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MERCEDES INTERVIEW: THAT GRAPE JUICE  SamMercedesHello Mercedes, you're looking beautiful as always. Thank you for joining me today.Awww thank you. Well it's my pleasure to be here.So let's get down to business. We know you for your single 'Shine On' which is a great track by the way, we're loving it here. Also, we know you for being one of the first signings to the newly re-launched Hot Eye Records but can you tell us about the Mercedes Payne we haven't seen? What you've done in the past to get to where you are today? Well I grew up in a children's home in London. I lived there from the ages of 4 to 18 so basically the most part of my life as I'm just going to turn 20 this year. Once leaving, I got into contact with my mum again and she had moved to California and had started her own business over there. She asked me to move in with her so I packed my bags and got on a plane to Cali. From a young age I had always been interested in music. At the children's home I was always putting on little shows and taking part in productions and even though me and my mum never seen each other that much she says she ALWAYS remembers how I had a passion for performing. So when I moved in with her, she helped to pay for singing lessons and paid for my own website and I owe her so much for that. From there I went on to post covers of songs and they gathered a lot of attention. I then heard Hot Eye was relaunched and was accepting applications so I obviously applied and the rest as they say, is history.What was it about Hot Eye that made you apply?Well it's run by Stephanie Fierce who is my idol. I mean, who wouldn't want to work with her? People can hate but she's just a legend in my eyes and no one can even come close to her. Also, I really wanted to be signed to a label and release music because I want to express myself and hopefully inspire others to do the same. I have things I want to say and being with a great label like HER, it's very easy to be yourself as they give you so much creative freedom.Talking about creative freedom; what exactly have you created? What is your style?I don't really have a set style. I guess you could say my style is 'colourful' if you get what I mean? It's a whole mixture of sounds that just expresses a whole lot of emotions and thoughts. I have no boundaries when it comes to music, I hate feeling categorised and if you're told 'you HAVE to do this, you HAVE to sound like that' it really takes the fun out of it all so.....I'm just free, I'm a wild one!So I'm assuming your album is filled with different genres?Oh yeah, most definitely. Like I said before; I'm free when it comes to music, my album is....I hate using the word 'real' because what actually is 'real'? It's.....'me', it's what I feel, it's what I think. I have written all the songs apart from two and I've not written the featured vocalists parts but other than that it's all me. The songs on the album mean so much to me because when I'm writing them I really connect with the lyrics. I know it sounds weird but sometimes I'm writing a song and I actually cry because I go 'wow, deep down I must really be thinking this'. Like for instance there's a track I wrote about an ex and I've forgiven him, well at least I thought I had until I started writing and all these words came out and I sort of took a step back and was like; 'woah....am I really still feeling this way about him?'. So yeah, the album is totally me, what I feel, it's in no way, shape or form been writing by a team of people and passed over to me. I can tell you're passionate about your music. Now, you actually planned on 'Shine On' being a dance track but felt the song had an important message and felt the dance beats would overshadow those lyrics. Explain the change.Well it was actually the reggae/ska track it is now at the beginning. Then I decided it would sound great as a dance track. I mean dance is HUGE at the moment, you have the likes of Suzie, Teen Titans and Isabel practically owning pop and dance music at the moment. It was all set to be released then I thought 'do I really want to be another pop act?'. Don't get me wrong, I love pop music but most of the time, pop is for enjoyment and not taken seriously and with this song I really put a lot of work in and the song is really close to my heart and personal. I really didn't want it to be 'another pop song', I wanted it to stand out so I made it into a reggae infused track as there's nothing like that in the charts today.You say the song is personal. Can you tell us why?Basically it's about a little boy I know, well not really little, he's actually in his mid teens but to me he's little. I won't say his name because I would never say anything without his permission. He is a great guy but he suffers from a lot of conditions and is constantly put down by bullies. I hope this track gives him the courage to continue to be amazing and stay strong and just to be who he's always been.Awww that's so sweet. No moving on to something not so sweet.....the beef with Tisha Jackson and Stephanie Fierce. You obviously work close with Steph and there's rumours that you and Tisha are working together. What's it like being around them?Firstly, I am in fact working with Tisha so there's an exclusive for ya. Secondly, I haven't been in the same room as them both so I've not experienced a fight yet. Working with them individually, I can say they are both lovely girls and