Carving Out an Identity, Sans Prince

“Yes, that’s me, Prince’s latest bimbo--his tart of the month.”

That’s singer Elisa Fiorillo, referring facetiously to her widely publicized “relationship” with Prince, who wrote or co-wrote five songs on her new album, “I Am.” One of the Prince tunes, “On the Way Up,” was recently a Top 30 single. Another, “OOOh, This I Need,” is her new single.

“People think I’ve been having an affair with him,” the 22-year-old singer said, bristling during a recent interview in a West Hollywood restaurant. “Even my own mother thinks that. But he and I are just close buddies. Our relationship is musical--not physical. But nobody believes that.”

Tabloids have linked Prince and Fiorillo, a Philadelphia native who bears a considerable resemblance to Paula Abdul, ever since she began working with the celebrated pop star in 1989. She’s been tabbed as the latest in a string of beautiful female Prince protegees stretching back to Vanity and Apollonia in the early ‘80s.

There’s no doubt that her association with Prince has boosted Fiorillo’s career. Without that connection--and sound--radio might not have been as quick to play her single. But she recoiled at the suggestion that she’s riding the purple coattails.

“Sure he’s helped me but it’s not like I’m this no-talent clod who can’t get to first base without him,” Fiorillo said testily. “Remember, he sought me out. I didn’t go after him. That’s not how I do things.”

Prince apparently found out about her through his engineer, David Z., who was producing some tracks for her second Chrysalis album. Prince showed up at one of her sessions and offered his assistance.

Though the album was nearly finished, she scrapped some of the songs in favor of those contributed by Prince, whose Minneapolis funk style permeates this sophisticated pop/R&B; album.

What did the album sound like pre-Prince?

“Not as good--not as funky” she admitted.

Fiorillo’s robust style reflects both her schooling in theatrical singing and her passion for R&B.; The daughter of a Temple University music professor, she was singing on Broadway in “The Three Musketeers” when she was 15.

Her focus shifted to pop in the late ‘80s after she moved to Southern California with her mother following her parents’ separation. The Garden Grove High School alum’s first break in the music business was a 1986 victory on TV’s “Star Search.” Her winning performance of the melodramatic ballad, “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” led to the Chrysalis contract.

Her debut album, released in 1988, was a flop she’d like to forget. Part of the problem back then, she said, was that Chrysalis was trying to mold her into a Madonna clone. “There wasn’t enough of me on that album,” she said. “I sounded like every other dance artist. I swore that my personality would come through--very, very strongly--on my next album.”

Arguably, on the current album her personality is dwarfed again--this time by Prince. “Not true,” she snapped. “The songs are lot better this time, largely thanks to him. But this is my album. My personality--my vision--shines through it. I don’t care what anybody says.”