[Opening Monologue]
So it looks like the domination of female musicians don’t have any sign of slowing down, with even more new names breaking through. The likes of Radio Vine, Katie Coyle and Chloe now adding more names to the mix. I’m sure they’re all gonna have amazing success and to be honest I’ve been considering throwing on a dress and a wig just so I could be part of the “scene.”
And of course the Chaos Awards, did everybody enjoy that, *cheers from the audience* I know I did *holds up his award for best moment*Tonight we have a very special one off extended edition of the show, over 50 million records sold worldwide in a short space of time, she has gone on to become the biggest artist in music and one of the most well known names and faces in the world. For one night only we have an exclusive interview with the incredible whirlwind of weirdness that is … MISS VANITY!!! Jake: Welcome Miss Vanity, I can’t be more excited to have you on the show.Miss Vanity: I've been wanting to appear for so long so now I'm here I'm like... yes, finally! Glad to be here.
Jake: Ok so we’ve got a lot to talk about and I guess we’ll start at the begining, what is your backstory, where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?Miss Vanity: I grew up in Manhattan, New York and I absolutely love it there, I'm proud to call it my home. I won't sit here and say that my childhood was a tragic thing for me to talk about, cause it was far from it... both of my parents supported me all the way, no matter what I did. I come from a very musical family, my father was in a rock band that didn't really stay together for long, but he's an amazing guitar player, he doesn't play as much these days. My mother's also a well-trained vocal coach and she's even taught me a few things, I just got my love of music from them both, it's passed down in the family.
Jake: Were you always interested in music from an early age?Miss Vanity: Of course, I used to be really into piano and I even started out doing drums for a while but never really followed through with that, piano is my thing, I've been doing it for years. I wrote my first song when I was ten years old and just sung it out whilst playing a random piano backing over it, pretending I was performing to thousands, it's crazy that I'm now no longer pretending.
Jake: What is your relationship with your family, I can’t imagine you sitting around the fire with your “normal” family on Christmas day?Miss Vanity: Really? That's exactly what happens if I'm honest! I love family and I really don't get enough chance to see my family, so Christmas is just that little bit more special to me as I don't get the opportunity often. We have the whole Christmas dinner and I'll end up eating tons of chocolate even though I shouldn't whilst watching a load of stuff on TV which I never do.
Jake: Is this craziness just part of “the show”, do you ever spend a day at home wearing sweats and an old T-Shirt?Miss Vanity: Never, fashion is very important to me and my life pretty much revolves around what I'm going to wear on that day. We should all live life as if everyday is our last, so why not go all out everyday of your life? You won't get that time back and sitting around in an old t-shirt doesn't interest me at all, if you wanna do that... I don't mind, I just don't.
Jake: Your debut album Prisoner peaked at number 2 and has gone on to sell almost 3 million copies, that’s an incredible debut but a lot of artists often look back on their debut album with regret, are you still proud of your early work?Miss Vanity: Thank you! The success for it was phenomenal but I really... well, to put it blunt... I hate it! (laughs) It was just so... unlike me, but we all get better over time and I like looking back at it so I can see how far I've grown since then.
Jake: Was the media attention scary at the early period, you were just new to the music world and you were pretty young and suddenly everybody wanted a piece of you how did you handle that?Miss Vanity: I handled it by ignoring it, I didn't pay attention to headlines and all of the negativity, I pressed on and just carried on what I did because I love music and my fans, they keep me going. Of course, it's scary at first and something really surreal that you have to get used to... but I deal with it, I cope.
Jake: You then followed that record up with Vampiric which smashed a lot of records back then, It peaked at number 1 and went on to sell over 3 and a half million, then you released the super deluxe edition which also peaked at number one and went on to sell more copies than the original version of the album, that alone is an achievement that is almost impossible in this day and age of music how did that kind of success feel?Miss Vanity: I'm actually SO pleased that the whole
Vampiric era did so well, it's my favourite album... I'd like to think of it as a high point in my career, maybe an iconic album in pop music, it was different to the rest of the stuff being played on the radio. When you say all of those chart positions and sales, it's like... wow, but I don't make music for that reason, I do it to inspire people to be themselves and so I can just continue my passion of making music.
Jake: The media attention rose and rose and rose and it was evident with the release of the next two albums, Bionic and Perfectionist which were again both number 1 records and both sold over 4 million copies each. How did you manage to continue to make such succesful music so often, not many people can achieve that kind of consistency but you seemed to have done that with ease?Miss Vanity: I wish I could give you a straight forward answer to that... I just can't, I don't know why the sales have been so high and why I've continued to top the charts, I really have no clue. Of course, it's always amazing to hear about the response to my albums and how well they're doing, but as I said, it's not about that at the end of the day.
Jake: You were already established as one of the biggest stars in music when you put out Perfectionist but anything less than a number 1 record would have been seen as a disappointment, How didn’t you go insane, I don’t think anyone could have succeeded against that kind of pressure and expectation?Miss Vanity: I'm just coming back after two so called flop releases which the media have been labelled. My last studio album didn't get the promotion it should have because... well we all know why, and the greatest hits was released when I wasn't able to promote that either, I didn't even want it to be released, I had no say in it as I couldn't be reached at the time. I heard something about fans boycotting it and I'm glad that some of them did, it was just a money making scheme.
Jake: Everyone has their favourite Miss Vanity song, mine would have to be "Zombie" but what is the song that you consider your best work?Miss Vanity: I'm not going to hype my latest releases up just to make them more successful, but I really do love the new single "Kill Me Slowly". You can also find my best work on my albums
Dementia,
Perfectionist and
Vampiric, they're my favourites.
