Hooking up w/ producer Michael Jay, Martika landed a deal with Columbia Records. Martika's self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1988. But it wasn't until 1989 that she broke through in a big way. By January her debut single "More Than You Know" was a US Top 20 smash. Her second single, a haunting ballad about addiction, entitled "Toy Soldiers" spent 2 weeks at #1 in the US during the summer of 1989. Up next was a dance/rock version of the Carole King classic "I Feel The Earth Move" which would eventually score Martika her 3rd Top 40 US hit. This song as well as her previous singles also became huge hits all over the world by charting high in the UK, Australia, Japan and Spain just to name a few. A fourth single was released in Europe and Australia entitled "Water".
After the success of her debut, her label compiled a 4 song EP of Spanish language versions of 3 of her hits ("Water" was included as well but in it's bilingual original state). It was during this time that Martika would perform throughout many Spanish speaking countries, and was heavily promoted to the US Latino market.
During the fall of 1990, Martika returned briefly to acting playing Dahlia Mendez on the CBS drama "Wiseguy". Playing a sultry nightclub singer & girlfriend to the then new lead Steven Bauer, Martika turned heads w/ her sexy outfits & latin jazz standards sprinkled throughout the show. Much like her character's untimely death, the show also was cancelled after failing to catch on with viewers. Luckily for Martika all 4 of her episodes aired.
Martika followed up her debut (which eventually went gold in the US) with 1991's "Martika's Kitchen". Led by the first single, "Love...Thy Will Be Done", a prayer that Martika had written which would later be turned into a song by Prince, Martika would find herself once again on the charts. The song peaked at #10 in the US and was a #1 hit in Australia. Unfortunately a sophmore slump of sorts took its toll on what could have been a huge hit album. The 2nd single, a funky Prince penned and produced tune, failed to set the charts on fire and stalled at #98 in the US. However it did fare better in Europe making it all the way to #1 in Spain. A third single, the C+C Music Factory produced "Coloured Kisses", failed to chart in the US but was a modest hit internationally. Two more singles would see the light of day in Europe, a club only release of yet another Prince produced track "Spirit" made the rounds as did a 4th single "Safe In The Arms Of Love".
It was during 1992 that Martika would walk away from her music career. After a headlining stint at the Expo Sevilla in Sevilla, Spain, Martika walked off the stage and began a long hiatus from music. Rumors of her whereabouts would range from the weird to plain ridiculous.
During this time Martika wrote songs for several artists (Maria Nyler, Tevin Campbell, etc.) as well as lending her voice to several projects (C+C Music Factory's "Música es mi vida" and the Conga Club's "The Happy Song" to name a few). But it was not until 1999 that Martika would come out of musical obscurity by launching a website (the new defunct martika.net) and talk of a new album brought many fans out of the woodwork so to say. At this time several demos leaked on the internet and she even went as far as to release an internet only single "The Journey" available exclusively on mp3.com.
This brief return sort of came and went and it wasn't until the beginning of this decade that Martika would again return. This time as 1/2 of the musical duo Oppera. Along with her musical partner (and husband) Michael Mozart, the duo released their internet only debut "Violince". Since they have released a self-titled follow-up, opened for Pat Benatar.
In 2010 Martika, under the name Vida Edit, starred in the internet series J8DED along w/ her hubby Michael Daemon. The show is currently on hiatus.
Martika is currently working on her first solo album in 20 years. It will see her return to her dance/pop roots. Expect a fall 2011 release.
Also of note rapper Eminem sampled Martika's "Toy Soldiers" in his 2004 hit "Like Toy Soldiers", thus resparking some interest in this often ignored pop star. To boot, in 2007 British shoegaze/alternative rock band My Vitriol covered the song for their A Pyrrhic Victory EP.
Safe In The Arms Of Love
Martika Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There are pages of my life you've never seen
You're always there between the lines
But there's so much more you just can't seem to read
Pieces of dreams
Pull us our separate ways
But we'll return someday
'Cause my heart knows
We were meant to be together from the start
When the stars shine
Over one sky
I'll have faith
I'll be safe in the arms of love
Oh, yeah
You take me to another world
It feels so natural, so right
Then we awaken to reality
'Cause we both know that now is not the time
Under your spell
I'll never be all that I can
But I'll come back again
So let the wind blow
'Cause my heart knows
We were meant to be together from the start
When the stars shine
Over one sky
I'll have faith
I'll be safe in the arms of love
I'll have faith
What's mine is mine
And no one can take it away from me
I believe that in the end
We'll never have to be apart again
So let the wind blow
'Cause my heart knows
We were meant to be together from the start
When the stars shine
Over one sky
I'll have faith
I'll be safe in the arms of love
Yeah...
In the song "Safe In The Arms Of Love", Martika sings about a love that can withstand time and distance. She talks about how her heart is an open book, but there are still parts of her life that her partner has not seen. Even though they may be pulled in separate directions, she believes that they will come back together someday. The wind blowing symbolizes the uncertainty and changes in life, but her heart knows that they were meant to be together. Martika also acknowledges that their love might not be perfect, but she has faith that they will always find their way back to each other.
The second verse talks about how being with her partner feels like being in another world, but they have to eventually return to reality. Martika feels like she is under his spell and may not be all that she can be, but she knows she will come back to him. She talks about how what's hers is hers and no one can take that away from her. Martika believes that in the end, they will never have to be apart again.
Line by Line Meaning
You say my heart's an open book
You think you know me completely
There are pages of my life you've never seen
But there's so much you don't know about me
You're always there between the lines
You're always a part of my life, even if you don't realize it
But there's so much more you just can't seem to read
But sometimes you miss what's really going on
Pieces of dreams
Our hopes and aspirations
Pull us our separate ways
Can sometimes lead us in different directions
But we'll return someday
But we'll always come back to each other
So let the wind blow
Let things happen naturally
'Cause my heart knows
Because deep down, I know what's right for me
We were meant to be together from the start
We were always meant to be in each other's lives
When the stars shine
During moments of clarity
Over one sky
When everything seems to be aligned
I'll have faith
I'll trust that everything will work out as it should
I'll be safe in the arms of love
I'll feel protected and loved by the people who care about me
You take me to another world
Being with you feels like a dream
It feels so natural, so right
It just feels like we belong together
Then we awaken to reality
But then we remember that real life isn't always like that
'Cause we both know that now is not the time
We both know that things aren't perfect right now
Under your spell
Being with you has a powerful effect on me
I'll never be all that I can
Sometimes I feel like I can't be my true self around you
But I'll come back again
But I always come back to you
What's mine is mine
I know what I want and what's important to me
And no one can take it away from me
And nobody can make me change what I know is true
I believe that in the end
I have faith that everything will be okay
We'll never have to be apart again
We'll always find our way back to each other
Yeah...
Just a confirmation of agreement or affirmation
Contributed by Christian C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.