As much as we love Kris Allen‘s acoustic covers (even when they’re interrupted by grumpy policemen), we’ve been awaiting his brand new tunes on his sophomore album Thank You Camellia, which comes out today (May 22). To celebrate Allen’s first release in three years, we had a lovely chat with American Idol‘s Season 8 champ, where he spoke quite freely with us on a number of matters: he tells us how he’s matured as a singer and songwriter since his debut, who (or what, we should say) Camellia is, and the coincidence of his Top 2 mate Adam Lambert releasing an album within a week of Kris dropping an album yet again.

Find out all about Kris Allen’s new music (and his super-cute French bulldog) in our Q&A below.

IDOLATOR: First things first — who is Camellia, and why are you thanking her?
KRIS ALLEN: It’s a place that stayed at here in LA. I made the record out here. It’s one of those places where I feel comfortable, my friends are there, they’ve given me a place to stay out here, which is really cool. It means a lot — it’s an emotional place. Going through a record is not the easiest thing in the world, it’s been that place where I can go and vent and be myself.

Is that the name of the property?
It’s the street name. Don’t go look it up! It’s an homage to my friends, they stay there… they have given a lot to help me, and this was my thank you to them. They’re amazing people.

Is that your dog on the album cover? Why did you choose that particular photo?
I wanted to take some photos with him, because we have never taken photos before, I thought it could end up being cool… he’s a pretty cool-looking dog. I’ve had him about a year and a half. He’s been a big part of my life, maybe that’s sad, but he’s my little boy. I wanted him to be a part of it somehow… this photo ended up being the best. I’m glad we went with it.

What’s his name? 
Zorro, with the mask. Which is terrible, because he’s a French bulldog. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. I feel like he’s confused all the time.

Is there any concept behind the album?
The concept is… the songs are about love, whether it be good or bad or trying to figure it out. I write love songs and that’s the stuff that I go through. I wanted to make it relatable. Bringing the things I go through in my life to song form, and make people go, ‘I’ve been through that! Kris Allen is like me!’

Your lead single, “The Vision Of Love”, seems to follow the trend of all these It Gets Better-esque, self-empowerment songs. Do you think all these songs really can create change in teens’ lives?
I think music has been affecting people’s idea of things for a long time, and this is no different. That’s not exactly what the song is about, but it can be about it. I’m glad people are jumping on board with that, because it’s a problem, and I’m glad that I can help out in some way… in the small things in life, you can help somebody out, either that’s by feeding a homeless guy or telling some other kid to not pick on the other kid.

Kris Allen – “The Vision Of Love”

Your debut came out in 2009. How have u developed as a singer, a songwriter and a musician in the past 3 years?
I feel like I’ve grown the most throughout my life through this time as a songwriter, as a musician, as a singer, as a performer… I was on the road a lot, and I learned a lot from the people I was on the road with. When you’re opening for Keith Urban or Maroon 5 or Lifehouse or Barenaked Ladies, you’re gonna learn something from those people, and I watched the show every night. It’s like, ‘Well, they did that, I’m gonna do my own version of that.’ Every night, when we would open, maybe those people aren’t there to see me, but I’m gonna make you like my show. That was always the challenge. And I think I’ve grown as a songwriter, and I think that shows in the album.

You were a songwriter before American Idol, correct?
Absolutely, I was. And sometimes I can’t listen to those songs because I don’t think they’re any good. [Laughs.] I know some of the fans really like some of that stuff, but I’m very, very proud of this stuff. I think it’s more mature, I think it’s more thoughtful, the lyrics are more meaningful.

You’ve written songs for artists like Matthew Morrison and The Voice‘s Javier Colon.
And I may have another song on another record coming out!

How do you work for other artists as a songwriter?
Usually what happens is I’ll be writing for my record, and I’ll be writing with certain songwriters, and maybe the song just doesn’t end up on the record somehow, and not because it’s not good — it just doesn’t find its place on it somewhere. I’m proud that people pick it up and think it’s good enough, that they’ve made it their own…. It’s the proof that I’m growing as a songwriter and that people want to sing my stuff.

Your American Idol Season 8 buddy, Adam Lambert, had his sophomore album Trespassing come out around the same time as your sophomore album.
I think that was the way it was last time, too! I’m excited about his record, he’s obviously spent a lot of time on his record, and I really like the single and I can’t wait to hear the same stuff.

Think we’ll ever get to see you two collaborate on a song or live performance again?
That would be very cool. We do have some of the same fans, and if that happened, it’d be cool… we’re both so busy, but I wish nothing but good things for Adam, he’s a greart dude and a great singer.

Kris Allen’s Thank You Camellia is out now.

This is a special week for Carrie Underwood. The Oklahoma-born beauty has the #1 album in the country — her third in a row — and 2012′s second-highest first week sales total.

Not bad for a small town girl who had pretty much given up on music before auditioning for American Idol in 2004. No doubt the success tastes even sweeter due to the risks America’s favorite “Good Girl” took on Blown Away. She cowrote eight of the album’s 14 tracks and explored some unexpectedly murky waters, particularly on the almost Hitchcockian revenge fantasy track “Two Black Cadillacs.”

Carrie kindly took some time to talk us about her freshly exposed dark side, upcoming world tour and glamorous new image. Jump below to read what she had to say.

“Good Girl” is an adorable crossover country-pop song. Was it a conscious decision to spearhead the album with a more commercial track?
I really don’t get into that whole “which song gets released when” game. I just try to make great music and, hopefully, can give everyone 14 tracks that could all be singles to choose from!

The album explores some dark themes: There’s a murder plot in “Two Black Cadillacs” and references to abuse in “Blown Away.” What inspired the change of direction?
We just seemed to go in that direction. It wasn’t on purpose. I heard “Blown Away” and loved the song. Plain and simple! Then we ended up writing a couple more that were a little edgier. Like I said, I didn’t make a conscious decision to sing songs that were darker. That’s just the way the album wanted it.

You cowrote most of the album. Was it exciting to bring your own point of view and life experience to the lyrics?
It’s always fun to write. I love creating a song out of thin air. That said, I submit my cowrites like everyone else and the best songs are the ones that make the album. I love to write, but it’s not imperative that I write every song on the album. I just want the best album possible!

You’re leading the CMT award nominations — who do you think is your main competition?
You never know who’s going to win awards. But we’re such a tight community of performers, that we all support each other and love to get together and celebrate country music. That said, I do hope I take home something!

“Remind Me” is up for a couple of awards. How did your collaboration with Brad Paisley come about and what was it like working with him?
Brad and I know each other pretty well. We toured together a few years ago and have been hosting the CMA Awards for the past four years. A duet was inevitable at some point in time… we were just waiting on the right song. He came up with “Remind Me” right before he wrapped up his album and asked me if I would come sing on it. A few days later, I was in his studio laying down my part. He is such a great guy and I am happy that I can call him and his family my friends.

You look amazing on your new Billboard cover. Tell us about your new super-glamorous image!
Thank you! I love fashion and love to try new things. It was all about “stepping it up” this time around. I wanted this album to sound, feel and look different from my previous three albums. I got to create more drama in my looks and play around with some styles that I haven’t tried before.

Despite your initial reluctance to use Twitter, you already have a huge presence through unofficial fan accounts. How do you feel about that level of loyalty and do you read tweets that people send you?
The whole Twitter experience has really opened my eyes to fans that I have in other countries. So far, I am having a lot fun with it. It really can be a great way to communicate instantly with fans!

You’re about to embark on a huge tour. What can fans expect from the show?
We have a lot of fun on stage and we want the people in the audience to do the same. I think people can expect to show up and have a great time! I love singing and I think that it really shows in our live concerts.

Of all your great songs, “Jesus Take The Wheel” seems to have struck the deepest chord with fans around the world. Why do you think it has connected with so many different people?
I think we’ve all had those moments in our lives that we realize we need to change some things about ourselves or change the way we’ve been living our lives. It’s a very real sentiment that everyone can relate to. It is certainly one of my favorite songs to sing.

What do you think of Carrie Underwood’s latest album Blown Away? Sound off in the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.

Favorites is our recurring video series on the personal preferences of the pop artists who inspire us. Because the artists we love love stuff too.

