It’s been over a year since Donnie Klang, along with thousands of other talented male hopefuls, competed for a spot on the roster of the acclaimed Bad Boy Records. Now, with a seat at Diddy’s roundtable, Donnie talks to Sound-Savvy and Suavv Magazine about his new music, his relationship with Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day, possible work with Janet Jackson, and his feelings on the comparisons to Mr. Timberlake...

Sound-Savvy: Donnie what’s good, how you livin?
Donnie: Hey man, I’m good man… I’m busy. Tryin’ to push this album!
Sound-Savvy: I feel ya man, so what’s your day like today? Are you in tour rehearsals or are you just doing interviews?
Donnie: We’re goin’ from radio station to radio station. I’m down in Florida right now, so we’re really tryin’ to push. I just released a new single Dr. Love.
Sound-Savvy: Okay, I’ve heard Dr. Love.
Donnie: Yeah, I wrote most of it so it’s cool for me to finally release a song that’s more of my creative side.
Sound-Savvy: Is there a video in the works?
Donnie: Yeah we’re doin a video. We’re tryin to come up with a story for it this week and we’ll probably film it within the next 2-3 weeks.
Sound-Savvy: Okay cool. So let’s talk about the show for a minute. You’ve been on Making The Band for 3 seasons now right?
Donnie: Yeah, three seasons
Sound-Savvy: So how hard was it for you to just drop everything and take a risk on the show?
Donnie: It was really hard, especially comin from the way I grew up. My parents are divorced, so my dad’s remarried and he has his new life but me and my mom went from apartment to apartment, living paycheck to paycheck. And it finally got to the point where -- I had tried music before, I had an old group, we had record deals and management and stuff but it didn’t work out so I went back to school. School was the way out for me and my mom. I was gonna get a business degree and that was gonna be the way out. Then she let me drop out to pursue the whole Making The Band thing and thank God it worked out.
Sound-Savvy: Oh wow, well at least you had a backup plan. So how excited were you when Diddy announced that you were gonna be a solo act on Bad Boy?
Donnie: It was crazy… like… that night was just insane. It was one of those nights, like…did you see it?
Sound-Savvy: Oh yeah of course man. I was watchin’.
Donnie: It was just one of those nights that just… it felt huge. It felt like one of the biggest nights in my life. It was a turning point in my life and it was just… it was just crazy. Especially cause I thought I was cut for a minute. Then when Diddy was like “You got a solo deal…” Times Square was packed with people and then we found out 5 million people were viewing it!
Sound-Savvy: Wow… I watched it that night and I was excited for all of you guys. You’re right it was just crazy. So, ya know I do follow the show and I gotta know man, whats’ goin on with you and Aubrey, is there something there?
Donnie: Nothing
Sound-Savvy: Nothing at all?
Donnie: We’re just labelmates, and that’s that.
Sound-Savvy: Okay, okay. So let’s talk about your album, Like A Rolling Stone, that’s in stores now right?
Donnie: Yeah it is.
Sound-Savvy: Okay, so I know Diddy got Danity Kane opening at #1 and Day 26 opened at #1 too. Were you able to cop the #1 spot?
Donnie: No, I didn’t. It’s kinda different in my case. Cause first of all I’m a solo artist. Second of all, we didn’t really wanna put features on the album. Diddy’s the only feature on the single. It’s just me, putting it out there, very vulnerable so it’s like… It’s gonna take time to build it up. That’s kinda where I’m coming from with it. Cause even though I’m on Making The Band, people still don’t know me as an artist. So it’s gonna take time to really introduce it and break off from the whole Making The Band thing and just become Donnie the artist.
Sound-Savvy: So do you feel like if the show would have focused more on you as a solo artist instead of the two groups, it would have helped?
Donnie: I think it definitely would have helped which is why I’m workin on maybe getting some kind of spin-off or really just finding some way where I can connect with the fans and really let them get to know me and my crazy side, my serious side and just more than what they’ve seen on Making The Band.
Sound-Savvy: Now with the new album and the performances we’ve seen from you on Making The Band, there’s been a lot of a comparison to Justin Timberlake. Does that bother you at all?
Donnie: I appreciate those kinda comparisons. Justin’s obviously here to stay; he’s put his foot down on his spot in the industry. So for me to get compared to that… I’d love to follow in his footsteps. But I think once people really hear the album, they’ll hear the differences musically between us. But if I could follow in his footsteps as far as his career, that would be amazing!
