Perdita
26-01-2009, 14:53
Having struck fear into the hearts of housework-shy males with 'The Boy Does Nothing', Alesha Dixon has opted for a more reflective offering for the second single from her Alesha Show album. As the sultry 'Breathe Slow' races up the charts - it's cracked the top 20 a fortnight ahead of release - we hooked up with Dixon for a chat about boys, her reputation as the nicest girl in pop and why she'd never do Eurovision.
Your new single 'Breathe Slow' is a bit of a departure from 'The Boy Does Nothing'. Was that a conscious decision?
"'The Boy Does Nothing' was obviously a fun, novelty record and a good way of coming back, but I think 'Breathe Slow' is more reflective of the album. We wanted to show light and dark, fast and slow and therefore wanted the second single to be more stripped back. The musicality and the lyrical content is definitely a lot more serious."
But you still managed to squeeze some dancing into the video!
"I just love a bit of dancing, any old excuse really! Even in a song with a darker message I seem to find myself dancing away. The concept of the video is that I'm a showgirl in Vegas and I've heard some bad news so I start losing my focus. I'm getting frustrated with myself because I have something on my mind and I have to fight my way through the dancing. I actually think dancing is a really good way of relieving stress. If you've had a really hard week at work, you can just go out on a Friday night and let your hair down."
How did the video shoot go?
"It was quite embarrassing because I had to walk down the Vegas strip in this tiny little silver dress. There were no extras so I felt pretty self-conscious. The Ricky Hatton fight was on at the same time so there were some English lads being all lairy, saying, 'Alwight Alesha'. After the first take I got into it, but it was pretty hard to stay focused on the camera all the time."
Are you pleased with how your album is doing?
"I think when any artist comes out of the traps they just want to get a silver record and then a gold one. We released the album in the toughest week of the year, and it was a bit scary as we'd only put out one single before it. We knew it was a risk, but I'm really pleased with how it's gone and now we're going into 2009 knowing we have something to work on. The plan is to keep going for the rest of the year and we're currently sketching out what singles are going to come out. I'd love to think we could have a platinum record by the summer."
Have you decided on the third single yet?
"We're having a debate about it at the moment. I think it should be 'Lets Get Excited' but some of the team think it's a bit like Marmite – you'll either love it or hate it. They're thinking 'Italians Do It Better', but I'm a bit worried that it's too far down the album. You'll have to watch this space!"
How has 'The Boy Does Nothing' affected your chances with the opposite sex?
"Haha! I think it's probably put men off me - they probably think that I expect them to wash up and clean up after me. They probably think, 'Oh God, I better stay away from her!' It's not really helping with my single status at the moment!"
So there isn't anyone you have your eye on?
"No, but if I had to pick someone who's very hot it would be Channing Tatum from Step Up. Me and my friend nearly got the movie out last week just so we could watch him, but then we realised that would be quite sad. He's my ideal-looking man, but he's not single and I don't have the tendency to look at guys who have girlfriends. If I know someone's in a relationship I just don't look at them like that out of principle."
You never seem to say anything negative about anyone in the press. Do you ever think you might be too nice?
"Do I not? I didn't even realise! If I didn't like someone or something I'd probably just tell you, but equally I don't know what's to gain from being negative about someone else. I don't feel the need to get that sort of publicity. I'd prefer to be known for my music and I'm actually quite content when I'm not in the public eye."
So you're not going to tear a page out of Lily Allen's book?
"Haha! Well, that's just Lily and that's why we love her! She is very brash and she is who she is because she's not scared to say what she feels. I really love that about her. There might be people who have just as strong opinions as her but are scared to say it. We need people like Lily and I like the fact that you never know what she's going to come out with."
You've just appeared on Andrew Lloyd Webber's Eurovision show Your Country Needs You. Would you ever consider doing Eurovision?
"Never! Full stop. I'm from the old school. Coming from Mis-Teeq we had to work hard to get into the industry - it wasn't thrown at us through a reality show. It just isn't something I'd see as a good career move, but I like watching it. Plus, everyone knows that Britain always get a hard time there, so why would you want to voluntarily put yourself up for that?"
Do you pay attention to what your fans are saying about you?
"Definitely. Me and my manager go onto the DS forums to read the debates there. It's good to get feedback and I like to know what tracks on the album people like - it could help with the decision about the third single. But a lot of the comments are about me and [dancing partner] Matt from Strictly and sometimes they get pretty intense."
