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By the time “Lost in Emotion” was released in 1987, Lisa Velez had four others songs on the Billboard charts. And she was only 20. Better known as Lisa Lisa, the young singer from New York City now had her second #1 hit with bandmates Cult Jam. The first was “Head to Toe” from the same album.
The video for “Lost in Emotion” was filmed at the 116th Street Festival in Harlem. Except for the group dance routine, the video has an unstructured, almost unrehearsed feel. That was intentional for the carnival setting. In a 2020 interview with NJArts.net, Lisa Lisa recalled telling the director, “Look, just have the camera follow us and we’re going to have fun with this.” The ’80s hair and clothing are definitely fun in this one.