Kris Allen is one of the most humble, friendly and talented people we’ve ever encountered, making him one of our all-time favorite artists to spend some one-on-one time with. But what about his favorite things? In our latest installment of Favorites, we discovered that the Idol champ has a thing for vinyl, is a huge fan of Parks And Recreation, and absolutely savors the cuisine in both Austin and Portland. When we asked about some more Kris Allen-specific stuff, the “Vision Of Love” singer revealed that his most cherished track on his upcoming sophomore LP (or his “baby” as he calls it) is “Teach Me How Love Goes” — so keep an ear out for that one when Thank You Camellia drops on May 22.

kris allen: lookin' good!

10 Photos »

When Gotye’s all-conquering “Somebody That I Used To Know” climbed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last week, his quirky duet-partner Kimbra became the first New Zealander since 1977 to achieve the feat. (The last Kiwi to top the chart was Chris Thompson, who voiced Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s “Blinded By The Light”). The bitter breakup anthem has already catapulted to #1 in 10 countries, sold 4.5 million copies worldwide and established the Popping Up-featured diva as one of the hottest pop properties on the planet.

Need further proof that Kimbra is on a roll? In addition to making chart history with her Australian neighbor, the 21-year-old has joined forces with Mark Foster and A-Trak for the latest Converse commercial, beguiled viewers with a memorable Saturday Night Live appearance and enchanted festival-goers at SXSW. We caught up with the recent Troubadour performer to chat about that monster hit, her musical influences and her US debut album Vows, out May 22, which packs a one-two punch of producer talent with Greg Kurstin (Foster The People, The Flaming Lips) and Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Fiona Apple).

Kimbra Settles Down in Los Angeles

10 Photos »

Tell us how you got started in music. What was your big break?
I’d always loved music throughout high school and naturally gravitated towards writing songs as a form of self expression! However, it wasn’t until I was offered a contract at 17 with a management company in Melbourne that I actually started work on my debut album.

Why the move from New Zealand to Australia?
It’s just where my management happened to be based, and Australia also meant a bigger population and just more opportunities being slightly closer to the rest of the world. I think, ultimately, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone somehow to write the album, and this seemed like a good opportunity.

Your collaboration with Gotye is massive in the States. How did it come about?
I met Wally through a producer, who worked on my album, called Francois Tetaz (he also worked on Wally’s record) so we were acquaintances. But it wasn’t until he called and asked me to sing on the track that we were able to really connect and become good friends. I’ve learned so much from, Wally and it’s been such a great experience working with him.

Did you think it was going to be such a huge record when you recorded it?
Neither of us expected it. We recorded my vocals for that song in my bedroom, and although I knew the song would really resonate with people (as so much of his music does), I don’t think either of us could have predicted its success.

Why do you think people are connecting with it so strongly?
I think there’s a fragility to the song that is very honest. It’s also an emotion everyone can relate to. It gives a really poignant insight into what it’s like to go from being very close with someone to feeling like a stranger. I think everyone has been there.

Your debut album was hugely successful in Australia. What can we expect from its US release?
It’s an eclectic mix of songs and explores the themes surrounding the making of promises and the breaking of them. I wanted to experiment on this album and try to delve into as many different musical impulses and influences that felt right in conveying the appropriate emotion. There’s a cover by Nina Simone on there. Tt has some darker moments, but ultimately I think it’s an uplifting record … from the soul and for the soul.

Who were you biggest influences for the album?
They ranged from Prince to Rufus Wainwright … The Dirty Projectors to The Bird and The Bee and D’Angelo! I tried to listen to as much music as possible when writing this record — the challenge was to bring these influences together in a way that felt distinct and truthful. I also watched a lot of Disney films while making this album and drew influence from old films.

“Settle Down” got a lot of blog love in the states. That video is great. What was the response like?
The response has been great! I think what makes the video for “Settle Down” quite unsettling is also what makes it attractive to people. It seems to provoke thought and challenges people’s perceptions in some way, which I think is great. I love when visuals can partner with music to create something memorable, and I’m glad we were able to achieve that. I have continued to work with the same director, Guy Franklin, for all three of my videos.

Will you be picking up Kimbra’s Vows when it comes stateside in May? Tell us in the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.

Avicii is one of the newest acts to surface in today’s current renaissance of electronic dance music, and he’s already breaking records: The 22-year-old producer/DJ is the first EDM artist to headline an arena tour. His popularity has no doubt been pumped up by Flo Rida‘s hit song “Good Feeling“, which samples his song “Levels”. And if you were at Coachella last weekend like us, you know that “Levels” was inescapable, being played by pretty much every artist performing in the Sahara tent — including Avicii himself.

The Swede — whose real name is Tim Berg — may also have gotten his name out there by finding himself at the epicenter of a few controversies involving Leona Lewis and Madonna, who appeared during his set at Ultra Music Festival and made some comments interpreted as promoting drug use (though she later denied that claim). See what he had to say about those sticky subjects and more in our Q&A below.

Idolator: How did it feel to perform at your first Coachella?
Avicii: It was amazing. I’ve been wanting to perform there for ages, so to finally get there was really cool. With the new production and with everything. Everything went according to plan.

Do you have any big changes lined up for Weekend 2?
This first week we premiered part of the production, and we couldn’t premiere all of it. So we’re going to premiere almost all of it this week, and then all of it for the arena tour coming up.

EDM is entering the mainstream more and more. What are your thoughts? Are you glad to see pop acts like Nicki Minaj and Madonna embrace electronic dance and collaborate with DJ producers like yourself, or would you prefer to keep it out of the mainstream?
I don’t see anything negative about it being in the mainstream. I just see it as a way for more people to discover the music. So I don’t see what would be wrong with that. For me, it’s obviously amazing the way it’s taken off. I haven’t been doing this for that long, and even for me for just a couple of years, it’s grown. And how it continues to grow now – it’s really remarkable.

That’s right — you’re only 22, and you’re one of the biggest electronic acts right now. How did this happen so quickly for you?
I got started when I was about 18 years old. It all became serious when I met my manager, and that’s when it took off and started getting to the level where it’s at now. I’ve been very fortunate with the people I work with and the opportunities I’ve been given.

Watch Avicii’s “Levels” mashed-up with Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” at Coachella 2012 (and keep watching to hear his remix of Robyn‘s “Hang With Me”):

There was some controversy between you and Leona Lewis regarding her single “Collide“, that used your song “Penguin” without permission. Can you tell us what happened?
The thing that happened there… We already knew [Leona and her team] were going to do something with the same sample that I used [Penguin Cafe Orchestra's "Perpetuum Mobile"]. That was what I was expecting. But there’s nothing I can do about that, and it’s a shame that it was going to go up against my own single at the time. But I can’t morally tell them not to do that, because it’s not my melody to begin with. But then when the track came out, it wasn’t that they took the original sample and did something new and made their own track with it. It was just kind of my track already there.

I didn’t use a sample — I reproduced and took inspiration from the original melody and made a new song from it. I changed the rhythms, I changed a lot of stuff in it, and they kind of took all of that work. And that was the problem from the beginning. We worked it out, and I got credit on the track, and they already approached us before about Leona being featured and singing over my version. We just didn’t like the vocal that much, so we decided not to go with it, and then that happened. In the end, it all worked out.

Madonna made an appearance during your set at Ultra Music Festival. How did that come about?
I travel so much, I barely have time to even stay in the loop, it’s very hard for me to stay in the loop. So I found out it was going to happen a couple weeks prior [from my manager], and that I was going to do a remix [of "Girl Gone Wild"], and she was coming out, and we were premiering the remix and she was introducing me at Ultra. And it’s amazing. One of the biggest musical icons, and I’ve grown up with her music, everyone has. That was definitely a big honor and a really big thing for me to have her up there on stage.

Her appearance drew a bit of controversy after she made those “molly” comments. Do you have any opinion on what she said?
Not really. I didn’t take it serious at the time. I didn’t read too much into it, and I haven’t really kept myself up to date with any intrigue in the scene. To me, I never really cared, to be honest. I didn’t see it as a big thing.

There are so many amazing pop and dance acts that come from Sweden — Robyn, Miike Snow, The Knife, Lykke Li and you! Is there something in the water over there? Sweden seems to be leading the pack in terms of accessible but experimental pop.
It is, I really think it is. And it has for a long time. A lot of the pop producers out there are from Sweden. I think it has to do with the fact that you’re surrounded by that in Sweden. You’re surrounded by so much talent and so much good music, that everyone’s standards just get higher. I think that’s the biggest explanation for that.

Catch Avicii performing in the Sahara tent Sunday night during Coachella’s final weekend, as well as on his upcoming arena tour.  

