Profile of Brad Fischetti on Famous Like Me

Lyte Funky Ones (LFO) is a three-man pop group consisting of Rich Cronin, Devin Lima (real name "Harold Dima"), and Brad Fischetti. Prior to Devin Lima joining the group in 1999, the 3rd member was "Brizz", who was with the group from its start in 1997.

Although they are comonly refered to as LFO, Lyte Funky Ones (originaly spelled Lyte Funkie Ones) can be used in order to not confuse them with the British techno group LFO. Prior to Brizz leaving the group in 1999, they were almost always refered to as Lyte Funky Ones. Subsequently, they shortened it to LFO to sound less "cheesy". When asked what "LFO" stands for, they commonly reply, "We like it because it looks cool as a logo."

As of July 19, 2003, they are on an indefinite hiatus so that the members can work on other projects. Part of the hiatus was due to the fact that Devin and Brad wanted LFO to not have a boy band image, which is shown by their change of looks throughout 2001. Rich wanted them to continue with their boy band style, and have more of a rock blend with their sound.

Their music is a combination of R&B, rap and pop, and they had moderate success in the late 1990s to early 2000s. They are most popularly known for the #1 hit "Summer Girls", commonly known as the "Abercrombie & Fitch song". They where quickly labeled as a one-hit wonder, but soon went past that title with the release of "Girl on TV", which reached #10 on the United States music charts. LFO also had several other minor hits which included the songs "West Side Stories", "I Don't Want to Kiss You Goodnight", and "Every Other Time".

They also found success in the UK at the same time when "Girl on TV" entered the UK chart at #6. In 2000 the band won the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Group of the Year. Play Along Toys made Dolls of the group back in 2001.

History

Origins

In 1996, in Orlando, Florida, Rich Cronin met a man named Brian Gillis, known as Brizz. Brizz convinced Rich to start a group with him, so Rich asked aspiring model and long-time friend Brad Fischetti if he wanted to join the group. He agreed, and they soon became a trio recording and performing mostly rap and hip-hop music all around Europe.

Their biggest single was "The Way You Like It", was known as a ripoff of Color Me Bad's "I Want To Sex You Up". They also had a minor hit called "If I Can't Have You", which was in the Top 100 reaching #46 on Europe's charts. In 1999, Brizz was frustrated with the lack of progress that the group had made so he left to pursue a solo career, which never lead to any albums or singles by him.

Their success

After Brizz left, Fischetti and Cronin still wanted to continue to pursue their dreams of making it big, so they headed back to the United States and had an open audition. Devin Lima, an employee of a hardware store at the time, he was chosen in place of Brizz. Lima decided that the group would be solely referred to as LFO, and to discontinue being called Lyte Funky Ones.

Then, LFO recorded some songs in former New Kids on the Block singer Danny Wood's basement. Wood had been a long-time friend of Cronin. Among the few songs LFO had recorded in an attempt to make a demo was a song called "Summer Girls". This song would change their lives, and give LFO their path to success.

The song was leaked to a friend at the radio station and was so catchy, LFO made it to the Billboard Chart's Top 100 without even having a manager or a label. Subsequently, Lou Pearlman noticed LFO and signed them to Arista Records. "Summer Girls" made its way to #1 on the signles list, and stayed there for six weeks.

Their debut album, LFO, sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, and scored 2 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, "Summer Girls" and "Girl on TV". In 1999, "Summer Girl" was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Top Selling Single of the Year; the song sold over 1.5 million copies in the US.

The year 2000 had been a busy year for LFO, featuring nonstop tours performing at over 230 concerts that year and receiving many awards.

The beginning of the end

2001 had been a very disappointing year for LFO, as it was the beginning of the end. Their sophomore album, Life is Good, in comparison to their debut album, did quite poorly, only selling roughly 300,000 copies worldwide. Having just minor success with two of the songs on the album, the larger success being their song "Every Other Time" which was a massive hit on the radio and Total Request Live, had not been released as an official single. "Life is Good" was the only single to have been released on compact disc from that album, compared to four songs being released as a single on CDs from the first.

After LFO

In an attempt to form a pop group without having it labeled as a boy band, Rich Cronin founded Bad Boy Mike in 2003. The project failed miserably, as it had never produced an album, and ended after a few months.

Discography

• LFO
• Life is Good

Singles

• 1998 - If I Can't Have You / #46 uk
• 1998 - (Sex U Up) The Way You Like It
• 1999 - Summer_Girls #1 US six weeks / #16 UK
• 1999 - Girl On TV #10 US / #6 UK
• 2000 - I Don't Wanna Kiss You Goodnight #61 US
• 2000 - West Side Story #84 US
• 2001 - Every Other Time #44 US (only featured on the radio) / #26 UK
• 2002 - Life Is Good

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Brad Fischetti