Interview with Danity Kane

The ladies from Danity Kane were personally picked by music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs on MTV's Making The Band 3 to be the next big girl group. Groomed by the best talent coaches in the hip hop and R&B industry, Shannon Bex, Audrea Fimbes, Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard and D. Wood found out quickly that a superstar endorsement and a hit reality TV show does not sell records. It takes hard work, endless performing and very little sleep to make it in the music business. More than they had ever expected. But they take it in stride, because at the end of the day the girls are living their dream. Arjan met up with the sexy fivesome who recently released their sultry new single "Ride For You" from their self-titled debut album.

Making The Band looked pretty intense with Diddy criticizing you at every step of the way, or was that all a matter of clever editing by MTV?
Shannon: It was really that intense when the show was taped. But it was bittersweet. Diddy and his crew made us hit rock bottom, but they also made us stronger. Looking back, everybody helped us prepare for this industry. No one holds your hand. You have to be strong no matter what you do. So the experience turned out to be somewhat of a blessing.

If you don't have to work. How do you relax?
Aubrey. Oh my gosh. I don't know even know. We haven't relaxed in like two years. [Laughs] But Shannon gives great massages. Seriously, I've had tons of professional massages and she has golden hands!

Who of you gets the most guys?
Aubrey: We all get tons of guys! [Laughs]

If you'd take a drug test tomorrow, what would they find?
Dawn: They wouldn't find anything. They just would find a lot of chocolate in Shannon's system. [Laughs]. We have to take care of our bodies. We don't do stuff like that. We're high on life.

Who looks the best in the morning?
Aubrey: Is there anybody that looks great in the morning? We all have terrible bedheads!

What's the worst rumor you've heard about yourself?
Dawn: The worst rumor I've heard is that we had a thing with Diddy. You know it is such an easy thing to say that about girls in a girlband. We had a show on television that showed how hard we worked so to come up with a rumor like that was kind of crazy to me. A better rumor would be that Shannon would be with Johnny Depp, or I would be with some other hot guy, come on please.

Did you ever try out for reality TV talent competitions, like American Idol?
Shannon: Yes. I was on a show called "Fame" with Debbie Allen and I was the runner up.

I saw you pass by on the Red Carpet at last year's MTV Video Music Awards and some reporters thought you were the Pussycat Dolls. Do you get that comparison a lot?
Dawn: I don't really understand people think that. We don't look anything like them. We love them and are excited about touring with them and Christina Aguilera.

Do you know if have any gay fans?
Aubrey: Of course we have gay fans!
Andrea: They love us!
Dawn: We love it. A lot of people we work with are gay and have been very supportive.

Why do you think gays love you?
Aubrey: I think we are completely uninhibited and open about who were are. We are not scared to have our good moments, our bad moments. Because of a reality show we have been very open about our lives. Unlike many others, gays can respect the fact that we are everyday girls who had a dream and fought very hard. Through perseverance and determination we were able to achieve our dreams. It was a very honest way without any smoking mirrors.

Diddy is going to put together a new boyband on the next season of Making The Band. If you could be Diddy for a moment, what band would you like to put together?
Dawn: Wow. Prince, Michael Jackson, James Brown...
Shannon: And Elvis!
Aubrey: Yeah! Hot!
Dawn: That would be a crazy, hot band! It would be dancing, it would be entertainment and it would be singing. We need a country singer in there though...
Aubrey: Garth Brooks! No, Johnny Cash!

You work together so closely all the time, how do you keep a good atmosphere?
Aubrey: We just like to be silly at times, if you haven't noticed yet. It is all about having fun while working hard. We also console each other and give each other space. If Dawn doesn't feel that great for example, we just let her be and let her have her moment by herself. Just respecting each other's space is important.