Vitamin C

Unlike most teen pop vocalists who begin as adolescents and later pursue greater artistic legitimacy, Colleen Fitzpatrick followed an unconventional route under the name Vitamin C. Born July 20, 1972, in Old Bridge, NJ, she first danced in high school and later sang in several local bands before trying her hand at acting, securing a part in John Waters’ 1988 film Hairspray. While studying at New York University in 1991, she and guitarist Michael Kotch formed the punk-pop group Eve’s Plum, which landed a Sony contract roughly a year later and issued the albums Envy in 1993 and Cherry Alive in 1995. After the band dissolved, Fitzpatrick pursued a solo path that also included screen roles in The Naked Gun 2½, Liar Liar, The Mambo Kings, Dracula 2000, and Get Over It.

She reinvented her sound as dance-pop and secured an Elektra deal in 1998. The self-titled debut Vitamin C arrived in late summer 1999 and yielded moderate successes with the Lady Saw-assisted “Smile” and “Me, Myself and I.” Its commercial breakthrough arrived the following spring via the precisely timed single “Graduation (Friends Forever),” the record’s most overtly teen-focused track, which reached the Top Ten, drove the album to platinum certification, and prompted Fitzpatrick to license her likeness for a doll and an orange-hued lipstick reflecting her signature hair color. Late in 2000 she released the follow-up More, which presented a more mature persona and lyrical outlook; although it generated the charting singles “The Itch” and “As Long as You’re Loving Me,” the album lacked another major crossover hit and peaked outside the Top 100.