STACY FRANCIS INTERVIEW PART 3: ALBUM TO BE RELEASED IN AUGUST INDEPENDENTLY!

 This is the final part of my interview with the lovely Stacy Francis. I had a blast interviewing her, it was so much fun, she really is a sweet woman. Also, I got a lot of love from her fans, the Franatics. I hope you all enjoy part 3 and all the details about the album you are about to find out. So let's begin!

Me - As far as the direction, is it going to be mostly ballads, mid tempos? 

Stacy - There's definitely going to be some ballads because I love them and that's what people say about my voice. I have to do some dance stuff, I want to do a tribute to Donna Summer... the album will be released in August.

Me - Does it have a concrete release date?

Stacy - It's coming in August, we're definitely looking at a target date in August but I don't have a concrete date yet but it's coming in August. 

Me - How is recording different than just performing?

Stacy - When you go in the studio sometimes the track is laid down and you sing to the track and with 1500-Or-Nothing (Producers) these guys are a live band so I did it live in the studio so I got a chance to really really perform it as if I was on stage... They're really talented guys and I felt it was important for me to sing to live music because again I feel like I'm singing onstage. When it comes to singing in the studio and laying down the tracks is a little bit different but you definitely have to take in the same energy. I gotta make sure I work with the right producers because if you don't work with the right producer that knows how to produce for your voice... the guys that I work with just let me let it all hang out. 

Me - And you don't wanna have auto-tune being all messed up in there too!

Stacy - I don't do auto-tune honey (laughs)

Me - That's what I'm saying, coming from the XFactor and hearing your voice, you wanna make sure that you're gonna work with someone that's going to accommodate to your voice and not just go the auto-tune route.

Stacy - Exactly! Exactly! It's very important cuz you know like you said people saw me on the XFactor, I wanna give them what they saw on the show.

Me - Now going back to the album... how many songs have you recorded for the album (as of May 23rd)?

Stacy - I've recorded 7 so far but I have so many more to do.... I wanna make sure I record a bunch of stuff and then we're gonna get my team in a room and probably some fans and do a listening party and pick the songs that are gonna be on the album... I wanna record about 30 songs and then pick about 11 or 12. 

Me - And then some bonus tracks, maybe

Stacy - Yeah, well you know I think that nowadays it's a singles driven. I wanna drop as many singles as I can to give my fans as much music as I can give them... I definitely wanna have a lot going.

Me - Are you shopping around with labels or are you going independent?

Stacy - I've had a couple of people approach me and the thing about it is that once I sign to a label things might slow down a little bit and so I've decided that I'm producing my own album under my own production company... I'm gonna do as much as I can on my own so that I can get my music out there because what happens is you sign on a label and they have a lot going on, they have other artists...and it takes a bit longer than what my fans would appreciate... Of course I would love for a major label to come along and take the ball rolling but right now I'm doing it independently.

Me - It's also important to release what you want to release because sometimes when you join the really big labels they start deciding everything for you, what the public is going to hear

Stacy - And take away some of the creative control. I want my first album to be raw and real and I want it to come directly from me for my fans exactly the way that I'm feeling right now. 

- Thank you again Stacy for taking the time.

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STACY FRANCIS INTERVIEW PART 2: XFACTOR, THE INTERNET, BRITNEY SPEARS AND HER NEW REALITY SHOW!

When I spoke to Stacy last week, we spent some time conversing about the XFactor, her stay and troubles during the show, how she feels about Britney and Demi replacing the old judges.

Me - I want to have a possitive interview but I want to ask about the XFactor... how was dealing with the XFactor and some of the unfortunate things that were being said? How were you able to cope with everything without bursting?

Stacy - Without breaking? You know it was very interesting.

Me - You were really really strong in that sense because you were being attacked from so many different angles but you were still able to go out on stage and out-sing the other competitors.

Stacy - You know I think towards the end it started to affect me very much emotionally because we are all humans, there's so much we can take. But I kind of wish (speaks to child...) I'm sorry about that, I'm just dropping my kids off, single mom stuff... when I look at it now, when I looked at the internet. I had people telling me "don't look at the internet, don't read it" but it was all so new to me, you know what I mean? Being in the spotlight like that was very new to me and I didn't know how to handle it... but it did affect me, I had my moments. It did get in my head a lot... and I think that if it would not have that I might have stayed in the competition a little longer because I was dealing with so many elements... But I look at it now and I have the support of so many people, the fans who are still here and know me... they know the truth now.

Me - Do you think you were portrayed the way you are or they edited some stuff?

