Passion Fruit
Biography
Passion Fruit was a Eurodance and Bubblegum Dance group formed in June 1999.
The original lineup, active in 1999, consisted of four members: Blade (Manye Thompson), Dawn (Viola Schubbe), Pearl (Carla Sinclair) and MC Steve (Mario Tub). This lineup recorded The Rigga Ding Dong Song, their most successful single, which reached the top 10 in 14 countries, including number 9 in Germany and number 1 in Mexico.
After MC Steve left in October 1999 and due to internal tensions, label X-Cell Records decided not to continue the project. Management then found a new lineup and a new label, keeping the name Passion Fruit to capitalize on the success of the first single.
The second and better-known lineup was a female trio composed of Maria Serrano Serrano (of Spanish origin), Nathaly van het Ende (of Dutch origin) and Debby St. Marteen (of Dutch origin). Their only album, “Follow Your Dreams”, was released in April 2000.
The recorded vocals for Passion Fruit were actually performed by singer Leticia Pareja-Padron for lead vocals and Kenneth Clemmons for the rapped parts; the visible members on stage and in videos lip-synced to these pre-recorded voices.
On 24 November 2001 the group was aboard Crossair Flight 3597 which crashed near Zurich. Maria Serrano Serrano and Nathaly van het Ende died in the accident, as did singer Melanie Thornton of La Bouche; Debby St. Marteen survived, though seriously injured.
In December 2001, management decided to donate all proceeds from their final single, I'm Dreaming of… a Winter Wonderland, to the victims of the disaster and their families.