In 1987, Select Merchandise threw their hat into the ring of the growing rock-themed fashion doll market. They released Cassie, an 11½-inch singing doll that combined traditional doll play with interactive electronics. Released during the popularity of musical fashion dolls such as Barbie and the Rockers and Jem and the Holograms, Cassie distinguished herself with an integrated karaoke feature rather than prerecorded music.

Trade publication Playthings described Cassie as an “animated fashion doll” whose mouth synchronized to either music or the user’s voice, noting that her stage doubled as both a display stand and electronic playset. The doll stood he same height as Mattel’s Barbie, allowing the two dolls to share clothing. Cassie retailed for approximately $30–35, positioning her below the price of many competing electronic toys.

Cassie included a stage base containing a speaker, karaoke microphone, and animatronic mechanism. By connecting the stage to the headphone jack of a radio or cassette player, the doll’s mouth moved in sync with the music, allowing her to “sing.” Children could sing directly into the included microphone, causing Cassie’s mouth to imitate their own voice in real time. The doll could be removed from the stage and played with independently as a standard fashion doll.

Although never produced on the scale of Mattel or Hasbro’s offerings, Cassie demonstrated Select’s continued interest in incorporating electronics into traditional toys. Introduced the same year as the Video Challenger system, Cassie reflected Select’s broader effort to expand beyond action figures and transforming robots into the rapidly growing interactive toy market.

Check out the fan site Totally Jem for more information.