Musical Career
Her close affiliation with Kashif led to an album deal with Arista Records in 1988 for her pop R&B girl-group, The Promise. Since the market in the 1980s was already saturated with sweet-sounding, bubbly R&B groups, it was difficult for The Promise to stand. As a result, Cardwell decided to answer an ad in the Village Voice that read, "Epic recording artist looking for a background singer for a live tour. "The recording artist turned out to be house-music innovator Lil Louis of Lil Louis and The World, whose 1992 hits "Club Lonely" and "Saved My Life" from the album Journey with the Lonely featured Cardwell on vocals.
Cardwell’s experience as a vocalist and songwriter turned out to be exactly what Lil Louis had been searching for in a singer. He proved to be an early influence for Cardwell’s sound, which melds a new dance beat with a thoughtful lyrical twist. Cardwell creates material that sounds as though she’s musing quietly about life while a dancing throng gyrates with joy nearby, and her lyrics are soulful, romantic, and thought-provoking. Shortly after meeting Lil Louis, Cardwell conceived the single "Dancing in My Sleep, "and within a week of penning it, she was in Chicago cutting demos and well on her way to a career as a dance-hall diva and R&B songstress. When "Club Lonely "reached the number one mark, Cardwell distanced herself from the Lil Louis project. In 1993, she toured in Japan for eight months as a background singer for Japanese soul singer Toshinobu Kubota. Cardwell gleaned experience from the large overseas tour returned to the U.S. significantly more focused and ready to tackle a solo singing career. In 1995 Cardwell contributed the single "The Creator Has A Master Plan" to the Brooklyn Funkessentials’ album Cool & Steady & Easy, and the single "Luv Connection" to the Towa Tei (of Dee-Lite) album Future Listening.
Cardwell released the single "Trouble" in 1994 on Eight Ball Records, which was a double-pack single including remixes from Junior Vasquez, Sotoshi Tomiie, and Deep Dish.
Cardwell released an album titled The World is Full of Trouble in 1995, followed by Joi Cardwell in 1997. Cardwell’s second album combined three of her most successful singles, "You Gotto Pray," "Soul to Bare," and "Run to You," with nine original tracks, and it received favorable reviews. In 1996, she toured with Toshinobu Kubota on the Oyeees! Tour.
Cardwell’s single "Holdin' On" was created by producer Kyle "Small" Smith. It was originally sung by the teen music sensation Kim Moore and her male counterpart Jay, and Jay sang with Cardwell on the single as well. The single was also remixed into jazz versions. In 1997, Cardwell garnered attention with her hit singles "Run to You" and "Found Love" in her self titled release in 1997. In 2000, she toured again as a background vocalist for her long-time friend Toshinobu Kubota during the Nothing But As One Tour. In 2005, Cardwell released her fourth album, Plain Jane Project. In 2007, she released her fifth album A Beautiful Life. In 2009, she released her sixth album Wanderlust (The Soundtrack).
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