After her breakout single “Toy Soldier,” Martika and her creative team tried not to get caught up by the “Second album of death” curse that plagued so many 80s singers. The album title (Martica’s Kitchen) was taken from a Japanese novelist’s bestseller “Kitchen” to introduce exotic modernity. They even asked Prince (I think it’s safe now to call him Prince….whatever, who cares) to write this song, despite Martika being an accomplished songwriter. In the end, the curse was stronger than her will. Staple song: Toy Soldier