Published: Thursday - January 25, 2007
Words by Jay Casteel
Danity Kane (Photo: Bad Boy)
We all saw them get chosen on MTV's "Making The Band" and all the obstacles they endured before releasing an album. Now, Danity Kane are full-fledged recording artists and enjoying success as well. After dropping their self-titled debut album, the five girl group -- consisting of Aubrey, Aundrea, D. Woods, Dawn and Shannon -- were riding high with the no. 1 album in the country. Then, shortly after its release, they got word it went platinum, which is getting harder and harder to accomplish in this day and age.
So, BallerStatus chopped it up with the girls from Danity Kane to see how they feel about hitting no. 1 on the Billboard charts, what they thought of "Making The Band," what's its like to work with Diddy, and future plans.
They may seem like just pretty faces, but these girls aren't taking nothing for granted, as they explain throughout our interview. The "studio rats," as they call themselves, are hard as work as we speak, preparing to follow-up on all their recent success.
BallerStatus.com: First off, congrats on the success of the album. How did it feel when the first week's sales came in and you guys were no. 1?
Aubrey: Unbelievable. I think we were all so proud of all the hard work we put in to making the album. We were all shell-shocked. When we first heard it, we were at a signing and Diddy called in on speakerphone and announced it over the loud speaker. It was really neat. We were all really excited.
BallerStatus.com: Did you expect the album to do as well as it did right off the bat?
Shannon: Obviously, you always set out to be the best. Doing as well as it did, we were just... we've always dreamt about this. We were working in the studio all those long hours, so you always hope that we're not the only ones who think this album is awesome. Of course, the fans went out and bought the album and responded the way they did. We were a little flabbergasted over it all really. It was amazing.
BallerStatus.com: Everyone saw the struggles you went through recording the album on "Making The Band." Although, a lot of it seemed dictated, as far as songs and what you girls sang about, were you happy with the end result?
Aubrey: Of course, we love our album and we're excited that everybody else loves the album as much as we do.
BallerStatus.com: The album has since went platinum. That's definitely a big accomplishment, being that album sales have been down for quite some time. What do you credit the success of the album to?
D. Woods: We credit the success... I mean, definitely to God. We're very spiritual people and we've been blessed immensely with opportunities, talent, training and experience, so we credit, definitely, God. Of course, also, everyone involved, including ourselves, because without everyone's hard work -- producers, writers, Diddy, MTV and the fans -- we wouldn't be here today doing this interview.
The fans, they watched us and rode with us through the ups and downs and struggles, so all together that made a successful event out of our album, you know?
BallerStatus.com: Bad Boy has a solid track record, but they also have a record for giving up on artists or putting them on the back burner, and many artists have left the label for that very fact. Why do you feel Diddy put all the energy he did into Danity Kane?
Aubrey: Because he believes in our talent as a group. I think -- in the time that he spent with us throughout the process of picking the band -- he really was meticulous in picking people he believed in and talent he believed in. We can't speak on the past, all we can speak on is what we know from our time spent with him, and he really believed in our talent and what we had to offer.
Dawn: I think also a big thing with Diddy is he saw our work ethic. I think he saw that we were gonna push forward with this by any means necessary and because of that is why he is behind us. Also as Aubrey just stated, he realized that we were gonna go at it full strength and if he wanted to be with it, he'd be with it. And if we wasn't with us 400%, we would still push to be better no matter what. I think because of the drive he saw in us made him want to be a part of it even more because he respected us. We have the mentality that with or without you, we're gonna do this, but we'd really, really like you to be a part of it because you've helped us thus far.
BallerStatus.com: As far as working with Diddy, what has he taught you thus far?
Aubrey: He's taught us tons of things, everything from what type of preparation it takes to be a legitimate artist in the game all the way up to the type of mental stamina you need to have longevity in the industry.
D. Woods: I think he also taught us not only how to be artists, but how to be business women. We came into this not only wanting to do great in music, but also do great in other avenues of the entertainment business and Diddy has shown us how to do that. He's taught us how to have that kind of mindset for both music and business -- acting, clothing and all the creative processes. Like Aundrea always says, "He'd turning us into mini moguls," because we plan to do so much more in this industry. We want Danity Kane to have a stamp in both music and the entertainment biz.
