all French language material done in a sultry, jazzy chanteuse style. The Go-Go's put their differences aside and toured intermittently in the new millennium while Carlisle also appeared solo on a number of retro-'80s summer tours in Europe. The pop veteran was first tapped by reality television for a performance on "Celebrity Duets" (Fox, 2006) in 2006, which led to a spot as a judge on MTV's talent contest "Rock the Cradle" (MTV, 2008) and a spot on season eight of "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005-) in 2009.