OOC: Sorry if its too long, but its like a reality show, that follows Giselle around during the recording process of her upcoming album. Its the first part, to the series, so it should take some time to complete it. Hope you like it.
Up Close & Personal with Giselle
Hello, my name is Michael Johnson, and today we’ll be getting up close and personal with one of today’s rising pop stars Giselle. We’re gonna follow her around, have a candid interview in her Miami house, and try to get to know who she really is, and what exactly makes her “tick”. Good evening and welcome to Up Close & Personal with Michael Johnson on Music Box.
Day 1: Its 11am and Giselle is walking towards the studio in New York to record the first tracks of her album “Distorted Perception”. As we enter the nice. State of the art studio, Giselle meets her long time producer, and fellow songwriter, who goes by the name “Contr0v3rsy”. Seeing these two work is amazing, there’s a special chemistry, some sort of magic between them. As Giselle is coming up with ideas, they begin to pen as song called “
Can’t Censor My Thoughts”. I ask her “what is the meaning behind it?” She shyly smiles and says, “Well, I’m not the type to get political, but it’s a song about how in the industry your music can get censored, especially if you’re a pop artist. This song is especially important; it is one of the ideas to the album. Because your music is put to a wider audience, you have to watch what you say, and if you say something you’re not supposed to it will get censored and the whole meaning can get lost, they pretty much stole it. However, there is one thing they can’t censor and it’s our thoughts, ideas, anything that runs through our mind. It’s a nice song, but it won’t be censored, if it is, I can upload it on YouTube. We live in a new society, were its harder to censor things”. The two work into the late hours, writing songs, then they throw out the songs that they hate, record songs, and do it over again. It’s like a cycle, but the work these two come up with is nothing short of amazing.
It’s now 1am, and these two are still working to perfect things, Giselle seems like a perfectionist, making sure everything is right and has a meaning to it. I ask her, “Are you always like this?” She laughs and says yea, I am a perfectionist; it took me years to complete my first album, many of my friends get annoyed by it because I always micromanage things. But, hey we all have our faults, guess this is one of mines”. Giselle and Contr0v3rsy come up with an amazing beat to one of the songs called “
Noize” it’s indescribable, but its sounds very “avant-garde”. The two combine distorted guitars, and white noise, these two things may sound ugly to many, but the way its combined its sounds beautiful, the exact opposite to its name. I ask Giselle about the song and she told me “Well, I wanted the album to have different genre’s some underground, and mainstream, and combine them in a clash. It’s a different side of me no one has seen, almost like my alter ego, which will now come out”. It’s now 3am and the two and a few other people have called it a day. Giselle says goodbye to me and everyone else and heads home.
Day 2:
Giselle has to be a hard worker, after staying in the studio laying out tracks; she won’t take a rest today. She is now heading to do a photo shoot for the album. So, I ask Giselle a few questions, “One thing I love about albums is that you get to dress up in different costumes. I call it costumes because your being a character that represents the album. In my last album, I had more high fashion clothing, because the album represented a model doing music. So it was like fashion meets music, it was fun being a model, I mean I did it for half my life, but I wanted to do music also and the album shows that. But, in this album, it’s a lot more dark, deep, and odd. So the clothes I will be wearing are blacks, grays, and gold jewelry, to sort of synch with the album. Who knows what I will be doing on the next album, but I’m sure it will be cool” She laughs, and does a few poses for the camera. She being a supermodel comes quite natural to her. But one thing that stands out, is how dark the set is, and the outfits she wears, in one she wears a some sort of chiffon hood, torn stockings, a short top, and a tight mini skirt; throwing in a bit of sexiness. The props are quite odd, but it looks like it symbolizes something, the props are male mannequins and it looks like she is controlling them. I quickly as her what it means and she says that “Your right, I don’t consider myself a manipulator, but I’m saying that men do depend on women, more than we depend on them. It shows dominance that women have, you know that saying no man is complete without a king. Well, that’s what I’m showing, we women have the power. But we fail to use it because we’re too busy tearing each other up”.
