Picture This: Martika "Flow With The Go" Single Cover

There has been much speculation about the release of Martika's new single "Flow With The Go". It was announced that the single was meant to be released for purchase on many worldwide music purchasing portals on January 12th of this year but two weeks (nearly 3) after this date, the song has not yet materialised for purchase. This has brought up discussions about whether Martika has been lying to her fans or whether the music websites have stalled the release due to their policies.

Now, I don't know Martika personally, but from what I can tell from interviews and the few tweets that she has sent to me in response to mine on twitter, I truly do believe that she has the very best of intentions regarding her music and her fan base. The music business is a lot more in depth than we like to think it is, and there are many setbacks that can happen in the course of releasing new material (especially on an independent label) and release dates are constantly being pushed back, which leads me to the conclusion that Martika herself did not foresee these complications and certainly had intended for the release date she announced to be accurate.

Short of walking to all of her fans homes and delivering a personally signed copy of the single with an apology note stuck to the front on a heart shaped post-it, Martika has done all she can via her Twitter account and Facebook fan page, to make sure the fans remain undeterred by this setback, keeping us constantly up to date with details regarding the release, giving us a look at the cover image for the single (above), delivering a full length video with the lo-fi version of the song, and constant words of apology and gratitude. Sadly, this has been met with some of the usual hostility found on the Internet and fans that seem to have no sense of patience, even though they have waited for about 21 years for new material, a few more weeks is apparently unacceptable in their eyes.

I find it sad that this generation of people (I'm 29 so I know what I'm talking about) needs everything spoon fed to them in 12 seconds flat, otherwise they lose interest. I will happily wait for this project to be released in it's entirety so that it can be at the level of satisfaction that the artist is comfortable with. I won't get bogged down if the album takes another month or so to be released, just the fact that there will be another album from Martika (or anyone for that matter) is good enough for me.

Patience is a virtue my friends. The single is a little late, but it's coming and we know it's coming. I'll be a Toy Soldier forever!

Turn It Up (Flashback): Martika - Toy Soldiers + News

This is a bit of a two for one sale. Not only do you get the stunning music video above for Martika's 1989 hit Toy Soldiers, but I also bring you new album and single news from the Lady herself.

For those of you who don't know much about Martika (born Marta Marrero), her career in show business really got it's start in the early 80's when, after a small role as one of the orphan's in the 1982 film version of the musical Annie, she was cast as Gloria in the long running kids show "Kids Incorporated" (which has turned out stars like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mario Lopez, and Stacey "Fergie" Ferguson). The show featured it's young cast in a variety of musical numbers in between the storylines, and it wasn't long before Martika was signed to Columbia Records and released her self-titled debut album in the fall of 1988. Her first album spawned the hits "Toy Soldiers" (seen above), "More Than You Know", and her cover of Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move".

Her second album, 1991's "Martika's Kitchen", was produced in part by Prince but did not break into the US Billboard 100 chart and after three single releases Martika pretty much disappeared from the limelight.

In the subsequent years, Martika teamed up with her husband, musician Michael Mozart, to form the band "Oppera" who independently released two rock inspired latin pop records, 2004's "Violince" and 2005's "Oppera", and also starred in and co-produced the web-based television program "J8ded" under the moniker "Vida Edit".

Which brings us to the present day. Dropping the moniker Vida Edit and returning to her original stage name, Martika is ready to take the music world by storm again with the release of her new album "The Mirror Ball" which will be released on February 12th of this year, and the first single "Flow With The Go", being released next week, on January 12th. I'm very excited for this release and the tour that is promised by the woman herself to come with it, and with that news in place I decided to add her world announcement video so we can all hear it from her own lips. What a great start to a new year. If you want to keep up with all things Martika, visit her official website www.martikamartika.com or join her official facebook page or follow her on twitter @MartikaTunes.