Allure 's effervescent first single, "Head Over Heels" - featuring a typically inventive and articulate guest shot by rap superstar Nas - already is climbing the charts prior to the April 22, 1997 release of their album. The song is written by Mariah Carey and produced by Mariah Carey with Poke and Tone - the sizzling-hot production team better known as Track Masters, whose credits include chart-topping hits by LL Cool J, Foxy Brown, Mary J. Blige, and Nas himself. The "Head Over Heels" video, directed by Diane Martial, includes cameo appearances by both Mariah and Nas, along with three pop/r&b/rap music celebrities for whom female listeners have fallen "head over heels": Bryce Wilson of Groove Theory, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, and Sticky Fingaz of Onyx.

Another standout cut from Allure is "All Cried Out," on which the women's voices blend deliciously with the hardcore harmonies of Bad Boy Entertainment quartet 112. (The original version of this song was a Top Ten hit for Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam in 1986.) The multi-talented Mary J. Blige wrote, arranged and sang on two other tracks, "When You Need Someone" and "You 're Gonna Love Me." Allure 's assured feel for East Coast hip-hop comes through loud and clear on "No Question," featuring a butta performance by the incomparable LL Cool J; and on "Give You All I Got," in which Wu Tang Clan member Raekwon trades in his usual hardcore Shaolin flava for a calmer, subtler head-bobbin ' rap style on two verses.

Oddly enough, "Head Over Heels" - the first single - was the last tune recorded for the album. "We had the track," Lalisha points out, "but we didn 't have the right lyrics for it. Mariah offered to write something, and within a day she came back with lyrics we loved. She blazed the track!"

The four members of Allure - Alia Davis, Lalisha McLean, Linnie Belcher and Akissa Mendez - share an uncommon number of personal similarities, usually in two pairs. Two members ' names begin with L; two others ' names begin with A. Two worship as Catholics, two as Baptists. Two were born under the zodiac sign of Leo, two under Virgo. And Allure all agree that the group 's two more serious personalities are set off by two more carefree ones.

Alia Davis, Lalisha McLean, and Akissa Mendez are all former students at New York City 's famed LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. Admirers of such artists as the Shirelles, the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men and Jodeci, the three soon became close friends with a mutual dream of becoming professional singers. In need of a fourth member, the trio sought out Alia 's long-time friend, Linnie Belcher, who was a student at the equally prestigious Julia Richmond High School. "We sang at each others ' churches until we decided to take it seriously," Lalisha remembers.

The group worked diligently for two years, practicing in a room at a Bronx community center in the Bronx until a mutual acquaintance brought them to the attention of Track Masters producer Poke. Much impressed by the women 's polished harmonies and elegant stage presence, Poke arranged for the still-unnamed quartet to audition for his partners, and soon the four vocalists were signed to Track Masters ' production company. In mid-1996, Track Masters secured an album deal with Crave Records through label founder Mariah Carey.

"It 's been like a dream come true," enthuses Alia Davis. "Sometimes we still can 't believe our good fortune! It seems as if only yesterd ay, we were watching Mariah perform on television. Now here we are, signed to her label and working with her in the studio."

Lalisha admits that "we didn 't really have a name at the time that we got involved with the Track Masters. So Poke started trying to think of a name that would fit in with the image. He wanted something that was sexy but nothing too provocative or exaggerated" - hence, Allure.

The overall high quality and impressive musical variety of Allure, The Album, would seem to guarantee a bright future for Allure, The Group. "What sets Allure apart from other artists," says Akissa, "is that we really want to have a career. We 're not looking to have one hit record - we are looking for a lifetime of hits."