Living Dolls
Danity Kane gets ready to do damage on the charts with a hot new single and a follow-up to their platinum debut.
It’s been four years since Diddy announced on MTV that he was going to put together the next great girl group. After two seasons, Diddy declared that Shannon Bex, Aundrea Fimbres, Aubrey O’Day, Dawn Richards and D. Woods would be the women to make his dream of girl group superstardom a reality.
And that they did. After their debut single “Show Stopper” hit the airwaves and led the album to take the number one spot its first week out, the five women known as Danity Kane proved that they were anything but a reality show fluke.
In the midst of a publicity storm for “Making the Band 4” and the upcoming release of their sophomore album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, original MTB diva Aubrey O’Day got on the phone with us and told us about how even with all of their success, this is just the beginning…
D920: Girl I feel like I’ve known you forever as long as I’ve been watching you on the show! Like we’re BFFs!
Aubrey: Thank you! You’re so funny! You have a Wisconsin accent - I can totally hear it!
D920: I can lay it on thick during the interview if you want.
AO: (laughs) I have a friend from Wisconsin and he talks the exact same way!
D920: I saw a group of kids dancing to “Showstopper” at a dance competition not too long ago. Does it ever occur to you just how big of an influence you have on girls of all ages?
AO: Aww! It’s something we’ve all wanted in our lifetimes. For me, even beyond singing, I’ve always wanted to be someone that could reach out to a large number of people. It’s a beautiful thing because, within this girl group, we all represent so many different types of women and so many different types of things.
D920: You also set a pretty good example to women about standing up for what they believe in when you all stood up to Diddy about your album. And now the single’s a smash…
AO: It was great validation for us. It’s been a long time since we really felt strongly about what we’re doing. I mean, the first album we were kind of growing into ourselves personally and as a group. We’re at a point now where we really know who we are as a group, and we know the kind of music we want to make and what we want to stand for. Once we got that together, NOTHING is going to stand in our way!
D920: You’ve come a long way…
AO: It’s growing pains, and everyone goes through that in regular life. You have to figure out who you are in life, and once you do, nothing can get in your way. Once you know what you want, you’re ready to go get it.
D920: So “Damaged” is just doing ridiculously well and is a hit for your lead-off. Not what I expected at all!
AO: We’re definitely going with that pop/club/techno sound. Music is changing, and it’s kind of going into that sound with interesting noises. We have a lot of club bangers that Danja provided. And we’re dancers at our core, so that’s something we all love just as much singing. To not be dancing along with it, it’s a waste of our talent.
D920: What can you tell me about some of the other tracks?
AO: We wrote six tracks on the album, so of course those tracks. “Strip Tease” is one of my favorites. There’s an interlude called “Flashback” and another interlude called “Picture This” that I just love. And of course the single, “Damaged” is one of my favs. We also did a collaboration with Missy Elliott called “Bad Girl,” and that’s a club banger.
D920: If the single is any indication, this album is going to be crazy! AO: Thank you! You know, this album is like our baby and we’re so passionate about it! I wish the whole world could just sit in and see us talk about this album. It’s really a great feeling to stand behind something and love it so much. D920: Did you not have that feeling the first time around?
AO: You know the first album was great, but I didn’t really listen to it that much. I remember sitting in interview after interview saying, “Yeah, the album is so great, we love it, it’s so good,” but now – I actually mean it! (laughs)
D920: Do you think you’re still fighting the reality show stigma? I mean, you have a platinum album, and you’ve been on enough seasons to show what you’ve really got…
AO: I think it’s still a blessing and a curse. It’s definitely cast a shadow for some people on us as legitimate artists, but you can’t deny the album went platinum, and you can’t deny the music. But there’s always going to be those people. At the end of the day, I’ll challenge people to go buy the album and listen to it. The music speaks for itself.
D920: And the fans?
AO: The fans love us, and they’re getting a chance to watch our everyday lives after all of the success. They can see that we’re still normal, we’re still goofy, we’re still the same girls we were coming into this. I think that’s a powerful thing for them to be able to see. At the end of the day, I love the show, and I love being able to share our lives with our fans.
D920: The show showed you working with some of the best in the business. Was there one you just gelled with a little more? AO: We have a very strong relationship with our vocal producer named Jim Bean. He works for Timbaland and vocal produced pretty much our entire album. We felt he really coined a sound for Danity Kane. We got him there to vocal produce on this album, and our vocals are undeniable. The growth that every girl and the group as a whole have had is amazing.
D920: Are there any friendly bets with the boys on who is going to go platinum first?
AO: Oh I’m sure they plotted something up in their heads every night (laughs). You know we don’t really think about it. We’re not competing with anyone but ourselves. We’ve talked about this as a group too – we’re in a completely different market than they are. It’s two completely different worlds. But at the end of the day, we have an album that we really believe in, and that’s what matters. So even if it doesn’t do anything, we believe in it.
D920: Are there any plans to go out on tour this summer?
AO: There are some really hot tours out this summer – Janet, Mariah – so maybe we can get in on those. We’re interested in doing our own House of Blues tour, and of course we have the potential to do a Bad Boy tour. We’re playing with the options, but we’re all so focused on the album coming out.
D920: Well I’m excited to see that album come out and see what happens with it.
AO: Thank you! Thank you so much for all of the support. And tell Wisconsin we love them!