I admire them so much. Not once have I been with Steph and she's tried to turn me on Tisha and vice versa. What goes on between them is between them and even if I was present during a dispute with them both I would stay out of it because it is absolutely none of my business. I would say that I hope they resolve it because they are wonderful artists, leading ladies in music and once getting to know them they are so sweet and it's really not nice seeing people you admire turn on each other but hey, it's totally up to them what they do. So we've just got an exclusive that you're working with Tisha. Is there anyone else?Well I'm not doing a vocal collaboration with Ms Jackson, she sent me two tracks she had written and produced for me and I absolutely loved them. Tisha won't be featuring as a vocalist but there are a few collaborations which I am excited about. I can confirm two, the rest I'm keeping tight lipped about. The first is my 'brother' Billy Khan, I love him so much he's like family and once we got in the studio it was just a party going on. We have a great connection and I think a key ingredient for a great track is a close relationship with the person you're working with as you both understand each other and bounce great ideas off of one another. The other is Allura Silk. That girl is just awesome, our track is still in working progress but she has confirmed that she'll do the track. The others are hush hush at the moment. Oh! Almost forgot, it was confirmed last night that Jacob Estrada will be working with me too. He is a lovely guy and I just can't wait to hit the studio with him.So you've said who you ARE working with. Is there anyone you would like to work with?Hmmmm......well Stephanie Fierce is an obvious one, I adore her, everything she does is just amazing. Luke Striker is another, not just because he is FIT but because I think he has an awesome voice and is a super talented song writer plus he doesn't have an ego, he's so down to earth. Another is Giselle, she's so cool and I love what she does with her music. I could go on all day because there is so many wonderful artists out there. Being busy with your music, have you found time to date anyone? Are you and Luke Striker at it?At it!? Haha, well that's one way of putting it. Seriously, we're not though. He is a lovely guy and so sweet but I've worked so hard on my music and to just ditch that and focus on a boy is a bit silly. Once I finish the album and I've eased into the industry more, then I'll start thinking about dating.Ok, smart girl. Very wise. Now do you have an album title yet or a tracklist?Actually I'm not going to say. You will all be very surprised about what I'm going to be releasing. Most artists release one or two singles then an album but I won't be doing that. It sounds odd now but when the time comes it will all make sense. I'm really looking forward to it that's all I'm saying.Ok now we're going to ask questions from fans who have been tweeting us all day. The first one is; 'Mercedes, what would you rather have; a successful album that was critically panned or a flop album that received critical acclaim?'Good question. Actually I don't care if an album is well received or not or if it has high sales or poor sales. I write music to express myself and if it connects with someone even just one person then I'm happy. I do it for my enjoyment and I always will. But if you are REALLY wanting an answer then I'd chose a flop album with critical acclaim because that means people must be agreeing with stuff I'm showcasing on the album and at least I won't be thinking I'm the only one with these thoughts.The second question; 'There are 3 artists in a room. They are Isabel Merjos, Mandy Williams and Katie Coyle. You can collaborate with one, write for one and give career advice to one. Which option would you chose for each artist and why?AMAZING question.....hmmmmmmm, well I would collaborate with Ka......no actually, I'd collaborate with Izzy because I know how versatile she is with her music and I admire her for that I think we could great a killer song. I would.....write for Mandy. I love little Mandy but I'd write 50 songs for her just so she can get an album out. Mandy I love you girl but move your arse and get working babes, I NEED that album. I would give Katie advice. I would tell her to keep doing what she's doing because she is brilliant and unbelievably talented, she gets a lot of hate and I just want to tell her that she has millions of people supporting her and that she shouldn't get upset. That was a really great question.Last question; 'Stephanie or Tisha'?Ahhhhh noooooo. I can't pick, I just can't. I love them both so much........if I HAD to pick.....hmmmmm.......no, sorry I can't. They are both brilliant ladies. Sorry I can't answer the question. I love both.Well thank you so much Mercedes. I think you have a bright career ahead of you and I really enjoyed our interview.Awww thanks, I really enjoyed it too. Thank you for having me here. |
 WEEKEND: BILLY • DUSTYN • OSCAR • RILEY • SCOTT
PUBLIC WARNING: BEAU • CARTER LEE • JAKE • MYLES • ZANDER
THE STAT NERDS: BRIAN • CHRISTOPHER
THE ZONE: BLAKE • CHRIS • JASON • LIAM
JOSHUA GRIMMIE • LINCOLN • LAYLA • MERCEDES • MICHELLE GREEN
ANDREA • DENEIL • CHICAGO NOBODY • BLOOM • SONNY • VICTORIA BLACK
REUBEN • ELLIE-GRACE SUMMERS • ALFIE SUMMERS • MICAH DELISLE
JAMIE JACKSON • KONSTANTIN • FAYETTE • SAYYID |
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