Day 3:
Its 10am, and Giselle recently found out the track “
Mona Lisa” leaked to the public via YouTube. A first she look angry, but when she saw the love she got from the fans she became happy. “I was angry at first, because I found out it was an insider job, but now I’m happy about. My fans mean a lot to men, and to see that they like it, even though it isn’t finished says tons. Many asked for it to be the first single, I haven’t decided on a first single, but that looks like a good idea to me”. When I asked her what it the song about, “Hmm, It’s not an autobiography of me, but It was inspired by Marilyn Monroe, she’s one if my idols. The song is about a girl, who famous, she has it all, the money, the fame, the beauty, things that many people dream of. But, behind all that, she isn’t happy, she’s missing something, but she doesn’t know what it is. All she wants is true love, but with the fame comes a certain consequence, and love is one of them”. I told her is sounds inspired by Queen and 70s glam. She smiled and agreed, “yea, it was a sound I was going for, I wanted to have a little bit of that theatrically in it, and the intro was inspired to the trips to the circus when I was a child, so it starts as a puppet show, and the main star is a puppet named Mona Lisa”.
Day 4:
Giselle takes a jet to the UK, to meet up with
Buzz & Hype, one of the hottest guys out right now. They also worked with Giselle before to make a remix album called “
Giselle in the Mix”, which managed to be a huge success for the two. A few hours later, Giselle meets the two, and they chat and begin working. It’s amazing how they work, no wonder why they’re so big around the world. The song their working on together is a track called “
Explicit” that is largely dub n’ step, the duo creatively use bleeps in the songs, as a play on the songs title. Giselle explains the song saying “The song is a really cool, I got Buzz & Hype saying things here and there on the track, and it’s like a call answer song, so it sounds like I’m on the phone and these guys are replying to me. It’s a flirty song, and it’s quite different from the other songs from the album. Every song has a persona and this one has a flirty personality. So in the album it’s the desert to the main course”. After they finish the song, they joke around, and Giselle leaves to promote the remix album. She heads over
G-A-Y to perform a few tracks off the remix album, she looks like a natural on the stage, and the crowd loves her. The whole show was like a party, and Giselle was the main attraction, on stage you can see some influences from Janet Jackson in the way she dances, and Madonna in her stage appeal, and her use of sex. Yet she puts a unique spin to her performances. After the show, I ask her a few questions; because she just came off the stage, she is breathy. “One thing I love about performing is that I love to see the fans sing along, it’s amazing how fast they learn the words. The stage is my home, I feel different when I’m up there, it’s like as if I belong. I try to give my fans the best, so I work my butt off, I love performing”. When asked about her upcoming tour with
Katie Coyle as an opening act in Europe she seemed thrilled, her face lit up. “Yea, it was amazing to hear that news. I mean, I get to open for Katie Coyle that’s big! I will be going all over Europe and doing shows. So, it’s a great way to get my name across the continent. And to also learn some from her, about how she works on stage and communicate with the audience. So it’s more than just a tour, but it’s a way for me to learn and get better".
Part 2
Day 5:
Exhausted and in her London hotel, Giselle makes some calls to family via Skype. Giselle seems quite close to her family, and talks to them for support. “Yea, I’m very close to my family you know, there my rock, and I thank them for support me in my life especially through my career. I remember the first time I went on stage, I think in 2007, and I was booed of stage. I was crying, but it made me stronger, my mom told me, the industry is like riding a bike. The first times you will fall, trying to get your balance, but after you get the hang of things, you will ride it like a pro. That has always stuck with me, and because of that I grew some really tough skin”. Then I asked her what was harder being in fashion or in music. “Both have their negatives, but in fashion you get judged on your weight, on how you look. So when I went to music, I had that tough skin on what you’re supposed to look like, but when it comes to how you sound its different, I didn’t have that shield. So it broke me down, but then I rebuilt myself. I’m not saying my voice is horrible, I’m saying that I was an amateur, so you have to do it over time and you will get better at singing, and I learned.” When I asked her about her father who is a popular samba musician in Brazil, and Miami, “Giselle, my dad is a big inspiration to me, I remember when I was around 6 and saw my dad played at a carnival in Rio de Janeiro was amazed. Seeing my dad doing what he loves inspired me to do what I love. I also invited him to do a track with me on the album, I sing in Portuguese, on it also”. I asked her if she will ever do, an album sung entirely in Portuguese, she smiled as said “I get asked that a lot, and I’m really considering it. I might do it sometime in the future that’s for sure. But the album has a sneak peak of it in a track”.
