Diva Divo - Dance Magazine

Her new album may be named Satisfied, but don't make the mistake of thinking Taylor Dayne is ready to rest on her considerable laurels.

"Honey, I'm a Jewish girl from Long Island," says Dayne, speaking by phone from her current home in Los Angeles. "When it comes to satisfaction, there are always questions to be raised."

Maybe so, bubalah. But is she also – as her big voice, big personality, big success and big following in the gay community might suggest – an ultimate Diva?

"Let me put it this way," she shoots back with a smirk in her voice. "What do you think?"

With its February release, Satisfied provides the musical answer: a heralded return from one of our most powerful singers.

To call it a comeback would be an oversimplification, since Dayne never truly left. Though it's been 10 years since her last full-length album (1998's Naked Without You), she continually served up stellar dance singles that have maintained a high profile in the club community.

Last year, her feisty anthem "I'm Not Featuring You" soared to the #2 spot on the Billboard Club charts. In total, she's racked up a dirty dozen Top 10 Dance hits, and "Beautiful," the lead single from Satisfied, is poised to be her lucky thirteenth as it rapidly ascends the Billboard charts (and the full slate of remixes aren't even commercially available until February 26).

There's a reason that the clubs have been kind to Dayne, even when all was quiet on the mainstream music front.

For one, she first entered the spotlight with a barrage of ‘80s and ‘90s dance-pop hits: "Tell it to My Heart," "Prove Your Love," and "With Every Beat of My Heart," to name a few. She's since diversified, as Dayne's soulful pipes have always been recognized as leagues above most female stars. They've earned her r-e-s-p-e-c-t, Grammy nods, and allowed her to transition easily between pop, club and adult contemporary material.

But even in recent years - and unlike other artists who treat club success as an easy paycheck, means to an end, or bastard child - Dayne has continued to show respect to her roots on the dance floor.

"Are you kidding me?" exclaims Dayne, when asked if she enjoys the high-energy, dance remixes of her work. "A great dance anthem… nobody feels better than when they hear that."