Coachella was raging more than ever this year with the large array of electronic artists taking over the Polo Fields. Justice and Girl Talk comandeered the larger stages, while the dance tent overflowed with dance fiends ready to party rock to the likes of David Guetta Avicii, and Martin Solveig, who has been spinning tunes and releasing albums for a decade now, but came on the radar in the past year with the help of a hit with Dragonette called “Hello”. Most recently, he brought a range of sounds and rave-worthy styles as one of Madonna‘s main producers on MDNA.

Solveig, who hails from Paris, shook the Sahara tent on Saturday night, remixing songs like fun.’s “We Are Young” and Daft Punk’s “Harder Better Faster Stronger”, and caused an eruption with his own tunes “Hello” and “The Night Out”.  Even better than taking in his euphoric bangers? Getting to speak to him personally right after. Take the jump for our chit-chat with the French knob-twiddler.

Idolator: Hi, Martin! I’m Becky from Idolator.
Martin Solveig: Idolator! I love it! It’s impossible to pronounce when you’re French.

Don’t worry, a lot of Americans can’t pronounce it either.
That’s what’s cool about it!

I absolutely loved your set! But why didn’t Dragonette join you for your hit “Hello”? She played the Mojave tent earlier today.
I know why. She was answering questions for guys like you! So it’s your fault she didn’t make it!  [Laughs.] But I’m going to try to see if it’s possible for her to jump up next week. It’s so rare that we are at the same place at the same time. That would have made sense.

That song was huge all over the globe. Is that when things really took off for you?
It definitely took things to a different level, especially in the US, where I was pretty insignificant before. But it changed it all. It became a platinum record, which is crazy! And it also coincides with the time of a great positive revolution for electronic dance music in general in the US. So I’m glad to have had my little share of that, to make awareness of [dance] music in the US. In Europe, it’s been up for a longer amount of time. If I may say, it’s such a pleasure to play in the US. I don’t know how to put it differently. The consideration for the electronic artists is so much bigger here.

You worked extensively on Madonna’s MDNA, and now you’re joining her on several dates of her world tour. 
Everything I’ve had the chance to do with her, it’s crazy. Crazy good. Such a great experience to share a little bit of time with her.

Did she call for you? How did you end up working together?
She decides a lot, especially on the artistic level, she decides everything on her own. Yeah, she made the decision. I was part of a list of potential guys, and her manager called me and said, send over some stuff, we’d like to listen to it, we’re interested. And that was it. The first sessions went very, very well.

Was it intimidating working with her?
Very, very. Of course! If you’re not intimidated in front of Madonna, it means… of course it is. But she’s very relaxed, especially in a studio. After a few days, we started to simply collaborate as artists collaborate together.

Madonna caught a bit of heat from some EDM artists (like deadmau5 and Paul Van Dyk) for her “molly” comments at Ultra Music Festival. What are your thoughts about what she said?
I said everything I have to say about that. Which is that… I said everything. I said it to MTV, so I’m not gonna do any follow-up comment. It’s certainly not my role to comment on what she said.

[For the record, Solveig told MTV: "She's a lot more ironical than a lot of people think, and ... she has this dry sense of humor, which sometimes makes her say or do things that are a little bit shocking, which is also the reason why everyone loves her."]

It can’t be denied that there is a strong drug presence at electronic music festivals — even here at Coachella. As a DJ and producer in that world, what are your thoughts: Should EDM artists embrace the reality? Distance themselves from it? Or not comment at all? 
I’ll be straight and one hundred percent honest with you: I’ve never used even the slightest bit of drugs in my whole life. Maybe I smoked like one joint when I was 18, that’s my drug experience. So I feel pretty bad to talk about it, because I don’t know shit about it. I’ve been in this electronic music world for 15 years, and I can just say that I’ve enjoyed every bit of it without drugs. No one has really offered me. I’m not the right person to talk to about this.

martin solveig says "hello" to coachella 2012

8 Photos »

How does it feel to play your first Coachella?
It’s absolutely… the site is very impressive, with the mountains. It’s so beautiful. Look at the lights! You could travel here just for sightseeing, and then in the middle of that, you have crazy installations, crazy artists … Honestly, I basically said to my manager in the US that the Coachella spot is a gift, so, thank you. I was so true about that. I just wish I could have brought my girlfriend, she would have loved it … But I’m trying to play good sets so they want me next year!

As you may have noticed, Coachella can be a really weird place. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen so far this weekend?
I’ve seen a couple of looks that were pretty intense. I’ve seen a finger belt.

A… finger belt?
Finger belt. It’s a belt made of fingers. It’s pretty crazy. And it’s really well done, so you can’t really tell if they’re real or fake fingers.

Did you happen to see that blow-up doll rocking out to your set?
Yeah, well, that’s classy! You would admit, the finger belt is a bit more edgy.

Martin Solveig’s EP The Night Out, out now. His full-length US debut Smash is due later this year. And he can be seen live on Saturday at Coachella, and on select dates of Madonna’s MDNA World Tour.

Andrew Dawson is a name that might not ring a bell at the moment, but that’s about to change. The classically trained pianist from Minnesota quietly won three Grammys through his work as a mix engineer on Kanye West’s albums The College Dropout, Graduation and, most recently, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Now he’s made the transition to full-fledged producer, and set up his SoundEQ studio in Hollywood. “It’s got a really cool vibe,” says Dawson. “I have a little writing room upstairs that actually used to be Orson Welles’ writing room! So, it gives me some inspiration to write some outer space stuff up there.”

Andrew is also branching out from enhancing beats and melodies for hip hop kings like Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and T.I. In 2011, he spent time working in his studio on current chart topping act fun.’s Some Nights LP and writing with New Zealand songstress Kimbra. Further expanding his resume, Dawson just wrapped up Pet Shop Boys’ next album and produced upcoming records by P.O.S., VersaEmerge and POP ETC (formerly known as The Morning Benders).

During a break from all this studio wizardry, the 31-year-old gave us the scoop on the eclectic array of acts he’s crossed paths with.

You just earned your third Grammy the other month for Kanye’s last album. Congratulations!
ANDREW DAWSON: Thank you! You know what? I already have two. The third one’s just very anti-climactic, because they do a whole auditing process. To get a statue as an engineer or producer, they need to verify that you did more than 51 percent of the playing time. Then randomly, probably in like May or June, a box will show up on my doorstep kind of anti-triumphantly. But it’s always cool. I’m always really excited when that happens. I’m just more happy to be working on the great projects that I am. The statues are the nice icing on the cake.

Obviously you cut your teeth working with Kanye, and we’ll get to that in a minute. But first, what are some songs or albums that influenced you as a kid and made you want to pursue a music career?
AD: I started taking piano lessons when I was 5. It was mainly classical training for about 10 years or so, maybe even longer. But then I remember discovering Yes and King Crimson and some more progressive stuff. I persuaded my classical teacher to let me learn more Gershwin and more Rachmaninoff — more of the progressive classical stuff that borderlines on jazz. Then when Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails dropped, it made it cool to be a keyboard player. After that I discovered [A Tribe Called Quest’s] The Low End Theory and it was like, damn, how do they get the bottom end on these records?

And you set about figuring that out.
AD: I just started playing with four-track cassette recorders. I was always into writing little songs here and there and playing with the sound of them and how to make them sound different. My tastes were pretty much across the board —  it was like classical, jazz, hip hop, pop, progressive rock.

How close were you to graduating when you left Berklee College Of Music?
AD: I got busy, got an offer. I think I’m short something like two classes from my bachelor’s degree. It was very small. My folks still bring it up from time to time:  “You could go back and take a couple classes and finish that up.” I’m still waiting for that lull in the action to go back to school and finish.

Let’s talk about this long history you have with Kanye West.
AD: At the time, I was working out of Sony Music Studios in New York. I’d been there a year or two. Kanye fired about five or six people over a month. They just weren’t rockin’ the way he needed them to, so the video master was like, I need you to do this session, you’re next up on the list. I was like, okay, cool, I’ll go do it. A day turned into a week, turned into a couple months, turned into a year, turned into eight years ago. I picked up with him pretty much halfway through his College Dropout record. We just got along really well and I really love working with him.

You and he clearly have some commonality outside of the work. Do you hang out together, outside of the studio.
AD: I do. We go to each other’s birthday parties, and he came to my wedding last year. We’ll go to a movie on off-dates or whatever. But I kind of like to not be involved in everyday life. If I’m working with somebody over the course of an album, and if there are some people who ingrain themselves with a part of the camp or part of the group, I make sure to not be there all the time. At the end of the day, maybe that’s part of why it worked so well, because we don’t hang out all the time. He could say, “You know what, that really sucks, that’s not working,” and not be worried about next time we hang out. There’s definitely a separation of the professional and the friendly life. If it’s too friendly of a relationship, then the album and the music suffers because it’s not getting to what it needs to be.

