Anastacia: “I hate to be known as the chick with breast cancer.” Source: Supplied
FOR the first five years of this century, powerhouse singer Anastacia was one of this country’s favourite pop stars.
With three multi-platinum albums and a slew of hit singles between 2000 and 2005 — I’m Outta Love, Left Outside Alone, Sick and Tired — the American blonde girl with the dark glasses and the big voice seemed set for a long career at the top.
In recent years, though, Anastacia’s frequently been forced to put her career on the back burner as she’s battled numerous serious health problems, including Crohn’s disease and the heart condition Supraventricular tachycardia. Most famously, she’s battled breast cancer twice — first at 34, and a more aggressive form again in 2013, resulting in a double mastectomy (and a cancer-free diagnosis).
But with a new album out — the appropriately-titled Resurrection, her best work in a decade — and her first-ever Australian tour kicking off in a few months, Anastacia’s ready to get back to what she does best.
US singer Anastacia is ready to get back on stage. Source: News Limited
Q. The term ‘survivor’ gets bandied about a lot in the entertainment industry, but it seems an apt description for you. How have the past few years been?
A. It’s not necessarily what I would’ve wanted to be known for, how many diseases I have [laughs]. It’s not a good topic of discussion when you’re trying to go on a date, and you have to bring a list of all your problems, but every part of it has helped to shape the Anastacia I’ve become.
I think I’ve always been [outspoken] about it. Even before I was well-known, I had Crohn’s disease, and I knew that was how I wanted to present myself — to not hide the big scar on my stomach. I liked to show my abs, that was my thing, and on my abs there’s a big old scar, and I’m cool with it. If you don’t like me — bite me!
Anastacia showed off her Crohn’s disease-related stomach scar from the start of her career. Source: News Limited
2002 was a very good year, fashion-wise. Source: AP
Q. What have the experiences of the past few years taught you?
A. There have been time through my career where I’ve felt very selfconscious or overthought things — it’s like my song Stupid Little Things says, you can let all those little things get in your head and overanalyse things that really are so trivial. And I realise now that it’s taking your mind away from the important stuff — you have to stand back and go, ‘Really? I’m obsessing about a hem! I need to dial this down a little bit!’
Q. Success in the music industry seems to be so much about momentum. It must be frustrating when you get sidelined by forces beyond your control.
A. It’s definitely stopped a lot of my career — my health issues have really gotten in the way. But you just have to pick up where you left off: I’ve had tours cancelled and other things fall through, and I’ve always tried to handle it with grace. But look, if I could not give myself diseases, I totally would, because I hate to be known as ‘the chick with breast cancer’. But it’s a proud badge I do wear instead of feeling shameful.
Anastacia lost the trademark specs a few years back. Source: News Corp Australia
Q. Fifteen years on from your debut single, how do you think the music industry has changed?
A. I enjoy this career even though I see that it is full of a lot of people who fly in and out of the door really fast. Back in the day, there was a sense of sticking with an artist and supporting them while you let them get their sea legs. Nowadays, there are no sea legs. As a new artist, straight up, you need to have a hit, a gimmick, or a habit [laughs]. To be famous, you need to be naked or addicted to drugs or sex — that’s how you get noticed. It’s never been my thing to bank on that.
Q. Back when you started, a lot of people weren’t quite sure what to make of you — you looked like Britney but you sang like Aretha.
A. I never saw myself sing until I started going on TV shows, and when I finally did, I realised why other people would react the way they did — looking at me with their jaws open, this sort of ‘constipated-but-not-uncomfortable’ look. It’s a look that says ‘Where did that come from? How? Why? What?’ Back when I came out, it wasn’t really that popular — it was before you had Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Amy Winehouse. But there were white women who sounded black before me: look at Taylor Dayne or Lisa Stansfield. Those weren’t normal voices coming out of their bodies.
Q. You had a ‘coming out’ of sorts a few years ago when you admitted you’d been lying about your age since the start of your career (she’s 46, for the record). Was there a lot of pressure to appear younger than you were?
A. Oh god yeah. I’ve never been someone who’d want to airbrush the truth, but when I first signed to a record label, I’d just turned 30. They were like ‘No, listen to us, you’re not 30.’ Then eventually I was like ‘Oh, OK. No, no I’m not.’ From there they just shaved five or six years off and nobody knew any different. It was quite easy to pull off, because I had rock hard abs and a round, fat face!
Glammin’ it up on the red carpet. Source: News Limited
When I changed record labels, I felt like that was the perfect opportunity for me to, on my 40th birthday, actually BE 40. Rather than having to remember my age, my birth year, my sister’s age … another year of trying to do all that maths! It was always very sketchy what year I was born, and I think everyone knew something was up.
Q. The Resurrection Tour will be your first time performing in Australia. What can fans expect?
A. I’ve done different kinds of tours in my life, and this one is the polar opposite of the way touring started for me. I never started from the bottom — I went from doing a few TV shows to playing arenas. It exploded so big, so I was performing in front of huge audiences so quickly. This is more what I consider an Anastacia rock n’ roll gig: I stay on stage without a million costume changes, I sweat, I act tough, I really sing the music. It’s kind of a fun hits tour.
Anastacia’s Resurrection Tour dates:
April 29 — Star Event Centre, Sydney
May 1 — Win Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
May 2 — Jupiter’s Theatre, Gold Coast
May 5 — Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart
May 7 — Palais Theatre, Melbourne
May 8 — Festival Theatre, Adelaide
May 10 — Concert Hall, Perth
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét