Sex sells for Young Divas
The key to success in the music industry, according to Young Diva Emily Williams, is really quite simple.
“Sex sells and that has been going on in the music industry for years,” Williams, who shot to fame after appearing in Australian Idol, told thewest.com.au.
“If you have that sex appeal you don’t even have to know how to sing, you can just stand there and show one titty and the whole world knows who you are. You show more skin and you get known as a sex symbol.”
Williams was in town today to promote the group’s new album New Attitude, which will be released on Saturday. The new release follows hot on the heels of last year’s widely successful self-titled debut album.
Originally consisting of former Australian Idol contestants Paulini Curuenavuli, Kate DeAraugo, Emily Williams and Ricky-Lee Coulter, Ms Lee left the group earlier this year. Darwin’s Jessica Mauboy, who wowed audiences on Idol at the tender age of 16, has stepped up the fill the breach.
Williams and Mauboy spoke to thewest.com.au of the pressures of workloads, waistlines and their plans for the future ahead of this Saturday’s album launch at Sony’s Osborne Park offices. Read the transcript below
West Online: How do you compare the pressures and workload of Australian Idol with being one of the Young Divas?
Jessica: Being on the show was much harder, coming into the group mellows it out, shares the pressures – which is totally easier.
Emily: Every time you muck up on something you have always got someone there to back you up, help you out. And we have each other’s back.
Jessica: And you get much more out of it, you learn heaps more from each other.
West Online: Do you feel pressure to be role models for young fans?
Emily: Yes and no. I feel privileged and humbled to know that we have fans, and young fans who look up to us. It is hard because some fans expect you to be perfect, and expect you to not muck up, but we are human. We do love the fact we have people out there who like us and what we’re doing.
West Online: Do you think there has been too much focus in recent years on the sex appeal of young female performers instead of their musical talent?
Emily: Sex sells and that has been going on in the music industry for years. If you have that sex appeal you don’t even have to know how to sing, you can just stand there and show one titty and the whole world knows who you are. You show more skin and you get known as a sex symbol.
Jessica: (laughs)
Emily: Look at Paris Hilton… she can just stand there and say blah, blah, blah and has all these men trying to get naked for her. Her body says it all. Sex totally sells and I have noticed that. And it’s really hard because there are so many young girls out there who want to be anorexic sixe twos, just so they look like Paris.
West Online: What do you think could be done differently by the industry to address that phenomenon?
Emily: They could start releasing artists that wear more clothes.
Emily and Jessica burst out laughing.
Emily: More clothes? Hello? We got criticised for being the “fat Divas”.
Jessica: (gasps) What?
West Online: By whom?
Emily: I can’t remember.
Jessica: Because we have meat?
Emily: Yes. It cut us, but then we started to get fan mail from all around Australia from people saying we’re really glad you are who you are and you make us feel like we don’t have to be size twos. It’s kind of done us well being… big.
Jessica: Being different.
Emily: They say anorexia is terrible, these magazines, and then call women chunky or fat. What do they want us to be skinny or big? It’s a crazy, crazy world.
West Online: So who was it who criticised you?
Emily: I can’t remember… no, it was Kyle (Sandilands) on his radio show! He called us the Fat Divas.
Jessica: Kyle always has something to say.
Emily: But we do love him.
West Online: How did you find recording?
Emily cuts in, holding up a Whitney Houston DVD: Whitney Houston’s greatest hits? (They both burst into raucous laughter).
Jessica: New Attitude!
West Online: Compared to the first album?
Emily: We got more time, so much more time doing this album. Out first album we had no time at all, we were touring and recording at the same time. With this album we put in so much more work and time and we got to do the vocal arrangements.
West Online: You covered two Pointer Sisters songs on New Attitude. You know the counting song from Sesame Street?
Jessica: (sings) One two three four five, six seven eight nine ten, eleven twelve!
West Online: That was the Pointer Sisters.
Jessica: Yes! Yes it was. I love that song.
West Online: You could record it on the next album.
Jessica: (laughs)
West Online: Have you been considering working on your own material, writing your own songs for the Young Divas?
Emily: We would definitely want to do that, it’s one of our goals, if we release another album we want a few original songs on it.
West Online: What has Jessica brought to the group?
Emily: Such a better vibe, such a better feel, seriously because just having her in the group, when we’re all tense and angry and stressed she is the giggle box. She just laughs when we’re all really serious and it will make us laugh as well.
West Online: What were and are your musical influences?
Emily: Rent, Hairspray…
Jessica: Know what my favourite is? The Sound Of Music. And Mary Poppins.
Emily: I don’t know about Mary Poppins…
Jessica: I love all those. (sings) Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…
Emily: Sister Act.
