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Boston, Massachusetts Could Whitney Wolanin become the next Christina Aguilera or Joss Stone? No one could make that bold a statement with certainty. The vagaries of the star-making machinery are many. But female pop singers are becoming stars at younger ages these days, and there is a 16-year-old girl from Florida who has the pipes and the promotion behind her. That's Wolanin. She's been on some people's radar for four years. In 2003, she did a benefit with Tracy Ullman, called the Arts for ACT, raising $500,000 for an organization that aids battered women. That was in Ft. Myers, Florida, where Wolanin performed to backing tracks. She wowed Ullman, who said, "When I heard Whitney sing from just offstage, I thought it was a record on the radio. What a voice!" Wolanin wanted to take it further. She desperately wanted to sing in the studio, so her father Vincent Wolanin, a successful music industry/real estate/aviation veteran based in Florida, said fine: He'd take her to Nashville to hook up with his pal, Funk Brothers' bassist Bob Babbitt, to see if she could cut it. "I wanted her to see how hard it is," says Vincent. "I didn't want her to be in the music business. It's so up and down. But if Babbitt says you're good enough, you do it."  Whitney Wolanin while recording "Loud and Clear." Babbitt assembled a studio crew. They started with "Heat Wave," a 1963 hit for Martha & the Vandellas. "Whitney got into the vocal booth and banged it out on the first take," recalls Vincent. "My hair was standing up. The environment was electric." Babbitt calls her "a rarity in the music business" and predicted "she will be a major force with her music one day." That was the start of what became Whitney's debut album, "Funkology XIII," a mix of covers and originals written by the Wolanins and Babbitt. It came out in the summer of 2005 and spawned the hits, "Good," and "It Takes Two," with former Survivor singer Jimi Jamison. ("Good" hit No. 7 on Friday Morning Quarterback's AC Top 40 chart and "It Takes Two" hit No. 9 on the same.) Her dad, who owns 20 companies, is now her co-producer and adviser. Her records are released on his TopNotch label. Whitney grew up listening to Janet Jackson, the Spice Girls and Britney Spears. Her CDs, the debut and its follow-up, a Christmas album called "Christmasology," were done in an upbeat R&B/Motown style. Right now, she's on verge of unveiling a new sound with the song "Loud and Clear." "I'm writing my own songs with my sister, Victoria," says Whitney. (She and her 20-year-old sister are both pianists; Victoria has also studied music theory.) "There's a pop/rock vibe,'' Whitney continues. "A cross between Kelly Clarkson and Alisha Keyes. I'm not exactly a veteran, but I am learning a lot and learn all the time. I find I gain more expertise as I go along."  Whitney Wolanin: Rising national star with the setting Florida sun. She's also moving into the up-tempo dance club market, with a lot of electronic beats whizzing about her supple voice. "I would say it's more of a shift, than a change," says Wolanin, of her more contemporary sound. "It's really cool because it's the first time I get to write my album myself, with my sister, and I'm co-producing. I think the music is fun to dance to and I really wanted to put my lyrics to something that has wide appeal. I wanted to make it new. Most important was that I really like it." Wolanin is releasing the single "Loud and Clear" to dance clubs May 1, to be followed during the summer by several more singles. Eventually, a six-track EP, also called "Loud and Clear," will come out, consisting, she says proudly, of "no album filler." Wolanin says there are four up-tempo numbers, one mid-tempo song and a ballad called "Flatline." "I wrote it with my sister," she says. "It's very emotional, sad, with piano and strings. I think the ballad is a nice change."
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