Fun. currently have the #1 song in the country, so congrats on that as well. How did you come onto that project?
AD: Jeff [Bhasker], who produced the album, was like, there’s this great new band I’m working with and I’d like to bring you in. He brought me in to engineer the album. We split the time between Jeff’s studio and my studio. He would work some days in his place with doing arranging, and I’d have the band over at my place and we’d be tracking guitars. [Frontman] Nate [Ruess] is not the kind of guy who wants to go in the vocal booth. He’s like, “Oh, well, I’ll just sit on the couch next to everybody and sing my parts.” It was really fun working with those guys — fun working with fun. [Laughs]

Your place, being SoundEQ.
AD: Working with Kanye and Wayne and everybody else, I would go to whatever studio du jour in whatever big city we were in, and those places are awesome. But a year and a half ago I wanted to set up shop for the way I like to work and the way I like to get sounds. There are not shared rooms with other studios, and we’re not going to have some person walking down the hallway popping in on our session. I wanted to get away from that because I had been doing that for so many years. So I started putting my studio together. It’s kind of hidden in this great old historical building in Hollywood, in this 1930s bungalow. It’s got a really cool vibe. I have a little writing room upstairs that actually used to be Orson Welles’ writing room! So, it gives me some inspiration to write some outer space stuff up there.

Switching gears from Kanye, I’m more than curious to hear how you came to produce Pet Shop Boys’ upcoming album.
AD: It was really exciting for me. I got an email one day out of the blue from their manager that was like, “Would you like to talk to Neil [Tennant] and Chris [Lowe] about working on their next album?” I was like, hell, yeah — I would love to talk to Neil and Chris about working on their next album! They’re so talented. The breadth of their career has been phenomenal. They’re great at reinventing themselves and keeping true to their core sound. So Neil and Chris and I started talking on the phone. They sent me some demos of songs that they had been recording over the past year. Over our phone conversations, they were like, “We want to make a record in Los Angeles.” So they ended up moving out here for the recording process, and renting a place, and we’re making their first L.A. record. They’ve never done a record in Los Angeles before. They wanted to be around that thing, and get that classic L.A. sound — the L.A. players and all that stuff.

Sounds like quite a change from Yes, their last album. What has the experience been like?
AD: The first day we were jumping in right away – let’s pull this, let’s work on that — especially because this record has a very tight time frame for finishing. We’ve had to make use of every day. They’re in the studio about five days a week, then I end up staying on weekends to finish and catch up on stuff and get stuff ready for the next week. But this is their 11th original album. They’ve earned the right to take weekends off! It’s been a really good process. They both have incredible ideas. Neil will interject something and we’ll try it out and it’s like, wow, that’s a really great idea. Same thing with Chris — he’ll be like, “Well, what if we tried that?” We’ll pop it in and, oh, that was perfect. They have so much experience doing records. I’ve definitely learned a few tricks from them on making records, too.

Are Neil and Chris open open to your suggestions, as well?
AD: It’s definitely a collaborative process. I have a way that I like to do things and the way that I approach and hear things, and the sounds that I’ll choose. And they have the ideas of what they want to do. It’s a really good working environment where everybody’s been pretty much on fire with their ideas. The stuff that everybody’s come up with has been really, really good.

You also worked with Kimbra, who’s hovering just below fun. on the charts.
AD: We did some writing sessions together, and actually, I’m not sure if the stuff we did together is slated to be on her US album or not. But she’s another great talent to work with. She’s such a prolific writer and has a very clear vision of where she wants all her songs to go. But her song “Settle Down” is doing really well, and her song with Gotye is blowing up.

“Somebody That I Used To Know” kind of underscores the point that anything goes on radio at this moment in time.
AD: It’s very interesting you say that, because a lot of the production I’ve been doing with records and albums the last couple years is kind of taking a homogenous look — taking the pop mentality — and changing up the sound and the way you approach it so you’re not going to use the same synthesizer and same drum machine as everybody else. You look at the Gotye song, it’s a great example. It’s like a shuffle guitar thing with some jazz brushes and marimba! And it’s a pop smash. I love that.

What else do you have up your sleeve?
AD: I have two more albums coming out this fall as a producer. Ones from a group called The Morning Benders, and another guy is P.O.S. It’s been a couple years since he’s had an album out and I think his fans are really hungry. I think this is gonna be his big breakout record. We put in a lot of work, and spent the better part of a year working on the record.

I read that you went to high school with P.O.S.
AD: That whole Doomtree collective and [label] Rhymesayers [Entertainment], we all went to the same high school together. P.O.S. actually reached out to me to work on his last record, and I was super swamped with Kanye at the time. I wanted to do it, but I just didn’t have the time. But, yeah, we went to the same high school together, Hopkins High School in Minnesota. He was a year behind me. All those guys in Doomtree collective went to my high school and were all within a span of about four or five years.

Who are you going into the studio with next?
AD: I’m actually heading into another project — I’m going from Pet Shop Boys to this group called VersaEmerge. Like fun., they’re on Fueled By Ramen as well. They’re a rock group with kind of a harder, progressive edge, and we’re playing with some new ideas and new sounds. They have a very clear and cool direction that we’re working together to bring out for their next record. When somebody has something in mind that they’re going for, it’s that much easier to deliver.

Follow Andrew on Twitter at @MrAndrewDawson, and learn more about him and his studio at SoundEQ.com.

The last time we had a talk with Goldfrapp, the duo were just about to release their Grammy-nominated 2010 album Head First. Turns out it was a project that singer Alison Goldfrapp doesn’t have much fondness for. “I’m not very proud of that one,” she says of the previous LP as we talk about The Singles, a recently-released collection of her and Will Gregory’s most well-known songs with two new ones (“Melancholy Sky” and “Yellow Halo”) added on. She continues about Head First: “I think there are some good tunes on there. I feel like we should have given them to someone else instead of us releasing them as Goldfrapp.”

Twelve years on, Alison and Will are closing this first chapter of Goldfrapp’s story and looking ahead to the future. They’re taking this next year to work in the studio, and while Alison was a tad reluctant to talk about the pair’s upcoming material, we did manage to get some scraps of info from her. Read on!

IDOLATOR: It’s lovely to speak with you again. Was it hard to narrow down which songs to include on The Singles? Did you two have much say in the process?
ALISON GOLDFRAPP: We didn’t have a huge say because we didn’t really want to have a huge say, to be completely frank. We could have just let the record company do it themselves, EMI. But we thought it was best to get involved. It feels like a really positive thing. It felt like a good time to do a collection of singles, but it also felt good to write two new [songs] for it, so it didn’t feel like a sort of retrospective. I think they wanted to keep it short and sweet, the most relevant songs, in the terms of what was most known, if you like. That’s why those got chosen and not others.

What are your thoughts as you look back on the first decade of Goldfrapp?
AG: It’s a bit like moving house or something, going through all your stuff and deciding which bits you want to chuck out and looking back over things. There’s a slight fear, but actually it’s really good to move on. We feel like it’s a really good time for us to move into new pastures and a new era. For me, if I’m being completely myself, I didn’t like the last album very much. I’m not very proud of that one. I think there are some good tunes on there. I feel like we should have given them to someone else instead of us releasing them as Goldfrapp. I’m not crazy about that one. But everything else I’m very proud of. Of course, you don’t always get it right. I look back at things and think, oh, I wish we’d done it a bit like that. Or, why did I do that? But that’s the way it goes, isn’t it? Nothing’s ever perfect. That’s why you keep making things and you’re always trying to see something else and rediscover things. I feel a real affinity to certain sounds and certain feelings and imagery, and I think it’s quite interesting how, even after all this time, they’re still there — Felt Mountain and Supernature and Seventh Tree, visually, I feel like those things are still very relevant in my mind.

I agree with that, but we’ll have to agree to disagree on Head First. We included it on our Favorite Albums Of 2010 roundup. I really like that one!
AG: Do you really? Well, I’m glad you do. I really like “Voicething” and “Shiny And Warm”. For me [the album is] just too “on the nose.”

