In an industry that lacks longevity for artists, Las Vegas' Kristine W is an exception to the rule. In 1996 she launched her dance music career with her first Billboard #1 Feel What You Want. Fourteen years later The Power of Music became her 15th billboard-topping hit. She is tied with Mariah Carey for the third-most top Billboard Dance/Club hits, and has the most consecutive hits, topping both Madonna and Janet Jackson. She brings her greatest hits show to the Twisted Element Nightclub on September 4th.
 
"It is an honour to be on a list with Janet and Madonna. But I don't judge my level of success on that, but by the letters I get from my fans. They write me such cool letters about how certain songs have gotten them through hard times. Those e-mails are my success. I print 'em out and whenever I think what am I doing, I read them and this is why I do this, my fans make this worthwhile to me."
 
Looking back at the history of dance music, it is filled with one-hit wonders. Kristine's continued success in the genre speaks to the quality of her music.
 
"I have tried to educate people that there is a lot of great musicianship in these dance productions. Some songs hit it big but have no musical credibility at all. There is a lot of dance music that takes a lot of good musicians, producers, arrangers and all kinds of things to make these songs happen. It is a difficult genre because not only do you have to have state of the art technology, you have to know how to put songs together and combine live instruments with sequenced instruments. People have often blown it off as fast food music but there is a lot to it, they just aren't educated on what it takes to make these records."
 
She takes a different route with her upcoming album, Straight Up With A Twist on September 14th. In addition to transforming her club hits into smooth jazz ballads, she will also cover many jazz standards.
 
"I come from the Pacific Northwest and that is jazz alley. There are tons of jazz clubs. My Mom was a singer and performed all around there with a keyboardist/bassist. They covered a lot of famous Jazz artists. She played a lot of different styles, everything from Helen Reddy to Billie Holiday.  My dad died when we were babies so she raised us being a full time musician. I got to be on the inside track of being a great musician."
 
What fans will see at Twisted Element will be a compilation of her greatest dance hits.
 
"My dancers are coming with me and they are amazing, you will be blown away. They perform and choreograph many of the shows on the strip and are amazing dancers and gorgeous men. It is a really fun show. We call it a greatest hits show, we squeeze in as many of the hits as we can in thirty minutes with medleys. It is very fast-paced and a lot going on visually."
 
Kristine fosters a deep association with the gay community.
 
"I have been performing and writing dance music for 13 years and the gay community has really loved my music. I write songs that are inspiring and have a message to them and they like that - there is more to the music than just a beat. I am so very lucky because it is not an easy audience to please, so the fact that they like my music is really an honour."
 
Kristine's show falls on Calgary's Pride weekend. While the event is an independent celebration from the official Pride festivities, as someone who has performed at Pride events around the world, she reflected on what Gay Pride means to her.
 
"Pride celebrates how far the community has come in seeking tolerance and acceptance, and the sacrifices that have been made by many of the people that have gone before all of us. [It means] just to be supportive. The great thing about Pride Festivals is, you see for yourself, the support and sense of community that has developed over the years. That is important because you need each other to make the big issues happen. There is power in numbers and the more that the community has gotten organized over the years, the bigger stars have been made worldwide."
 
When people ask why we need pride, one can just point to the United States' ongoing battles as an example. One would think Kristine's hometown, "Sin City" in the state of Nevada, would have legalized marriages for tourism alone. Her own experiences show that even Vegas, with its glitz and sparkle, still has its own issues.

"There are a lot of strange attitudes here. You'd think we should be evolved past this but there is still a lot of weird old-school attitudes prevalent. It is all fear based and ridiculous. People don't take the time to understand what good people the community are. It is easier to just label the gay community as a bunch of freaks than take the time to learn what amazing people [they are] and how much they do for the world. It is pretty disgusting and angers me. That is part of why I have been so openly supportive of the gay community in a city that is not supportive. They are finally coming around but when I was playing the Vegas casinos even 11 years ago, the Casino workers were very rude to my gay dancers; I had a gay agent, the gay people on my team - I couldn't believe how rude they were to them! That is why I bowed out of the casino scene because they weren't respectful of my people, so we took the show on the road."
 
With that in mind, Kristine is going to spend her September long weekend partying it up with the Calgary LGBT community.
 
"I am excited about it. I have heard Calgary is gorgeous. I am going to have a good time no matter the weather. I am going to stay over a day and hang out a little bit. I am very excited about that. You might see me on horseback somewhere, or cruising around downtown. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the sights.