September 29, 2006 @ 1:35 pm

Ex-Making The Band Member, Dominique Young, Preps for Solo Success

Shayla Byrd

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Young's taken a break from the life as an undergraduate at The University of Maryland and is focusing on her music full time. Now free from the contracts that bounded her for months after the show was over, she's is in the process of shopping for management and record deals. “Now that we’re nine, ten months removed from the situation and I get to look at Danity Kane, I can tell you that I don’t think that my voice, my personality would have fit into that group,” said Young during an exclusive interview with Vibe.com. “I think I was meant to be a soloist.” “My voice is very unique and raw,” she says. “With me, there’s no smoke and mirrors. I’m not taking my clothes off. I’m not dancing around on stage or anything. I’m just me, singing about what I know and love, and that’s it.” But that doesn’t mean she’s harboring any feelings of ill-will or resentment for the ladies of Danity Kane or their recent success. right “Dawn and Wanita (D. Woods) are close friends, so we talk every once in a while,” she says. “And I really do wish them the best. I went through so much with those girls that I can only hope that things work out for them.” The relationship with Diddy and Bad Boy, though, is pretty much over, she says. Though Diddy offered Young a demo deal after the show wrapped, Young decided to end their relationship. “I just felt like there was no point in lingering,” says Young. “Also, I think there’s an organic chemistry that has to come between an artist and a label, and I don’t necessarily feel like I would’ve had that chemistry at Bad Boy.” Though she doesn’t yet have a deal, Young is happy with the progress she’s made since the show. She recently wrote a song with Ne-Yo called “Lonely Road,” which she describes as a “sad, but beautiful ballad.” Another song in repertoire is the very personal “I’m Here,” in which she proclaims: “I know you see me on TV and you think you know exactly who I am/but you ain’t seen the best of me/I got some new tricks up my sleeve and I don’t need no band/now I’m on a mission/there’s no more competition/you need to catch the vision/I’m just trying to let you know baby girl is incredible.” “I felt like my first major song should let people know I’ve been through a lot since the show, and now it’s time," explained Young when asked about the song. "Now I’m trying to come onto the scene and do something new and different.” Apparently her fans have been waiting for the same thing. Young’s absence on the last season of "Making The Band III", caused her myspace friend count to jump from 1,000 to 12,000 in a matter of months. And one of her fans—Young doesn’t know who—started a petition at www.wewantdominque.com that asks people to “join in the fight to get Dominique a record deal.” The petition currently has 379 signatures from people across the country. The outpouring of support that she’s received from her fans is what’s keeping her motivated. Though she’s currently being backed financially by her family (her MTBIII salary of $200 per week is long gone), she says it’s her fans that have kept her going. “I probably wouldn’t have had the energy to still be doing this ten months removed from the show if it weren’t for the 12,000 myspace friends that hit me up everyday with words of encouragement,” says Young. “It’s really a blessing, and I just want to really give them something they can be proud of.”

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