Day 6:
Giselle takes a jet over to Los Angeles to continue recording the album, while she was on the jet she wrote a song called “
Time”, and had a melody for a yet-to-be-named song. When she lands at LAX, a few fans spot her, and she signs autographs, takes and few photos, it’s really interesting how she communicates with her fans. Most celebrities will push them away, but Giselle embraces them like friends. “I really love my fans; they mean the world to me”. She meets with another producer named “James Rubin” to produce a few songs. The songs they produced seemed to be influenced by Middle Eastern music, and they come up with two standout tracks “
Arabian Nights” and “
Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves”. Giselle explained, “I wanted to bring the world to my album, and I was inspired by Middle Eastern folklore, and that’s how I came up with “Arabian Nights”. The song has instruments associated with Arabic music, and it’s very pleasing to the ears. One of my favorites on the album”. When I asked Giselle, how she gets all these ideas for the album she said “I always get ideas, and I put everything that pops in my head on paper, so I have a book with pages filled with ideas. I plan ahead, so I have ideas for about 5 albums already. Which is crazy, but my mind is very active, which is a good thing. When I run out of ideas, that’s a problem, but I think then that it’s time to take a break, sit back and enjoy your hard work. But that’s a long way from now.” The two work until 5pm, and Giselle continues to promote by having a meet and greet with fans, she signs some CDs, talks with them, the place is a small intimate place. Giselle managed to draw crowds of fans of all ages, and sexes. She’s right, she really loves her fans, and her fans really love her.
Day 7:
Giselle returns to the studio and record some more tracks, this time Giselle is producing and doing all the work herself. She gets on the piano and brings to life the melody she had on the jet. It sounds like a beautiful ballad, showing the softer side of the singer. She sings the first lines of the song called “
Eclipse of the Heart” it has no relation to the 80s hit. Giselle sings the song over and over and changing lines to the song, adlibbing and using melisma in the song. The song seems to have a little inspiration from “Vision of Love” by Mariah Carey; the song almost had me shed a tear. However, I wasn’t the only one, Giselle began to cry, with tears streaming from her eyes, she smiled and looked at me saying “The song is a really personal song, I’m happy I wrote it you know, it’s like therapy for me. I get to release everything that’s hurts me and write it in a song, the song is about heartbreak. You know how they say you can never forget your first love; well that’s what the song is about. My first love when I was 16, but at that point me career was going places; I was doing runways and going around the world. So I didn’t get time be with him often, over time we talked less and less and we drifted apart. Until he called me and said, the relationship is over. I recently heard he got married, so I wish him the best.” After a while, she wiped away her tears and continued to perfect the song. After she continued to write some more songs, she received a call from her manager about a deal with
Shooting Star Records. She took a jet over to Connecticut to work out a deal, the deal was undisclosed to us due to legal reasons.
Day 8:
A few days have passed, since her recent signing. When asked about it “I’m really happy to be a part of the label. My last label gave me a one-album deal, but they were in a transition period, so of course I was being largely ignored. In fact most of the promotion for my debut album was done out of my pocket, which is ridiculous. But nether less, the album was a success, so it was good for me. They lost a good artist in my opinion.” Today is a vacation for Giselle, so she is going back home to Miami to met her family. Her whole family is there and it seems to be a welcome back party, everyone looks happy and proud for Giselle, at home, she goes by her middle name “Sofia”, she takes photos with the family, everyone is dancing, her mother and father get to the center of it all and begin to make a toast. Her dad says, “I’m very proud of my daughter Sofia, she strong, a hard worker, and knows what she wants, she’s truly talented and she bring pride to the family. I remember when she was just a little thing and she told daddy I wanna be on tv one day, I smiled and said anything I possible, just put your mind to it. And she did, by the time she was ten she learned how to play the piano, and she was putting clothes together and modeling for us. I thought this girl has a bright future ahead of her”. He sheds tears and says, “I love you, and follow your heart”. Giselle hugs her dad; it was a beautiful moment, we can see how close the family is. The party goes on until about 12am, but it was a great event that time didn’t seem to matter, and the heat did bother me.