I can see that. It’s very poppy compared to your previous albums. Can you envision a time when there will be a release of a full singles collection from Goldfrapp?
AG: Yeah. We really wanted to do a deluxe version of [The Singles]. We had it all there ready to go and EMI didn’t want to do it. They wouldn’t let us do it. So that’s that for now. It’s a shame. I can’t talk anymore about it really.

We’ll leave it at that then. You tweeted last month that “Lovely Head” was the first song you and Will ever wrote together. How has the way you two work on songs together changed since those early days, if at all?
AG: To be honest, no, it hasn’t really changed. It’s a funny old process. I will come to the studio with ideas or lyrics or melodic ideas. A song starts from anything, really. You’re collecting thoughts and ideas all the time. But it’s not really until Will and get into a studio together and we’re jamming and sharing those ideas that things start to become physical things, if you like. It’s like collecting food and taking it to the studio and spicing it up and making it into the meal! [Laughs] That’s how we work. We tried doing it separately and it’s never really happened. A lot of things come out of improvisations. As soon as we start playing, we record, because you never know what’s going to happen when you play. You might have a tiny little line or a tiny little sound, and you can go back to it and build little tiny moments.

Looking ahead to the new material you’re working on, what’s inspiring you these days? And is there a theme to the next album at the moment?
AG: Well, it’s so hard to talk about your work when you’re right in the midst of it. I’m always slightly reluctant because there’s something — you sort of feel like you’re breaking a spell a bit when you start talking about it, when you’re still in the middle of working out what it is, yourself. But I’ve been reading a lot and watching lots of films. Like I said, I feel like the aesthetic of Felt Mountain and Seventh Tree is a sound and vision that feels very relevant to me. I would like to expand on that. That’s all I’m gonna say!

That in itself is intriguing.
AG: I think we’ll always play with acoustic sounds and the synth sounds. Even on Felt Mountain, we had these lush string sounds, but we also had lots of cranky old synthesizers. And that’s still very much there now. We’re just going to be expanding on that territory, I feel.

Are there any producers you would like to work with on the new album?
AG: Not yet, although we’re very interested in that. I think we’re going to wait a little more to see how the writing develops and the sound develops and then take it from there. We feel like we need a bit more time to decide if we want to work with a producer and, when we’ve established a bit further down the line, who might be best suited for that job. It’s always great to work with other people. It’s great to have someone else there with a more objective view on things. It’s always been quite good for us to work with someone else much further on into the writing period, when we’ve kind of found our feet.

Will the new album be out next year?
AG: I think it will definitely be next year. We’re just gonna really take our time. The last album, it felt very rushed. I feel like we want to just take our time and not be rushed. What’s so great about now is we feel like free agents. It sort of feels like the first time, and we’re reveling in that. We toured pretty much constantly since we started — we’d do a tour, put an album out, do another tour. We’ve been doing that for 10 years, so it’s actually quite nice to sit back and go, you know what, it’s ready when it’s ready.

Switching gears, how did the two of you come to remix Lady Gaga’s “Judas” last year?
AG: She just asked us. It came about through her people. That was great fun! It was really nice of her to ask us and we really enjoyed doing it. Hats off to her for putting it out.

Are there any one-off festival appearances or live gigs you’ll be doing this year?
AG: No, we’re not going to be doing anything! We’re just going to be in our studio bubble, and write and do things and hang out. I feel like I want to take that hat off, if you will, of the last two years — just step back from it all. Sometimes you need to just step back from things and clear the decks in order to make way for new things.

Goldfrapp’s The Singles is available now.

It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of Adam Lambert, one of the most exciting artists to blast onto the pop scene in the last few years. Adam’s 2009 album, For Your Entertainment, was one of the best debuts from an American Idol alum ever, but it’s his highly personal sophomore LP Trespassing that may finally prove to the masses that the man affectionately known as Glambert could be pop’s newest leading man.

It’s been some time since we had a nice long chat with Adam, and we had a lot to catch up on. During our exclusive interview with the singer, we touched on his creative process while crafting Trespassing, his favorite songs, and as for all those rumors about him touring with Queen… well, just see for yourself. Hop below for our one-on-one with the glorious glam guy.

Though Adam co-wrote many of the songs that appear on his debut album, he’s even more involved this time around. “I really wanted to be in control of it artistically, and [the label RCA] respected that,” said Lambert of his new album. “And once we decided we were on the same page, they said okay, you can creatively direct this thing – you can executive produce it.”

During our interview, Adam explains that he released “Better Than I Know Myself” as the album’s lead single in order to “connect emotionally” with his audience, and “give them something vocal” that also says something real. (However, he promises single #2 will have people wanting to get up and dance!)

Like a proud father, he couldn’t pick a particular song as his favorite, though he did have some moving words about his emotional ballad “Outlaws Of Love”, which was inspired by the gay rights movement. “We have a struggle and an uphill climb as a community to deal with our lives and the public and how we relate to everybody else,” said Adam. “Hopefully there is a shred of hope in it, and hopefully when people listen to it, it makes them feel a certain amount of catharsis, and they feels better after listening to it. It’s like a release.”

And though he plays coy in our interview regarding those Queen rumors, they are rumors no more — Adam officially confirmed he’ll be joining the rock band at the Sonisphere music festival this July — read all about it here.

Will you be picking up Adam’s sophomore LP this “Mapril”? Tell us on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below.

Following the release of his third album The Awakening, and ahead of his spring tour here in the States, British singer-songwriter James Morrison is feeling quite feisty. Regarding his collaboration with Jessie J, the emotional, string-laden “Up”, Morrison tells us this: “I asked if she wanted to do it with me. But she said, ‘I’ll only record a song with you’.”

The past few years have seen professional and personal highs for the soulful 27-year-old artist, as well as some lows. Around the time he was writing material for his third LP, James’ father passed away. “It was very hard to get through most writing days without shedding a tear,” he says.

Still, he persevered, and the result was his second chart-topping album in the UK, The Awakening, which has sold over half-a-million copies worldwide since its release in September. Head below for our chat with the award-winning Brit!

Before you made it big, you’d take part in local open-mic nights in Derby. Describe the importance of the bar Ryan’s early in your career.
JAMES MORRISON: That place helped me get comfortable playing live. Most of the time, the songs I would play were spontaneous and so it helped me feel comfortable ad-libbing.

You gave a beautiful performance of Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror” last year at London’s Tower Bridge, which was broadcast live here on CBS’ Early Show. What influence has Jackson had on you, personally, and your songwriting?
JM: Michael Jackson is just pure energy, fun, rhythm and funk! Passion for what you’re singing about is the main thing I’ve learned from MJ — not to underestimate dance moves! [The Awakening single] “Slave To The Music” was inspired by MJ.

James Morrison covers Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror”

Did you find it difficult to write new material for The Awakening after your father passed away?
JM: Of course it was difficult, but I had no choice but to write about something that’s on my mind. I did find it therapeutic. Still, it was very hard to get through most writing days without shedding a tear.

How did you come to collaborate with Jessie J on “Up”?
JM: I asked if she wanted to do it with me. But she said, ‘I’ll only record a song with you’. So we did “Up”.

Well, that’s a nice consolation prize. Will you be coming over to the States to play some gigs in support of The Awakening?
JM: You know that — ‘course I can’t wait. I’m coming over to the States for a week in January, but then again for three weeks in April for a small tour.

James Morrison — ”I Won’t Let You Go”

So, is your three-year-old daughter a fan of your music?
JM: Yes, now she is. But she has said that she likes Jessie J more. She’s her favorite.

Ouch! Speaking of which, you’ve collaborated with Jessie J, obviously, and other artists such as Girls Aloud and Nelly Furtado. Who else is on your wish list to work with?
JM: No one — they are all a nightmare! Only joking. I enjoy collaborating, but for now I’m good with working just with Jessie J.

Last question: you cite Stevie Wonder as a big influence. What’s your favorite Stevie album, and why does it resonate so well with you?
JM: My favorite Stevie Wonder album — hmmm. It’s hard to choose, but if I had to it would be Songs In The Key Of Life. It’s got everything you want from an album.

The Awakening, which contains the singles “Up” and “I Won’t Let You Go”, is available now.

Fiery pop tween Willow Smith set the world’s ears ablaze last fall with her sassy jam “Whip My Hair”, the first offering from her upcoming debut album Willow. And today the video for her third single, the Nicki Minaj-assisted “Fireball”, is scheduled to premiere during BET’s 106 & Park.

