Music career[edit]

Medeiros began his musical career at the age of 10 when he helped his father entertain guests on his tour bus on the island of Kauai. In 1986, at the age of 16, Medeiros won Brown Bags to Stardom, a local radio talent contest at KIKI radio in his hometown of Honolulu, when he performed a cover version of George Benson's "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" which was subsequently produced into an album by a small local independent label.^[4][6] Jay Stone, the program director and future producer of the song, convinced Medeiros to record it and make it his first release, as Benson's "The Greatest Love of All", had been a No. 1 hit for Whitney Houston earlier that year.^[10]


Guy Zapoleon, program director of KZZP in Phoenix was on vacation in Honolulu where his friend Stone asked him to listen to the song. Zapoleon took the record back to Phoenix, where it debuted on KZZP in October 1986. By January 1987, the song hit No. 2 for four weeks, then the airplay spread with other stations having Top 5 success with the song and by June 1987 the song had become a national hit with it reaching No. 3 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. Later, a worldwide hit, it reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1988.^[11] The single was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Medeiros released his debut album Glenn Medeiros in May 1987.


In 1988, he recorded the single "Un roman d'amitié (Friend You Give Me a Reason)" with French artist Elsa Lunghini along with song "Love Always Finds a Reason", written by Diane Warren, which was recorded in full in English-language. Elsa had been introduced to Medeiros by French television presenter Jean-Pierre Foucault.^[12] Medeiros explained why the song had been retitled in French, dealing with friendship while the original version was about love: "Elsa and I don't want our fans to think that we're really going together. It's just a good friendship. Though she is one of the nicest girls I've ever, ever met".^[13] "Un Roman d'amitié" achieved massive success in France where it debuted at No. 8 on the chart edition of 23 July 1988 and reached No. 2, two weeks later, being blocked at this position for weeks by the summer hit "Nuit de folie" by Début de Soirée; it then managed to top the chart for six weeks. It was certified Gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.


The song was featured on Medeiros's second album, Not Me, which was released in September 1988 and certified Gold in both France and Spain.^[14][15] Two more singles were released to promote the album, each with a promotional music video. The first, "Long and Lasting Love", peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 before the album's release and the second single, "Never Get Enough of You", followed in early-1989. "Un Roman d'amitié" was also featured in the self-titled Elsa which was certified double platinum by the SNEP for more than 600,000 sales in France.^[16]


In 1989, Medeiros recorded "Under Any Moon" with The Jets, which was included on the soundtrack of The Karate Kid Part III in which he made a cameo appearance. Medeiros achieved a 1990 hit duet with Bobby Brown titled "She Ain't Worth It" which was featured on his third album, Glenn Medeiros.^[17] The song reached No. 1 for two weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Medeiros' only No. 1 hit in the United States, and the second and last No. 1 hit where Brown has received credit as an artist, after "My Prerogative". The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The single also reached the Top 20 (No. 12) on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, Finland, and Ireland.^[11]


Medeiros had another hit duet with Ray Parker Jr. titled "All I'm Missing Is You" which peaked at No. 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1991, Medeiros produce "If Looks Could Kill (No Turning Back)" for the comedy film If Looks Could Kill starring Richard Grieco. In 1992, Medeiros recorded a duet with Thomas Anders (of Modern Talking) titled "Standing Alone". Medeiros has remained regularly involved in the music industry in his home state of Hawaii (including several headliner and related musical variety shows in Waikiki).