by Lavinia Jones Wright |
December 05, 2008 1:06 EST
You worked with Jermaine Dupri and sang a song that he wrote, "Can't Stop Partying." Was this one of your first times singing a song that someone else had written for you?
I'm taking partial credit (laughs). He sent me a demo that was kind of like a half-finished song. I absolutely loved it, I thought it was totally fun. But it was just a little too much about partying and being ecstatic. I don't know ... I like it when songs have kind of conflicting tones in them, so I tried to change the lyrics, and I just couldn't. Every line I came up with just sounded stupid compared with his, so I went back and changed the music, and gave it some very sad chords filled with longing. That changed the meaning of the lyrics. I managed to change some tension in the lyrics without changing a word. He said he loves it.
Are you planning to do a lot more collaboration in the future?
I am planning to do a lot of collaboration. It's something I'm very excited about right now -- writing with the guys in the band and then also writing with other people. I just wrote a song with Aly & AJ that was incredibly fun. It was such a blast to remember how teenagers approach songwriting. Their minds just work so fast and they have no fear and no ego. They're just constantly pouring out ideas and trying different things. They're just completely unafraid. It was very inspiring.
Was it bringing out memories of a teenage Rivers?
Yeah. I remember being 14 and 15 and sitting in my bedroom with my best friend Justin and trying to write songs together. Of course you have no ego at the time because you've had no success and there's no expectations. Who cares if what you're suggesting is stupid -- you'll just come up with something else in a minute. So I feel like I'm able to bring some of that back to how I'm writing with other people, including the guys in the band.
Do you think that becoming a family man has had an effect on you desire to collaborate and to open everything up?
Maybe so. I feel like having a family now, being married and having an 18-month-old amazing daughter has just made me feel so content. Kind of like now I have everything I want, and I've achieved everything I need to achieve, and everything from here on out is just fun and icing on the cake. I've written some of my most innovative and bold songs after my daughter was born, actually. "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" from "The Red Album" -- a five-minute, epic, bizarre experiment -- was written right after she was born.
What are the chances that there's going to be an "Alone III?"
I still have about seven hours of music I could pick from. It just depends on what the demand is. If people are enjoying what I'm putting out, I'll keep doing it. I love doing it.
I'm taking partial credit (laughs). He sent me a demo that was kind of like a half-finished song. I absolutely loved it, I thought it was totally fun. But it was just a little too much about partying and being ecstatic. I don't know ... I like it when songs have kind of conflicting tones in them, so I tried to change the lyrics, and I just couldn't. Every line I came up with just sounded stupid compared with his, so I went back and changed the music, and gave it some very sad chords filled with longing. That changed the meaning of the lyrics. I managed to change some tension in the lyrics without changing a word. He said he loves it.
Are you planning to do a lot more collaboration in the future?
I am planning to do a lot of collaboration. It's something I'm very excited about right now -- writing with the guys in the band and then also writing with other people. I just wrote a song with Aly & AJ that was incredibly fun. It was such a blast to remember how teenagers approach songwriting. Their minds just work so fast and they have no fear and no ego. They're just constantly pouring out ideas and trying different things. They're just completely unafraid. It was very inspiring.
Was it bringing out memories of a teenage Rivers?
Yeah. I remember being 14 and 15 and sitting in my bedroom with my best friend Justin and trying to write songs together. Of course you have no ego at the time because you've had no success and there's no expectations. Who cares if what you're suggesting is stupid -- you'll just come up with something else in a minute. So I feel like I'm able to bring some of that back to how I'm writing with other people, including the guys in the band.
Do you think that becoming a family man has had an effect on you desire to collaborate and to open everything up?
Maybe so. I feel like having a family now, being married and having an 18-month-old amazing daughter has just made me feel so content. Kind of like now I have everything I want, and I've achieved everything I need to achieve, and everything from here on out is just fun and icing on the cake. I've written some of my most innovative and bold songs after my daughter was born, actually. "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" from "The Red Album" -- a five-minute, epic, bizarre experiment -- was written right after she was born.
What are the chances that there's going to be an "Alone III?"
I still have about seven hours of music I could pick from. It just depends on what the demand is. If people are enjoying what I'm putting out, I'll keep doing it. I love doing it.
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