Jessica breaks into song again: Oh happy day…
Emily: INXS, Silverchair.
Jessica: I love Nirvana. They were a great band. Red Hot Chilli Pepper. Stevie Wonder…
Emily: Whitney (brandishing the DVD). And I love gospel.
Jessica: I love Elvis. He won his all his awards for his gospel work.
West Online: He certainly didn’t win them for his movies.
Emily and Jessica: (laughing) Oh God.
Jessica: My mum used to watch all those movies, coming home from school in the afternoon they’d always be on.
West Online: They were like Bollywood movies because he couldn’t act. Every two minutes he’d burst into song.
More laughter.
West Online: You mentioned gospel, I understand you have a background in that.
Jessica: That’s where it all started.
Emily: Paulini and I sang a lot of gospel. We were forced onto stage man!
Jessica: Yeah!
Emily: You’d have to stand up there and sing for a good half an hour straight. That’s where it all started.
West Online: Who are your heroes in life?
Emily: My older sister Livina Williams, she was on Idol the same year as Jess. She had already released three albums in New Zealand, she was in The Lion King here, did Idol and then went to sing in Germany.
Jess: It’s my family, my mum and dad who inspire me, and my five sisters. No brothers… my poor dad.
West Online: Is it hard to find time to spend with them, and friends as well – to have a normal life?
Jessica: I think about them all the time, the good thing is we have mobile phones, the internet, we can always talk to them and stay in touch.
The most important thing in this industry is to have family and good support and know there is someone you can rely on and trust.
West Online: Now Ricky-Lee Coulter left to get married and pursue her solo career… or did you run her out of town?
Emily: No absolutely not, though we heard there’s a rivalry going on because we didn’t go to her wedding. She actually invited us through management, not directly, and we would have loved to go but we were all booked for different things. I had to do a TV show in New Zealand, Paulini had the fundraiser for the AIDS foundation and Kate was in Thailand. We still congratulated her and said ‘good on you babe’ and we’re really proud of the work she’s doing, but now we’ve got Jess and we’re ok!
West Online: What are your plans for the future?
Jessica: More touring and hopefully another album.
West Online: Your album is being released on election day; Do you think the government does enough to support music and the arts?
Emily: I don’t know too much about that, but I will say I want Kevin Rudd to win. Go Kevin! Howard, his days are over.
Jessica: (sings) What have you done for me lately?
source: http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=25&ContentID=47621
“Sex sells and that has been going on in the music industry for years,” Williams, who shot to fame after appearing in Australian Idol, told thewest.com.au.
“If you have that sex appeal you don’t even have to know how to sing, you can just stand there and show one titty and the whole world knows who you are. You show more skin and you get known as a sex symbol.”
Williams was in town today to promote the group’s new album New Attitude, which will be released on Saturday. The new release follows hot on the heels of last year’s widely successful self-titled debut album.
Originally consisting of former Australian Idol contestants Paulini Curuenavuli, Kate DeAraugo, Emily Williams and Ricky-Lee Coulter, Ms Lee left the group earlier this year. Darwin’s Jessica Mauboy, who wowed audiences on Idol at the tender age of 16, has stepped up the fill the breach.
Williams and Mauboy spoke to thewest.com.au of the pressures of workloads, waistlines and their plans for the future ahead of this Saturday’s album launch at Sony’s Osborne Park offices. Read the transcript below
West Online: How do you compare the pressures and workload of Australian Idol with being one of the Young Divas?
Jessica: Being on the show was much harder, coming into the group mellows it out, shares the pressures – which is totally easier.
Emily: Every time you muck up on something you have always got someone there to back you up, help you out. And we have each other’s back.
Jessica: And you get much more out of it, you learn heaps more from each other.
West Online: Do you feel pressure to be role models for young fans?
Emily: Yes and no. I feel privileged and humbled to know that we have fans, and young fans who look up to us. It is hard because some fans expect you to be perfect, and expect you to not muck up, but we are human. We do love the fact we have people out there who like us and what we’re doing.
West Online: Do you think there has been too much focus in recent years on the sex appeal of young female performers instead of their musical talent?
Emily: Sex sells and that has been going on in the music industry for years. If you have that sex appeal you don’t even have to know how to sing, you can just stand there and show one titty and the whole world knows who you are. You show more skin and you get known as a sex symbol.
Jessica: (laughs)
Emily: Look at Paris Hilton… she can just stand there and say blah, blah, blah and has all these men trying to get naked for her. Her body says it all. Sex totally sells and I have noticed that. And it’s really hard because there are so many young girls out there who want to be anorexic sixe twos, just so they look like Paris.
West Online: What do you think could be done differently by the industry to address that phenomenon?
