Summerlin songstress gets break working with Snoop Dogg

Rosalee had three strikes against her when it came to her dream of a singing career. First, she grew up in St. George, Utah, a place not exactly known for its opportunities for fledgling recording artists. Second, her parents were not in a position to afford vocal lessons for what they deemed to be a fleeting fantasy.

"I'd be belting out a song in my room, and they'd tell me to be quiet because they couldn't hear the TV," said the Las Vegas-based singer, who goes by one name.

The third strike was stage fright.

"I had the worst case of stage fright," she admitted with a laugh.

But that's all behind her now. Last year, she recorded a single called "Just My Thang" that is available on iTunes. Rapper Snoop Dogg added some vocals.

She's had other notables in the music industry behind her. her previous release, "Hmmm," was mixed by Jeff Juliano, the studio wizard behind stars such as Bruno Mars, Train, Jason Mraz, Lifehouse, Dave Matthews and John Mayer.

"I was always a dreamer," said Rosalee. "I wanted to be a star since I was, what, 3 years old? Now, I'm living the dream."

A national radio campaign for "Just My Thang" began in late January, and Rosalee is using it as a launchpoint for her career. In early February, for example, she made a guest appearance on a radio show in Los Angeles.

Previous to this, she was not without notable highlights on her resume. She'd sung the national anthem at sporting events for the NFL, NHL and NBA, as well as HBO and Showtime boxing events. She also toured Europe, singing with an independent artist that "nobody's really heard of," but the experience served to further hone her skill set.

Her most notable credit was singing at a David Foster and Friends concert a few years ago at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., in front of 17,000 people. Much like "American Idol," it was an opportunity that came with nearly impossible odds of being selected, she said.

"(David Foster) was taking submissions to have singers come on stage with him, and I submitted a video," she said, adding that the music producer probably received hundreds, if not thousands, of submissions. "I figured everyone on stage would be like Whitney Houston."

Rosalee sings urban adult contemporary songs, recording her own album "What It Is" about the same time she came to the attention of Snoop Dogg. Darren Sher, a producer at The Omnitone Recording Studios in Las Vegas, was working with the rapper when they took a break. Sher took the opportunity to play a few tracks of Rosalee's recording.

"It was so organic, the way it happened," Sher said. "(Snoop Dogg) was recording three projects here and ... when he heard Rosalee sing, he said, 'Maybe one day I'll lay a vocal on that.' "

Snoop not only lent his talent to her release, he wove her name into the lyrics. Rosalee said she was forever grateful.

She said her favorite genre of music is R&B/soul and funk.

"It makes you cry; it makes you laugh; it makes you want to dance," she said. "To me, it has a lot of emotion, something I resonate with the most."

Krista Whitley, Rosalee's manager, said Snoop Dogg was excited about the single's release and had "thrown his support behind the song and behind Rosalee's career."

Rosalee said working with him was all about being in the right place at the right time. She said she would love to be on one of his albums in the future.

She admitted to taping a photo of Snoop to the front of her elliptical machine so her workouts in her Summerlin home focus her on the future and building a team to help her attain the next level. She plans to tour nationally this summer.

Meanwhile, those three strikes are far behind her.

"I always wanted to be a star and inspire people," she said, "to show them that it's OK to pursue their dreams and make them come true."

Visit facebook.com/RosaleeOfficial or follow @rosaleemusic on Twitter.

— To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.