Sound-Savvy: Yeah, definitely. Listening to your album, I did hear a lot of differences between you two as artists. Now what songwriters and producers did you work with on this?
Donnie: I’m excited because I got to write a lot on the album, I wrote on almost every track. I worked with a lot of different writers too. A-list producers like Mario Winans, the Soul Diggers, Danja-In-the-Clutch, 7 Aurelius, The Dream and Tricky. The Dream is just hot right now; we did a lot for the album. I even did a lot with up and coming producers. Producing is something I’ve been doing since I was 13, so I know the passion and drive for producers that haven’t had a hit song yet; I know how bad they want it. So we were just taking songs from e-mails and CD’s that were being mailed in. We actually found one, it’s the song Pick It Up and it could possibly be one of the singles.
Sound-Savvy: Oh cool, I heard a particular track that I really like, Catch My Breath, was that Mario Winans?
Donnie: That was Danja-in-the-clutch.
Sound-Savvy: Oh okay, Danja. Do you have a favorite track on the album?
Donnie: It’s funny because Catch My Breath is definitely one of them. I feel like it’s that song that I look back when I’m in my late 20’s and 30s like ‘Wow’. That song is just timeless. 20 years from now looking back… it’s that kinda song”. Aside from that, it’s like everyday I’m on something different. One day I’m on My Idol, next day it’s Pick It Up; next day it’s Dr. Love. I think it’s a very well-rounded album.
Sound-Savvy: Cool. Is there anyone you didn’t get to work with on this album that you’re looking to work with next time around?
Donnie: Well yeah there’s a ton of people. As far as collaborations one of my favorite rappers growing up was Jadakiss and I think he’s coming back with some stuff. Or maybe T.I. Or even if I could work with somebody like Fergie, or Miley Cyrus or someone like that that has a gang of fans that are so supportive of their every move – someone like that where I could really start expanding my career
Sound-Savvy: Speaking of someone with a gang of fans, I hear you’re gonna be opening for Janet, any truth to that?
Donnie: I think I talked a little too prematurely about. It’s being worked out. But I’m hopin’, ‘cause she’s just a legend and that would be a huge honor.
Sound-Savvy: Have you ever met her in person?
Donnie: Not yet, but just to meet her would be huge.
Sound-Savvy: So are you still touring now?
Donnie: I’m doing spot dates right now. Seventeen Magazine has this thing called ‘Rock the Runway’ where they go to malls and they have aspiring models come in and audition. Before they pick the winner I go out and perform – and the mall goes crazy! I like performing at malls ‘cause the girls are already there and they go crazy because they didn’t expect the performance, so it’s pretty cool! Besides that, we’re just doing the whole radio thing, just trying to push the new single Dr. Love cause one of my biggest dreams is to have that song that’s huge on the radio to where people are just sick of it; and then when you finally get to perform it for them live they’re singing every word, and they’re right there with you on every single breath in the song – they feel everything!
Sound-Savvy: Right! So you did the Making The Band tour earlier this summer with Day 26 and Danity Kane, how was that experience?
Donnie: That was awesome! It was definitely good to get my feet wet with performing for big crowds. By the time we did the last show in LA, I was ready to keep going! If we could have kept going and doing show after show, I was ready to go! So it’s good to have that experience behind me, especially with Danity Kane, [they’re] platinum selling artists. I was able to learn and grow from their experiences so it was a good experience for me…
Sound-Savvy: Cool, so what are your plans for the future? Any modeling? Acting?
Donnie: Absolutely. Two of my idols growing up were Will Smith and Jamie Foxx because they’re the artists that are well-rounded. They kept an even balance between movies, TV and music. You just look at them like ‘Wow’; they’re just naturally talented people. If I could do movies, TV shows and great albums, that’s exactly where I’d wanna be.
Sound-Savvy: Definitely. I can see it man, Grammys, then Oscars and then a Donnie Klang takeover. Well it was really great talking with you and I wish you the best of luck.
Donnie: Thanks a lot man.
Sound-Savvy: So your new single is Dr. Love and that’s gonna be hittin’ the airwaves, right?
Donnie: Yes
Sound-Savvy: And we’ve got a video coming soon?
Donnie: Yes, very soon; within the month.
Sound-Savvy: Cool, well on behalf of Suavv Magazine and Sound-Savvy, we wish you the best and we appreciate talking with you man.
Donnie: Thanks man!