Part 3, and interview
Day 9:
As expected Giselle is huge in her hometown of Miami, she played show in the city, and the venue was packed to the brim. But unlike her show in G-A-Y, this show was a lot more intimate. Giselle did a acoustic show; it was just her and her piano, and a few other instruments played by the band. It’s quite interesting watching her perform up-temp songs and make them slower. Its bring in a completely different meaning to the songs, like a brand new skin. She performed some cuts from the upcoming album, and a song called “
Amor”, which was beautiful, it was a like a piano rock balled, with some lush violins in play a stand out track from the performance. After the show, she did further promotion by having a fashion shoot for a magazine. Her talent really shined, she wore various haute couture outfits and did some lovely poses. When I asked her if she would ever fully return to modeling she said, “Because of the fact that I’m now a fulltime singer, modeling comes into that career always. So not, I can’t quit modeling it’s a requirement for this work. But if I ever decide to take a break from music, I will do some more fashion work.” And as usual she was not done working yet, she quickly went back to work on the album, calling some producers to work with her on the album. She set some dates and began writing songs, way into the night. I asked her do you ever take a break she laughed and said, “When I take a break that means my career is over. I love to work; I have to be busy. I can’t imagine myself taking a break, even at the party with my family, I was thinking about things to write about. It’s who I am, but maybe when I’m 50-something and decide it time, then I will.
Day 10:
Today Giselle is practicing for the “
Fans Choice Awards”. In case you didn’t know Giselle is also a choreographer, she came up with the whole dance. Her performance looks like it will have people talking. You can tell she put tons of work into this performance. “There’s a big difference between a concert and an award show. At a concert, it’s filled with fans, people who support you, and love you. OS you have tons of people rooting for you. At an awards show, there’s people who may have never heard of you, people who want to see you fail, people who are waiting for you to make a mistake. So you have to make sure you have everything perfect they can’t say something stupid. But funny thing is they will find something stupid to say. So I try to brush it off, and try to impress my fans only.” The dancers work into the wee hours, until 3am to perfect the moves. A week has since passed, and Giselle continues to practice the performance. This time on a makeshift stage, the performance seems intricate and reminds us of an early Britney Spears. The show seems to have a large Arabic influence in the clothing being worn, Giselle’s outfit really standout, she looks like a diamond in the dust. Giselle turns the tides and become the director, directing a movie. She wants everything to be perfect, especially the timing. She takes a play on female dominance in the performance, putting women in the driver’s seat. As I said before, this show will have people talking, and not because of the outfits and the song sung, but because of its message. After the practice, Giselle takes to the internet to announce the first single, which is Mona Lisa, the reason “Because the fans loved it, I decided to add a few more lyrics and change up the temp, and make it more closer to a pop/r&b song, but it still retains a bit of glam rock elements. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album, because I get to be a storyteller, and to tell people not to judge a book by its cover. Despite being it leaked I can’t remove it from the album, it’s what the whole album is about, which is why it’s called “Distorted Perception”. Giselle got a largely positive reply from fans, the single will be released a week from now. Which of course mean more promotion, this girl never stops.
Day 11:
Giselle entered the studio as planned to meet with some producers to record the last few tracks on the album. They worked all night, but they got the work done. The tracks they made were great, but they had a dark pop sound. Giselle decided to make a double album, because of the amount of amazing song she recorded “I recorded 50 songs, and about 22 of those will go on the album. Originally, the album was going to be the standard 12, but then the number of tracks grew so I decided on 22 and stopping there. I had some DJ’s from Miami, New York, and LA do some remixes of five tracks, which will be in the fan pack. They did some amazing work, and I gave them permission to play them at their clubs, I want to get a strong underground following with the album first, and then bring it to the public. It worked for my remix album. Because of price, I will release a standard edition with 14 tracks on iTunes only”. Giselle quickly went on her Mac and announced the editions available on her site. Giselle gave me a sneak peak at the book included and its very artsy, it included some high fashion spreads, and she included her poetry throughout the book, lyrics, and a thank you. I wanted to get my hands on it, but she said you’re going to have to wait like everyone else, and she laughed.