Jake: You’re an incredibly attractive woman and despite the craziness that comes with you and of course that is a huge part of who you are, do you ever consider just stripping all of the weird outfits and just standing in the middle of the stage, no make-up, no crazy pyrotechnics, no dance routines or acting and just performing the song as stripped down as possible?Miss Vanity: Fans like my style, that's why they're there to see me, they wouldn't want me any other way and I don't want to be any other way... so no. I do stripped down acoustic piano ballads during my show which is something not all pop acts attempt.
Jake: Dementia is in my view your best album yet, again it brought a number 1 but it was released at a time when you were undoubtedly the number 1 act in music, it was almost guaranteed to be a success and it was, is making a number 1 record as easy as you make it look?Miss Vanity: It isn't really... it requires your very best material and a damn lot of touring around the world to do promotional appearances, you need to put your all into it. Why do you think the greatest hits didn't do well? I wasn't there to promote it or even say a word about it.
Jake: It was during this period that you collaborated with another music superstar, Stephanie Fierce on the track Little Miss Controversy a fitting song for both of you, your friendship blossomed over that time I guess and you became very close friends and she supported you immensely but was there ever a rivalry between you?Miss Vanity: In pop music, media will always make up stories about pop divas having bitch fights, but I have a great time with a lot of the pop acts in the industry, we never had a rivalry. Me and Stephanie had something magical in our friendship... we really connected and she understood me in a way that many people could never imagine.
Jake: And where were you when you had heard the news about her death?Miss Vanity: I actually heard about it a few days after everyone else cause I was so isolated, I was in rehearsals pretty much all day for the Chaos Awards performance... and when I wasn't rehearsing, I was recording, people just couldn't get a hold of me to tell me the news, and then I was finally reached, it didn't seem real... I miss her dearly.
Jake: And this year has been one of the toughest for you, your management plotting your downfall and then your disappearance, what really happened in the weeks after Animal Fest?Miss Vanity: I just remember fainting after the performance and I felt so so sick, like I was dying. It was after that when I felt myself losing control, I just didn't have the power to do anything... I was completely out of it. It wasn't until I really questioned my ex-manager that I found out the real answer to my questions, he flipped and dragged me into his car, he threatened to crash the car if I tried to stop him, he said he'd kill me. It was after that when he locked me in the basement behind one of his houses, that was what I'd like to call the 'Devil's Playground' and that's what inspired my album title... exclusive for you there!
Jake: I think everybody was scared and feared the worst for you but how important was the find Miss Vanity concert?Miss Vanity: To know that the Find Miss Vanity concert managed to give Stephanie the courage and determination to come and find me, and I know it wasn't easy at all for her, especially in her condition. Without that concert, I don't know what would have happened, it ultimately helped in the lead up to my life being saved, I thank the people behind it dearly.
Jake: Your latest original album was Born This Way, a commercial flop by some standards but in my view one of your most interesting records, what’s your views on that record and the “failure” of it?Miss Vanity: Everyone has high points, everyone has low points, that was the low point in terms of mainstream success, you can't escape them, and I wasn't in the right state to promote the album. I personally love the album and I'm really proud of it, it's a really different album from me, a lot of blues and jazz sounds, acoustic piano ballads, some pop tracks for the regular fans, it was an encouraging record. It was an album for my gay fan base mainly, I have a very, very large gay fan base... look at my shows and you'll see a ton of them, I love them. I'd like to think that the album helped a lot of my gay fans continue the will to live, despite all the haters and all of the bullying that's going on in their lives, there's so many suicides with bullying as the cause, it's disgusting.
Jake: Ok not this is something you know I’ve wanted to know for a while now, Are you a normal human being?Miss Vanity: I am, can you believe it? People will scream and nearly faint cause they see me, I'm like... 'It's only little old me!' and it freaks me out how they react in such a way.
Jake: Do you ever think about giving it up and moving to a little no-where town and becoming like a chef or a waitress or just doing a normal job?Miss Vanity: No, I love what I do and wouldn't change it for the world, despite everything that's happened and despite the lack of privacy, it's a dream come true.
Jake: Do you plan on settling down, getting married having kids, or will you life only ever consist of touring and recording?Miss Vanity: I'm sure that I'll have a break to get married and have kids, I'll still always record and tour for my fans, I assure them that I will never make them wait too long for an album of mine. I want them to miss me, but not too much.
Jake: In the celebrity world, there’s always rumours of who’s dating who, I’ve never read one of those stories about you, do you just keep things very secret?Miss Vanity: Probably because people would know that the story is the biggest load of crap ever and no one would believe it! (laughs) People should know that my life is a marriage to music for all eternity and we're never getting divorced. haven't had a boyfriend or anything since I started out in the music industry!
Jake: Do you stay single through choice and is there a reason why?Miss Vanity: It's really crazy... I just haven't had the time for a relationship and wouldn't want a man getting in the way just yet... haha. I also think that my style scares a lot of guys off, none of them would put up with me!
Jake: Would you say you lack love in your life?Miss Vanity: Maybe.
Jake: So what can we expect from you in the next 5 years?Miss Vanity: I'm sure some great performances and amazing albums, hopefully a marriage being prepared around that time! That'd be nice. I'd also like to try something new, I've been wanting to produce my own instrumental album for some time now, mixing in ambient sounds with experimental electro beats... I'm really inspired by Four Tet at the moment, I'll do that one day.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together and show your appreciation for the worlds greatest entertainer. Ladies and Gentleme, the incredible MISS VANITY!!!Edited by user 20 November 2010 21:19:32(UTC)
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