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SHE
LIVES
IN
WEST
HOLLYWOOD,
frequents
gay
dance
clubs
and
is
a
former
personal
trainer.
When
asked
about
her
musical
tastes,
she
gushes
about
Madonna
and
Deborah
Cox.
And
she’s
tackled
her
fledgling
music
career
with
the
do-it-yourself
moxy
of
a
queer
pioneer
facing
a
home
renovation
project.
“I
am
kind
of
like
a
gay
boy
I
guess,”
says
pop
starlet
Alyson,
who,
like
Madonna,
has
no
need
for
a
last
name.
“Most
of
my
friends
are
gay.
When
I
go
out
to
clubs,
I
go
to
Santa
Monica
Boulevard
because
that’s
where
they
play
the
dance
music
that
I
like.
So
I
guess
I
am
a
gay
boy
trapped
in
a
woman’s
body.”
The
gay
guys
may
not
yet
consider
Alyson
a
household
name,
but
that
could
soon
change.
Last
September,
her
sultry
single
“What’re
You
Gonna
Do”
made
it
to
No.
4
on
Billboard’s
dance
chart.
In
January,
she
repeated
that
success
with
“Feel
You,”
which
broke
into
the
dance
chart’s
top
10.
The
song
is
also
playing
nationwide
in
Abercrombie
&
Fitch
stores.
Unlike
Madonna,
Alyson
has
achieved
her
early
success
without
the
support
of
a
record
label.
Instead,
she
launched
her
own
label,
Alysongrooves,
and
has
been
feverishly
producing
and
promoting
her
music
on
her
own.
A
NEW
YORK
NATIVE
who
moved
to
L.A.
two
years
ago,
Alyson
says
her
love
of
dance
music
goes
way
back.
While
living
in
New
York
she’d
buy
mix
tapes
from
vendors
on
the
street.
Once
in
L.A.,
her
musical
aspirations
began
to
gain
momentum
even
as
she
was
pursuing
another
creative
outlet
—
acting.
She
landed
a
role
in
an
independent
film
and
gave
the
filmmakers
permission
to
use
a
couple
of
songs
that
she
had
written.
They
were
so
well
received
that
she
decided
to
put
out
more
of
her
music.
She
produced
a
single,
“Baby
Come
Back,”
and
shipped
it
out
to
mix-show
DJs
and
record
pools.
Via
her
job
as
a
personal
trainer,
she
was
introduced
to
music
producer
Daveed,
who
became
her
collaborator
and
helped
educate
her
on
the
industry.
The
success
of
that
single
prompted
Alyson
to
immerse
herself
in
the
record
business
—
basically
learning
how
to
take
her
songs
from
mere
concept
to
dance
floor
gold.
Soon
enough,
her
songs
had
landed
the
attention
of
DJ
Ralphi
Rosario,
a
star
on
the
gay
circuit.
His
remixes
of
“What’re
You
Gonna
Do”
and
“Feel
You”
have
given
Alyson
her
first
exposure
on
the
dance
charts
and
brought
her
sound
to
gay
discos
across
America.
THIS
WEEKEND
ALYSON
appears
at
Miami’s
Winter
Music
Conference,
where
she
was
nominated
Best
New
Dance
Artist.
She
says
she
was
shocked
by
the
nomination.
“I
was
so
blown
away.
It’s
such
a
prestigious
honor.
I’ve
worked
really
hard
to
make
music
that
I
like,
and
music
I
hope
that
other
people
will
like.
To
have
an
acknowledgement
like
that
from
the
dance
community
is
really
special
for
me.”
But
an
early
listen
to
her
debut
CD,
“Take
a
Good
Look,”
reveals
more
than
mere
dance
music.
It’s
an
upbeat
and
sometimes
moody
mixture
of
pop,
dance
and
R&B.
The
forthcoming
remix
of
“Nothin’
More
to
Say,”
however,
will
do
a
classic
Deborah
Cox
move
and
remake
a
soulful
R&B
ballad
into
a
dance-floor
anthem
of
empowerment.
Superstar
producer/DJ
Hex
Hector
has
signed
on
for
the
honors.
The
artist,
meanwhile,
has
already
started
working
on
her
next
album,
which
she
hopes
will
hit
early
next
year.
And
yes,
it’s
another
self-produced
effort.
“I’ve
found
that
I
really
enjoy
the
business
side
of
things
—
now
that
I’ve
figured
it
all
out,”
she
says.
“I
would
definitely
love
to
sign
other
artists
and
grow
my
label
and
become
a
player
on
that
side
of
the
business.
I
actually
find
it’s
fun.”
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