# Crystal Waters

Crystal Waters (born November 19, 1961) is an American house and dance music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1990s dance hits "Gypsy Woman", "100% Pure Love", and 2007's "Destination Calabria" with Alex Gaudino. All three of her studio albums produced a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as one of the most successful dance artists of all time. Her accolades include six ASCAP Songwriter awards, three American Music Award nominations, an MTV Video Music Award nod, four Billboard Music Awards and twelve No. 1 Billboard Dance Chart hits. Her hit song "Gypsy Woman” has been sampled hundreds of times. Though her music sales have yet to be re-certified, Waters has sold over 7 million records worldwide.

## Life and career
### Early life

Born in Deptford Township, New Jersey, Waters is the daughter of jazz musician Junior Waters and his wife Betty. Her great-aunt, Ethel Waters, was one of the first black American vocalists to appear in mainstream Hollywood musicals. Her family moved to New Jersey for a while but they again moved to Washington, D.C. At age eleven she began writing poetry and took her writing seriously enough to be inducted into the Poetry Society of America when she was 14, the youngest person ever to receive that honor.
She studied business and computer science at Howard University, but her creative work as a musician dropped off as she found less time for it. After earning her college degree in 1989, Waters secured a job as a probation officer with the Washington, D.C. parole board, making a living that would support her two daughters. One of her daughters, Ella Nicole, is a singer-songwriter who was discovered in 2014 and managed by Samonee K. founder of Argo Vibes.

## Music career

Waters' first job in the music world was as a backup singer at a local recording studio. She realized she wanted the creative control of writing her own music. Meeting the Basement Boys at a D.C. conference, they agreed to collaborate. Waters' self-described style was jazz and the Basement Boys was house. The first two songs she wrote for the 'Boys were "Makin' Happy" and "Gypsy Woman".
Waters signed a writing contract with Mercury Records in 1989.
Her single "Makin' Happy", with contributions by remixer Steve "Silk" Hurley, shot quickly to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs.
With her 1994 follow-up album, Storyteller, Waters made a mainstream comeback with her hit single "100% Pure Love", which hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs, and became one of the longest-charting singles on the Hot 100 at 45 weeks ("Gypsy Woman" had remained on the chart for 16 weeks). Along with the single, her second album Storyteller, sold over one million copies in the United States. Feminist scholar and social activist bell hooks described Waters as "fierce and politically on the job" because of the singer's socially conscious lyrics.
In 1996, Waters participated in the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio, which was produced by the Red Hot Organization, performing the song "The Boy from Ipanema".
In 2007, the mega European hit "Destination Calabria" by Alex Gaudino, featuring vocals by Crystal Waters, went to No. 1 on the European Pop Chart in over 30 countries. The track is a mashup, taking the instrumental from Rune's "Calabria" and the vocals from Alex Gaudino's and Crystal Waters' "Destination Unknown", both originally released in 2003. It was produced with the help of Maurizio Nari and Ronnie Milani (Nari & Milani), matching the saxophone hook/riff from "Calabria" to Crystal Waters' voice. "Destination Calabria" was released as a 12-inch single by the Italian label Rise Records, and as a CD single on March 19, 2007 by British label Data Records. It originally charted in Australia in February 2004, peaking at No. 98 under the title "Destination Unknown" before being re-released as "Destination Calabria" and reaching No. 2 in 2007.
In 2012, "Le Bump" with Yolanda Be Cool gave Waters another No. 1 on the Beatport House Chart.
With DJ Chris Cox in 2013, the No. 1 Billboard Dance Club Songs hit "Mama Hey", was listed as one of Billboard's "Top 50 Dance Songs of 2013".
In November 2015, Waters released "Synergy", and in October 2016 she released "Believe". Both songs quickly rose to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Dance Club Songs.
Her 2017 single "Testify" with Hifi Sean was released on Defected Records and went straight to the A-List on BBC Radio and garnered another No. 1 spot on the Billboard Dance Club Songs.
Her third collaboration with Sted-E & Hybrid Heights, titled "I Am House", reached No. 1 in the club charts in Spring 2018, giving Waters a total of twelve No. 1 singles in the US Billboard Dance Club Songs.
In February 2020, she began a monthly radio/podcast show called "I Am House".

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
| Year | Album details | US | AUS | AUT | GER | NED | SWI | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
| 1991 | Surprise Released: June 25, 1991 Label: Mercury | 197 | 171 | 23 | 45 | 81 | 24 | |
| 1994 | Storyteller Released: May 17, 1994 Label: Mercury | 199 | 55 | — | — | — | — | RIAA: Gold |
| 1997 | Crystal Waters Released: June 24, 1997 Label: Mercury/Polygram | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |||||||||

### Compilation albums

| Year | Album details |
| 1998 | The Best of Crystal Waters Released: August 11, 1998 Label: Universal/Polygram |
| 2001 | Gypsy Woman – The Collection Released: 2001 Label: Spectrum Music |
| 2001 | 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Crystal Waters Released: 2001 Label: Mercury Records |

