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Tina
Novak’s
dream
has
finally
become
a
reality.
In
early
June,
the
singer
hit
the
No.
1
spot
of
the
Billboard
dance
chart
with
The
ROC
Project’s
“Déjà
Vu.”
The
former
Miss
Florida
finalist
collaborates
on
the
song
with
New
York’s
club
guru
Ray
Roc.
She
not
only
provided
guest
vocals
to
the
hit
single,
but
also
to
the
full-length
album
“Never.”
“I
received
the
news
about
the
No.
1
[ranking]
and
I
still
cannot
believe
it,”
says
the
Tampa
native.
“I
try
not
to
keep
up
with
reviews
and
charting,
but
I’m
celebrating
it
with
friends.”
The
ROC
Project
featuring
Tina
Novak
will
be
performing
locally
at
the
Gay
Life
Expo
in
Miami’s
Convention
Center
on
Sunday,
June
13th.
Novak’s
music
career
has
been
long
in
the
making.
At
the
age
of
four,
the
singer
got
involved
with
community
theater
to
get
her
“foot
in
the
business.”
In
her
late
teens,
she
started
to
sing
at
sporting
events
and
worked
with
local
songwriters
on
original
material
and
demos.
Besides
singing,
Novak
was
also
an
aspiring
beauty
queen.
“I
started
in
the
Miss
America
program
at
age
twelve
and
when
I
was
20
I
was
a
finalist
at
the
Miss
Florida
pageant,”
she
says.
“I
put
that
career
on
hold
when
I
moved
to
Atlanta
to
pursue
my
musical
career.”
Her
experience
in
the
Miss
America
competition
gave
her
new
recognition,
which
helped
to
fuel
her
singing
ambitions.
In
Atlanta,
she
hooked
up
with
R&B
producer
Kevin
“Shek’spere”
Briggs,
who
signed
her
as
the
first
artist
to
Arista/Spere,
his
joint
venture
label
with
Arista
Records.
Their
collaboration
“Been
Around
The
World”
had
immediate
success
in
Japan,
with
the
first
two
singles
hitting
No.
3
and
No.
10
on
the
charts.
The
album
ultimately
went
Gold
in
Japan,
but
Shek’spere’s
deal
with
Arista
ended
before
Novak’s
album
was
released
in
the
US.
“It
took
me
ten
years
to
get
a
deal,”
she
says.
“When
I
got
the
success
overseas,
started
touring
and
was
going
full
steam
ahead,
it
was
very
depressing
that
all
of
this
suddenly
came
to
a
halt.”
But
Novak
was
not
long
without
work.
Four
months
after
her
deal
with
Arista
was
terminated,
she
was
signed
to
the
illustrious
dance
label
Tommy
Boy
Records.
This
marked
the
beginning
of
her
successful
collaboration
with
Ray
Roc
on
The
ROC
Project.
Novak
was
asked
to
replace
Australian
pop
singer
Tina
Arena
who
could
not
continue
to
work
with
The
ROC
Project
due
to
contractual
restrictions.
Novak
feels
that
she
and
Roc
have
a
unique
chemistry.
“We
both
have
very
different
musical
backgrounds,”
she
says.
“It
doesn’t
feel
like
your
stereotypical
dance
collaboration.
We
both
add
unique
elements
to
the
album.”
Novak
says
she
is
particularly
looking
forward
to
her
performance
in
Miami.
“It
is
always
extra
fun
for
me
to
perform
in
my
home
state,”
she
says.
She
is
also
excited
about
performing
for
a
gay
audience,
she
says.
“The
gay
community
has
more
appreciation
for
the
arts,
is
more
open-minded
creatively
and
they’re
great
audience
participants,”
explains
the
singer.
“It
is
more
fun
for
me,
because
they’re
so
engaged
and
receptive.”
Novak
supports
her
gay
fans
in
their
fight
for
same-sex
marriage
rights.
“I
think
it
is
ridiculous
that
some
try
to
stop
people
from
showing
their
affection
for
each
other,”
she
says.
“It
is
so
silly
to
stop
anybody
from
doing
something
so
innocent.
It
is
a
no-brainer
and
it
hurts
me
in
a
way,”
she
continues.
“I
have
many
close
gay
friends
in
committed
relationships,
wearing
diamond
rings
and
having
a
thirty-year
mortgage.
I
mean,
how
more
solid
does
it
get?”
At
the
Gay
Life
Expo,
the
ROC
Project
will
do
a
set
of
four
or
five
songs,
including
their
hits
“Déjà
Vu”
and
“Never.”
Depending
on
the
setting
of
the
party,
she
might
throw
in
a
ballad
that
she
wrote
for
the
album,
she
says.
“Our
show
is
very
audience-oriented,”
she
says.
“The
dancers
and
I
really
involve
people
with
the
entire
performance.
It
is
a
lot
of
fun.”
The
name
The
ROC
Project
might
indicate
that
Novak’s
collaboration
with
Roc
is
temporary.
“It
is
definitely
a
fruitful
collaboration
and
we
might
do
that
again,”
she
says.
“I’m
actually
in
the
studio
right
now
working
on
a
solo
project
with
a
bit
of
twist.”
Novak
reveals
that
she
is
writing
her
own
songs,
but
won’t
say
more
at
this
time,
saying
her
work
with
the
ROC
Project
needs
to
remain
front
and
center
for
the
time
being.
“I’ll
just
tell
you
that
I’d
like
to
be
creative
and
this
new
material
will
be
very
different,”
she
concludes.
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