March BEAT

CHICAGO TEEN –– ILANA WYCE –– CHASE HER DREAM OF POP STARDOM

by Sarah Lounges

    New talent, Ilana Wyce was quite a hit when she opened the show for the
chart-topping O-Town boys at the Chicago House Of Blues last month.

   Although time restraints only allowed her the opportunity for a few songs,
her sassy mini-set (complete with a pair of male dancers busting some great
moves), seemed to strike a nerve with the prominently teen audience.

   I was lucky enough to get a few questions in with her backstage after her
set. We talked about her start in show biz, her home town Chicago roots, how
life on the road was treating her and her career plans from here on out.

   So I am happy to now introduce the Midwest BEAT readers to this rising
young local talent who I think is on her way to national acclaim – Ilana Wyce.

     Originally from New London, Connecticut, Ilana moved to Chicago when she
was four-years-old and attended Stevenson High School in her later years.
Getting involved with musical theater at an early age and performing lead
roles in such plays as “Annie,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “The Wizard of Oz” and
“The Foreigner.”

    She says that although she really enjoys acting, focusing on her singing
career has taken up all of her free time. Sadly, that has not left any time
for further acting. It’s not something she has ruled out in the future
though.

   “I would love (the opportunity) to do theater again,” she said. “I had a
lot of fun doing it. But right now, every ounce of energy and every minute of
time is being put into my (singing) career.”

     Ilana got her big break while singing in a karaoke contest in Los
Angeles. Soon after taking first place in that, she found herself signed to
two agencies in the Chicago area. The first being the Aria Model & Talent
Agency and then came a contract with Big Mouth Talent.

   A friend then slipped Ilana the phone number of Donna Wright, the head of
Wrightstuff Management, who has worked with the likes of Backstreet Boys,
*NSync and most recently, Pink.

    The Windy City singer wasted no time in firing off a demo tape and
promotional package to the Florida-based Wright.

    “We hit it off really well and now I’m signed with Wright Stuff
Management,” said the singer. “I don’t have a record deal yet, but Donna is
working toward that now. Hopefully something will happen soon.”

    In the meantime, she does have a three-song demo CD – “Pay For
Yesterday,” “Finally Together” and “Don’t Say It” – available to fans at
shows and from her web site.

“It’s really going great. Everyone is fun to be with and easy to get
along with so I’m having a wonderful time,” she said of her first major tour
experience. The only other time Ilana has been on the road, was for a
national school tour that she did a while ago.

    When asked to compare the differences between singing in a high school
gym and on the stage of a concert venue, Ilana said – “I think that it’s
more personal to perform at high schools than at bigger venues, because you
are so much closer to your fans and you can interact with them more. I give
one hundred percent to my performance no matter where I perform though.”

   Even though Ilana is comfortable singing in front of people on stage now,
I wondered what might have been going though her head at her very first
concert?

   “It was like – ‘Oh my gosh, what am I doing?’ I remember that it was
pretty wild. You get up there and look at the audience and see them all
looking at you. It’s kind of a surreal feeling, like you’re in a dream.”

   Ilana said that she had always dreamed of being a singer and that her
parents did a lot to encourage her dreams. In fact, she noted that her
mother has always been her biggest inspiration. She credits her very musical
background to the fact that her parents were once in a band themselves.

   There is more than just singing in Ilana’s show, she is a rather
accomplished dancer too. Her dance routines are created by a professional
choreographer and joining her in carrying them out are a pair of Chicago
dancers named Henry and T.J.

    Ilana was real personable and down to earth in our interview. She is
very talented dreamer who is living her dream right now and loving every
minute of it. Given the right opportunities and circumstances, she has what
it takes to become a show biz success.

   In closing, Ilana was asked what message she would like us to deliver to
her growing hometown fan base.

      “Mostly, I would like to say – ‘Thank you so much for your
support!’,” she said. “The support I’ve gotten means everything to me,
because without that fan support, there would be no Ilana Wyce. They are the
ones who are going to help me rise to the top, so I would like to thank them
all from the bottom of my heart."

   To keep up with Ilana and follow the progress of her career, purchase her
3 song demo CD, or just to sign her guest book and wish her well, you can log
on her web site: www.ilanawyce.com