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6A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
The
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2002
Young singer strives for stardom
By Vonna Koemanyvong
vkeomanyvong@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
For Megan McCluney, counting numbers is not all she wants to do in life. The Bonner Springs freshman wants to be a diva.
McCluney, an accounting major, said she hoped to one day become a professional singer like Whitney Houston.
"I want to watch BET or MTV and see my video," McCluney said. "I love singing more than anything and I want people to hear my voice."
McCluney has been singing since she was seven years old. She sang in her church choir, school choir and had been in several musicals. McCluney was part of a Lawrence jazz group called Hot Sauce that played gigs at the Jazzhaus, 926 Massachusetts St., and at University functions like Day on the Beach. She is also a member of the gospel choir Inspirational Gospel Voices.
Gabe Roland, assistant director for
Inspirational Gospel Voices and a former member of Hot Sauce, said McCluney had a beautiful voice.
"When she sings, it's hard to believe that sound is coming out of her because she is such a small person," the Kansas City, Kan. senior said. "Her voice is spectacular."
When she was in high school, McCluney lent her voice to three tracks on her cousin R.E.S.' rap CD titled Illusions. The CD was released three months ago.
"When I heard my voice for the first time, I just thought 'Wow, this is such a big step,' " McCluney said.
Although singing on the CD helped boost her self-esteem, McCluney said she wanted to do more to get her career going. Before graduating from high school, McCluney created a demo CD. The CD features four songs including two songs called "Thank You" and "Papa Used to Tell Me" that she wrote.
But McCluney said she did not send the demo to record companies because she wanted to perfect it.
Steve Ozark, the owner of Ozark Talent, a music talent agency at 718 Schwarz Road, said that perfecting the demo was a good idea. Ozark, who has been in the music business for 14 years, said a good demo would help record labels notice her
"The music business is tough." Ozark said. "It's always been that way and people should not expect that things are going to take off right away."
Some students musicians, like Matthew Morgus. St. Louis junior, find the transition to professional music relatively easy.
The band has already released a selftitled CD and has appeared on the Vans Warped Tour.
Morgus, bassist for the band Salt the Earth, said it took the band about five months before signing a record deal. The band had been together for more than a year.
Zach Straus/Kansan
Although many have told her that the road to stardom would be hard,
"I base our success mostly on luck," Morgus said. "We just happened to meet the right people at the right time."
Megan McCluney, Bonner Springs freshman, has been singing since she was seven years old. She was recently featured on her cousin R.E.S.' album "Illusions," and is a member of KU's Inspirational Gospel Voices choir. McCluney loves the spotlight and hopes to someday make a career out of her vocal talents.
McCluney said she still wanted to try. Many have also told her that she has a good voice.
"I'm not walking in this with a blindfold on," McCluney said. "I know that it's good
hard but you have to believe in your dreams. I think someday it's going to happen."
Edited by Sarah Hill
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