Ahead of that, we had a chat with the 11-year-old singer about what music and which artists she considers to be her favorites. (You might be surprised at what we found nestled on the energetic pop tart’s iPod!) We also discovered that, when it comes to style influences, Willow turns to one person: herself. “I kind of go off what I think is cool,” she told us.

Head below to catch our Q&A with the youngest diva on the Roc Nation roster.

What album or artist were you most into over the past year.
WILLOW: Probably Man On The Moon 2: The Legend Of Mr. Rager, from Kid Cudi. I like it because it’s different, and it has a lot of feeling. He’s not just writing songs to write songs. He’s writing songs that are about his life.

Did you catch any concerts that blew you away in 2011?
W: Actually, I haven’t seen any live performers this year except for Jessie J on The X Factor, and she was really awesome! She has an amazing voice.

When you’re not working on your budding music career, what do you get up to?
W: I dance. It’s my favorite thing to do. I’m in a company. Miss Adriana is my dance teacher. That’s what I like to do on my downtime.

Your parents have been in show business for several decades now. What advice have they given you, as far as your career?
W: The only thing that they tell me is to have fun. That’s all that matters.

What’s one song that you personally find to be influential?
W: Let me check my iPod — everything is on there! Probably Goldfrapp, “Horse Tears”.

Willow’s down with Goldfrapp! Along those lines, name an artist or album you listen to that would maybe surprise your fans?
W: Probably James Blake’s Air & Lack Thereof.

So, when did you first realize that you wanted to pursue a singing career?
W: When we were in China and Jaden was doing [The Karate Kid]. I told my dad that I wanted to sing, and I told my mom that I wanted to sing. It just came along from there.

Speaking of Jaden, both you and your brother have over a million followers on Twitter, but I couldn’t help noticing you have a slight edge over him. Do you ever bring that up when he’s teasing you?
W: No, we don’t really do that kind of thing. We’re in the same boat. It doesn’t matter how many fans I have. We have a great connection. We love each other, that’s all that matters.

When you recorded “Fireball”, did you go into the studio with Nicki Minaj?
W: No, we recorded apart, but we got to see each other at the video shoot. She’s really awesome. I’m a very big fan of her.

Last question: other than Nicki, are there any other guests on your album?
W: No, there are not.

“Fireball” is available for download on iTunes.

Earlier this month, Jay Sean wrapped up a US tour with Joe Jonas and JoJo, and we sat down with the “Down” singer just hours before their very last gig together, in New York. “I’m kind of sad about it actually,” the hit-making UK singer/songwriter admitted. “It’s been a really, really fun time.”

Last month Jay released his mixtape The Mistress. Up next for the Young Money star is his oft-delayed album Freeze Time, which he says will be out sometime in early 2012. Head below to learn more about Sean’s upcoming material, and to find out what he really thinks about the world ending when we change calendars in a few months.

IDOLATOR: What was the experience of the tour with Joe Jonas and JoJo like for you?
JAY SEAN: The thing about touring is you get to see the world, man. I got to see the United States. I went all around the East Coast, West Coast, down South. It was great to play to different audiences and to see all your different fans around the country with just cool, down-to-earth peeps. I think that’s the part [Joe Jonas and JoJo and I] enjoyed the most. There were no ego clashes on tour, just good times.

What’s next for you,now that the tour is over?
JS: It’s nonstop for me, man. I’m heading off to England for an awards show. After that I come back for a few more shows here in America. Then I’m performing with Paul McCartney and Britney Spears in Abu Dhabi for the F1 Grand Prix. And then the tour of England in December and the album coming out in the beginning of the year. It’s gonna be nuts.

Last month you released your mixtape The Mistress. Will some of those tracks wind up on the album Freeze Time?
JS: The reason I did the mixtape is so that people would know what to expect of the album. America so far has only heard my pop songs and the up-tempo fun stuff. They’ve yet to hear the slow jams, the R&B stuff I do. So this album is really going to be a mixture of R&B records much like the ones on The Mistress as well as some classic, beautiful pop songs, some ballads and up-tempo anthems. It’s just a real nice musical journey.

What’s the significance of the title Freeze Time?
JS: At the moment the significance of the title is that Freeze Time has been frozen in time, ironically. [Laughs] It’s been a problem to get it out due to messy, messy legal reasons. For me, I had to kind of put the album on the backburner for a while. I’m just really looking forward to pushing the album out when it comes, once we’re finally allowed to give it to my fans.

Are there any collaborations on the album that you can talk about?
JS: There are, but let’s keep it exciting. Let’s keep that a surprise. [Laughs]

Who’s a fellow artist that you find to be inspiring?
JS: Keane is just a really, really awesome band. I actually sampled one of their songs on my mixtape, a song called “She Has No Time.” They’re just really melodically beautiful. Hopes And Fears, their first album, is one of my favorite albums ever. Also, right now, the person who really influenced me, in terms of really loving music again, is Frank Ocean. He’s really focused on just writing great songs and melody as opposed to just writing for the sake of chart positions. I think Frank Ocean is really dope.

So let’s end by talking about the end of the world. Between your song “2012 (It Ain’t The End)” and Britney Spears’ “Till The World Ends”, the apocalypse seems like it’ll be one big party. What do you think we’re in store for next year? Obviously, you’re album comes out then.
JS: I don’t actually believe in the 2012 Mayan theory at all, but I thought it would be a really dope thing to write about. Songwriters, we’re always looking for new concepts, fresh concepts, and there are only so many ways you can talk about partying, really. Let’s be honest, you turn on the radio right now, and everyone’s talking about popping bottles and living like there’s no tomorrow. It seems to be like that’s the theme at the moment. Everyone just wants to have a good time. There are unfortunately a lot of bad things happening — the economy, natural disasters and all this rubbish. But I think the world just wants to relax and enjoy themselves and forget about their worries. That’s probably the reason there are so many uplifting house records and dance records out.

As any fan of JoJo can attest, the wait for Jumping Trains, the singer-songwriter’s third album, has been a long one. In fact, this month marks five years since the release of her last LP, The High Road (which produced the Top 5 smash “Too Little Too Late”). But the past year has been a prolific one for the 20-year-old singer-songwriter. In fall 2010, she dropped her first mixtape, and last month saw the release of new single “Disaster” .

JoJo is now winding down her tour with Joe Jonas and Jay Sean. Last week we had the opportunity to hop on her tour bus after one of her gigs for a chat. “People have grown up with me in a sense, but they haven’t gone on the journey, because I haven’t been in the spotlight,” she told us. “So they haven’t gotten to see me maturing. For some people it might seem a little sudden. But for me, I’m testing it out and seeing how it’s being received.”

Plenty of you tweeted at us with questions for JoJo. Head below to read what she had to say to us — and you.

IDOLATOR: What has doing this tour with Joe Jonas and Jay Sean meant for you?
JOJO: It’s meant that I get to test things out. This has kind of been a safe place. Of course, there’s great importance in everything — every moment that you share with people, every time you perform: I got to see what works and what doesn’t work; what’s too much and what’s not enough; how the new material is received, and how this young adult JoJo is received. People haven’t necessarily gotten to see me.  The response has been really great. This tour has given me the opportunity to be comfortable with myself.

How was the experience of releasing the Can’t Take That Away From Me mixtape last year?
JOJO: That was scary. But the reason why we did it was because the people that support me had been waiting for so long, been so patient. And I just felt like, how could I keep asking them to wait? It wasn’t even my intention to have that big of a gap. But [my fans] deserved something, so I released music on my own terms, through Rap-Up, who I have a great relationship with. And I was able to take some chances and showcase my songwriting.

Here’s a fan question: @IceBlue_Eyed wants to know when the video for “Disaster” premieres. Also, what will the concept be?
[Note: Upon asking this question, JoJo's manager jumps in and tells me the video will arrive by the end of October.]
JOJO: Benny Boom directed it. The concept is, I wanted to show young, crazy love and how passionate it can be — how you get wrapped up in it, and it’s awesome and it’s fun and sexy. I also wanted to have a dangerous element, so my boyfriend [in the video] is a motorcyclist. This video is a little rock and roll. It’s colorful.

@GeMini_TeamJo asks if you plan on promoting “Disaster” and the rest of your new material outside of the US?
JOJO: Absolutely. We have plans to go overseas, hopefully after we’re done with this tour. We’re just scoping that all out because international presence is really important to me. And I really want to travel abroad more than I ever have before, because I was a minor [when the last album was out]. There were restrictions on how much I could work.

