Soulful duo Nikki & Rich present the “Next Best Thing” 7-inch, the second in their classic Reprise-label vinyl series.

Releasing their debut album in 2010, Nikki & Rich are Nikki Leonti, a California-born pastor's daughter who grew up singing in church, and Rich Velonskis, a Queens, NY-born former DJ and established hip-hop/R&B producer who got his start spinning in New York City clubs as a teenager. These two seemingly opposite characters first met in 2007. Nikki was based in Nashville working as a background singer for Carrie Underwood and Rich was in Los Angeles producing tracks for Eve, Robin Thicke, Mario, and a Grammy-winning track for Ludacris under his moniker Rich Skillz. Rich was looking for a strong vocalist and lyricist to collaborate with and take his tracks to the next level and he found the perfect match in Nikki.

The result is a collection of exuberant doo-wop pop-soul - a sound that, thanks to Nikki's sassy, high-stepping vocal quality, captures all the fun and vitality of classic '60s girl groups but is made thoroughly modern by Rich's hard-hitting, radio-ready beats and keyboard textures.

"We didn't want to make a tribute record to past artists and have it sound like something that came out 40 years ago," Rich says. "We wanted to take the spirit and greatness of those times and bring them into the present day, and I think the way it's produced and the style of our writing bear that out."