Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in La Habra, California, Kara Wethington got her big break in the music industry during her high-school years thanks to being in the right place at the right time. A part-time assistant at local producer Jon St. James’s recording studio, she was one day invited to stand in for an absent singer, laying down a rough vocal for the dance-pop track “DJ Girl”. This resulted in St. James not only using her version, but also offering to manage her and co-writing and producing the lion’s share of her ensuing debut album. Adopting the moniker Katalina, the Orange County singer-songwriter soon inked a deal with local label Thump Records. “DJ Girl” landed in the autumn of 1996 as her debut single, accompanied by an explicit version entitled “DJ Whore”. It reached number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, leading to a flurry of follow-ups later in 1996 in the form of the singles “Sonic Groove” and “You’ll Be My Future” and a debut LP, also titled Sonic Groove. None of these efforts were commercial successes, however, and Wethington turned her hand to other genres in the ensuing years. In 1999, she lent her vocals to The Bouncing Souls’ 1999 pop punk song “Wish Me Well (You Can Go To Hell)” and cameoed in the rom-com Simply Irresistible, contributing a trip-hop-tinged cover of the show tune “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” to the film’s soundtrack. By 2000, amidst various minor acting roles, she had revisited “DJ Girl”, penning a sequel entitled “DJ Girl Around the World” which appeared in the comedy box office smash Bedazzled.
