Not Just ‘Daydreamin’ ’

What’s more exciting for an ambitious teenager--finding out you’ve been accepted at Harvard or watching your debut single vault into the Top 10?

For 19-year-old singer-actress Tatyana Ali, probably best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” it’s no contest: her instant pop stardom.

“I was completely caught off-guard,” says the Ivy Leaguer-to-be, who is preparing to head off to college next month even as her infectious first single, “Daydreamin’,” races toward the top of the pop charts. “I’ve never experienced anything like this, where people love this thing I did so much. It’s incredible.”

The question now is whether the young singer should postpone her college enrollment to take advantage of the pop opportunity.

Ali says no. She already deferred her entrance into Harvard for a year to complete her debut album, and she’s prepared now to devote weekdays to schoolwork and weekends to promoting her music.

“I can do both,” she says.

The popularity of “Daydreamin’,” a sunny R&B-hip-hop; hybrid that features a sample of Steely Dan’s “Black Cow” and a rap by the hip-hop duo Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, has raised the stakes for Ali’s debut album. The collection, titled “Kiss the Sky,” was released Tuesday on MJJ Music, Michael Jackson’s record label.

With mentor and former “Fresh Prince” co-star Will Smith also in her corner--the actor-rapper signed Ali to his production company, Will Smith Entertainment, and executive-produced her album--interest in the singer is growing.

“Daydreamin’ ” has climbed to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week and has been the top-selling single in Southern California for the last month.

“We’re definitely gearing up for a strong response to the album,” says Violet Brown, urban music buyer for the Wherehouse retail chain. “People have been coming in and asking for it for quite some time. We’re really hyped up.”

Thornell Jones, director of product development at MJJ, says retail orders for “Kiss the Sky” have doubled since the single burst onto the charts last month.

In fact, the increasing awareness of Ali in pop circles is raising questions at the label about how the singer is going to be able to juggle her promotional obligations with her academic load.

She plans to attend classes three or four days a week, with most of her weekends devoted to performances and appearances at record stores and radio stations.

Still, Jones says that MJJ “wholeheartedly” supports Ali’s decision to attend Harvard, where she plans to study anthropology.

“I think it sends a very powerful message to young people that school is very important,” he says. “It’s not just about glamorous lifestyles and being in videos. . . . I’m extremely proud of her.”

He acknowledges, though, that “between her classwork and the stuff we’ll have for her, she’ll be one very busy young lady.”

That won’t be anything new for the energetic Ali, who has been working in show business since she was 4 while also maintaining a high standard in the classroom.

“I like challenges,” says Ali, who recently wrapped two movie roles and will complete a video for a second single before she leaves her family behind in Tarzana next week and flies off to Harvard.

Before landing her role on “Fresh Prince” when she was 11, Ali appeared on Broadway, most notably opposite James Earl Jones and later Billy Dee Williams in August Wilson’s “Fences.”

Her singing career includes commercial jingles, Broadway musicals and, at age 7, an appearance on TV’s “Star Search.”

Fans began asking about an album, she says, after a story line on “Fresh Prince” called for her to sing. At Smith’s urging, she began working on “Kiss the Sky” a few months before “Fresh Prince” ended its six-season run in 1996.

Ali--the oldest of three daughters born to a Trinidadian father and a Panamanian mother--understands why some view her as a role model.

“I guess in a way it does make an impact because a lot of artists talk about education, but they haven’t really pursued their own,” Ali says. “I can talk about staying in school and not sound hypocritical about it because I’m actually doing it.”