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Clearly a winner >>
Dance diva Crystal Waters comes on down to MTL
Mirror:
What were you doing when “Gypsy Woman” hit? Crystal Waters:
I was working for the D.C. government. And when the song came out, it
started doing well, but I actually stayed at my job for another three
or four more months. I just didn’t realize that I could make money
off of this. I was doing interviews at my desk. And I even took two
six-month leaves of absence because I didn’t want to lose my benefits.
So it was like a year before it kicked in that I could actually make
a living doing this. M: Is it
tough to become a star in the dance music genre? CW: I think
I was very lucky because dance music was already happening [when “Gypsy
Woman” came out], and I made the video so everybody recognized
the name with the music. That’s the one thing with dance music,
there’s no recognition. You can’t associate the name with
the face or the face with the song. They don’t have the exposure
or the video that R&B artists have. I write my stuff, I think my
personality comes through—it’s not a producer-driven thing.
And as I always say, a good song is a good song, whether it’s dance
or R&B. M: What’s
the story behind “Come On Down”? CW: The
label had the track. And they said, “We need to put some vocals
on it,” and they thought I would be perfect. And I said, “No,
no, no. No more novelty songs!” But then I heard it, and I loved
The Price Is Right and Bob Barker when I was growing up, and then I
was like, “Okay, I’ll do it.” Once we started recording,
The Price Is Right got involved and they were excited. Last year was
their 30th anniversary and there was going to be a big promotion, they
were going to give away tickets and fly everybody out there to see the
show. But then September 11 happened and nobody wanted to fly. Nobody
was celebrating, nobody was comin’ on down. M: What’s
your favourite part of the music biz? CW: My favourite part is when you write a song and you know it’s a good song and when you finish performing it, everybody in the room has a smile on their face. : Crystal Waters
performs at Club Dome, Saturday, March 16
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It’s
been 12 years since Crystal Waters invaded the dance and pop music charts
with her then ubiquitous club hit “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless).”
Back in ’91, “La da di, la da da,” became clubland’s
mantra and made Waters an instant star. Over the years she’s kept
dancefloors hopping with club bangers like “100% Pure Love,”
and “In de Ghetto.” Now she’s back with “Come On
Down,” her latest club hit which samples from none other than America’s
favourite game show, The Price Is Right. It’s the first single
from her next album, tentatively titled Crystal Concentrate, to be released
later this year. The Mirror caught up with Crystal in her D.C. digs.