"My album came out 2008 and here we are June 2010. It’s either step up, make a move for myself, or sit back and say, 'Damn, I wish I would have did something and spoke up for myself.'"
Most people will know Donnie Klang as the sexy guy who was on Diddy’s Making The Band and who dated Aubrey of Danity Kane. What most people don’t know is how he came to be a member of the TV show, how he hooked up with Aubrey, and why he felt he needed to leave Bad Boy. Donnie sat down with Yo! Raps and explained what his let downs were and why he felt the best move for his career was to depart from the power house label; Bad Boy Records.
Where did you audition for Making The Band?
I actually auditioned for the show in New York. I was very close to not going because I was tired of all of the let-downs from my old group; I had done some stuff solo... There were just so many let-downs and heart-breaks that I wasn’t sure if I could take another one. Including American Idol; I tried out for American Idol a couple of times and never made it through, so I was very adamant about going to the audition, but I ended up going for it in New York.
Did you feel like the competition for Making The Band was real fierce; did you feel like, “Hey, I may have a shot at this” while people were singing in the lines?
To me it seemed like the talent, vocally, was a lot better than the talent in line for American Idol. These guys were singing their asses off; like great, great singers were in the line. The first day I actually got to cut the line because my MySpace page won a contest for the New York Making The Band auditions to cut the line. So that’s what actually put it over the top for me to go to the audition because, like I said before, I was kind of hesitant about it.
So, the first day I felt like I was the stuff and everybody was like, “Why does this kid get to cut the line?” I was dressed like I was famous and stuff and I sang like Mike Bivens, and everybody was loving it. But then the next day when I went back for round two, it was cut down to like the top hundred out of thousands of people who came from all over to audition; and this hundred was the best of the best. These kids were from Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens, Upstate, drove in from Jersey, and Connecticut. It was the most talented singers in the Tri-State area. I was sitting there like, “Wow, these guys can way ousting me.” So I was very intimidated at first, but that’s when I learned that an artist is not just that. An artist is also the talent you’ve learned and grew up with. I play the trumpet and the piano and sang in my groups. We’ve actually had a lot of training. So you have to take that and apply it. You have to learn your strengths and learn your weaknesses and try to learn from everybody around you.
Who were some of the people that didn’t make it that you wanted to see come to the next round with you or come on the show with you?
One of the guys in the group with me, Franki B. -- he’s from New York and one I wanted to see. He’s a really talented singer… he was with me the whole way. We drove into the audition together, so I was upset to see him go home. I felt like that could have made a great story for the whole Making The Band thing. He got after round three and didn’t make it to get into the house, but he’s a really talented singer.
So, you knew this was a television show and it didn’t bother you at all?
At first I was naive to that fact; I kind of overlooked it. To me it was more about the music. I didn’t realize it was half about making the music and half about making a reality show until I was deep into it. I was like, “Wow, we’re just making a reality TV show here.” At first I was really blind to it; I was just going in for my love of music.
You didn’t think your dirty laundry would get aired out on TV?
Not at all [laughs].
Did any of your past creep up? Because all of these reality TV shows, somehow, someway, have someone who has a sex tape, who’s trying to sing, design clothes, or trying to do something that is not in their lane or has nothing to do with the show.
[Laughs] Luckily, I have a pretty clean background.
You didn’t have to pay anybody hush money at all? [Laughs]
[Laughs] No scandals, no paying off bribes, or anything. Our first season was pretty much about the music and about our auditions and the crazy stuff like walking for cheesecake; running fifty thousand miles for Diddy. It wasn’t really much about a TV show as it was about the music. But when it got into the next couple of seasons when they brought in Danity Kane and people started getting into relationships and breaking up out of the relationships, that’s when it started turning into a dramatic reality TV show.
So, what aspects of the show you did not like?
Basically, that part; the dramatic TV show side. I kind of tried to stay out of the fights. I tried to stay out of relationships, but me and Aubrey got caught up for a little bit. I wish we could have shot more of the audition side. I think competition brings more out of you. When you are competing against the next man for a spot on a record label you work harder, you go to the gym harder, you’re in the studio harder and just trying to be a better artist. I think that was developing us. The man right next to you may be your best friend, but you are still trying to beat him out for a spot, so once the whole drama side got involved, it kind of got a little crazy.
You know, watching the show, we only get a few pieces, so how did you and Aubrey really hook up?
Did your parents ever give you the talk? [Laughs] No, I’m just kidding... At first it was like, here are two people with similar passions; we both love music, we both are in the studio, we were living similar lives with all of the traveling and shows and stuff. So, we kind of hit it off at first; we both thought each other was attractive and was living in the same house, and filming a TV show.
