Shanice Wilson was the little girl with a beautiful voice on Star Search that wooed music executives. Now she's all grown up and singing about things that concern women. With a successful early career, Shanice took a sabbatical, but now she’s back with Every Woman Dreams. Some wonder why she left the music scene when she did. She addressed some of those questions and more in a recent interview.

Shelia Goss: Are you excited about your new CD “Every Woman Dreams”?
Shanice: Yes. I’m very excited. This is what I love to do. I took time off to spend time with my family, but it’s exciting to have both family and a career again.

Shelia: How are Flex and the kids?
Shanice: They’re good. Flex is actually in Canada now doing a movie with Danny Glover. The kids are just growing up so fast. My daughter just graduated from pre-school.

Shelia: You have a beautiful voice, so why did you take such a long hiatus?
Shanice: As most women know, having kids is a 24 hour job. I wanted to take the time to be with them first. I now feel like I’m ready to get back out there.

Shelia: What was the motivation for this album?
Shanice: I felt like it was important for me to talk to women and encourage women this time around. I lost one of my best friends. She was with the wrong man who took her life. I feel like if she would have waited for the right man and had more confidence she would still be alive today. I want to encourage women and let them know we don’t have to settle for less. That’s where I was mentally when I was writing. I was thinking of her. Also I’ve been married to Flex for 6 years, so of course I have songs about my husband. The album is about love, family, encouraging women…it’s a little bit of everything.

Shelia: What do you want the listeners to walk away with after listening to your album?
Shanice: I want women to feel like they can be happy and not be in a relationship. I have a song on the album called “So Free.” It’s about if you’re not in a relationship you can still feel complete and still be happy. When they listen to this album, I want women to feel really good about themselves and I don’t want them to feel like they have to have a man in order to feel complete. I want them to love themselves and to feel encouraged. For people in love, hopefully they will appreciate the love songs that we have on this album.

Shelia: Did you have a lot of creative control with this album?
Shanice: I had a whole lot. I didn’t have an A & R person over me. When you’re on a major label, you normally do. I pretty much did it myself. I co-wrote 12 songs on the album. I co-produced half of the album. I had total control over the music…my image…just the whole direction of the album.

Shelia: Did you feel any pressure with this album or were you like I’m ready to come back. I’m going to do my thing?
Shanice: I didn’t feel any pressure at all. I actually had fun making this album. I co-wrote some songs with my husband and my mom. The first single, my mom co-wrote with me along with one of my best friends. We were just having a ball. I never try to think about what the next person is doing. Some people are very competitive in this industry. I’ve never been like that. I just try to do the best I can and that’s just what I did.

Shelia: You sound like a very positive person. How do you stay motivated?
Shanice: Prayer. I pray all day long. This industry is tough. It’s a cut-throat business…most of the people aren’t very honest…that part of it is tough…What keeps me sane is I stay in the word of God and I pray. My husband & I pray together.

Shelia: What advice would you give young ladies who want to pursue a music career?
Shanice: They have to stay encouraged. If it doesn’t happen overnight, don’t give up. You have to keep trying and keep pushing. Sometimes people think it’s going to happen overnight. Look at my career. My first album came out in ’87 and I never gave up. I kept trying, kept pushing and that’s what you have to do. If you know somebody that knows an executive at a label that’s the quickest way to do it; but if not, enter into a lot of talent shows. I did Star Search when I was 11. Now they have American Idol. You just can’t give up.

“With Every Woman Dreams, I want people to follow their dreams and keep dreaming. Not just the women, but men too. That’s what I’ve always done,” says Shanice. “Every Woman Dreams” is in stores now.