You recorded about a hundred songs while working on Jumping Trains over the years. @BrendanJAce asks what will happen to the songs that don’t end up on the LP? He says he can’t imagine them going to waste.
JOJO: It’s not necessarily that they’ll go to waste. I would love to maybe shop them to other artists or to perhaps put them on a mixtape or something like that. I don’t look at it as waste, because it’s like if you do a painting, just because it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t mean that it’s not art. For me, music is therapeutic. A lot of the stuff I was writing was autobiographical. It was just something that was flowing from me.

The one and only @DrewSeeley tweeted and asked if you’d be down to record a song with him.
JOJO: Sure!

@atlantictiger wants to know how your songwriting has changed throughout your career.
JOJO: I’ve become less afraid. I trust myself. I found myself, with this album, putting myself in situations or keeping myself in them just to see how many songs I could milk out of it. It might not be the healthiest thing. But my songwriting has changed just in the fact that I’m not afraid what people are going to think about me, or my truth. No one is perfect. Everybody does things that they’re not proud of, or that they’re embarrassed about. But I’m not afraid of talking about it. So I just think I’ve become bolder.

@DanComeau92 points out that you’ve said before “Elsewhere” is your favorite song on Jumping Trains. Why?
JOJO: That song is on my heart. And I had written down this word because I’d said it to somebody. He said, “Where are you going?” And I said, “Elsewhere.” To me, it was such a loaded statement. I’m not going to be with you! I’m taking all of me and going elsewhere, dawg. It doesn’t matter where. Not towards you. I was just so vulnerable at that moment. I worked with some of my favorite producers, Da Internz, who have a few records on my album. There’s so much passion on this song. It’s one of my faves.

One of the tracks on the album that stands out to me is “Lie To Me,” which is somewhat in the dubstep vein. What can you tell us about about the vibe of the song?
JOJO: There’s a song that Danja did that set the tone for other up-tempos on my record, because I didn’t want the up-tempos to sound like I was chasing a trend. I wanted something that was a little different. I didn’t want it to be a four-on-the-floor dancey type thing, but I wanted people to be able to dance to it. So, “Lie To Me” came from that. I heard the track — it was Da Internz — and I felt like there was tension to it. I felt like it was sexy and it was twisted. Of course, I can’t write about something unless it’s on my heart or I’m going through it, so I was like, okay, let me pull from where I’m at. If I’m in love with someone, do I really want to know if they’re doing other things? I don’t know if I do. As strong as I am and as much as I don’t take BS from people, sometimes you’re in a position where you just want to live in this blissful ignorance with somebody, because the truth is too much to handle. And I’m so crazy that, the truth just might not be what I need to hear! [Laughs]

You make lyrical reference to Michael Jackson in another song on Jumping Trains, “Sexy To Me.” Was he someone you grew up idolizing?
JOJO: Absolutely. Oh my gosh, yes. I had posters of him in my room. He’s incredible. I used to watch his tour DVDs. I think Dangerous was my favorite album of his at the time, and I loved his HiStory double-CD. I was fascinated by him. I mean, for an artist to say that they weren’t inspired by Michael Jackson — what’s wrong with you? He set the precedent.

@TheReignOfRyan tweeted and said that you love jazz. He wants to know if you’ve ever thought of recording a few jazz songs?
JOJO: Oh my god, I would faint at the thought of it — but faint from excitement! [Gasps] I love jazz! Yes, I would love to do that. I listen to jazz all the time. Jill Scott is one of my favorite artists. Not that she’s a jazz singer, but there’s a lot of jazz influence. She recorded this cover of “Good Morning Heartache,” which, there’s a small saxophone solo at the beginning, and I listen to that every day. Jazz makes me feel so many different ways.

Maybe you’ll end up on Tony Bennett’s next Duets album.
JOJO: You don’t understand! That’s like — [screams] — orgasmic.

Have you listened to his new album?
JOJO: I haven’t heard it yet. But trust me, it’s on my list of things to get.

We’ll end on this last fan question: @Sildeneb asks what the biggest personal change you’ve made in recent years is. Also, what is one thing you would like to change?
JOJO: It’s such a heavy question. If I could change one thing, I would just kind of go with the flow more. I wouldn’t be so anxious or aggressive. I’m just kind of on edge sometimes because I want things to be so right. So I would trust in the plan that is beyond even my seeing. As far as the biggest personal change, I believe in my place more. I’m a lot more comfortable on stage. I live more in the moment. I understand that that’s kind of going against what I just said, but when I’m on stage, I’m more able to enjoy myself. I’m not so afraid. I’ve come into myself a little bit more, but that comes with the territory of growing up.

“Disaster” is available now on iTunes and Amazon’s MP3 store. Jumping Trains will be out in early 2012. Above JoJo photos by Gino DePinto / AOL Music.

After four years of paying creative dues and crafting several acclaimed mixtapes, Roc Nation MC J. Cole is about to break out in a big way with next week’s release of Cole World: The Sideline Story, his debut album (out September 27). Earlier this month we gave you some insight to the record by highlighting it in our Fall Music Preview, where Cole said to expect “an emotional rollercoaster.” Now the rapper elaborates even more on his new material. Read on!

IDOLATOR: Last year you sat down with us and discussed how inspired you were by the music Kendrick Lamar has been putting out. Any plans on collaborating with him?
J. COLE: We’ve got a lot of time to work. You know, we both be on and he’s working steady. He’s getting himself to an incredible place and I’m going to try and get myself to an incredible place. So we got time for that, you know? That’s my man though.

While recording Cole World: The Sideline Story, did you look to other classic albums as inspiration? If so, which ones?
JC: Yeah all the time: so OutKast, Aquemini; Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation [Of Lauryn Hill]; a lot of Tupac albums; Illmatic [by Nas]; Reasonable Doubt [Jay-Z]. I had certain periods of soaking in different albums, which of course I love, but I listen to differently now. College Dropout [Kanye West], Blueprint 3 [Jay-Z]. A lot of different things for different reasons.

What do you personally think makes an album a classic?
JC: The test of time. So like, the first listen you can get, you be like, “This album is a classic.” But you won’t know until three-to-six months later. If you still playin’ it, it’s a classic. A year later and you still playin’ it, it’s a classic. Five years later? Hands down, classic. So, really, little things, like if you’re taking a 10-hour road trip — if I’m gonna drive 10 hours from Fayetteville to New York, I’ve got about six albums I know I’m gonna play. Those are the classics. Hopefully mine is one of those that you gotta pop in on your road trips.

When we highlighted Cole World in our Fall Music Preview, you mentioned that the songs are sequenced perfectly. So you’re basically saying fans won’t get the same effect if they pick and choose certain tracks instead of listening to the record as a whole?
JC: Yeah, exactly. I understand that we’re in a day and age where people get their album and they pick their favorites and they just add them to their playlists, and they might never come back to that album again. But this album ain’t like that. I had the option of maybe putting 16 songs on the album, which I was going to do at the listening session. I’ve skimmed it down a little and dropped like two or three songs and turned them into bonus songs, which makes the flow so much better. You can really listen to it front to back without skipping.

Let’s get down to brass tacks: how many Krispy Kreme donuts did you consume during the recording sessions for the album?
JC: [Laughs] Not as many as you would think. I really don’t know the answer to that. I can tell you that yesterday before we had the first show in Vancouver, when I was coming to soundcheck, these fans were outside with a dozen glazed donuts while I was doing my rehearsal. I hadn’t eaten any food and ended up eating seven of them. I felt disgusting, and thought like, “Yo man, how did I just do that?” I actually got a little lightheaded. [Laughs]

Speaking of your tour, you’re going all over the world. How does it feel to watch people in other countries spitting your rhymes back at you from the audience?
JC: Yeah it’s weird. It’s definitely fuckin’ weird. Incredible. It’s just wild man. I don’t have an album out and it just shows me the power of the Internet. The Internet can break down borders, especially when it comes to music. It’s definitely a mixture of, I feel weird about it and confused, but also proud, like “Shit, I made it over here.”

Last question: Eminem was crowned the King Of Hip Hop by Rolling Stone over the summer. As a fellow rapper in the game, what are your thoughts on that? Much deserved? Or maybe not?
JC: I can’t say anything bad about crowning Eminem the King Of Hip Hop. I can’t say anything bad about them crowning Eminem the king of anything. It’s hard to argue that. It’s not like it’s not deserved. The man’s incredible and has been for years, so congrats to him.

Thanks for your time, and good luck with the album and tour. And stay away from the donuts!
JC: Alright, well I appreciate you.

