By 1988, Sabrina Salerna was a household name in Italy, and finding major success across several countries outside of the USA. She had quickly built a fanbase around a manufactured pop showgirl image, aided by rather revealing music videos. Granted, she had good music to back this up, evident by her winning Best European Singer at Festivalbar that same year.
The problem was that Sabrina wanted to focus more on the latter and ditch the gimmicks. For this, she left her label, Five Records, and signed with Videogram. This move would allot her the creative control she was seeking, while shedding the unwanted image, or so she thought.
Prior to her second album, she released All of Me (Boy Oh Boy), which was followed by a new music video. While it would become another summer hit for her, it wouldn't perform as good as Boys (Summertime Love). Producer Matt Aitken would state that her vocals in the studio were "pretty decent" but also made comment about the way she was dressed. Her modest clothing during the session "did not fulfill the promise that was expected." He would go on to elaborate, stating, "Maybe the shock value was gone, or maybe they didn't shoot the right scene in the swimming pool for the video."
Sabrina released 1988's Super Sabrina, which also became relatively successful, but thanks to accompanying music videos for My Chico, and Like A Yo-Yo, wasn't able to shed her sex symbol status. Additionally, she would go on to be featured in her own self-titled video game for home computers, released in 1989.
Good stuff! Who doesn't love a classic video game?
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Firing up the album for today's Retro Spin, I was hoping that the same level of goodness that came with her debut would be present. Quality wise, yes, this hit the mark. Hits wise, not so much.
Overall, it was just okay. The singles, Like A Yo-Yo, All of Me (Boy Oh Boy), and My Chico are decent, with the latter being the weakest among the bunch. Beyond that though, there's not a lot going on for this one.
Perhaps Matt Aitken was on to something with his comments. Though for me, it wasn't shock value, but instead the overall novely wore off quickly. Super Sabrina came with more of the same, but without the newness punch that was delivered with her debut.
Still not content, Sabrina left Videogram to pursue a broader musical spectrum and leave the Italo-disco pop persona behind. Though she would go on to release four more studio albums between 1991 and 2008, all under a different label, none of these would chart.
She remains active to this day, mostly performing at festivals, and making one-off appearances around the world. It's odd that in her pursuit of music freedom, and a desire to shed her showgirl image that even as of 2026 she continues to ride the waves of Boys (Summertime Love), belting it out while still wearing revealing clothing. But I suppose when it comes down to it, everyone needs money. I mean, if I could survive the rest of my life occasionally singing one song in my underwear, I'd do it too.
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And now, 31 Days Of Halloween!
Nothing says Halloween like a great, scary movie to get you sitting on the edge of your seat, or better yet, with your loved one in your arms getting as close as possible. With so many to choose from, just what would you watch if you could? As we go through each day of October, I'll be posting a series of horror movie posters from some of my favorite franchises of all time.
Kicking it off is the tried-and-true classics. I'm talking Universal Monsters. With so many movies in this catalog alone, you could easily spend the entire month by just watching one a day. Sure, by today's standards, they can get a bit corny, both in the acting, and dialog, but they paved the way for the genre, and to this day stand true as iconic films and characters.
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