A gift keeps giving: Cassie had just started working with producer Ryan Leslie when her mother asked her to record her a song for her birthday. Cassie and Leslie did a sexy duet called Kiss Me, and when Leslie played it for music executive Tommy Mottola, he offered to be her manager. She later signed a record deal with Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment. Cassie, who moved to New York last year after graduating high school, says Leslie wrote most and produced all of her album with little interference from heavy-hitters Mottola and Diddy. "They saw the chemistry we had. People know that I'm not a super singer like Aretha Franklin or anything like that, but you realize the love of music between me and Ryan is great. So we want to just have fun and make music that people can sing and dance to."

ME+ U singer CASSIE credits SEAN COMBS with her new-found confidence on stage, insisting she'll never care what others think of her again.

Virgin Mobile USA, in partnership with Warner Music Group, today announced the latest artist in the company's popular First Dibs ringtone lineup -- Bad Boy's new R&B;/pop sensation, Cassie. This First Dibs offer runs from August 17th - September 21st.

Virgin Mobile is the only wireless service in the U.S. offering its customers access to exclusive a cappella and instrumental ringtone versions of five of Cassie's hottest tracks off her self-titled debut album, "Cassie." This includes exclusive versions of "Me & U," the single burning up the R&B; charts. Virgin Mobile's four million customers also have the unique opportunity to hear Cassie's perspective on her new-found fame first-hand, through downloadable original interview excerpts.

AP: Speaking of versatility, any plans to crossover into acting?

Cassie: I've gotten a couple of scripts. They are both Denzel Washington films. One that he is directing and one that he is actually in. I'm excited about it and nervous. I've never really acted before. I did plays when I was little but that has nothing to do with being on the big screen. I want to do it after I take lessons. It will be good to cross over and try new things. I say all the time, the music industry isn't the same anymore and selling records isn't enough. You have to build yourself as a brand.

"She had her first television performance, and she had an all right performance," he said. "You could hear the nervousness in her voice. And to be honest, I kind of smiled at it, because it made me really appreciate what I really love about her: She's a regular person. And we, as artists, we sometimes get nervous. I told her it's like riding a bike: You're gonna fall down, you got to keep on getting on it. I'm with her through her development, and I have no questioning on her ability, on her singing ability. It just made me appreciate that she got nervous, and it was kind of cute to me, to be honest.

"It takes time when you're developing a new artist," he continued. "You can't be fickle. Some people are going to have good days and bad days. The thing about Bad Boy is, we're with our artists through all days. She's not an artist that has a problem with her vocals or singing. You've got to understand that success for her is coming out of nowhere. It's just so huge, and sometimes everybody handles it differently. So I'm quite sure she'll get over it. She's going to have to. That's part of being a recording artist, and sometimes it takes time. I don't care how many performances it is, I'm going to be with her until she gets it right."

... I am aware that my live performances have been pretty bad....no excuses, I'm still getting over stage fright.
I am very upset with the seris of events this week and I do not appreciate people making me look and sound crazy. I'm not a a w**** or a b*****, which is what people have been making me out to be. I'm a 19 year old girl, I'm single and I'm working my a** off. Thank you to all of the fans and supporters that have recognized my hard work.

3. Cassie rates rappers. Cassie appeared on Hot 97 earlier this week. No, the Myspace sensation did not confirm that "Me and You" was indeed about, ummmm...brains, but during an interview with Angie Martinez, Cassie did reveal that Omarion and Bow Wow tried to holla. Later on during Funkmaster Flex's show, Cassie provided more depth into the episode, detailing that Omarion had his little brother give her his number while Bow Wow also sent his math through a third party. The beauty then rated rappers on a scale from 1 to 10. Ne-Yo, Omarion, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and Yung Joc all received 7s while Derek Jeter and Young Jeezy earned 5s. Juelz Santana scored a six while Bow Wow with 8 and T.I. with a 10, were the highest rated. Cassie also noted that Pharrell Williams was her top choice and was clueless as to who NBA Champion, Dwayne Wade was.