Alesha: Obama has people's best interests at heart
Alesha: Obama has people's best interests at heart
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Monday, 26, Jan 2009 04:15
We all know and love Alesha Dixon from her time as the unofficial front woman of girl band Misteeq.
The trio's record label Telstar had problems so when the band came back from America they decided not to stay as a group and went their separate ways. With her passion for music, after the split with Mis-teeq, she made the brave move to go solo and signed to Polydor. After the deal went sour she took some time out and won the 2007 series of Strictly Come Dancing. Alesha was back in the game after she signed a contract with Asylum Records to put out her album The Alesha Show which spawned the hit single The Boy Does Nothing and upcoming smash Breathe Slow.
Rashmi Shastri talks to Alesha about going solo, Barack Obama and reality TV.
How were the NRJ awards in Cannes?
Really good, I didn't think anybody would know who I was because the single has only just gone out to radio there and I was on the red carpet for the awards. We made all the papers with my yellow dress which was unexpected. I had to present a duet award and speak in French and I sounded like such a common English person!
What is it like to be signed to Asylum Records?
They're the best. I had a small stint with Universal then after Strictly I had a choice between a few labels. They're very hungry here and really invest their time and money into projects. I love the whole team and feel comfortable. It reminds me of when I was signed to Telstar where it was like a family environment. Sometimes when you go to the big companies like Universal you get a bit lost because there are so many artists and people whereas here it's a bit more reigned in.
How do you feel about the success The Alesha Show has had so far?
I'm really pleased that the first single went Gold. I was quite nervous about releasing on 24th November because that was the most difficult week of the year for sales. The fact we put out one song and the album came out and sold 100,000 got us off to a good start. The interesting this is that The Boy Does Nothing bridged the gap between coming out of Strictly and signing a new deal. Breathe Slow is a more serious record which shows some substance and depth. The Boy Does Nothing is like marmite, people are either gonna like it or not, there's no in-between for that record but we thought it was the right record for a breakout single. Both singles are in the Top 40 which is good.
If you had your own show on TV who would you invite as guests and performers?
I'd have Take That because I was a fan of them when I was young, Coldplay, Jazmine Sullivan, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks.
How did you feel watching the inauguration?
I was very emotional and cried when I watched it. I'm reading his book at the moment and I'm quite obsessed with him. For the first time I feel like I'm a fan of somebody. There's something about him that's really powerful. He's a special man and the message he's sent to everybody in the world that you can achieve anything. He's going to inspire a lot of people. I love his whole family as well. We don't know a lot about them but they look endearing. I think he's the first President who has a heart. Bush was cold, inhumane and a warmonger. There's no denying that Obama has people's best interests at heart.
Any thoughts on a reunion with the other Mis-teeq girls?
The break-up of Mis-teeq was done very maturely with a lot of respect for each other. Sometimes I wonder how they feel about what I'm doing but Su-Elise texted me today saying well done which she doesn't have to do. I think about them all the time. Anywhere I go I've already been there with the girls. I haven't achieved what Mis-teeq achieved yet. I would never say never about a reunion because who knows what's going to happen in the future. If Sabrina and Su-Elise were up for it one day then who knows. Mis-teeq split up in 2005 and there hasn't been another girl group like us. Think of all the barriers we broke down like the Brit Awards, performing for the Queen, a hit in America, there hasn't been another all-black girl group. I would love for my first London shows that we all sing Scandalous together.
Are you planning on touring soon?
We're putting together the band. We still use Donovan who Mis-teeq used to work with then Take That pinched him so I'm gonna pinch him back! We're thinking of doing some live shows and some support for somebody else. The first venue we want to do is Shepherds Bush Empire. I'm dying to do my own show. The reason I called the album The Alesha Show was simply because that's what I'm aspiring to. When I was on tour I felt alive and like that was where I belonged.
Would you ever record an unplugged album?
That would be amazing; I would love to do that. Doing something like that is really special and intimate and shows the audience a different side to you. I love doing songs acoustically because it hones into the emotion of the song. That could definitely be on the cards.
Would you consider doing another reality TV show?
I have to say no. the older I get the more I'm like never say never but how I feel now is no.I remember saying to my mum before I was on Strictly that it would be the only reality show that I would ever do. I liked the fact the voting money went to Children In Need and I loved the ballroom element of it. For me it was more about the content of the show than what it could do for me. It was about the passion of dancing. I don't think there's another show I would do. I wouldn't do Celebrity Big Brother I think it's like going into a nightmare; I don't want to give away my soul. I wouldn't do I'm A Celebrity... because I don't know what I would be trying to gain from that. With Strictly I was gaining skills. I never make decisions based on financial gain. I've had things offered to me after Strictly which have been great financially but I've turned down because it doesn't make sense for me to do them.
You've been through a lot of ups and down in your career and personal life. How do you stay positive?
Every day I give thanks for what I do and focus on what I have rather than what I don't have. Life is a gift and it would feel rude of me to not treat it with respect. Being miserable or negative is not being fair to life itself. I feel like I have a lot of good things in my life so I focus on that. No matter what you feel you don't have you probably have a lot more than other people. I really want to enjoy life. If you keep a positive attitude you can manifest positive things.
I've found that when I'm negative, negative things happen. My 20s for me was a rollercoaster of ups and downs and changes but I learnt a lot from it and I learnt that bad things can happen but you can bring good things out of it. You have to always want the best for yourself. If you can ride the lows, you have higher highs.
Rashmi Shastri
Alesha's new single Breathe Slow is released on February 9th.