Old Music Friday: 5/23/25

"Freak-a-Ristic," Atlantic Starr (No. 90, peaked at No. 90)
Following the release of their fifth album, 1983's Yours Forever, Atlantic Starr went through a wholesale lineup change, losing lead singer Sharon Bryant as well as four other band members. For many if not most groups, weathering this type of turbulence would have meant a decline in sales, but with 1985's cheekily titled As the Band Turns, Atlantic Starr proved the exception to that rule; fueled by the foul "Secret Lovers," that sixth LP was their most commercially successful yet.

It took time, though — "Secret Lovers" was the fourth single from the album, preceded by a list of non-starters on the Hot 100 that included leadoff single "Freak-a-Ristic." As with other R&B acts we've discussed in this space, there was often a large disconnect between how Atlantic Starr's singles performed between formats; although "Ristic" was a non-starter at pop stations, it was a No. 6 R&B hit — a formula repeated with every other Band Turns single until "Secret Lovers" broke it wide open.

It isn't difficult to understand why "Freak-a-Ristic" was met with indifference by pop programmers. It's a digital nugget of electro-funk that's as enthusiastic as it is undistinguished, the type of track you could happily dance to without remembering a single moment of it. This means it's a hell of a lot less painful than "Secret Lovers."