Expose

The vocal trio Exposé gained widespread recognition through its Latin-infused dance-pop sound alongside its adult contemporary ballads, racking up impressive sales during the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. Miami-based producer and songwriter Lewis A. Martineé created the act and recruited its first members in 1984. Although the lineup that later became most familiar featured Jeanette Jurado (born November 14, 1965, Pico Rivera, CA), Gioia Bruno (who was born in Bari, Italy, on June 11, 1963, but grew up in New Jersey), and Ann Curless (born October 7, 1963, Albany, NY), none of those singers belonged to the original roster; that initial configuration comprised Alé Lorenzo, Sandra Casanas, aka Sandeé, and Laurie Miller, who cut the Martineé-produced debut single “Point of No Return” for his Pantera label in 1984. With Lorenzo handling lead vocals and Casanas and Miller supplying backing parts, “Point of No Return” became a major club success and remains a landmark example of Latin freestyle, the high-tech dance-pop style that mixed Afro-Cuban salsa elements and was also associated with the Cover Girls, Sweet Sensation, Nayobe, and TKA.

Strong club response to “Point of No Return” secured a deal with Arista Records, which issued the group’s follow-up single “Exposed to Love,” another Martineé-produced dance-floor hit spotlighting Lorenzo on lead, in 1985. Considerable turnover hit Exposé the next year when Lorenzo, Casanas, and Miller departed in 1986 to launch solo careers, with Lorenzo and Casanas remaining in dance-pop while Miller shifted toward jazz-tinged cabaret and traditional pop. Personnel shifts notwithstanding, the act’s momentum persisted. Its third single, “Come Go with Me,” again featuring Jurado on lead, emerged as another Latin freestyle club staple, and Arista put out the Martineé-produced debut album Exposure in early 1987. By then the well-known Jurado/Bruno/Curless lineup had stabilized, one that continued delivering Latin freestyle yet expanded beyond that single style. Neither the label nor Martineé viewed Exposé as exclusively a club outfit, so Exposure attracted substantial radio airplay through major hits that included the adult contemporary ballad “Seasons Change,” which topped Billboard’s pop singles chart, and the R&B/urban track “Let Me Be the One,” fronted by Bruno.

Once Exposure surpassed three million copies sold in the United States, Arista released the Martineé-produced sophomore album What You Don’t Know in 1989, which yielded the substantial hits “When I Looked at Him,” an adult contemporary ballad, and “Tell Me Why.” Bruno exited in 1991 after a benign throat tumor left her unable to sing and rendered her unable to speak for roughly three years; Kelly Moneymaker (born June 4, 1970) took her place. The Jurado/Curless/Moneymaker configuration recorded the self-titled third album, issued in 1992, which underperformed relative to the prior two releases yet contained the adult contemporary ballad hit “I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me.” This was the first Exposé project not produced entirely by Martineé, prompting some fans to note that its ballads echoed Wilson Phillips too closely. Dropped by Arista, the group disbanded in early 1996. Moneymaker, who wed soap opera star Peter Reckell (best known for his portrayal of Bo Brady on NBC-TV’s Days of Our Lives) in 1998, pursued a solo career, while Bruno, whose voice returned fully in 1997, spent time in the band Wet before issuing her solo album Expose This on Koch in 2004. The Jurado/Bruno/Curless lineup reunited for extensive North American tours in 2006 and 2007.