Alesha Dixon releases 'Breathe Slow' on February 9. Her album The Alesha Show is out now.
I was not so sure about her in the beginning but I really like her now and might buy her album :)
Your new single 'Breathe Slow' is a bit of a departure from 'The Boy Does Nothing'. Was that a conscious decision?
"'The Boy Does Nothing' was obviously a fun, novelty record and a good way of coming back, but I think 'Breathe Slow' is more reflective of the album. We wanted to show light and dark, fast and slow and therefore wanted the second single to be more stripped back. The musicality and the lyrical content is definitely a lot more serious."
But you still managed to squeeze some dancing into the video!
"I just love a bit of dancing, any old excuse really! Even in a song with a darker message I seem to find myself dancing away. The concept of the video is that I'm a showgirl in Vegas and I've heard some bad news so I start losing my focus. I'm getting frustrated with myself because I have something on my mind and I have to fight my way through the dancing. I actually think dancing is a really good way of relieving stress. If you've had a really hard week at work, you can just go out on a Friday night and let your hair down."
How did the video shoot go?
"It was quite embarrassing because I had to walk down the Vegas strip in this tiny little silver dress. There were no extras so I felt pretty self-conscious. The Ricky Hatton fight was on at the same time so there were some English lads being all lairy, saying, 'Alwight Alesha'. After the first take I got into it, but it was pretty hard to stay focused on the camera all the time."
Are you pleased with how your album is doing?
"I think when any artist comes out of the traps they just want to get a silver record and then a gold one. We released the album in the toughest week of the year, and it was a bit scary as we'd only put out one single before it. We knew it was a risk, but I'm really pleased with how it's gone and now we're going into 2009 knowing we have something to work on. The plan is to keep going for the rest of the year and we're currently sketching out what singles are going to come out. I'd love to think we could have a platinum record by the summer."
Have you decided on the third single yet?
"We're having a debate about it at the moment. I think it should be 'Lets Get Excited' but some of the team think it's a bit like Marmite – you'll either love it or hate it. They're thinking 'Italians Do It Better', but I'm a bit worried that it's too far down the album. You'll have to watch this space!"
How has 'The Boy Does Nothing' affected your chances with the opposite sex?
"Haha! I think it's probably put men off me - they probably think that I expect them to wash up and clean up after me. They probably think, 'Oh God, I better stay away from her!' It's not really helping with my single status at the moment!"
So there isn't anyone you have your eye on?
"No, but if I had to pick someone who's very hot it would be Channing Tatum from Step Up. Me and my friend nearly got the movie out last week just so we could watch him, but then we realised that would be quite sad. He's my ideal-looking man, but he's not single and I don't have the tendency to look at guys who have girlfriends. If I know someone's in a relationship I just don't look at them like that out of principle."
You never seem to say anything negative about anyone in the press. Do you ever think you might be too nice?
"Do I not? I didn't even realise! If I didn't like someone or something I'd probably just tell you, but equally I don't know what's to gain from being negative about someone else. I don't feel the need to get that sort of publicity. I'd prefer to be known for my music and I'm actually quite content when I'm not in the public eye."
So you're not going to tear a page out of Lily Allen's book?
"Haha! Well, that's just Lily and that's why we love her! She is very brash and she is who she is because she's not scared to say what she feels. I really love that about her. There might be people who have just as strong opinions as her but are scared to say it. We need people like Lily and I like the fact that you never know what she's going to come out with."
You've just appeared on Andrew Lloyd Webber's Eurovision show Your Country Needs You. Would you ever consider doing Eurovision?
"Never! Full stop. I'm from the old school. Coming from Mis-Teeq we had to work hard to get into the industry - it wasn't thrown at us through a reality show. It just isn't something I'd see as a good career move, but I like watching it. Plus, everyone knows that Britain always get a hard time there, so why would you want to voluntarily put yourself up for that?"
Do you pay attention to what your fans are saying about you?
"Definitely. Me and my manager go onto the DS forums to read the debates there. It's good to get feedback and I like to know what tracks on the album people like - it could help with the decision about the third single. But a lot of the comments are about me and [dancing partner] Matt from Strictly and sometimes they get pretty intense."
Alesha Dixon releases 'Breathe Slow' on February 9. Her album The Alesha Show is out now.
I was not so sure about her in the beginning but I really like her now and might buy her album :)