collins was initially unimpressed with her singing, but decided to give her a chance if she would agree to lose some weight. he let her sing on some demo sessions and began to see developing potential, saying, "she knew what she was going to have to give to be a success". he helped her secure a recording contract with rca. kirby chose to appear professionally only by her first name, "sylvia", and recorded her first album, "drifter", in 1981. the title song went to number one.