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But singing in front of the club's relatively
small crowd wouldn't be the first time she was
judged; 15-year-old Dakota won first place last
week in the American Idol Underground singer/songwriter
competition with her original song, "Mistake:
Sampleman 7 Remix."
"
'Mistake' is my favorite song to perform,"
Dakota said. "It's really fun to do, and
the crowd really gets into it. So when the remix
for it won, I was very excited." Her winnings
included $5,000 and many other prizes.
"It was nice to win, Dakota said. "But
the most important thing is that I just want
my music out there to help and inspire people."
American Idol Underground is a worldwide competition
and Internet radio station, Idolunderground.com,
that serves as a musical outlet for emerging
artists. Music enthusiasts can upload their
work to the site, where it is reviewed by Web
listeners and celebrity judges, such as Isaac
Hayes and one-time American Idol contestant
Kimberly Caldwell. Although Underground is an
official licensee of the American Idol brand,
it is not directly affiliated with the show.
"Dakota was our highest-rated electronica
artist," said Justin Beckett, the site's
executive producer. "There were hundreds
in the category … it was fairly competitive.
Thumbs up to Dakota. She put together a very
catchy and powerful track. It's was all in her
performance."
But Underground isn't the only website where
Dakota's music can be heard; the teen also has
a MySpace music page, myspace.com/dakotadawnmusic,
where she has more than 850 friends, many of
whom have created their own Dakota fan sites.
"MySpace has helped a lot because it allows
me to connect with my fans," Dakota said,
"I get to share my music with people; it's
amazing."
Many comments on the site are from fans eagerly
awaiting her upcoming album.
"Hopefully it will be done by Christmas,"
Dakota said. "We're trying to figure out
if we want to release it or shop it around."
The work to become a music star requires Dakota
to do homework on her way to dance classes or
show performances.
"She works really, really hard," said
Ana Montoya-Wade, Dakota's mother. "She
started this so long ago that it's nice to see
it just kind of gradually work itself out."
Dakota, a fan of Lilly Allen and Christina Aguilera,
unofficially began her music career when she
was 5 years old, singing a self-penned ode to
her mother entitled, "The Mother's Day
Song," although she considers writing her
first "real" song at age 9 as her
true indoctrination.
"I love the whole writing process,"
Dakota said. "It's fun going into recording
studio, brainstorming, and writing lyrics. I
hope to do it for a long time."
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