### Singles

| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | Album |
| Year | Title | US | AUS | AUT | FRA | GER | IRE | NED | NZ | SWI | UK | Certifications (sales thresholds) | Album |
| 1991 | "Gypsy Woman" | 8 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 1 | 2 | RIAA: Gold BPI: Platinum | Surprise |
| 1991 | "Makin' Happy" | — | — | — | 17 | — | 22 | 27 | — | 22 | 18 | | Surprise |
| 1991 | "Surprise" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Surprise |
| 1991 | "Megamix" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | | Megamix! |
| 1992 | "You Turn Me On" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Encino Man soundtrack |
| 1994 | "100% Pure Love" | 11 | 2 | 26 | — | 33 | 30 | 15 | 44 | 20 | 15 | RIAA: Gold ARIA: Platinum | Storyteller |
| 1994 | "What I Need" | 82 | 130 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Storyteller |
| 1994 | "Ghetto Day" | — | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | | Storyteller |
| 1995 | "Relax" | — | 133 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | | Storyteller |
| 1996 | "In de Ghetto" (with David Morales & the Bad Yard Club) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 35 | | Non-album single |
| 1996 | "The Boy from Ipanema" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Red Hot + Rio |
| 1997 | "Say... If You Feel Alright" | 40 | 152 | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | — | 45 | | Crystal Waters |
| 1997 | "Just a Freak" (with Dennis Rodman) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Crystal Waters |
| 2001 | "Come On Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | DJ Escape: Party Time 2002 |
| 2001 | "Enough" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2001 | "Nights in Egypt" (with Sunseeker) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Various Artists: Club Base Vol. 9 |
| 2003 | "My Time" (with Dutch) | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | | My Time: Remix EP |
| 2004 | "Destination Unknown" (with Alex Gaudino) | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2004 | "Lies" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | DJ Boom: Electro Compilation |
| 2006 | "Destination Calabria" (with Alex Gaudino) | — | 3 | 55 | 6 | 30 | 2 | 14 | 35 | 50 | 4 | ARIA: Platinum BPI: Gold | Non-album single |
| 2008 | "Dancefloor" (with Speakerbox) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Dancefloor: Remix EP |
| 2009 | "Never Enough" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2009 | "Gypsy Woman 2009" (vs. Tristan Garner) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 76 | — | — | — | | Gypsy Woman 2009: Remix EP |
| 2009 | "Gypsy Woman 2010" (vs. DJ Flava) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2010 | "When People Come Together" (with Bellani & Spada) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2011 | "Say Yeah" (vs. Fred Pellichero) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2011 | "Le Bump" (with Yolanda Be Cool) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2011 | "Masquerade" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2012 | "Long Day" (with Inaya Day Allstars) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2012 | "Love I Call My Own" (with Nicola Fasano & Steve Forest) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Love I Call My Own: Remix EP |
| 2013 | "Oh Mama Hey" (with Chris Cox and DJ Frankie) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2013 | "Blow" (with Armand Pena, Harry Romero, and Alex Alicea) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2013 | "Gypsy Woman 2013" (with Musique Boutique) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Gypsy Woman 2013: Remix EP |
| 2014 | "Be Kind" (with StoneBridge) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Be Kind: Remix EP |
| 2014 | "Every Day" (with Murk) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2015 | "Let Me Be the One" (with David Tort & Nick Marsh) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2015 | "Synergy" (with Sted-E & Hybrid Heights) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2016 | "Believe" (featuring Sted-E & Hybrid Heights) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2017 | "Testify" (Hifi Sean featuring Crystal Waters) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 38 | | Non-album single |
| 2018 | "I Am House" (with Sted-E and Hybrid Heights) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2018 | "Merry Christmas All" (Hybrid Heights, Sted-E, John J-C Carr, Stacy Kidd) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2019 | "United in Dance" (with R-NALDO) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2020 | "Party People" (with DJ Spen and DJ Micfreak) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. ||||||||||||||

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
| 1991 | "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" | American Music Awards | Favorite Single – Dance | Nominated |
| 1991 | Herself | American Music Awards | Favorite Artist – Dance | Nominated |
| 1991 | Herself | American Music Awards | Favorite New Artist – Dance | Nominated |
| 1992 | "Makin' Happy" | Billboard Music Video Awards | Best Dance Video – Female | Nominated |
| 1994 | Herself | Billboard Music Awards | Top Hot Dance Music Club Play Artist | Nominated |
| 1994 | Herself | Billboard Music Awards | Top Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales Artist | Nominated |
| 1994 | "100% Pure Love" | Billboard Music Awards | Top-Selling Hot Dance Music Club Play Single | Won |
| 1994 | "100% Pure Love" | Billboard Music Awards | Top Hot Dance Music Maxi-Single Sales | Nominated |
| 1994 | "100% Pure Love" | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Dance Video | Nominated |
| 1994 | Storyteller | Vibe's Music Poll | Best Album – Club/Dance | Won |
| 1996 | "100% Pure Love" | ASCAP Pop Music Awards | Most Performed Song | Won |
| 2004 | "My Time" (with Dutch) | International Dance Music Awards | Best House/Garage Dance Track | Nominated |
| The listed years are of the annual ceremonies, usually held the following year. ||||||