From left to right: Max, Matt, Tricia, Dave and Melissa.
Superchick (or Superchic[k]) is an American Christian Rock band formed in 1999. They strive to be positive female role models, without needing to tell you to stop being feminine or glamorizing misandry in their music.The group has released four studio albums, and two remix albums, over the course of nine years. They disbanded while working on album number seven, which has been modified to be their final effort, with a release date of October 2013.
Notable Members Include:
- Max Hsu (DJ, Keyboards)
- Tricia Baumhardt (née Brock) (Lead Vocals)
- Matt Dally (Bass, Vocals)
- Dave Ghazarian (Guitar, Keyboards)
- Melissa Brock (Rhythm Guitar, Harmony Vocals)
- Brandon Estelle (Drums)
- Chase Lovelace (Drums)
Discography
- Karaoke Superstars (2001)
- Last One Picked (2002)
- Regeneration (2003)
- Beauty from Pain (2005)
- Beauty from Pain 1.1 (2006)
- Rock What You Got (2008)
- Reinvention (2010)
- Recollection (2013)
Superchick provide examples of the following tropes:
Musician Tropes- Band of Relatives: The Brock sisters.
- Gender-Blender Name: The band as a whole, but a special mention to Max being the founder.
- Girl Group: Subverted. They have a feminine name, female vocalist and write about empowerment. Now look at the rest of the band.
- Ironic Name: While the vocalist is female, you would typically expect a band with the name Superchick to have more girls in it.
- Lead Bassist: Downplayed. While other members rank higher, Matt is still a prominent vocalist in the group in addition to being the bassist.
- Myspeld Rökband: Although the later albums just put the logo (a silhouette shaped like a "K") in the brackets instead. note
- Only One Name: After getting married, Tricia dropped her last name entirely for solo works.
- Pregnant Badass: Tricia performed on tour with a very noticeable baby bump.
- Slogan-Yelling Megaphone Guy: Their mascot/Tricia.
- The Smurfette Principle: When Melissa left their final tour in 2012.
- Sudden Name Change: The band were originally Superchick11, but changed to Superchic and then finally Superchic[k] once they released an album, but downplay the brackets for Googleability.
- Two Girls to a Team: Tricia and Melissa.
- Xenafication: Melissa did not know how to play an instrument when joining the band.
Music Tropes
- Amazon Brigade: "So Beautiful"."When every girl can see her beauty we will be an army."
- Audience Participation Song: "Hey Hey".
- Author Catchphrase: After the song of the same name on their debut album, "One Girl Revolution" (or some variant of) tends to pop up once an album."Some days it's hard to be a one girl revolution." - One and Lonely from Last One Picked"I'm gonna make a one girl stand." - Me Against the World from Regeneration"Revolutions start when someone crosses the line." - Cross the Line from Rock What You Got
- Buffy Speak: "Breathe" uses the line "each breath breathed..." on more than one occasion.
- Captain Obvious: "Bowling Ball"."You need that boy like a bowling ball dropped on your head. Which means not at all."
- Casanova Wannabe: Matt's lines in "Wonder (If She'll Get It)" come off like this."What's up, my name is Matt. I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?"
- Cerebus Syndrome: While not too drastic, the first two albums were still a bit more cheerful than the later ones.
- Christian Rock
- Concept Album: Last One Picked is about not fitting in during high school.
- Continuity Nod: Aside from Author Catchphrase above, "Hope" also contains one."I learned to stand in the rain."
- Deceptively Silly Title: Their remixes usually have humorous names like "Dropped Chevy Mix," "Space Monkey Lab Mix," "Red Pill Mix," "Box Office Blockbuster Mix," "Vampires Vs Cheerleaders Mix" and "Teens Falling In/Out Of Love Mix." They, more often than not, have almost nothing to do with the actual song.
- Determinator: "One More".
- "Stand in the Rain"
- Fake Guest Star: Oddly Reinvention features three band members getting their own, separate credits. Matt and Tricia are billed as main artists on "Let it Roll" and "With You", with the former going as far as to being credited as "Matt Dally featuring Superchick". The "Karaoke Superstars" remix is also credited as "Superchick featuring ThumpMonks". ThumpMonks being Max's other project.
- Genre Shift: Tricia's solo music sounds nothing like what she performed with the band. Fans were surprised that The Road was actually a worship album, and while Radiate does have a similar writing style to Superchick, it is a 100% pop album.
- Greatest Hits Album: Their seventh album was repurposed into this after only five tracks were completed.
- I Am What I Am: "Real". Name dropped in the opening line no less.
- Like Parent, Like Spouse: "Barlow Girls"."All the boys in the band want a Valentine from a Barlow girl. The boys think they're the bomb. 'Cause they remind them of their mom."
- Love Before First Sight: "Wonder (If She'll Get It)" is about a girl who constantly falls for this trope.
- Non-Appearing Title: "Courage". Partial example for "Wonder (If She'll Get It)".
- The Not-Remix: The Beauty from Pain 1.1 versions of "We Live" and "Anthem" differ slightly from the originals. "Stories (Down to the Bottom)" also has two different mixes. The Superchick mix on Beauty from Pain, and the Toby Mac mix on his album Welcome to Diverse City.
- One-Woman Song: "Song 4 Tricia (Princes and Frogs)".
- Pep-Talk Song: Half of the songs in their library.
- Rearrange the Song: Regeneration took songs from their first two albums and made them Darker and Edgier.
- Re-release the Song: "One Girl Revolution (Battle Mix)" was put on the re-release of Beauty from Pain after debuting on the previous album.
- Rock-Star Song: Inverted with "Karaoke Superstars" and "Rock Stars".
- Singer Namedrop: "One Girl Revolution". Also used in the intro for "Karaoke Superstars"."If all you see is how I look, you miss the Superchick within."
- Soprano and Gravel: "We Live".
- Stay in the Kitchen: "Me Against the World"."They said don't try to change the world. You're just a girl."
- Step Up to the Microphone: "Princes and Frogs" is obviously not sung by Tricia.
- Studio Chatter: "Song 4 Tricia (Princes and Frogs)" and "Dave Ghazarian: Guitar Hero".
- Textless Album Cover: Karaoke Superstars.
- Title Track: "Karaoke Superstars", "Beauty From Pain" and "Rock What You Got".
- Unlikely Hero: "Hero".
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: Most of Matt's vocals. However, Tricia gets to do it on "Sunshine".
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: "Song 4 Tricia (Princes and Frogs)".
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: "Super Trouper" is about urging a friend to stop settling for the easy things in life and stop being afraid to take risks, and start living up to his or her potential.
Music Video Tropes
- Ground-Shattering Landing: The entire band uses Wire Fu jumps in the "Cross the Line" video, but Tricia is the only one who actually lands this way.
- High-School Dance: The premise of the "Barlow Girls" music video.
- Wondrous Ladies Room: Averted in the "Barlow Girls" music video. Although the (male) guitarist doesn't seem to mind it in there.