Emily: They could start releasing artists that wear more clothes.
Emily and Jessica burst out laughing.
Emily: More clothes? Hello? We got criticised for being the “fat Divas”.
Jessica: (gasps) What?
West Online: By whom?
Emily: I can’t remember.
Jessica: Because we have meat?
Emily: Yes. It cut us, but then we started to get fan mail from all around Australia from people saying we’re really glad you are who you are and you make us feel like we don’t have to be size twos. It’s kind of done us well being… big.
Jessica: Being different.
Emily: They say anorexia is terrible, these magazines, and then call women chunky or fat. What do they want us to be skinny or big? It’s a crazy, crazy world.
West Online: So who was it who criticised you?
Emily: I can’t remember… no, it was Kyle (Sandilands) on his radio show! He called us the Fat Divas.
Jessica: Kyle always has something to say.
Emily: But we do love him.
West Online: How did you find recording?
Emily cuts in, holding up a Whitney Houston DVD: Whitney Houston’s greatest hits? (They both burst into raucous laughter).
Jessica: New Attitude!
West Online: Compared to the first album?
Emily: We got more time, so much more time doing this album. Out first album we had no time at all, we were touring and recording at the same time. With this album we put in so much more work and time and we got to do the vocal arrangements.
West Online: You covered two Pointer Sisters songs on New Attitude. You know the counting song from Sesame Street?
Jessica: (sings) One two three four five, six seven eight nine ten, eleven twelve!
West Online: That was the Pointer Sisters.
Jessica: Yes! Yes it was. I love that song.
West Online: You could record it on the next album.
Jessica: (laughs)
West Online: Have you been considering working on your own material, writing your own songs for the Young Divas?
Emily: We would definitely want to do that, it’s one of our goals, if we release another album we want a few original songs on it.
West Online: What has Jessica brought to the group?
Emily: Such a better vibe, such a better feel, seriously because just having her in the group, when we’re all tense and angry and stressed she is the giggle box. She just laughs when we’re all really serious and it will make us laugh as well.
West Online: What were and are your musical influences?
Emily: Rent, Hairspray…
Jessica: Know what my favourite is? The Sound Of Music. And Mary Poppins.
Emily: I don’t know about Mary Poppins…
Jessica: I love all those. (sings) Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…
Emily: Sister Act.
Jessica breaks into song again: Oh happy day…
Emily: INXS, Silverchair.
Jessica: I love Nirvana. They were a great band. Red Hot Chilli Pepper. Stevie Wonder…
Emily: Whitney (brandishing the DVD). And I love gospel.
Jessica: I love Elvis. He won his all his awards for his gospel work.
West Online: He certainly didn’t win them for his movies.
Emily and Jessica: (laughing) Oh God.
Jessica: My mum used to watch all those movies, coming home from school in the afternoon they’d always be on.
West Online: They were like Bollywood movies because he couldn’t act. Every two minutes he’d burst into song.
More laughter.
West Online: You mentioned gospel, I understand you have a background in that.
Jessica: That’s where it all started.
Emily: Paulini and I sang a lot of gospel. We were forced onto stage man!
Jessica: Yeah!
Emily: You’d have to stand up there and sing for a good half an hour straight. That’s where it all started.
West Online: Who are your heroes in life?
Emily: My older sister Livina Williams, she was on Idol the same year as Jess. She had already released three albums in New Zealand, she was in The Lion King here, did Idol and then went to sing in Germany.
Jess: It’s my family, my mum and dad who inspire me, and my five sisters. No brothers… my poor dad.
West Online: Is it hard to find time to spend with them, and friends as well – to have a normal life?
Jessica: I think about them all the time, the good thing is we have mobile phones, the internet, we can always talk to them and stay in touch.
The most important thing in this industry is to have family and good support and know there is someone you can rely on and trust.
West Online: Now Ricky-Lee Coulter left to get married and pursue her solo career… or did you run her out of town?
Emily: No absolutely not, though we heard there’s a rivalry going on because we didn’t go to her wedding. She actually invited us through management, not directly, and we would have loved to go but we were all booked for different things. I had to do a TV show in New Zealand, Paulini had the fundraiser for the AIDS foundation and Kate was in Thailand. We still congratulated her and said ‘good on you babe’ and we’re really proud of the work she’s doing, but now we’ve got Jess and we’re ok!
West Online: What are your plans for the future?
Jessica: More touring and hopefully another album.
West Online: Your album is being released on election day; Do you think the government does enough to support music and the arts?
Emily: I don’t know too much about that, but I will say I want Kevin Rudd to win. Go Kevin! Howard, his days are over.
Jessica: (sings) What have you done for me lately?
source: http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=25&ContentID=47621
Comments
Post a Comment