[chron] Radio 'Goin' Crazy' over Powerdancer Natalie

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3121539

Radio is 'Goin' Crazy' over Natalie

By JOEY GUERRA
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

You always remember the first time.


Houston native and aspiring pop superstar Natalie gets giddy talking about it — the first time she heard her inescapable debut single, Goin' Crazy, on a local radio station.
Brett Coomer : Chronicle


Natalie Alvarado has taken the music world by storm. The local singer's video has been playing on MTV, and her song currently sits at no. 2 on the AOL Music chart.


"I was actually at a fast-food drive-through — Taco Bell," says the 25-year-old Latina, whose last name is Alvarado. "Me and my younger sister look at each other, and our jaws just drop. The guy is trying to give me my food, I'm trying to give him the money, and my little sister is rolling down the window — 'That's my sister!' We had to control ourselves."

Others are sharing the sisters' enthusiasm for the seemingly out-of-nowhere pop hit. The bittersweet ballad was released before Natalie signed with Universal Records and has been in heavy rotation on KRBE (104.1 FM) and KPTY (104.9 FM) for weeks.

"The song really works well in Houston simply because it can hit all (demographics) — mainstream, urban — and even the soccer moms love it," says YoJ, a weekend DJ at KRBE. "Since she grew up in Houston, the listeners really embrace her."

Local listeners aren't the only ones responding to Natalie's music. The song currently sits at No. 2 on the AOL Music chart, and a video shot in East L.A. has been earning airplay on MTV. Goin' Crazy is also inching toward the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. Last week, the single debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's single sales chart, dethroning H-town divas Destiny's Child.

It's a bit of a surprise for the singer, who started rapping on the local circuit and spent seven years as a Houston Rockets Power Dancer. She says she wrote the song in one day — more than a year ago — and recorded it in one take.

Natalie took the track to Latium Entertainment CEO Charles Chavez, who had signed her five years earlier to a deal to rap and sing on local mix tapes and compilations. That arrangement fizzled, but Natalie stayed in contact with Chavez, whose Houston-based company offers production, promotion and management services. Latium also represents Frankie J and Baby Bash.

"I can't believe it's that song out of every song that I've ever recorded. I love all music, (but) ... I was a real hip-hop head. Mos Def, Jadakiss and all this stuff," Natalie says.

Natalie has the fresh-faced charm — and impossibly young look — of a high school girl, but she's passionate about her promising career.

Goin' Crazy is "very real, and it's a very personal song. It's something that I went through," she says. "It was all about timing. It just didn't allow me to be with the guy that I wanted to be with. It was a long-distance relationship as well. I just wrote about it."

Before No. 1 pop singles, Natalie was hoofing it as a dancer and choreographer for the Rockets, the Houston Comets Team NRG and for local musicians. She toured with Frankie J and was inspired by "anyone that really associated dance with music," including Michael and Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Aaliyah and — yes — former Laker Girl Paula Abdul.

Natalie also earned a degree in criminal justice from San Jacinto College and kicked up her heels during a stint at Kilgore College as a Rangerette, the school's splashy drill team. (Her mother and two sisters are also dancers; there is also a 10-year-old brother.)

"I wanted to be a D.A. I wanted to work for Children's Protective Services. I thought the whole rapping thing, the whole music thing, was just a hobby," Natalie says. "I just started writing my own lyrics, and I started getting on local mix tapes here in Houston. I was just doing that for a while underground. I was like, 'God, I really want to do this.' I love being in the studio. I love writing."

A result of that drive is Natalie, her self-titled debut album, due in stores May 24. It's a hip-pop confection of dreamy ballads and midtempo R&B cuts, most co-written by Natalie. She comes off nicely (think a more accessible, approachable J. Lo) and even raps on a pair of tracks.

Besides the gorgeous Crazy single, the album's highlights include Energy, a beauty-and-the-beat collaboration with Baby Bash; I Can't Wait, which cleverly riffs on the '80s Nu Shooz hit of the same name; and Where Are You, a sweet collaboration with former Vi3 heartthrob and Making the Band finalist Justin Roman.

"I can't wait for everyone to get the album," Natalie says. "I made this. This product is me. I'm just excited about it. I could do this forever. It's definitely a gift, and I know that. I'm still in disbelief sometimes."

Natalie, who's from the Clear Lake area, remains devoted to Houston. She hopes to use some of the money she earns from selling records to open a youth center where kids can indulge in dance, music and sports instead of life on the streets.

"This is where I'm from, and I love it here," Natalie says. "No other city beats it."

Some of that pop-star money, however, will be used to make a childhood dream come true.

"I remember telling my mom when I was about 13 years old, 'I just want to make one song, mom, and buy you a house,' " Natalie says. "So by the end of the year, my mom will have a house."