Taylor Dayne Interview
The "Tell It To My Heart" songstress talks health, hit-song remakes, and her personal mantra she tells herself every day.
Hitmaker Taylor Dayne, known for her songs in the 80s and 90s like "Tell It to My Heart,” "Prove Your Love,” "Don't Rush Me," "With Every Beat of My Heart," and "Love Will Lead You Back" (just to name a few), has done it again with the reinvention of her first single which is now, once again, soaring on the charts over 30 years later! As she heads out on tour this winter a new generation of fans, along with the old, will be able to sing along to the tunes that brought Taylor Dayne stardom. To keep up on all things Taylor Dayne, including tour dates, check out her website: TaylorDayne.com.
KG: Congratulations on your one-year anniversary of being cancer-free! Did your experience with colon cancer lead you to become an ambassador for Fit for the Cure for early detection of breast cancer?
TD: Thank you so much. I feel very blessed and grateful. The past year has been truly life-changing. Wacoal reached out to me while I was sharing my journey to recovery; I was also advocating for early testing for colon cancer, which is the same detection that ended up saving my life. The partnership has been great.
KG: How is your health doing now?
TD: I feel extremely tuned into my body and I do mean all of it; the good, the bad, the beautiful and sometimes even ugly. I'm very sensitive to my body’s needs now, more than ever. We all get caught up with life, and being in constant "go mode," and it's so important to learn to love ourselves more and really lean into self-care and that's exactly what I have been doing.
KG: Do you have a personal mantra?
TD: My personal mantra is "self-love and self-care." I make it part of my daily practice to make sure not to drift off too deeply into my anxiety.
KG: It's the 35th anniversary of "Tell It To My Heart" and Cash Cash did a remake of the hit song. How do you feel about your songs being remade and reaching a new generation of fans?
TD: The Cash Cash collaboration, and new creative for the record "Tell It To My Heart," was a beautiful rebirth in my mind. I reached out to the president of Ultra Records to see how we could celebrate the anniversary of my first hit. He loved the idea and felt that Cash Cash were the producers to do exactly that. They took it and turned it into a dream collaboration. To be able to watch the younger generation enjoy it as much as my generation has created a full circle moment for a classic hit. The true icing on the cake is knowing that I (thankfully) still have it!
KG: You've remade Ed Sheeran's song, "Thinking Out Loud." What was it that drew you to that song and will you be remaking any other artists' songs?
TD: During Covid, it was more of a reflective, internal and creative journey for most recording artists. Most of us had nobody to play with and it was very difficult to find ways to stay creative. There were no recording studios available, so I created one. I developed my "Dayne's Den" out of my backyard. We performed a lot of covers and worked on originals from my own recording history. In spite of everything happening in the world, I managed to turn it into a time of inspiration. Our normal day-to-day came to a screeching halt and then suddenly ceased to exist, which made it seem like no end-in-site. With that, it made us really hunker down, focus and create a safe space to stay creative. During that time, I recorded a beautiful project with the great Greg Field. We worked on covers exclusively, but not just the classics, all the great ones. I wanted to cover something that was raw and melodic; that's when the cover for "Thinking Out Loud" was born. It resonates so deeply with me and I feel the words in my soul. The feeling was similar to how I felt when I heard Selena Gomez's "Lose You To Love Me." We are all aware of the history, but the sentiment was so raw and real. That's why I wanted to see how Ed Sheeran's song would feel through a woman's eyes. I really enjoy taking on covers as a new challenge, even though it's not my everyday. As a singer, I love to search for different interpretations within music. I have also been able to bring my own personal journey through many great songs by Diane Warren.
KG: What is the most personal song you've written, or the one you connect with the most, and why?
TD: I have two. "Born To Sing" is the first. It is a song that makes me cry. I wrote the song with two great country writers from Nashville, Rachel Thibodeau and Tammy Hill. They gave me the strength to use my voice to express very personal thoughts and helped guide me in delivering this song vocally. "Soon As My Heart Breaks" is the second. I wrote this song with another great songwriter, Billy Mann. We really dove into the raw emotions of what the byproduct of a broken heart feels like. This song is a personal treasure of mine.
KG: You are going to be starting a new residency featuring you, a special guest, and a live band. What can you tell us about that? Are you able to mention any of the artists you will be collaborating with?
TD: Dayne's Den was a project conceived purely out of the need to be with my music creative collective. I'm fortunate to live in LA , which means it affords me to have neighbors that are some of the best in the business. We formed a real symbiotic group of talented musicians and decided to put a little group together. The objective was to perform in my backyard and open up the doors and have our business managers, friends and family come and enjoy live music. We even had the amazing Beth Hart perform, she was so epic. It was our version of Sunday supper, with cover songs. It turned into a residency of sorts that will be expanding into Vegas in 2024.
KG: You'll be heading out on tour soon. Is touring still as much of a thrill singing in front of a live audience as it was 30+ years ago when you were just starting out?
TD: I will be back on tour starting in February and will continue through March and April. The fact that I'm still performing 30+ years later is amazing! I find it more thrilling and engaging every time. The reciprocity between the audience and myself feels like an electric boomerang. The back-and-forth energy that we share is simply magic and there are no words to describe the feeling. I allow the feeling to take over my body and enter into my heart. The feeling has become a metaphorical rebirth every time I step on the stage; I feel so blessed.
KG: What is some advice you would give your younger self, whether business advice or life advice in general, that you wished you knew then?
TD: This would have to go back to my personal mantra of "self-care and self-love," and know that everything is going to work out. It really does.