Exclusive: Dancer Aliya Janell Is 'Terrified' and 'Excited' to Release New Music: 'Seeing What the Universe Has in Store for Me'

After being a part of the dance world for many years, Aliya Janell is entering the next chapter of her career: releasing new music!

"I'm terrified! This has been a five-year project. I've been in the studio trying to see what I can do for the past five years. All my friends are like, 'What are you doing? Just release it!' I'm like, 'No, it has to be perfect.' In reality, nothing is going to be perfect. No opportunities will come unless you open that door and wait for them to flow in. All this time the door has been closed, so this is me cracking it open and seeing what the universe has in store for me," the choreographer, who stars in the new Gatorade Water debut campaign "Always in Motion," exclusively told Morning Honey at the New York City launch event on Monday, February 26.

Though the brunette beauty is an accomplished dancer — she joined Beyoncé on her Renaissance World Tour — she's always been interested in pursuing singing. "I needed a song in order to memorize homework or things for a test," she recalled. "Music is magical. It's something I've always been drawn to and then dance took it up a notch. Now hearing my own voice and sharing my story through music is just taking it up even more. I'm excited to explore music because it's something new for me. We have to try other things!"

At the Big Apple event, the star got to perform to her new single, "Keep Dancing."

"Ronald Keaton helped me write this song with my producer Onassis, and we just played some beats. We heard these drums and horns and Ronald kept saying 'keep dancing.' Everyone knows me to be a dancer, so what better way to transition into music than to have a song that is called 'Keep Dancing'? It has this spiritual and energetic meaning to it too because it's not just about dance. Not everybody's a dancer but keep dancing equals keep moving, keep pushing and keep going," she explained. "Whatever it is that you want to accomplish in life or whatever it is that you're going through, you just have to push through."

As for how Janell got over her fear of embarking on a new journey, she said you "have to listen to your body when working out or when doing something physical. We have these emotions for a reason. It's time for people to start listening to these emotions."

"I wasn't ready for a long time. I was more scared than I was excited," she shared. "But today, I'm more excited than scared because I waited so long, and because I took my time and had that time to really digest and figure out what I'm doing, it feels right."

"When you love something, it's your baby. It doesn't matter what anybody else says or thinks. You just have to move for yourself and that's what I am doing today!" she added.

Janell's dream is to release an EP, in addition to releasing a music video along the way. "I want to teach, too. The whole nine yards! We're not playing games here — reach for the stars!" she exclaimed.

Since Janell is such an amazing dancer, her partnership with Gatorade Water made perfect sense. "I don't know how to put it into words. It's just a feeling. I am so blessed to be here," she said. "Gatorade is such an iconic brand. It's a brand I've been drinking for decades. I drank it during softball days when I was a young girl. I always remember loving the orange flavor and red flavor, so being here is probably one of my top partnerships. It's amazing to start off 2024 like this."

"I have been teaching for a long time and just got off tour last year, and I didn't think it could get bigger than this. Once 2024 hit, Gatorade was in my email inbox waiting for me. I couldn't believe it!" she continued about the brand, which launched their first unflavored water, bringing the trust and credibility of the leading sports drink to a new aisle. "I thought it was something short with them, but the fact that it's not is so amazing."