Stacy - (laughs) you know it's so funny because I'm doing a reality show soon, I'm doing another one and the producers of that show know me before I went into the XFactor and they were like "Stacy, you're so funny and no one got a chance to see that, you're really funny" I don't know that I'm funny, people just tell me I am. (That part of the show) it was always me crying... of course it was me, parts of it, but I also think the public didn't get a chance to really see all aspects of me but it wasn't my show, it was me and others acts... backstage it was another competition, competition backstage, onstage... you also have to be aware that the producers are watching you  to see what kind of personality you had and if you were worthy of them pushing you forward so that America could get to know you and you could win. 

Me - How did you hear about the judges being...what's the word I'm looking for that's not "fired"... when they were asked to leave, how did you hear about it and what was your thought?

Stacy - Unfortunately I was just with Paula maybe a week before I heard about it. I was with her, I'd done a show for Pepsi and I saw Paula and we were able to spend some time together and she's such a sweetheart! When I heard about that I was really devastated but you know Paula is a fighter and she's gonna move on to do other great things. I didn't understand the move that was made but you know Simon is a genius so I'm sure that we will all understand it soon enough.

Me - How do you feel about Britney and Demi being the new judges?

Stacy - Britney and Demi are a new fresh idea. You know I think it's really interesting, I don't know anything about Demi Lovato, I know Britney of course. I'm a very big fan of Britney Spears. I think that it'll be interesting to see her, because like I said I don't know Demi, but during the season we will get to know them and see their personalities, and that's the wonderful thing when the judges are on the panel like this, we get a chance to get to know them. We got a chance to really get to know Jennifer Lopez, of course we saw her work all these years, we admired her and how a great of a singer, an actress and a performer she is but really to see her heart and how sweet she is before American Idol and I think it'll be the same for Britney and Demi.

Me - I was really surprised when all the rumors started about Britney joining, because not to sound mean but usually they choose people that need that extra help to make a comeback, with The Voice, American Idol, they always choose someone that's not in the spotlight or that needs that extra push. And I was really surprised about Britney because she had just been on a world tour, she had just sold so many singles, I don't think she needs it.

Stacy - But you also have to look at what the purpose of a mentor is, the purpose of a mentor is to come and teach a younger artist or a new artist what it means to be in the business and what it means to perform on stage and I think that's what it should really be about and I think (Britney) is good for that.

Me - Yeah, specially being in the industry for so long and being able to relate. She did a couple of singing competitions when she was little, too.

Stacy - Just like Nicole, because Nicole is able to come and say "Hey! This is how it goes because she was also in a competition" so I think being able to relate to the contestant is the most important thing. I get what you mean about bring the careers back but at the end of the day it really should be about the contestant. 

Me - What would you say to somebody that is trying to audition for the XFactor or any other competition show?

Stacy - I think for me, when I auditioned for the XFactor it was 'cause I had auditioned for The Voice as well and this was before the XFactor, I really wanted the XFactor. I decided to show up, I didn't allow my nerves or my fears or my story to get me down. I was so frustrated of being told no, and now matter what everyone says, Perez Hilton and other people said that I had all this fame before, no, I had some success... I wasn't a star... When I went into that audition I went with passion and conviction and faith and I went in like that was my last shot... I think that if you go in and you go all out and I'm gonna show my talent. 

Me - You're also friends with Adam Lambert, right?

Stacy - You know, I don't know Adam, we never met in person. That was one of the things that was blown out of proportion on Twitter and Perez Hilton. You know my face was put on this poster that I worked with him and I never worked with Adam, I was supposed to do a show... and when I was on the XFactor they were saying "oh she lied about this too" and I was like "I've never met Adam!" 

Me - You should just extend that and do a duet with him, just go with it.

Stacy - That would be such an honor, I became a Glambert after all of that. I love Adam, he's a good guy, he definitely won my heart and he can sing his ass off!... Now we talk about Adam, I should tweet Adam and see what happens. 

Me - Yeah, DM him the interview when I post it and be like "hey, just read this, wink wink!"

Stacy - Yeah, that would be great and then I can thank you when I win a Grammy, I'll thank you! 

Second preview of the official single cover. Look out for part three of the interview to get all the juicy details about the album release!

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STACY FRANCIS INTERVIEW PART 1: PURPLE RAIN AND HER FANS!

I had the pleasure to speak to XFactor contestant Stacy Francis and have an interview with her. It was so much fun that we actually ended up talking longer than I expected so I will split the interview in three parts. In each part I will be posting a sneak peek of the official single artwork for "Purple Rain" Part 3 will have the full official world premiere. 

Part 1 will focus on her debut single "Purple Rain" and beloved fan base, the infamous Franatics, which we spoke a lot about.  Part 2 will be about her stay at the XFactor as well as what she thinks of singing shows and Britney Spears joining the second season of XFactor USA. Part 3 will focus on the Album, the release month, auto tune, Adam Lambert and other projects she has going on.

I will also be premiering the single artwork for "Purple Rain". You will get two sneak peeks and the full single cover when I post part 3. 

PART I

Stacy - Hi how are you?

