Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman, March 7, 1962) is an American pop vocalist, dance artist, and actress.
Dayne, who was born in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, came to prominence in the late 1980s and continued to appear at the top of the charts through the 1990s. Dayne's first seven singles hit the U.S. top ten and she has topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart three times. Overall, she has has 17 individual Top Ten's on Billboard Charts, including the recent Billboard Dance #1 "Beautiful" in May 2008. She remains a pop favorite in the U.S. and abroad.
Dayne began singing professionally after graduating from high school, singing in rock bands such as Felony and Next. However, both bands failed to become successful. She began singing solo after finishing college, and as Les Lee released the dance single "I'm The One You Want" in 1985. Signed to Arista Records, her first song to crack the top ten was the dance-pop hit "Tell It to My Heart" in 1988. The song was an instant smash worldwide, peaking in the top five of most major markets worldwide, and achieving a peak of number one in many countries, including Germany. The song has many freestyle music influences, and it was marketed as "Hi-NRG" in Europe. Hits that followed included "Prove Your Love", "I'll Always Love You", "Don't Rush Me", "With Every Beat of My Heart", "Love Will Lead You Back", "I'll Be Your Shelter", "Heart of Stone", "Send Me a Lover", "Naked Without You", and "Whatever You Want".
In the United States, Dayne achieved three gold singles, with "Tell It to My Heart", "I'll Always Love You", and "Love Will Lead You Back". "I'll Always Love You", a change-of-pace ballad compared to Dayne's earlier releases, was her breakout hit on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1988 and paved the way for future uptempo dance tracks such as "Don't Rush Me" and "With Every Beat Of My Heart" to gain acceptance at AC radio (whereas Dayne's first two hits had not) until about a decade later.
In 1990, "Love Will Lead You Back", a Diane Warren composition, peaked at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. The song deals with the complications surrounding a breakup, and focuses on the intense hope that love will find a way to save the relationship.
Dayne was featured in the VH1 series Remaking, which featured her close friend, Leah Remini. The series documents Dayne's return to music after taking time off to have a family, (she has twins, Levi and Astaria), and premiered her newest song, "Right Now", a result of her collaboration with Rodney Jerkins.
In April 2006, she was Elton John's choice to perform at the Nile Rodgers We Are Family Foundation tribute to Elton John.
As an actress, Dayne performed on Broadway in Elton John's Aida in 2001. She has had roles in independent films such as Fool's Paradise (1997), Stag (also in 1997) and Jesus the Driver (2004), as well as the Warren Beatty-produced 1994 remake of Love Affair. Dayne also had a recurring role on the Showtime series Rude Awakening, and was cast as Dan Connor's mistress in the sitcom Roseanne; however, the show was cancelled before Dayne could begin filming. She recently filmed a role in the upcoming thriller "I am bad" as a sexually adventurous chef.
Taylor Dayne has sold anywhere between 10 and 25 million albums and millions of singles worldwide; and she released her fifth album in February 2008 to positive reviews - her first recording studio album for over eight years. Producers on this record include Rick Nowels and Greg Alexander. The album includes both new material and recreations of some of her favorite contemporary songs.
On December 11, Dayne released the first single, "Beautiful", from her studio album Satisfied. The song is written by Taylor Dayne and Hitesh Ceon of production-team 3Elementz. Dayne has been promoting the single on many radio stations, including top markets including New York's WKTU. "Beautiful" went to #1 on the Billboard Dance Charts. She also appeared on The Today Show, Chelsea Lately, Wake Up with Whoopi, and VH1. The music video for the single and Satisfied album cover were shot by Tony Duran, who has also shot album covers for Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez.
Dayne is currently in the studio putting together a remastered greatest hits album which will include two new tracks. The album will be released in later 2008.
Taylor Dayne - Tell It To My Heart excerpt
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