In the Spotlight with Aubrey O'Day
Courtesy of SRC/Motown Universal
When the day came for Aubrey O’Day to sign her record deal with SRC Motown Universal, she didn’t let a moment pass by forgotten. Clad in a classy, white summer dress, a navy business suit overcoat, and beige stilettos, the former Danity Kane member documented every step of the way. From standing underneath the famed Universal logo outside of the building, to sitting alongside label head, Steve Rifkind, O’Day posted her pictures on Twitter to officially mark the start of her solo career.
“It started off as a long work day, like any other day does,” the singer recounts. “As I got closer and closer to the Universal part of my day, I felt nervous, excited, and I was reminiscing on my experience the first time around. Then, when I got to the Universal building, I took pictures of every little thing and I have the entire thing on video. Everyone thought it was so corny, but it was really exciting for me and I wanted to remember every moment. It feels more emotional when you’re on your own and you have to fight and struggle to get there. The rewards are that much sweeter. This time around, whether or not I have the success of Danity Kane doesn’t matter because I fought on my own and made everything happen on my own. Even a tiny bit of success means the world.”
Two and a half years after leaving the successful girl-group which elevated her into fame, O’Day prepares to add a solo career to her already growing list of accomplishments. With her first single, “Automatic”, due April 12th and a forthcoming album in the works, O’Day admits that the pressure of proving herself is greater than ever.
“It’s a constant build-up of fear of failure or fear of not being good enough or having to push past my insecurities,” she comments. “It’s one big process to move from a very successful situation to another, so it’s not easy. Most of the time, the hard parts get the best of us, but I’ve been able to push through those moments and find a place where I believe in myself even if no one else does. If you do that, no matter what your struggle is, you will be able to get to the ending point that you dream about.”
Much of the singer’s creative process and struggle can be seen on her recently-launched reality show, “All About Aubrey”. For many fans, the show provides a glance into the album, as they eagerly await its release.
“You get to see a lot of what I recorded on my show,” O’Day states. “If you ever want to get into more Aubrey music, you can go to iTunes and purchase the show or if you have On Demand, you can watch some episodes and get a glimpse of a lot of the tracks that I’ve written. Even last week, you saw me performing a track that I wrote called, “Goodbye Heartbreak”. A lot of the music and a lot of the snippets can be heard on my show. As far as the first single goes, it’s in keeping with the dance-club craze that’s popular right now. I really wanted to do a song that everyone loves to dance and sing to. More importantly, [the song] is about not having to wear the name brand shoes and the tight dresses and looking a certain way to get attention, but more so having the confidence to walk into a room and to automatically steal everyone’s attention no matter what you have on.”
According to O’Day, fans can also expect to hear a blend between two genres that compliment her most. “Most of the album is urban pop,” she says. “I associate most with urban music, but I do have a very pop radio voice as well.”
Just as she did prior to getting signed, O’Day reflects on her goals as a solo artist as she prepares for her debut—and while most might expect to hear mention of Grammys or Billboard chart positions, she offers a more humble response.
“With Danity Kane, we were able to sing at Madison Square Garden, we were nominated for VMA’s, and ultimately achieved everything on our list, but none of us were happy because all the goals we set for ourselves only looked good on paper,” she says. “As a solo artist, I’m focusing on being happy, rather than on the fame and the accolades.”
Credit: Aubrey O’Day, Lisa Taylor, SRC/Universal Motown, Julie Chalet
© Veronika Tacheva, 2011. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without written permission from the author is strictly prohibited.
