CE CE PENISTON : Forget Dance Diva: Imagine a Balladeer

C e Ce the Dance Diva.

That’s what people have been calling singer Ce Ce Peniston in the dance clubs, where her lively debut single, “Finally,” first gained attention.

Though that nickname sounds like a compliment, Peniston hears it differently.

“Don’t call me a dance diva,” she says emphatically. “Most dance divas can’t sing and just do dance music. I don’t want to get stuck in that trap.”

Peniston, who grew up in Phoenix singing gospel in church, has a different image of herself: Ce Ce the Balladeer.

“You have more time to express yourself on ballads, and you can get dramatic and emotional,” says the 21-year-old former beauty queen (she was Miss Black Arizona of 1989). “Before I got into the music business, I was just singing ballads. You couldn’t get me to sing a fast song.”

But she’s going to feel pressure to sing those fast tunes because it’s a pair of dance singles that have pushed her debut album, also titled “Finally,” near the 400,000 sales mark. The second single, “We Got a Love Thang,” just cracked the pop Top 20.

She was, in fact, signed by A&M; Records with the R&B-dance; market in mind. While singing background for rapper Overweight Pooch’s “Female Preacher” album, she impressed producer Felipe Delgado, who set up a deal for her with A&M.; When “Finally” was a sudden hit, she rushed to finish the album, which Delgado helped produce and write.

While dutifully praising the album, Peniston also let it be known she isn’t totally thrilled with it: “Some of the things don’t show me at my full potential. I wanted to do more ballads and songs that showed off my range better.”

Sitting at a corner table in a fairly empty restaurant, she leans forward and says, “I don’t want to brag--but listen to this.”

She sings a few lines of “Finally,” gospel style--and also Patti LaBelle style. Pleased with her brief a cappella performance, Peniston adds, “I defy anyone to say I can’t sing. Do I sound like a dance diva?”