Diva Divo - Dance Magazine

She's riding a motorcycle in a black, leather catsuit.

She's kissing handsome hunks with abs you could grate cheese on.

She's wailing her self-penned song in the clubs, before an adoring crowd of fans.

She's 17.

Straight out of the glittering lights of Las Vegas, Stevie Jewel is a teenage starlet poised to set the club world on fire. Her debut single "Seal the Deal" has been earning props from the biggest names in the industry. And its accompanying video - featuring the aforementioned leather, bike, and boy toy – has catapulted her to the next level of stardom.

But that's what she's had in mind, all along.

"I've never thought there could be another career for me," says Stevie of performing. "I remember sitting my parents and family down at holidays, and making them watch me perform on the stairs!"

It's not uncommon to be a childhood ham, but Stevie's ambition went far beyond the innocent daydreams of a young girl. She's now an intelligent, eloquent, incredibly well-spoken young woman who spent the better part of her youth training for success.

In fact, the Canadian-born singer began her training at the Royal Conservatory of Canada, followed it up with a stint at the Atlanta Academy of Music, and is currently enrolled at the Las Vegas Academy for the Performing Arts (she's a theatre major).

"I studied with a lot of different teachers," she says. "A lot of vocal training, I took different kinds of dance for 7 years."

Between gigs at Disneyland, singing for the President at the Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington, DC, and too many Vegas shows to count, Stevie has been busting her chops for a chance at success long before most of us had our first after-school job.

But as a young kid with dreams of stardom, Stevie needed the support of her family to make it in the business. "My mom has been my biggest support," says Stevie. "When I couldn't drive, she was the one who brought me to dance classes… she's been behind me every day, one hundred percent."

While Stevie's family has been supportive, her efforts to break through in music have been difficult to balance with the relationships of your average teenage girl: "I have some close friends who are very supportive, and their families are very supportive," she says. "But I have also lost some friends because of it [her career]. They feel like they can't be friends with someone who does this. Because of how my schedule is, I can't be always be like, "Hey! Let's hang out!"

At times, it's been difficult for an ambitious young artist like Stevie to maintain those necessary friendships. "Everyone has different needs," she says. "I just can't be available all the time. But most of the people I hang out with are very understanding. They're either in this industry, or they're cool with it."

Stevie has also had to dodge the advances of superficial pals who only want to reflect off her spotlight: "Especially since the video came out, lots of people were like, 'Hey, Stevie!'" She laughs. "I didn't know we were friends before!"

Throughout her years of training, carpools to class, and navigating the tricky sea of teenage friendships, Stevie was writing her own music. But it was one song in particular, "Seal the Deal," that got her the biggest break of all.

"I was working on it with a friend of mine," she recalls. "She helped me put the music to it, but the lyrics just came to me. I was dating someone at the time, and this was a break-up song."

A fierce one, too. Fierce enough to catch the ear of producer and remixer Josh Harris.

"Josh heard my song and liked it," Stevie says. "Obviously, I'm a big fan of Josh Harris' work… I mean, who isn't?" Meeting on a common ground of mutual appreciation, Stevie gave the OK for Harris to turn her tune – originally written as a pop song – into a stomping club hit on par with the kiss-off anthems of the biggest disco divas.

"It was so exciting that someone of his [Harris] caliber was willing to work with someone like me, an up and coming artist," says Stevie.