Never-Before-Seen Photos Of Fergie & Martika (Who Is Plotting A Comeback)

Idolator Staff | August 12, 2011 7:59 am

Dust off your hoop earrings and gigantic shoulder pads, because Martika is embarking on a comeback! The singer, who scored hits with 1989 chart-topper “Toy Soldiers” and the Prince composition “Love…Thy Will Be Done,” has been inspired by the recent resurgence of fellow one-time teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. “People are enjoying revisiting that time from when I was out,” Martika says. “I know there are lots of tours going on. Absolutely I have been inspired by that.” While doing a bit of research, we stumbled across some previously-unseen photos of the Wise Guy actress with her Kids Incorporated co-star Stacy Ferguson (or Fergie, as she’s better known these days), and we couldn’t resist asking about her time on set.

“There were some really talented people on that show. Fergie, of course, Mario Lopez, Shanice, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Rahsaan Patterson. Everyone was cool. They try to do these reunions occasionally but… we’ve all kind of moved along,” Martika, 42, reminisces. “The nice thing about being in the industry and is that even if you don’t see them it’s really easy to just turn the TV on or get online and see what people are doing.”

The above photo was taken at Martika’s house during a party to celebrate her 1989 single “Toy Soldiers” (which Fergie sang backing vocals on) reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song held Madonna’s “Express Yourself” from reaching the top spot, and Martika’s debut album spawned two other Top 30 singles. (“Toy Soldiers” was later sampled by Eminem for his 2004 hit “Like Toy Soldiers.”)

This pic was snapped in 1991, at the release party for Martika’s sophomore album Martika’s Kitchen:

After her string of hits, while other ’80s pop stars continued plugging away with diminishing returns, Martika turned her back on the pop world.

“[I] just pulled away from the spotlight, the jet-set pace at the time, and really needed to have a bit more of a personal life,” she tells us. “And that held me from the public eye.” The songbird went as far as changing her name to Vida Edit.  She admits, “I never performed another Martika set after I finished promoting Martika’s Kitchen.”

Happily for her fans, the girl born Marta Marrero has been working on a new album. Martika also recently joined Twitter. “I’m going for dance-pop, back to my roots,” she reveals. “We’re gonna be dancin’ a lot on this album!”

Perhaps the Dutchess can make a cameo on Martika’s comeback album?

[Reporting by Mike Wass]