If you were at a high school dance in the late ’80s or early ’90s, you have heard the music of Taylor Dayne.
The singer, who has sold more than 75 million albums in a nearly 40-year career, exploded onto the scene in 1987 with the hit “Tell It to My Heart,” and followed that with “Love Will Lead You Back,” “With Every Beat of My Heart,” “Prove Your Love” and “I’ll Always Love You,” all of which will still bring a smile to the face of an ’80s kid.
She’ll be bringing those hits and more to Aurora when her latest tour stops at The Piazza Oct. 27 for a show. The Grammy-award nominated artist has had a long and successful career that spans multiple generations and includes acting in movies, performing on Broadway and topping the charts in several different genres. But now she’s happy to be back on stage performing in front of a crowd again.
“We’re having a blast,” she said. “All I can say is that all venues are full again. Everybody’s coming with their happy faces and just ready to really have a good time and reconnect with music again. I’ve been lucky enough to be on stage for all these years, and it’s just great to be doing it again.”
Dayne, born in New York City, learned at an early age that she had a unique voice. In kindergarten, she was chosen to sing with the older kids in the chorus — and given a solo.
“I knew I had been given a gift with this voice,” she said. “I can remember from an early age knowing that (singing) was what I was meant to do.”
While sometimes dubbed an overnight success, she said it took several years of making music and performing in clubs before her first hit record changed her life.
“I was working in every club, and I was in two original bands,” she said. “We were writing and doing a lot of showcases for labels at that point. So there was a lot going on. This was New York in the mid to late 80s. These were some of the greatest clubs that the music world has ever known. It was an incredible way to learn.”
Her first single, “Tell it to My Heart,” was a hit in Europe before it debuted in the U.S. In fact, it was so successful there that she was asked to join Michael Jackson on his “Bad” tour overseas.
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“I’m there watching probably one of our greatest entertainers of all time,” she said. “I grew up real quick on that tour. It was mind-blowing — the crowds everywhere and all the security he needed. It was a different world.”
The song would eventually become a hit in the U.S. as well, but she was only signed for the single on the label.
“I needed a record,” she said. “We had to figure it all out, and the record company wanted it done fast to take advantage of this hit song. But I said, ‘don’t rush me. I want to do this right.'”
Her patience paid off, and the 1988 album “Tell it to My Heart” yielded four top 10 singles.
Over the years, her unique voice has helped her find success on the dance, adult contemporary and rock charts.
“I’ve always had very eclectic musical tastes, and that’s probably part of the reason I stayed so long,” she said.
Her success also stems from the fact her voice remains strong after so many years.
“It’s not an accident,” she said. “It is a muscle, and you have to train it like an athlete. That’s the deal.
“There are very specific things I do to keep it,” she said. “That means a lot of vocal rest. I’ve studied operatically to really help train my voice. I know what I need to do to work at this level, and I have to do it.”
A new generation of listeners discovered Dayne when she performed on “The Masked Singer” in 2021, disguised as the character Popcorn.
“It’s funny, everyone remembers the costume, of course,” she said. “But I remember it was such a privilege to do it during COVID. It meant we could go back to work in some capacity because everything had been shut down for so long.
“Every single person on the show — from the costume designers to the choreographers — was just at the highest level,” she said. “It was such a joy to work with these creative people at a time when we had been isolated for so long. For me, that was such a memorable experience.”
In the past several years, Dayne has also looked back on her career, starting with a TED talk she did in 2017 titled “Born to Sing” in which she highlighted how her musical abilities helped her overcome a difficult childhood.
“It was around the 30th anniversary of ‘Tell it to My Heart,’ and it was a way to look back and have a conversation about where I’d been,” she said. “It was a lot of work — it was a six-month process putting together a 14-minute performance. But it ended up being very rewarding. I’m proud of it.”
With experiences in movies, TV and on Broadway, her career has taken her to places she didn’t expect.
“I never say ‘no’ to anything. I always hear people out,” she said; “I think that’s part of the fun.”
But right now, she’s happy to be touring again and being in a room full of people singing along with the songs they grew up on.
“I’m so excited to see everybody on the road,” she said. “They’ve supported me all these years — and now we can get together again.”
Taylor Dayne at The Piazza
When: 7 p.m. Oct. 27
Where: The Piazza, 85 Executive Drive, Aurora
Tickets: $20-$45; 21 and older show
Information: 630-978-2088; piazzaaurora.com
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Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter to the Beacon-News.