Ladies of the '80s: GIOIA BRUNO of EXPOSE

If you grew up in the '80s and early '90s, you KNEW Expose! I think their album "Point of No Return" was one of the first cassettes I ever bought (or rather, one of the first that I ever begged my parents to buy FOR me ;) ). This trio of ladies kicked off the freestyle-dance girl group trend that eventually led to bands like The Cover Girls.

Although the original Expose group was made up of three chicas (Gioia Bruno, Ann Curless and Jeanette Jurado), it was Gioia Bruno who faded from sight first. But why, and what's she been up to?

And most importantly, did she make like our last Lady of the 80s, Samantha Fox, and pose nude? ;) Haha.

Here's the overview:


Expose single cover from 1988... left to right, that's Jeanette, Gioia and Anne.

WHY YOU KNOW HER: Gioia's voice made up one-third of the hit group Expose... and boy, did they have hits! This day and age, it's hard to imagine a dance act like them having this kind of mainstream Billboard chart success... but check it out! (And click on the song titles to hear samples in iTunes):

Come Go With Me - 1987 (US #5)
Point of No Return - 1987 (US #5)
Let Me Be the One - 1987 (US #7)
Seasons Change - 1988 (US #1)
What You Don't Know - 1989 (US #8)
When I Looked at Him - 1989 (US #10)
Tell Me Why - 1989 (US #9)
Your Baby Never Looked Good in Blue - 1990 (US #17)
I Wish the Phone Would Ring - 1992 (US #28)
I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me) - 1993 (US #8)
As Long as I Can Dream - 1993 (US #56)
In Walked Love - 1993 (US #84)

WHY SHE FADED: Health issues. In 1990, Gioia discovered that she was having serious throat issues. Eventually, the problems were linked to a benign tumor on her vocal chords. Things worsened, she was unable to sing, Gioia was forced to say goodbye to the group. She was replaced by Kelly Moneymaker in 1992. Gioia's condition worsened, and she spent 3 years completely unable to even speak!!

WHERE IS SHE NOW: Performing again! Can you believe it?? After battling her tumor for years, Gioia regained control of her voice in 1997 and began recording new material again. In 2004, she released her first solo album... the dance filled "Expose This!" (Too cute). She's working on more material, and released a single "This is It" in 2007. Her latest is "Higher," and you can hear it on her official website.

But here's the best news of all... Gioia is back touring with Expose!! Yep, the original line up is back together again. How cool is that?? You can check out their official group site for tour updates... but we've got exclusive pics just for Diva Divo readers...

Here are the girls after a show at BLUSH in Las Vegas Tuesday night... and look what fan of theirs came to the show... Perez Hilton!


Jeannette, Anne, Perez Hilton and Gioia!


Expose back to doing what they do best... performing!

And we've got one more bonus for you... our pals over at IAD Radio have an awesome interview with Gioia. She talks to them about losing and recovering her voice... and about her reunion with the girls of Expose. :) It's an intimate and inspiring interview, to be honest... AND it also starts with an interview with Stevie Jewel. How well did we time this, huh? ;)

Click here to listen to the IAD Radio interview with Stevie and Gioia!

Congrats to Gioia for overcoming the odds and getting back to the music we love from her.

(And no, she never posed nude in the meanwhile... sorry, boys!)

Heading to the point of no return,
JADE