'Making the Band' casting in Detroit

This time there are no rules. Well, except that you have to be a male.

Oh, and you have to know how to saaang.

Sean (Diddy) Combs is back at it. And MTV will be in town this weekend hunting for male singers and dancers to be part of a group Combs is hoping to build.

Inspired by the Temptations and the more recent New Edition, music and fashion mogul Combs is casting for what he hopes will become a No. 1 male R&B/hip-hop group for the latest installation of MTV's "Making the Band." Diddy won't be in Detroit this weekend, but Laurie Ann Gibson, the talented, Ontario-born dancer and choreographer, will be here with a panel of famous judges (including Michael Bivins, formerly of New Edition and BBD) hoping to find the next great talents. Gibson says there's no age cutoff because Combs is of the opinion that 30 is the new 20. (Come to think of it, Jay-Z is, too.)

Most recently, Gibson put together Diddy's girl group Danity Kane.

The auditions happen at 10 a.m. Saturday at Plan B, a nightclub downtown. (Don't line up before 7 a.m.) If you advance to the next round, you'll be back Sunday for callbacks, also at the Detroit nightspot.

Gibson - the tough cookie choreographer who essentially gives the group its shine - chatted with the Free Press to give us the inside scoop on her background, Diddy and how you can become one of the finalists.

QUESTION: When did you start dancing?

ANSWER: I think I came out of the womb dancing. My mother says she put my other two sisters in dance school and they hated it, so she didn't want to force it on me. She says I asked for it. I put a towel on my head and I would sing and dance around the house. And I gave her the most stretch marks, which means you know I was doing an eight count in there! I definitely wanted to be the best dancer that I could be. That was my passion.

Q: Anything else you're passionate about?

A: I also studied acting and I took vocal lessons because Broadway was an option for me. ... It's only now that I'm going to transition to a musical career. Although I'm nervous and it's a big change. I mean, I go from telling Alicia Keys what to do to "Oh Lord, I'm in the booth now."

Q: Who have you worked with?

A: I've worked with everybody - from the Dixie Chicks to Biggie Smalls to Whitney Houston to, oh God, everybody. Clay Aiken to Hilary Duff to Dido to Michael Jackson, Spike Lee - I've paid my dues.

Q: How did the "Making the Band" series come about for you?

A: Puffy and I, we have such an amazing relationship. He said, "Laurie Ann, you need to do this show, people need to see what you do and who you are." He said, "Trust me, just do it."

Q: Why the search for the next great R&B boy group?

A: "I think Puffy is passionate and has always been moved by New Edition. I love the Temptations, the Four Tops, the O'Jays. When I see the Temptations' movements - I'm a girl and it's weird, but - they inspire me most. Gregory Hines was amazing. I don't know why it is ... but I was always attracted to that and I always had a dream to do a New Edition type of group. But Puffy wanted to be in New Edition. It's kind of like a dream that he's always had and he's hoping to achieve that.

Q: How are the auditions going so far?

A: They are hysterical. They're amazing. But there's a sort of sadness with the boys that I never saw with the girls. No one wants to admit that's their dream when they're a boy. Be tough, stand in a line - it goes against the grain. So you see a lot of people from urban areas that look a little rough and then when they open their mouth they sing amazing, but they're like, "I don't want to learn the dance step." But it's like, "This is what you've got to do." It's really, really exciting.

Q: What are you guys looking for?

A: We're looking for saaaaaangers according to Diddy. People that sing. And have the "it" factor. That have the voice. When you heard Whitney, that was it. Boyz II Men - it was like amazing. And everybody is trying to get back there. Not that the artists aren't good today. But the passion is for us to find the voice first and then the entertainment factor, which involves the dance.

Q: Any tips to share with Detroiters?

A: The thing I will tell them is go there as if they're already in the group. Be confident. And believe in what they have. And even though the judges - Michael Bivins will be there - may be intimidating, at the end of the day, they're looking for what they have. They should be confident and look the judges straight in the eye. And learn your words. Because they're cutting people off if they don't know their words. That means more than anything. You do a bad step, we can change it. But if you have a great talent and gift and heart and soul - you can't teach somebody that. And Detroit is Motown, baby! And if they know their history, they should come out like they know their history.

By Kelly L. Carter, Detroit Free Press Music Writer