BallerStatus.com: Other artists we've talked to in the past have made the complaint that its tough being that Diddy is an artist, as well as label head. Do you feel that is a correct assessment?
Shannon: No, not at all. He's a perfectionist and a hard worker. And everyone is his camp, he expects them to work as hard as he does. He expects a lot out of the people he allows in his circle, so we talk take that as a compliment. Like Dawn was saying, he saw a lot in us and he believed that we could work and do as much as he does. If he had a moment to sit and just think, I don't think he'd know what to do. He's always going.
BallerStatus.com: You girls got a lot of exposure via "Making The Band," after watching the seasons on TV, were you ok with what was aired and how you were perceived?
Aubrey: It always depends on how you are perceived. Perception is up to everybody's individual tastes. As far as what was chosen to be aired, everybody could always argue that things didn't go that way, but really, there's really no need to do that. We did what we did, the show aired what they aired and it's been a tremendous help in allowing our album to be a success, so that's all we really feel when we look back on it. Regardless of whatever was edited, it helps push our album. As artists, that's all we're concerned about.
BallerStatus.com: What was the most difficult thing you had to go through on the show?
Dawn: I think all of it had its moment of difficulty, but I think the biggest thing for us was never knowing. With the show, everything was last minute and most of the time, we didn't know what was going on. I think that had a purpose later on when we realized in the industry nothing is planned and everything is last minute. But during the show, we had no contact with our families or anyone and I think, in being there, our whole situation was controlled by the show and Diddy. I think that was a hard thing for us because everyone wants some type of control over there lives. We had absolutely no control over anything and that was hard to get used to.
BallerStatus.com: You girls endured a lot, from getting up at 5 a.m. for dance rehearsal to going to a singing coach and then hitting the studio. Do you feel all that was necessary to your growth as artists?
D. Woods: Definitely. All of that is necessary if you want perfection for yourself. A lot of the stuff they had us doing, we were already doing on our own before the show to further our careers before all this. Getting up at 5 a.m. and standing in line for an audition is not much different from getting up at 5 a.m. to go to a singing coach then hit the studio to record music. We'd rather be doing that then waiting in lines for more auditions. I think it is definitely necessary if you wanna get everything done in a day. The early bird gets the worm, that's what my mother always told me.
BallerStatus.com: Aundrea, on the show, you had a difficult time juggling your personal life with the music, specifically, your boyfriend didn't seem to deal with it too well. How do you feel about that situation today?
Aundrea: I think I watched it once, but it is what it is. Seeing it, it was a hard thing to go through. It's hard to juggle both of those things. When you're doing this, you're personal life just doesn't exist anymore. You have to be with someone who's gonna be able to deal with that and unfortunately, he couldn't deal with that. So, you just gotta keep it moving.
BallerStatus.com: "Ride For You" premiered in December. This single is a whole different vibe than the club joint, "Show Stopper." Which single is your guy's favorite, and what kind of feedback have you gotten from them so far?
Dawn: Well they both have different purposes, but we love each one. I think it's great that you said that it's totally different from "Show Stopper" because that's the type of vibe we wanna constantly give. We wanna constantly come with some different, unexpected. Our album is definitely like that. We touch on different genres of music and it comes from different angles from us. I think "Show Stopper" was great for what it was. It was our favorite for us for doing a girl anthem and representing for the ladies and having that fun track at the time. We also like "Ride For You" for its emotional view and... we love the fact that it brings you to another place. It has so much of a sentimental grounding to it, and that's not necessarily the words, but also the vocals and what we brought with it. We like both of them for each thing they represent. We love both of them equally, but they both come from different places. We hope we can continue to come out with different looks and different vibes with our new music.
BallerStatus.com: What else is on your girls' plates right now?
Aubrey: Right now, we're gearing up to go on tour with Christina Aguilera in February. We're working also on our on promo tour doing different performances as a group, all over the country. "Ride For You" is out and just working non-stop.
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