Laurie Ann Gibson and Aubrey O'Day - MTV
When Diddy decided to disband Danity Kane last year, his decision shocked many of their fans — it even shocked the group’s members. One person who was not so shocked by their demise was their longtime choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson.
Laurie Ann was instrumental in nurturing Dawn, Aubrey, Aundrea, D. Woods and Shannon’s talents from the very first season of MTV’s Making The Band 3. When the group was finally formed in the second season of the show, Laurie Ann continued to work with the group throughout their short but successful career, which garnered two No. 1 albums. But she admits she saw a divide early on and knew that eventually it would cause irreconcilable problems.
Speaking with Neon Limelight by phone on Saturday (August 8), Laurie Ann clued us in to how she reacted to the break up and why is wasn’t a very surprising turn of events.
“Absolutely I saw [the split] coming from very early on,” Laurie Ann told us. “It’s a shame because knowing who those girls ultimately are, their hearts and their gifts, they’re amazing girls.”
“They’re enormously talented, but when you choose the hype train, or when you choose what this business creates — the facade of what we do in the editing room or what they do in the studio — you have to maintain your humility and a gratefulness to the opportunity so that you can stay grounded.”
DK’s split was largely blamed on Aubrey O’Day‘s infatuation with the limelight. When she was dismissed from the group by Diddy, he told her she wasn’t the same girl he signed and the direction she was going in image-wise, was not what he had planned for Danity Kane.
Laurie Ann wouldn’t place blame on any one member, but addressed the lack of focus as a group issue, saying: “I really believe that change happened very quickly for them and they lost their grounding.”
She says the apparent chemistry many fans saw in the beginning was something she helped create. “You don’t get that with five strangers [without] a lot of work.That just doesn’t happen. So their choice to not tell the honest truth or not be humble to the process [left them with] nothing to stand on because it was still being worked.
“They weren’t born together. They weren’t sisters. They’re not Destiny’s Child or En Vogue, but they had something that was really unique and that was a gift.”
Laurie Ann was just as forthcoming when asked about the fate of DK’s male equivalent, Day26. “There’s an element of that [disconnect] that’s growing, absolutely.”
“I’m not sure how long Will — I mean, I love the boys,” she said probably realizing she was saying a bit too much. “They’re so talented and they have survived a lot, but they have to keep going. And like everybody they have to keep pushing. They can’t want the reward without the work. It just doesn’t happen like that in this business.”
Stay tuned for our full length interview with Laurie Ann where we discuss Diddy’s new projects Making His Band and StarMaker, her work on Lady GaGa‘s upcoming tour with Kanye West, coming back for So You Think You Can Dance, and her own budding music career.
Very insightful interview. These groups created on “Making the Band” can’t don’t last very long.
Laurie Ann doesn’t wanna name names, but once again, it seems like she’s saying Aubrey’s head got too big.
Hmmm. Of course she ain’t gonna throw any shade Diddy and Bad Boy’s way, cause they still cut her checks. Her comment about Willie was VERY telling because he just tweeted the other about no longer “holding out on these hit records” and asking A&Rs to get at him on Twitter. (http://twitter.com/Willie_Day26/status/3261308520) All is not well in Camp Bad Boy.
I predict that Day 26 will break up as well. Diddy doesn’t know how to manage or promote his artists. And soon, I’ll bet Donnie Klang will be talking about Diddy too.
I never did like Will. And it even seems to me that L.A.G. can see the beginning of the demise (as it seems now) to be about to be on Will. And I’m not surprised just as she wasn’t surprised about DK’s split. I always sense an Aubrey inside of Will and it showed on MtB4s4. I love Day26 and I don’t wanna see them go, but Will has that attitude aboutt himself just like Aubrey; no wonder she had a crush on him!