Both songs are really, really intense when it comes to performing them, and very draining at the same time.
From beginning to end it's about keeping the energy and the intensity of the story and not doing too much and not doing too little, but just enough so people stay interested and stay involved in the characters.
Funnily enough, it ended up being uptempo again, so it was just one of those things that felt really good doing. I decided that SHOTWTH should be the leading single for this, to drive this remixed album.
He doesn't make it so complicated but just really allows the lyric to come through even though there's a lot of production going on. I think that's the key and that's the magic, it's making sure that people could still connect with the lyrics while they're on the dance floor.
I always thought that it was every performer's dream. That's the epitome of being an artist, being able to express song, dance and acting in a live theatre setting and really connecting with an audience on that level.
I had this instinct and I just knew it. It was a very strange thing and as soon as I finished recording it, we were all in the studio saying we have something really special here.
I have two favorite songs. My first is called 'Dance of The Robe' and it's a very powerful number where she is feeling the pressure from her people to take on the responsibility of leading them.
I just bought a bunch of CDs and downloaded them into my I-pod. I bought the Seal record, a Swahili drum album, and there's some original African drums that I listen to before the show.
I never take on anything that is just for the money or just for, you know. I always have to connect with it in a very personal way because I believe the audience will sense whether I'm into it or not, so I don't take on projects that I'm not really passionate about.
I picked up the Joss Stone album, Josh Groban, and the new Norah Jones. I love, love, love Norah.
I prefer Princess. I would love to be known as a diva later on in life when I've had far more experiences.
I really connect with those moments of doing missionary work down there and just seeing the people that are dying from disease and hunger and malnutrition.
I really think about the times that I've been through with my husband and all the stuff that we've been through together, and I think to those moments for inspiration for the role.
I started rehearing in the middle of January and for preparation, like I said I went back to the video footage I had from when I went to Mozambique and Uganda, and that was my inspiration.
I think differently, I think it's about reaching everybody on every different plane and every different level, and if I could remix the song and do a dance remix, that's great. If I could do a classical version, that'll be great too. It's all just about expression.
I think it's his perception of knowing how to make a record build, keeping the integrity of the song in the music and really adding a lot of musical elements to compliment my voice and to compliment the song.
I think the inspiration came from the fans. Whenever I'm online or whenever I get a chance to really communicate with the fans and the audience, they always say that they would love to have all of the remixes on one CD.
I wanted it to feel like you were in the club and on the dance floor, so that was the approach and I think we accomplished that mission.
I wanted to do Dreamgirls. If they're doing a stage production of Sparkle, I think that would be hot.
I'm at a point where I'm going where the journey leads me. I've set goals but I don't get really hung up if I don't achieve those goals right away or in my time, you know what I mean?
I've always been switching around the show to accommodate the audience, and you know it really makes it a lot more fun for me and keeps it fresh so that I'm not complacent with the same show every night and with every audience.
I've done that I was touring a couple of years ago with R. Kelly and the Lillith Fair, I would do the late night underground gigs as well because it's always around those times that there was a hot song, either on the radio or in the clubs, it would just be simultaneous.
It really just puts me right in that moment of the struggle that these people have been through, and I think the story of Aida represents a lot.
It was a dream come true performing with her and just being on the same record. So in my eyes, she was the epitome of a great voice and for us to share together was awesome.
It's really a grand old, legendary theatre where the spirits of like Judy Garland and all these great performers have been. The clubs are way more underground.
My opinion is that music is music. As long as you approach doing a remix with truth, I don't see the dance remixes being any different than an hip-hop remix- it's really a different version of the song.
Oh, it was amazing. The energy from the people, the warmth of the audience was great and it really was a really, really good show.
People see that I have my own voice, my own opinion, my own likes. The album really reflects that.
Singers like her, Patti, Tina Turner, I revere them when I'm in their presence.
So I did 'Something Happened on the Way to Heaven' and the original version is a ballad. The original Phil record is uptempo but we slowed it down and made it a ballad.
That's what I admire about women like Tina Turner and Patti and Gladys Knight and Cher, it's a wonderful path to follow.
The club shows are really intense and powerful, but for a shorter time, and the audiences are in close proximity than when I'm performing at The Palace Theatre.
The opportunity to record the song came when Phil Collins' record label, Atlantic, was doing a tribute album to him and they asked all these different artists to do renditions of his songs.
The process in rehearsal has just been about finding the real moments where I was indeed in love very, very passionately.
The record was only released in the UK, and then when the idea for the remixed album came about, which was an idea that I've had for the longest time, I said this would be great song to remix as well, and so we did it.
The second song is called 'Easy As Life,' which really describes the complete conflict of the whole story, her struggle of being in love with the enemy and also being in love with her people.
The song came out to be a gem, just came out to be a really, really interesting rendition of it.
The theatre is a lot more different just because of the pace that you have to set with the show, the show's two hours.
These women are true divas, who have had years and years of experience in this business. I can't relate to that just yet.
They've got the singles and some people have burnt them from different web sites and stuff. So it was something that we talked about for a long, long time, and I just wanted to make sure that this remix album to be really special.
This song 'Dance of The Robe' is a ritual that they do to give this princess the strength to take on the responsibility.
We've never performed the song live outside of recording it in the studio. That was a dream come true because Whitney, she's an icon and she's been one of my main mentors in this business.
Whatever you feel is going to be truthful and maybe some artists don't feel like their songs are, have the same impact when they're remixed.
When I first heard that song, it was a ballad but it had a lot more. It felt like a gospel song when I first heard it and it just moved me.
Where every moment is about truth and I think it's a great challenge every night. That's what really drove me to wanting to do theatre, and it's great.
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