Biography
Kara DioGuardi received an assignment from Interscope executive Jimmy Iovine that took her across the Atlantic to work on material for the Pussycat Dolls alongside Dave Stewart, the onetime Eurythmics songwriter. Although nothing intended for the group materialized from those sessions, the pair generated original songs that impressed Iovine sufficiently for him to green-light a full-length project. Leveraging their industry connections, DioGuardi and Stewart enlisted Mick Jagger, Elton John, and Stevie Nicks to participate in an intricate promotional ruse for a fabricated band named Platinum Weird, which they presented as having formed in 1974. According to the invented narrative, frontwoman Erin Grace vanished the day before the planned album launch and later resurfaced in Scarsdale, New York, serving as the childhood musical mentor to a young DioGuardi.
The fabricated tale described DioGuardi arriving at the studio to encounter Stewart performing Platinum Weird’s “Will You Be Around,” prompting her to sing along from memory and startling him into unearthing and remastering the vintage tapes. Two editions of the record subsequently appeared—one preserving Erin Grace’s original vocals and another featuring updated performances by Kara DioGuardi. Several dedicated websites emerged that celebrated the band’s supposed prominence within London’s early-1970s rock circles, while VH1 aired a half-hour documentary that lent further credence to Stewart’s account until he ultimately admitted the entire backstory had been invented. Platinum Weird’s first album, Make Believe, reached stores in fall 2006, roughly three decades after the tracks were said to have originated.
The fabricated tale described DioGuardi arriving at the studio to encounter Stewart performing Platinum Weird’s “Will You Be Around,” prompting her to sing along from memory and startling him into unearthing and remastering the vintage tapes. Two editions of the record subsequently appeared—one preserving Erin Grace’s original vocals and another featuring updated performances by Kara DioGuardi. Several dedicated websites emerged that celebrated the band’s supposed prominence within London’s early-1970s rock circles, while VH1 aired a half-hour documentary that lent further credence to Stewart’s account until he ultimately admitted the entire backstory had been invented. Platinum Weird’s first album, Make Believe, reached stores in fall 2006, roughly three decades after the tracks were said to have originated.
Albums
Singles