Day 12, the interview:
I went to her nice Miami loft; the place had a beautiful view of the city, and was nicely decorated. Her heritage was on full display, when she had Brazilian artwork on the walls, and various other Brazilian decorations. The walls were bright, and it had a nice contrast to the dark furniture. She took me to the main room, and told me to sit on the couch. The couch was right in front of this large window, with a view of the ocean. It was simply breathtaking, the colors were brought to life because of the sunset, which brought orange and yellows into the room. On the coffee table was the book called “The Sun Also Rises”, she called it “one of her favorites”. As she sat, the camera operators fixed the lighting, and Giselle’s makeup artist fixed her makeup. When it was time I began to ask her the first few questions, and every now and then, I can feel the camera zoom in on her face.
Michael: Hello Giselle, it was interesting following you around for 11 days getting to know you. You seem to really push yourself, why is that?
Giselle: It was somewhat weird doing it at first, but after a while, I adapted. Yes, you are right. I push myself a lot, I do it because I want to do better than I did before, and I compete with myself. So when I do something that I feel is great, I have to do something even better to outdo myself. I always said to myself that will be the death of me. *laughs*
Michael: Haha, I saw that a lot when you were in the studio. You always perfected everything, and even when it sounded good to me, you still didn’t like it. I wonder is that an underlying issue?
*camera zooms to Giselle’s face*
Giselle: *Sigh* I hate to get personal, especially like this. But you can say so, I sometimes look in the mirror and see something I dislike, I’m quick to judge myself. Sure people may say I’m beautiful, but you don’t believe it until you see it for yourself. But, I’m sure everyone does it at some point in his or her life.
Michael: I understand, we all do it. Now that you’re a celebrity, do you ever feel like this can get bigger?
Giselle: Yea, I do. It’s weird calling myself a celebrity, but being under the spotlight more often makes you feel uncomfortable sometimes. I noticed that fame could make a person seem inhuman to others, and more like a superhuman. I want people to see me for who I am, and not what the press makes me out to be.
Giselle: Speaking of the press, what is the worst rumor you heard about yourself?
*Giselle moves her head to the side and thinks*
Giselle: I remember a tabloid once saying, “Giselle is a bitch, who slept with a few men to get myself a record deal”. And they had the nerve to put in sources, it was complete BS. To set the record straight, I don’t sleep around, I’m no tramp. Secondly, I hate when people use bitch as a way to degrade women. I don’t hate the word though; I’m trying to make it positive. To me bitch is a girl who is in charge, and knows what she wants.
Michael: Some strong words, so is that why in your shows and photo shoots you use male mannequins to symbolize that?
Giselle: Very much so, I believe in female empowerment. I have firm faith, and I know women run the world. Men can’t go a day without us, and many songs I write are about female empowerment and dominance. Take for example Ultraviolet and Dangerous.
Michael: So do you consider yourself a feminist?
Giselle: No, not really. I use my songs to empower females, because there are not a lot of them out there that do that. I’m so tired of the media saying how a girl should look, act, and even think. And to make it worst, many songs and films degrade women. I hate that, and I hate that once a girl makes a song to empower the female out there she’s a feminist.
Michael: You named your album “Distorted Perception” why is that? Is there a message you’re trying to send out?
Giselle: I named it that because, I was tired of being label as a manufactured pop star, and I wanted people to see a different side of me. That I can deliver more than just pop songs, but songs that are real, they have integrity and meaning. I wrote every song on this album, and produced and co-produced all songs. I’m more than a singer, I’m an artist. And this album is my artwork. I don’t care if someone calls it a disaster, but if my fans call it a masterpiece that’s what matter most to me. I believe, if the critics like it, it sucks.
Michael: Do you think this album will be a masterpiece?
Giselle: Well, I don’t like to judge my work more than I already do. But I don’t know, I really don’t know. The whole album has an underlying message, about there’s more than meets the eye. I guess you can call it a concept album, where every song is a chapter.
Michael: Well, from what I see so far, I call it a masterpiece. I saw how diligently you worked on it. What sounds are you including on the album? And what inspired it?
