Erika Jayne fell for music since she was just a kid. She was interested to pursue a career in music because she was inspired by her mother who was a pianist and music teacher. "My mom was a young mom, 18, so she would always have the latest music on in the car. ... Music was always playing in the house, which was cool," she recalled.
"At 3-years-old, I would go in the closet, ask my mom to introduce me, and pop out to put on a show for my family. I would usually sing 'Little Miss Muppet'. Then, when I was 5, I won the Best Little Performer award in my dance class, and my first performance was singing Dolly Parton's '9 to 5' in the third grade school talent show. I knew I wanted to be a performer."
Erika hit dance music scene in 2007 when she came out with a new single called "Rollercoaster". With this track, the singer who was also a skilled ballet dancer ruled Billboard Dance Radio Airplay. The next year, she returned with another single titled "Stars". Like its predecessor, the track also peaked at number 1 on the U.S. dance tracks chart.
Having two singles on the hot spot of the chart, Erika was often compared to Queen of Pop Madonna. Her dance skill meanwhile was praised as either "Nicole Kidman in 'Moulin Rouge' goes trance with a dash of debauchery or Gwen Stefani goes burlesque."
Though already reigning the Billboard chart for the second time, Erika tried to grab the crown once again when she released a new single called "Give You Everything" in 2009. Still staying true to pop/dance sound, the song slowly but sure indeed reached number one on the chart. With 33 radio adds in the first week, Erika also passed hitmakers Lady GaGa and The Pussycat Dolls to be crowned Billboard Breakout Artist of the Week.
With such achievement, Erika continued her path to craft more songs. She worked with Peter Rafelson (Madonna, Britney Spears, Stevie Nicks) and Eric Kupper (Shakira, Destiny's Child, Kylie Minogue). She also received helping hands from Canadian singer-songwriter Esthero.
Erika also contributed on the songwriting table for several songs in her debut album "Pretty Mess". To help her, she tagged Prince's protege Sheila E. to play percussion on "Time to Realize", one of the four songs she co-wrote. She said, "Having Sheila play was a dream come true! When I saw her perform the song in the movie ['Purple Rain'] in lingerie, I was totally shocked. It was so provocative and I loved that."
" 'Run Along' is my Atlanta song. I love my hometown. It has Ike Dirty on it," Erika described the songs in the album which hits the U.S. stores on August 11, 2009. "We were feeling very glamour-ghetto-royalty when we wrote it. 'I Lose Myself' is about an orgy and the decadence of Paris in the '20s. 'Rollercoaster' is my simple, catchy, and fun song. 'Just a Phase' is my sassy, blow-off song. 'Everybody Wants Some' is a total performance number, very sex kitten."