Taylor Dayne

Watch out world, this girl is about to explode with her brand new hit single “Dreaming,” about to be released shortly. Taylor Dayne, pop and freestyle singer, actress and songwriter known for “Tell It To My Heart,” is an inspiring, spontaneous and creative soul. I found her to be motivational during the interview as her philosophies sparkled with knowledge and insight.

Her fans are about to become elated as they discover that they have much to look forward to. Dayne has many new projects on the horizon that are sure to surprise and delight everyone.

Just want to say first, I’m glad you’re a Long Island girl!
Yay, Long Island! Yeah, Long Island. I was just there. I just got back.

So you’re going on tour right now.
Yeah, I mean, I do gigs around the year but primarily in the summer. Obviously it’s a busy time, so that’s great.

I noticed dates set for you until December.
Yes. I’m also attached to doing The Christmas Story Tour, which I’ve not been a part of yet, but it’s been an ongoing tour that’s gone on for many years with some pretty wonderful singers. It’s my first year going out with them to performing arts centers. It’s a great production, and I look forward to it with Peabo Bryson, Jennifer Holliday, myself and Ruben Studdard.

That’s a nice lineup.
Yes, it is.

So will you be performing Christmas songs?
Oh yeah, classic holiday material. It’s just a really fun and a really well-known tour that’s gone out to performing arts centers for a number of years. During that time of year I’ve seen numerous shows, and it’s just a really nice feeling. I’ve always wanted to record a holiday record, being a nice Jewish girl from Long Island! But we do our Christmas songs better than anybody, so it’s a great time of year.

Yeah, I love Christmas.
I love the holiday time of year.
You have a huge gay fan base.
Yes, I really do. I love it.

And you have some children, correct?
I do, I have twins, a boy and a girl, and they’re 12.

What are your children’s names?
Levi and Astaria.

How do you juggle your career and raising your children?
Well, I did it very unconventionally. Having these beautiful kids is a blessing, and a lot goes into it. I mean, I’m glad I’m home now to spend some quality time with them. I’ve always had help, I’ve always had live-ins. I’ve done it as a single mother, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But as they’re getting older, the demands to really make sure they’re cared for, and their interests are met, and they’re not bored, meaning they don’t get into things that aren’t what [they] should be. It’s more demanding because they look at me and they want to have real conversations about real things. I want to make sure that what I’m discussing with them … I want to make sure that I’m setting them up for life, a well-adjusted, great life.

Do they like having a famous mommy?
I don’t know; we’d have to ask them! I’m sure they’ll give you a very convoluted answer. You never know what comes out of their mouths, let me tell you!

Well, 12 is a rough age.
Just wait! Just wait?
Did you imagine your life to be different than it is while you were growing up?
Oh, wow. I don’t know what I imagined. I just imagined the bigness. I had a dream. I don’t know if you ever say, “I want this house,” “I want this car.” I certainly had big aspirations and big dreams, and I just said, “I want to be a rock star. I want to be a star.” I was singing at a very young age, because I knew this was going to be my vehicle, and I’d be damned if anything got in my way. That’s for sure.

Well you have a big, powerful and beautiful voice.
Thank you.

I heard somewhere that you were chosen by Elton John to do the Nile Rodgers We Are Family Foundation tribute to Elton John.
I think we’re going back. You know I starred on Broadway with Elton John and Tim Rice, who were the creators of an incredibly wonderful Disney production. I starred in that for a good year. I had a wonderful, successful run on Broadway, and he was honored one year by the Nile Rodgers foundation, and I did perform at that.

So who inspires you?
You know, I was asked a very funny question yesterday at a barbecue when I finished my show in Boston. I was there with some friends. The next day I was asked, “What’s your favorite song of all time?” And I’m like, wow, you know there’s a lot of expectations. And I just said, “Let’s go around the bonfire.” Because everybody has a different “favorite song” for different reasons. What inspires me, what I draw on, is experiences from my childhood. However, you are inspired, as an artist, if you can look outside yourself and everything in front of you. I think it’s just stillness and how you take in what’s around you to be inspired, and usually the more still you are the more open to it you are to get inspired. For me, I listen to new music, people inspire me, they talk to me, and I think when you’re open you can be inspired by anything.

Was there anyone you looked up to as a child?
You bet. I mean, I was given a radio, and that’s what turned me on. I grew up in the ‘70s. The first thing I heard, and I always say that, was Stevie Wonder. It was “My Cherie Amour.” It changed my world: that voice, that melody, the bells, the strings. I just heard … I saw colors. It changed my world, and I said, “I’m gonna sing like that, I’m gonna sound like that. If I can’t sound like that, I’m gonna practice until I sound like that.” And that’s just how it went, how ingrained [in] my ear, and I said one day I’m gonna be so good people aren’t gonna be able to turn their back on me. People are gonna wanna hear me; they’re gonna wanna hear what I have to say. That’s how you find your voice. That’s it. Whether you find it in that sense physically or spiritually, you find your way. You find a way to speak and to have a voice in this world.

Do you have a favorite memory?
Yeah, sometimes people ask me, “What’s your favorite spot? What’s your safe spot?” … It tends to be walking through the woods to a place where it’s kinda quiet. Maybe I saw the sun, it was coming through the trees. In a place upstate we used to go by Bear Mountain. It was a little quiet place by the lake, and I could just hear the water hit the rocks, then maybe there was this little … meadow, if you like, where the sun would dabble down through the trees, and maybe the deer would be there, and I just felt peace.

What’s your worst quality?
Impatience.

And your best?
My quality of staying grounded and being truthful and real.

Where are you going to be in 10 years?
Really smiling at my kids, being on stage performing for maybe 5,000 to 10,000 fans, when I choose to and how I choose to. Never forgetting and always forever knowing my purpose gives me the greatest amount of joy. Making sure I have the ability to continue on that process. Being a very healthy and beautiful woman, and sharing it with my friends and family and the person I love. That’s very important. I could be on my yacht, baby, or I could be … looking at my kids and maybe enjoying the view, babe.

So what’s happening for the near future?
Well, right now I’ll be releasing a new single very shortly, within the next couple of weeks. We’re doing the artwork for it now, and I’m doing mixes, so it’s kind of exciting. We’ll release it probably in the free download. I’m also in the process of doing mixes for my re-records, my greatest hits. Everything is kind of in the now.

How exciting!
Yeah, so I’m pretty excited about it. The single is called “Dreaming.”

Dreaming?
Yeah, I’m on it, so that’s happening, and I’m gonna start filming for a series I’m in the middle of. It’s a reality series, and we’ll start getting into that. We’re gonna launch before 2015. Right now I’m looking at September here, so we’ll probably get the filming in. I have a lot of projects right here.

Can you tell us about the show?
Let’s just say it’s a follow … it’s a series.

Anything else you would like to promote?
I wanna make sure the fans know everything’s gonna be posted up on the social media. … They’ll be certain to see when the new music is dropped and where to stream it and listen to it. And thank you for all the support my fans have been there for.

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