Giselle: The album will be broad; it will be a pop opera album, with noise pop, Arabic music, baroque pop, and some dark stuff. I was inspired by Madonna and Janet Jackson on this album, and 70s rock.
Michael: You said pop opera explain that?
Giselle: It’s a play on rock opera, but it’s a pop oriented album. The album like a opera is separated in segments, and each segment flows with the album, but has its own concept. To show an overall theme. One segment is inspired by fame, which is where “Mona Lisa” comes in, another by government and the main track in that is “Explicit” and the last segment is about our mind, so that’s where “Disturbed” comes from. All segments have a distinct sound that comes with them. And the interludes are what brings that out.
Michael: You said they have different sounds, explain that?
Giselle: Well the first segment, is about politics, so I use speech samples by politicians, sounds of war, and the media. I talk about how the government is corrupt, and how they tell us to believe one thing, yet they hide what is truly going on. Then I get into fame, I use samples of the camera flash bulb, sounds of screaming fans, I talk about the bad things about fame, and it follows the life on a pop star. Who is happy on the outside, yet is slowly dying on the inside. The last segment is about our mind, and how prejudice can distort our views of the world. We see things that we want to see, but not what is there.
Michael: Sounds really good. Do you fear that getting too political can have its repercussions?
Giselle: Yes, I do. My dad told me not to do that, but I insisted to do it. Even my label was unsure about it, but I try not to make it in your face. When you stuff your beliefs down someone’s throat then that’s a problem, but that isn’t what I’m doing. I’m trying to tell a story, and make people think for themselves.
Michael: You talked about your dad, are you close with your family?
Giselle: Very much so, they are my support. It really affected me and my dad, when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.
*Camera zooms in, as Giselle gets a bit emotional*
Giselle: I was scared because the doctor said she had a few months to live, and thoughts were racing through my head. If my mom dies who will be there for my dad when I can’t? How will my dad, my family, my sibling feel? How will all this affect them? I wasn’t thinking about myself, but everyone who was close to her, as my mom supported me, I supported her during these times. And luckily she got through it, the cancer was gone. But we still worry that it may come back. When she got through it, her strength was amazing, she is resilient that women and she inspired me more than ever to be strong.
Michael: I can imagine, I remember when they threw a party for you, and your dad gave that heartfelt speech. Do you ever feel that your career will tear you apart from your family?
Giselle: I did once, but now I don’t I can’t possibly imagine how it would be like with my family. Their my everything.
Michael: Do you have a boyfriend?
*camera zooms in*
Giselle: Like I said before I hate to get too personal, but I have nothing to hide now. No I don’t, and I don’t want one right now. My career is what I’m focused on right now, and I feel that a boy friend will hamper that. Once I have what I want in my career then I will consider it, but right now no way.
Michael: With all these female pop artist, do you ever feel you have to outdo them?
Giselle: That’s ridicules, the only person who I compete with is my. I’m my own best friend, and my own worst enemy.
Michael: I remember you say whom your influences, can you tell us all of them?
Giselle: I’m influenced by Madonna, because of her use of sexuality, and pushing the boundaries. She put women in the driver’s seat. Janet Jackson, and how she dances, and the way every album has a message. Britney Spears, because of her charisma, her stage presence, and how she makes people wonder what she will do next. And Queen, I like there theatricals, and some other 70s and 80s influences. I also like to combine some underground music into my stuff.
Michael: Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?
Giselle: Hmmm, I see myself, still doing music, I hope. But I don’t know, I believe life is a journey, and you’re just a leaf blown by the wind. You will go anywhere the wind blows, the wind is life. So I can’t say really.
Michael: Do you plan on going on your own tour?
Giselle: Yes, yes I do. Soon after going on tour with Katie I will do my own tour to further support my album. I’m think about doing a non-stop tour so It may be for a year or two.
Michael: Well, that’s all the time we have. It was a pleasure talking to you, and getting to know you. I have a feeling you will be a mega star in the future.
Giselle: Aww thank you, it was great having you around.
OOC: Sorry if it was long again. I didn't think it would be this huge, but I enjoyed writing it. So I may have gotten a bit carried away, if you do read it all, thank you very much. You may get a better understanding of my character and who she is. I plan to do this with all of them. It brings them to life. 