Taylor Dayne Goes Country

Taylor Dayne, who has sold more than 75 million albums as a pop artist, is now pursuing a career in country music. The singer insists the move isn't that far of a stretch.

"To me, I don't call it country anymore," Dayne tells Nashville's Tennessean newspaper. "If you are looking at the charts, there would be nothing better to cross over (into) as an artist because I've crossed over every other genre except hip-hop."

Citing examples of female superstars who have blurred the lines between country and pop, such as Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride and Faith Hill, Dayne is excited to find her own niche in country music. "If that is country, bring it, because this is one of the most powerful, lasting audiences there is," Dayne says.

"I come from the pop/dance world, but now I've taken this quite seriously because there is no pop/dance world left for me really, unless you are Rihanna or Britney [Spears]. It gets back to the song, for me, and that is where I'm going to shine."

Dayne, who filmed the CMT reality show, 'Gone Country 3,' last month, found Nashville's songwriting community inspiring. Writing with hit tunesmiths such as Marv Green, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Leslie Satcher and Bob DiPiero, Dayne found the writing process in the country community is quite different from writing pop songs.

"I'll sit in a room with two people and one of them is the producer, because you really have to produce the track. It's the track that accelerates the song, and the icing, of course, is the melody and lyric. Here we are sitting in rooms with guitars and going back to the core of what's a great song," she says. "I'm loving every minute of it because when I come here, all of my focus is on this process."

Even though, at age 46, she may be considered too old by some standards, Dayne is confident she has a chance at resurgence. Referring to Tina Turner's comeback with her album, 'Private Dancer', Dayne says, "If I can make my 'Private Dancer' here, I'll be a happy woman."