But then you start to realize it’s hard enough having one side of the relationship in the music business because of all of the traveling. You see each other for a week and then you’re back on the road again for a few months. Then you have two people who are in the industry; we would go out to eat and they [paparazzi] would take pictures of us, then she’s a party animal. She’s in the media all of the time. I give her so much respect because out of all of the members of Danity Kane, she’s kept herself out in the public. She knows how to feed into that and keep herself wanted in the media. So, it didn’t really work out for the whole relationship thing. I started liking her because I got to see the side of her the media didn’t really get to see. We were filing a TV show, so they were trying to bring the worst out of us for the best of the TV show, so things just got in the way.
They were trying to bring the worst? What do you mean? Explain that one; how do “they” do that?
Drinks will start flowing, and then cameras get to editing. [Laughs] Then it turns into something that it’s not.
So, let’s fast-forward up to you departing. You split up from Bad Boy. How long were you thinking about leaving or was it people around you seeing stuff you couldn’t see and telling you, “Hey, you might want to depart and go your own way.”
When we put out my first album and it didn’t live up to expectations, I was immediately on to the next music, writing new songs, trying to do some research, and getting in touch with fans asking them what did they expect from me and what they wanted to hear. I felt like I needed to get in the studio and give them something they wanted to hear that was real from me, instead of stuff that was written for me. I don’t take anything away from my first album because I never would have learned the stuff I’ve learned without it.
This is not just with Bad Boy, but for all music labels. There is a whole marketing budget that is used up on my album and when I feel I may be ready to redeem myself and come out with another album, they may not feel like that. I have to wait until the cycle goes around when every other artist puts out their stuff and then it will work its way back around to me. I respect that, but here I was coming up with songs and then I would hear similar songs pop up on the radio. I’m thinking in my head, “Damn, I got to get myself out there” because these songs are going in on the charts at number one and here I have a song similar to it I wrote three months ago. So, I kind of felt like I was kind of running behind the bus instead of driving it. This happened over and over. My album came out 2008 and here we are June 2010. It’s either step up, make a move for myself, or sit back and say, “Damn, I wish I would have did something and spoke up for myself.”
So it was you who decided that wasn’t the route you really needed to be going?
Yeah.
Give me two examples of the songs you were talking about you heard on the radio that made you feel the way you did; what you were talking about a few minutes ago.
Most recently, the Taio Cruz single, I think it’s called Break Your Heart and it’s featuring Ludacris. It was number one on the charts for weeks. Now this is a record to break in a new artist; and that’s what I consider myself, a brand new artist. People may recognize me from the show, but I consider myself a brand new artist when it comes to radio. We had similar songs to that one. I was saying that my album title should have been called Welcome To Heartbreak and this was for a year already. I had a whole bunch of songs with similar messages...
Okay, so quoting, you said: “It’s tough being on a label where the President of the label is also an artist.” Please elaborate on that one…
Yeah. That’s to take nothing away from Diddy and I had said a lot of stuff around that, that they failed to mention. First and foremost, I have the utmost gratitude for everything that that man has done for me because without him, I’d be just another artist sitting at home trying to make it. Now I can go out and actually have a fan base. I can go out and do shows and people will show up and want to see me. I can actually do interviews, like Yo! Raps, and have questions to ask me. So, I didn’t want to take anything away from that.
What I meant from that was, if I was in his shoes I’d expect it to be the same way. I’ve worked so long in the industry to become the head of the label, when it’s time for me to release some music; I want all eyes on me and I want all the budget to be on me. And that’s what I basically meant by that. It’s tough when the head of the label is also an artist.
You’re gone now. How long ago was it before you made it official? Did you do documentation or did you throw the deuces up and say, “I’m out of here.”
It wasn’t even a conversation between me and Puff, it was more lawyer to lawyer. I was like, if I get released [from Bad Boy] I get released and I’ll release some music sooner than later. If I don’t get released, I’ll release some music when the label gets ready for me. The lawyers were working on it, papers were signed and everything was signed, sealed, and delivered a little less than a month ago.
Now you are with Eight72 Entertainment. How did you hook up with Eight72? Was this in the works before you left or were you looking for a place to go once you left?
It was in the works. We were working on the creative side. If I had stayed on Bad Boy, the music would have hopefully made it to my album on Bad Boy. If Bad Boy had come around and said, “We’re ready to start working on your next album.” I would have said, “Here the next album is already finished.” We just happen to be able to get the release so now I’m able to release music sooner.
What do you have out right now?
We’re sitting on a bunch of songs. We put out a single, Without You, which is getting some Internet buzz. If a radio station picks it up, that’s awesome and we’re thankful. I know South Carolina is showing it some love and some stations out in Wisconsin. We’re probably going to film a video just to keep a buzz. We’re really going to focus on releasing singles instead of releasing a full album. The market is so digital right now; I think it’s going to turn into people just releasing singles. So, that’s what our plan is; to release singles right along with the best of them and keep pushing.
- By Lana “Ma Official” M.
