"I love nightlife and being a part of it," proclaims the dance floor’s newest diva, Cherie Lily.  Born and raised outside of Chicago, she credits club music for allowing her to merge her passions of music and fitness. "I want to inspire people to move," she says, and she’s doing just that in "Dripping Wet", her debut EP, out now. It offers five turbo charged tracks guaranteed to pump people up in the nightclub and gym.  She wrote all of the songs herself, and produced many of them too.

The track driving engines right now is "Body", Lily’s anthem celebrating the underground gay ball culture.  Its infectious, hard thumping beat is being compared to Technotronic’s "Pump Up The Jam" and India’s "I Can’t Get No Sleep". Cherie Lily doesn’t mind.  "I didn’t intentionally create ‘Body’ to tap into those vibes, but those early dance beats were hypnotic and energizing," she says.   They also changed the landscape of pop music in their day – something Cherie Lily hopes to do too.

GC: Do you think today’s pop needs some shaking up?

CL: Pop music moves in waves. Just when you think that the landscape has become flat, another surge of unique creation happens.  The artists that dare to create outside the norm are usually the ones that lead those creative surges.  I feel like we are in the midst of a surge right now. A new wave is brewing beneath the surface.  I intend to make my own waves by not comparing myself to others and by not setting unnecessary limits on my potential.  As long as I’m creating, I’m doing what I was born to do.  Divine timing does the rest.

GC: How were you introduced to the ballroom scene?

CL: I fell in love with the film Paris Is Burning, watching it over and over.  Even today, every time I see it, I’m filled with awe at the immense creative spirit of the artists.

GC: Have you ever been to a ball?

CL: Grandfather Hector Xtravaganza very graciously invited me to my first ball in 2009.   It was the Moda La Envida Xtravaganza Ball at Irving Plaza in New York City and it changed my life. There was so much creativity, energy, courage, love and intense individuality mixed with an underlying togetherness that was bursting out of the room.  I left that ball filled with so much inspiration and motivation to create. Also, it was at that first ball that I experienced DJ Vjuan Allure in action.

GC: How did you come to collaborate with DJ Vjuan Allure on ‘Body’?

CL: I was immediately mesmerized by his talent. He had that room stirred up into a fantastic frenzy and I was in love.  After attending a few more balls, I developed a relationship with him and we decided to collaborate. Vjuan Allure produced the music and I supplied the lyrics and vocals to ‘Body’.

GC: Has the ballroom embraced the song?

CL: Body is regularly played at balls today, especially during the Body category.  It’s a huge honor.

GC: Have you learned to vogue?

CL: I’ve taken classes from some of New York’s vogue masters like Benny Ninja, Javier Ninja, and Archie Burnett.  It’s an incredible art form and so much harder than it looks.

GC: Let’s talk fitness because fans may be surprised to learn you’re also a fitness trainer.

CL: Fitness has been a big part of my life since I was young.  When I work out my body, I feel alive, strong, and empowered.  I love that I can create the body I want by working it out.

GC: Your husband is rocker Andrew W.K.  Do you expect him to be up on his fitness too?

CL: I love going to the gym with Andrew, but once we get in the gym, he cranks up the death metal in his headphones and pumps iron on his own.  Whatever works is cool with me.

GC: How did a dance diva and a rocker fall in love?

CL: I met my husband in 2005 at a heavy metal vocal studio in midtown Manhattan.  I was singing in a variety of punk and hardcore bands at the time.  Ever since our first meeting, it has felt like love at first sight.  We started hanging out and never stopped.  I joined his band in 2006 and we got married in 2008.

GC: What’s next?

CL: This Valentine’s Day I’ll be releasing a new music video for my next single, "Kiss My Lips".  The video is being directed by the fabulous Bell Soto and will be delicious.  I can’t wait for the world to see it!