Ultimate Sound: Straight talk with dance diva Amber

By She once called herself a "manufactured dance diva," an artist who was told what to write, how to wr

This turned out to be a success for the 28-year-old, especially with the first single, "Sexual (Li Da Di)" which has been number one for 18 weeks. It not only has a catchy beat, but the lyrics are also attractive. According to Amber, the lyrics are strong and emotional, not dirty: "You say how much you value my friendship/ but I want you addicted to my perfume."According to Amber, the 14-track album is very personal.

"I just wanted to have a wide spectrum of visions of life from all kinds of sides of me," Amber said. "I didn't want to have the same old theme on my album."

Her favorite track on the album is "I'm Free," a song she wrote with her mother, Anne-Mieke de Vroomen. In it she expresses the frustration she faced as a repressed artist and as a woman: "I am somebody else/ so respect me for what I am/ nobody should dictate me and my mind/ for I know where I stand."

Amber said she has learned a lot since signing a record deal with Tommy Boy Records in 1996 and adapting her stage name at the discretion of the label.

"Amber was a name for me that was so disposable. My image was not clear and my music was less of a personal reflection of me as a person," Amber said. "I think with my new album, I have much more artistic and creative control."

Amber would rather forget her first album This is Your Night (1997), even though it proved to be a success.

According to Amber, this was a period of her life where frustration often lead to tears."But those tears at the same time really showed me how bad I wanted to do what I wanted to do," she said. "I stopped crying and I said, 'I have to move on' and you have to get to that point where you really convince everybody that you are talented and you got what it takes."

Amber has more than proven herself, earning the respect she worked so hard to obtain. She is writing songs with Rick Nowels and Billy Steinberg for other artists and has just finished writing a soundtrack for a Disney animation. She also hopes to produce other artists.

"I don't want to work for the sake of money," Amber said. "I want to work because I like to do what I do."