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.
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, 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,
With her 1994 follow-up album, Storyteller, 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",
! width:45px;"|AUS<br>
! width:45px;"|AUT<br>
! width:45px;"|GER<br>
! width:45px;"|NED<br>
! width:45px;"|SWI<br>
|-
|1991
|align="left"| Surprise
- Released: June 25, 1991
- Label: Mercury
| 197
| 171
| 23
| 45
| 81
| 24
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|1994
|align="left"| Storyteller
- Released: May 17, 1994
- Label: Mercury
| 199
| 55
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- RIAA: Gold
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|1997
|align="left"| Crystal Waters
- Released: June 24, 1997
- Label: Mercury/Polygram
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|-
| colspan="9" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
|}
Compilation albums
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col" |Year
! scope="col" |Album details
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|1998
|align="left"| The Best of Crystal Waters
- Released: August 11, 1998
- Label: Universal/Polygram
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|2001
|align="left"| Gypsy Woman – The Collection
- Released: 2001
- Label: Spectrum Music
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|2001
|align="left"| 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Crystal Waters
- Released: 2001
- Label: Mercury Records
|}
Singles
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan=2|Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:300px;"| Title
! colspan=10|Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Certifications<br/><small>(sales thresholds)</small>
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="width:4em;font-size:85%;"
! width:30px;"|US<br>
! width:30px;"|AUS<br>
! width:30px;"|AUT<br>
! width:30px;"|GER<br>
! width:30px;"|IRE<br>
! width:30px;"|NED<br>
! width:30px;"|SWI<br>
|-
| rowspan="4"|1991
|align="left"|"Gypsy Woman"
| 8
| 11
| 3
| 11
| 2
| 3
| 1
| 50
| 1
| 2
|
- RIAA: Gold
| rowspan="3"|Surprise
|-
|align="left"|"Makin' Happy"
| —
| —
| —
| 17
| —
| 22
| 27
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| 22
| 18
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|-
|align="left"|"Surprise"
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|-
|align="left"|"Megamix"
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| 39
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| Megamix!
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| 1992
|align="left"|"You Turn Me On"
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| Encino Man soundtrack
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| rowspan="3"|1994
|align="left"|"100% Pure Love"
| 11
| 2
| 26
| —
| 33
| 30
| 15
| 44
| 20
| 15
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- RIAA: Gold
| rowspan="4"|Storyteller
|-
|align="left"|"What I Need"
| 82
| 130
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|-
|align="left"|"Ghetto Day"
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| 94
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| 40
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| 1995
|align="left"|"Relax"
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| 133
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| 37
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|-
| rowspan="2"|1996
|align="left"|"In de Ghetto"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with David Morales & the Bad Yard Club)</span>
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| 35
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|
|-
|align="left"|"The Boy from Ipanema"
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| Red Hot + Rio
|-
| rowspan="2"|1997
|align="left"|"Say... If You Feel Alright"
| 40
| 152
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| 32
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| 45
|
| rowspan="2"|Crystal Waters
|-
|align="left"|"Just a Freak"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with Dennis Rodman)</span>
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| rowspan="3"|2001
|align="left"|"Come On Down"
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| DJ Escape: Party Time 2002
|-
|align="left"|"Enough"
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|-
|align="left"|"Nights in Egypt"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with Sunseeker)</span>
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|
| Various Artists: Club Base Vol. 9
|-
| 2003
|align="left"|"My Time"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with Dutch)</span>
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| 18
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| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 22
|
| My Time: Remix EP
|-
| rowspan="2"|2004
|align="left"|"Destination Unknown"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with Alex Gaudino)</span>
| —
| 98
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
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|-
|align="left"|"Lies"
| —
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| DJ Boom: Electro Compilation
|-
| 2006
|align="left"|"Destination Calabria"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with Alex Gaudino)</span>
| —
| 3
| 55
| 6
| 30
| 2
| 14
| 35
| 50
| 4
|
- ARIA: Platinum
- BPI: Platinum
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|-
| rowspan="2"| 2018
|align="left"|"I Am House"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with Sted-E and Hybrid Heights)</span>
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|-
|align="left"|"Merry Christmas All"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(Hybrid Heights, Sted-E, John J-C Carr, Stacy Kidd)</span>
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| 2019
|align="left"|"United in Dance"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with R-NALDO)</span>
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| —
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| 2020
|align="left"|"Party People"<br/><span style="font-size:85%;">(with DJ Spen and DJ Micfreak)</span>
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|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
|}
Awards and nominations
{|class=wikitable
! width=4%| Year
! width=26%| Nominated work
! width=24%| Award
! width=32%| Category
! width=14% colspan=2| Result
|-
| rowspan=3 align=center| 1991
| "Gypsy Woman"
| rowspan=3 align=center| American Music Awards
| Favorite Single – Dance
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| rowspan=2| Herself
| Favorite Artist – Dance
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| width=4% align=center|
|-
| Favorite New Artist – Dance
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| width=4% align=center|
|-
| 1992
| "Makin' Happy"
| align=center|Billboard Music Video Awards
| Best Dance Video – Female
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| width=4% align=center|
|-
| rowspan=6 align=center| 1994
| rowspan=2|Herself
| rowspan=4 align=center| Billboard Music Awards
| Top Hot Dance Music Club Play Artist
|
| width=4% align=center|
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| Top Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales Artist
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| rowspan=3| "100% Pure Love"
| Top-Selling Hot Dance Music Club Play Single
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| Top Hot Dance Music Maxi-Single Sales
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| align=center| MTV Video Music Awards
| Best Dance Video
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| Storyteller
| align=center| Vibes Music Poll
| Best Album – Club/Dance
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| 1996
| "100% Pure Love"
| align=center|ASCAP Pop Music Awards
| Most Performed Song
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| 2004
| "My Time" (with Dutch)
| align=center| International Dance Music Awards
| Best House/Garage Dance Track
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| 2025
| Herself
| align=center|Electronic Dance Music Awards
| Female Icon Award
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| 2026
| I Am House Radio
| align=center|Electronic Dance Music Awards
| Best Radio Show
|
| width=4% align=center|
|-
| width=100% colspan=6 style=font-size:8pt align=center| The listed years are of the annual ceremonies, usually held the following year.
|}
See also
- List of Billboard number-one dance club songs
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart