Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962)[1][2][3] is an American singer who rose to fame after her first two albums (Tell It to My Heart and Can't Fight Fate) were both certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[5] Dayne, whose birth name is Leslie Wunderman, was born in Manhattan, New York City, and lived briefly in another borough, The Bronx, until her family moved to Long Island when she was 2-years-old.

[6] She began singing professionally after graduating from high school in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, performing in little-known rock bands such as Felony and Next.

[7] She began singing solo after finishing college and, under the name "Les Lee", recorded two dance singles, "I'm The One You Want" (1985) and "Tell Me Can You Love Me" (1986), which were released on the New York independent label Mega Bolt.

[9] Dayne was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal, Female for her performance on "Tell It to My Heart" in 1988.

[10] In 2023, Time Out ranked "Tell It to My Heart" in their "The 100 Best Party Songs Ever Made", writing, "The Long Island native born Leslie Wunderman sounds positively voracious on her 1987 signature hit.

The lyrics might read like bad student poetry, but blend them with unabashedly hammy '80s synths and a so-passionate-it's-a-little-scary delivery, and the result is a sonic Roman candle, blasting fireballs of fun onto the dance floor.

Andrew Panos from Number One complimented "Prove Your Love" as "a thumpingly catchy disco tune".

The album has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments in excess of two million copies in the United States.

[14] Dayne's second studio album Can't Fight Fate was released on October 31, 1989, by Arista Records.

"[16] "I'll Always Love You", a change-of-pace ballad compared to Dayne's earlier releases, was her breakout hit on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1988 and paved the way for future uptempo dance tracks such as "Don't Rush Me" (1988) and "With Every Beat Of My Heart" (1989) to gain acceptance on Adult Contemporary radio.

He added, "Can’t fault her choice of material; these are crisp, focused, hook-filled pop songs, every one of them a likely radio hit.

"[21] Together with Arthur Baker and Fred Zarr, Dayne wrote "Whatever You Want" for Tina Turner's 1996 album Wildest Dreams.

She has had roles in independent films such as Fool's Paradise (1997), Stag (also in 1997) and Jesus the Driver (2004), as well as the Warren Beatty-produced 1994 remake of Love Affair.

The series documents Dayne's return to music after taking time off to have a family (she has twins via a surrogate mother),[24] and premiered her newest song, "Right Now", a result of her collaboration with Rodney Jerkins.

[27] In the early 2010s, American stand-up comedian Tig Notaro began referencing Dayne in her routine, telling stories of having frequent encounters with her.

[28] This was ultimately brought to the attention of Ira Glass, who enlisted Notaro to tell the story as part of a live event for This American Life.

"[32] Dayne remastered her Greatest Hits album and released a new single, "Floor on Fire", on June 22, 2011, which broke the Billboard Dance/Club Charts Top 10.

She made it to the semi-finals of the competition before being unmasked in a triple elimination alongside Chloe Kim as "Jellyfish" and Tori Kelly as "Seahorse".

[43] In 2021, after performing at a New Year party hosted at Mar-a-Lago by then-president Donald Trump, Dayne declared "I try to stay non-political.