Me - Pretty good, how about you?

Stacy - Thank you for interviewing me, I appreciate you!

Me - Thank you for taking the time! Are you excited?

Stacy - Of course! I'm so excited, I'm so so excited!... I love the song, and you know the fans love it. I'm really excited, I wanted to get back out there and sing somewhere. I've been singing every week, and I wanted to get back to it.

Me - When was it recorded? 

Stacy - I did it actually in I wanna say April, or the end of March, it was done a little while ago. We wanted to definitely make sure that everything was great, so we decided to take a little bit of time. And I shot a video and all that sort of thing.  Let me give you a bit of a background of "Purple Rain". I did it on the XFactor, and of course the song is only 2 minutes and for what my fans are telling me one of my best performances on the XFactor, and you know at first when I got the song I was like 'ugh "Purple Rain" what am I gonna do with "Purple Rain"? What does "Purple Rain"actually mean?... I started looking at the background of what it meant, well purple represents God's love in some religion... and when I sang it people said I did a little gospel to it and you know I really put a little bit of myself into it. I did my own rendition of it and people, fans all around the world, I get tweets from Italy, Africa, everywhere telling me how much they loved it so I decided to do a longer version of it. I wanted to give them something to remember, you know that we can still love XFactor. 

Me - I tweeted about... let me actually read you the tweet "Interviewing #STACYFRANCIS tomorrow about her debut solo single #PURPLERAIN I'll be premiering the single cover!" because your publicist is going to send me the single artwork as an exclusive for Today's Pop Music. 

Stacy - Oh good, that's awesome!

Me - And then TisMeStaceyxoP who I think is one of your biggest fans, the self proclaimed #1 Franatic that's why I know the term because I saw her on her page. 

Stacy - (laughs) Franatic! they gave themselves that name. It's so cute!

Me - I was looking at some of the tweets with the hash-tag and they seem really friendly. 

Stacy - Yeah, they're amazing, they're really supportive and amazing... you know it's funny, social media is such a good friend to the independent artist, I feel like if I didn't have Twitter and all those followers tweeting me "I love you" being out of the spotlight of a couple of months, we get a little bit insecure, you know, and it's nice to see that there are still people who love me and expect me to show up. 

Me - And it's good to have a friendly fan base. WIth the internet there are so many  fan-wars and everything else, you see that your friends are positive.

Stacy - I feel really blessed about that... I feel like my friends are a reflection of me. I see that other people might come and attack me and my fans would go after them very hard, they really protect me. And then I'll say to my fan, 'hey you know it's ok' you know what I mean? I don't want people stressing out. I don't like that sort of Twitter war on my page, on my timeline. But they do protect me!... It's so great to be protected that way and they are really good people, they represent all that I stand for. Love, light, the last couple of months and you know I made a lot decision about what I am and what I want to represent so I'm glad that my fans are kind people.

Me - I also think the artist has a lot to do with how the fans react. If you're a negative artists, you attract that kind of people but you've always been very positive, very friendly and empowering, so you attract that kind of people. 

Stacy - And it's a blessing, I do the work every day, and I do want my music to represent that and I want to represent myself in that way. You know, it takes a lot of work. It's not easy, it's not always easy, it takes work... because in the show and after I wasn't represented in the way I am... 

Me - And then people are able to see the type of people you are before all the editing

Stacy - And I think that's amazing, artists didn't have that many years ago. 

Me - For the people that don't know much after the XFactor, are you shipping around with labels? Have you chosen a label?

Stacy - I've had a couple people approach me. On the Independent side, the thing about it is that once I sign to a label things might slow down a little bit and so I've decided I'll produce my own stuff under my own production company... I'm gonna record my record and do as much as I can on my own so that I can get my music out there because what happens is sometimes you get on a label and they have a lot going on, they have other artists, other things that they're doing, so it'll take longer than my fans will appreciate. And of course I'd love for a major label to come along and take the ball rolling because there's nothing like having that support...

Me - It's also important to release what you want to release rather than...sadly when you join the really big labels they start deciding for you, what the public is gonna hear. 

Stacy - They take the creative control... I want it to come directly from me, for my fans. 


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I'd like to thank Stacy for taking the time to have this interview with me and I can't wait for you guys to read part 2 and 3 of the interview! Now, without further ado, here's the first sneak peek of Stacy's "Purple Rain" artwork!

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EXCLUSIVE STACY FRANCIS INTERVIEW AND SINGLE ARTWORK THIS WEEK!!

As many of you know, Stacy Francis stole the heart of USA with her amazing vocal skills, this week I will have the pleasure to have an interview with her and catch up on what she's been doing since the show ended, also, she will unveil the EXCLUSIVE AND OFFICIAL ARTWORK only to Today's Pop Music for her debut solo single "Purple Rain" out soon!!!

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