Stefy Rae of STEFY

When Columbia Records exec, Tommy Mottola first heard Stefy Rae at the age of 15, he signed her on the spot, despite (or perhaps because of) her daring personality. "I stand up [to sing], and he's yapping about his coffee being too hot, and I say 'Dude, shut up! I'm trying to sing here.' [When I] finished singing," she says, "he just pointed his finger at me and said, 'Come here.' I [thought], he's gonna yell at me, but [instead] he says, 'So kid, I want to sign you, but one thing, no one ever tells me to shut up. That takes [guts kid].' " And while her stint with the label didn't last, Stefy's passion for music and bold nature have. Two of her songs from her upcoming electro-pop album, The Orange Album, will be on the John Tucker Must Die soundtrack. And just like the girls in the movie, Stefy's had to deal with her own player issues. "I started dating [someone], and when we broke up, [I saw him] a week later, and he's there with [a new] girlfriend! He acted like he didn't know me. I was so hurt," she says. But Stefy doesn't let her problems keep her down -- she sings about them. In fact, she wrote the song "Where Have All The Boys Gone" because, she says, "I haven't been on a date in a long time." But this songstress has a passion besides music -- fashion. "I love costumes," she says. "I definitely don't believe less is best. " And a list of style inspirations that include Prince, Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and fellow Orange County, Calif. native, Gwen Stefani, we can't see how she could go wrong. So get ready, 'cause this gal is gonna hit the music charts the same way she does everything else: over the top.

By Liz Pauker.

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