Blue Sky (group)

Blue Sky is an American girl group formed in in 1996 by  and originally introduced to  by. The group's most famous lineup consisted of of Janelle Mercer, Kelsey Pool, Lily De Vriendt, Gabby Abellon, and Kathie Beeks. The group achieved worldwide success with the internationally successful singles "Destiny (Be With Me)", "Watcha Want?", "Good Good Girl", "Alias", "Please Say It's True", "Bad Boy", "Don't Hesitate", "Together with You", and "It Depends". The group's self-titled first studio album was certified two times platinum by the RIAA in 2001. The group went on hiatus in 2004. In 2010, Mercer, Pool, Beeks, and Abellon reformed Blue Sky for a series of concerts in at. Since their comeback, they have released several new singles and three new albums (including one with De Vriendt after she rejoined the group in 2017).

1996: Formation and debut
posted an advert in Variety in 1996, calling for auditions to form a female counterpart to his boy bands, the and. Pearlman was also forming in the UK at the same time. Kelsey Pool was the first to audition. Throughout the next few months, Pearlman auditioned hundreds of female performers in. Janelle Mercer, Lily De Vriendt and Gabby Abellon were ultimately selected from the auditions Pearlman had seen. Shortly afterwards, Kathie Beeks joined the group. After several weeks of rehearsals, the group set up a showcase and began planning to officially sign with Pearlman's Trans Continental Label.

Blue Sky had their first performance on August 1, 1996 at. Pearlman hired to manage Blue Sky. Wright was impressed with the group, but he didn't think De Vriendt and Abellon had star quality. Wright reportedly told Pearlman "get rid of the tiny one and the twenty-something, or else these girls will be a flop", but Pearlman stood by his decision to have them in the group. The group were signed to under Wright's management.

1997-98: Early success
After being signed to BMG Ariola München, the group was sent to to work on their debut album at. The album's official lead single, "Destiny (Be With Me)", was released on June 11, 1997 as the debut single from their first album, entering the top 10 in Germany later that month. With a record deal finally secured, Blue Sky began touring in European and Asian markets. Their self-titled debut album was initially released by BMG Ariola München on October 1, 1997, in Germany, and peaked at number one in the second week after its release. It also peaked at number one in Japan. The group released its second and third singles, "Alias" and "Watcha Want?", both of which managed to reach the top 10 in Japan and numerous countries in Europe and Asia.

1998-99: Breaking the American market
After signing Trans-Continental stablemates NSYNC, A&R man  was informed by Pearlman about Blue Sky. DeGiorgio saw Blue Sky performing in, and took interest in the group. He signed Blue Sky to RCA Records, and they released their American debut single, "Destiny (Be With Me)", on May 16, 1998. It reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The U.S. version of Blue Sky was released on May 26, 1998. The album debuted at no. 40 on the Billboard 200, but shot up to #6 after the group appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.