The wait is nearly over for the premiere of the music video for Cady Groves’ catchy pop jam “This Little Girl” (check back here tomorrow to watch it). And by now fans of the 21-year-old singer know that country crooner Blake Shelton makes a cameo in the clip. We hit up the set of the video shoot, and wrangled a little one-on-one time with the feisty Oklahoman. Head below to watch Cady discuss the dramatic story behind her debut single, and how she got Blake to appear in her video.

In addition to opening up about the heartache that inspired “This Little Girl,” Cady reveals that Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill is the album that has meant the most to her in her life. “Even at four or five or six years old, I got what she was saying because of the emotion she put into what she was singing,” Groves told us.

Another one of her idols: Blake Shelton’s fellow coach on The Voice, Christina Aguilera. “I remember standing on top of my dresser that had a mirror on it and performing Christina Aguilera songs,” Cady said. Now, all these years later, both Cady and Christina share the same label (RCA).

Here’s our interview with rising star Cady Groves, on the set of her “This Little Girl” video:

Are you excited for the premiere of Cady’s first music video tomorrow?

You may best remember Hanson as the band that brought the world the non-word “MMMBop”, but the boys who hail from Oklahoma have been going long and hard at music for nearly two decades. (Pretty impressive for a band with two members under the age of thirty.) In 2009, brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac released their eighth studio album Shout It Out, and will soon embark on a Fall tour, with each night’s set list chosen by the fans.

Twenty-eight-year-old frontman Taylor Hanson took a break from working on new material in Nashville to speak with us about the band’s side projects, their longtime friendship with Weird Al, and their new one with Katy Perry. Plus, as a former teen heartthrob, Taylor had a few excellent bits of advice for today’s It Boy of pop, Justin Bieber. Check out our exclusive chat with the middle Hanson bro below.

IDOLATOR: You and your brothers recently made a cameo in Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” video. How did that come together? Is she a huge Hanson fan?
TAYLOR HANSON: She said she was a fan, and wanted to have us in the video. And we figured, that’s a compliment! It’s kind of a nice thing to be thought of. They were looking for a band that was known where you’d see them in a clip and go, “Is that… Yeah, it was!” And also somebody that worked for the attitude of the video.

What was it like on set?
Hung out with Kenny G, he was a gentleman, talked about music. He had his son with him. What a cool thing to have Kenny G be your saxophone player! Just hung out on the lawn a lot. All the extras were pretty tired at the end of the day, and at that point of shooting we started jamming and became the on-set house band. In between takes we were cracking jokes with the extras. We had a good time.

You and your brothers seem pretty tight with Weird Al – he even appeared in your “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’” video. When did this unlikely friendship form? Was it when you first appeared on The Weird Al Show back in the day?
We met several times early on… he had that show which lasted a couple seasons, and we all hit it off. We’re all fans of his, I feel like so many people have so much respect for him. He’s a genius. We became friends after he started a family. His daughter is my oldest son’s almost exact age. We’ve just been friends for the last ten years or so. Periodically he’ll come to our shows – he sat in for us the last time we were in LA. We had Robert Schwartzman, and Butch Walker and Al Yankovic, playing tambourine with us.

When we were doing that music video, the slightly longer version is that he asked me to play on his record, and I guested on his latest record on a tune. I played keyboard on a song called “If That Isn’t Love”. And he was like, Hey, if there’s anything you need me more, give me a call. And as we started doing the video, we thought of him to play this character, the tambourine player. But we thought, well, that’s too small of a role, and if we’re to have Al do something, it should be something super, focused on him, and let him go over the top. As the video was coming together, we just knew having him would put it over the edge.

You’re currently in the studio writing and recording. Who are you writing with?
A lot of guys who are friends who have written songs for people like Carrie Underwood and Bowling For Soup. One of the guys from Bowling For Soup, Jaret Reddick, we’ve written stuff with him, and we’ve known the guys in Jars Of Clay for a while, so we’ve been working on some stuff. A bunch of different people.

Is any of this for a new Hanson album?
It’s actually for other people’s projects. Playing the outside role. The idea of writing and working that isn’t ultimately the thing that you’re going to walk out on stage to do, it’s such different head space. But it’s great to do that. It’s something we want to do more of to get the creative juices flowing.

Can we expect another Tinted Windows album?
The first project was in and of itself kind of an epic one, it was just pieces of things that were done over the course of three years. And finally it was a “done” album. There probably will be another Tinted Windows album. But it’s a side project, so it has to stay fun. We don’t want to have to look at the clock and say, “Well, it’s been a year, time for a new album”… there hopefully will be something else.

You began your career when you were about 11-years old. How has writing and performing changed over the years for you?
When you’re starting anything you might have that feeling in your gut that you can do this, but you don’t have the experience to know what you can bring to the table as a writer, or a player, and as a singer. One of the ways writing changes is, at least for me, you begin to approach some things a little bit more like [you're] on a mission, especially when you’re writing on specific projects, when you know ‘I can do this style versus this style.’ You can see where the lines are drawn. The biggest change is that sense of reaching further in confidence and that you really do have those tools and experiences to pull from. For me, it’s only exciting if you’re pushing yourself to grow.

How does the music-writing process work between you and your brothers? Does one of you handle the lyrics, someone else the music?
We’re pretty unique in that we all write music and lyrics. People have their styles: I’m the most pop as a writer, I just lean that way… and I mean pop structure-wise than slickness. Isaac tends to tell more of an honest story in a song, and Zac like to layer things. Those tendencies take over depending what the song is. It’s not uncommon for somebody to say, “Hey, this is the song idea and a core piece.” Then everyone starts fiddling around. It’s honestly very collaborative.

You and your brothers were major teen heartthrobs in the 90s, and today we’ve got a new batch of teenage dreams, like Justin Bieber and Greyson Chance. What advice would you give to them during this stage in their career?
For one, you don’t make yourself a heartthrob or a hunk, that just happens or it doesn’t. Don’t cling to that. That is what it is, and just like people having an impression about an actor or a painter or anybody who does anything, you put it out there and people’s response comes back. The thing that you CAN hold onto is the actual music that you are making, or whatever it is you do. The main advice that we’ve stuck to is keep to the thing that got you into it and make sure that’ what you’re focused on. For Justin, he’s talented, he can sing and perform, so make that the thing you focus on.

All of you have children of your own. Have you been encouraging them to be musicians and teaching them how to play instruments?
My oldest is 8 and he has obvious musical tendencies, all of [my children] do. But we haven’t really sat them down and went, okay, here’s the plot – world domination. Making music is one of those things, it takes over – you either have to do it, or you can do it on the side. And if you can do it on the side, you probably shouldn’t. It requires that conviction.

It’s a little scary when you see your kids and realize they have something in the gene pool. My thought is to just give them the tools if they ask for them, and see if there’s that fire to then do what my parents did, which is be supportive, but not the crazy stage parents. You want to be there with the band ready to buy their first drum kit or take them to piano lessons, if that’s what they have passion for. But it has to be led by them, because it’s a hard business.

“MMMBop” is your first hit, and is arguably still your biggest. Are you sick of playing it yet?
[Laughs.] If we literally played only the song every night, yes. Short answer is no, we’re not sick of playing it. Obviously that song will always be one of the first things people think of, and it’s a song we wrote, a song we played in our garage, a song we kicked off traveling the world doing. And to be honest, it’s taken on a different feeling when we play it live… it’s sort of a sentimental thing. It has a certain quality that it survived a certain amount of time. We’re proud of it. Thankfully, it’s one of 70 songs.

*  *  *

Check out Hanson’s tour dates at their official website, and follow them on Twitter!

After skyrocketing onto the scene by contributing the hook to Far East Movement’s “Like A G6″, Dev is ready to take the dance world on her own — well, with a bit of help by her producing team The Cataracs. The bass-loving electro-pop singer was in New York promoting her debut album The Night The Sun Came Up when we got on the phone to discuss her recent tour with Usher, recording her album in paradise, and those comparisons to other singular-named rap-singing dancefloor maven Ke$ha. Bounce your booty below for our exclusive interview with the 22-year old artist who’s about to pop.

IDOLATOR: You recently toured around with Usher and Akon on the OMG tour. What was that like?
DEV: It was absolutely amazing. Probably everything anyone could imagine. Usher was a sweetheart. He pulled The Cataracs and I aside and talked to us in his green room about his support for us and his tips and pointers, and it was great. Akon was just as nice. They showed a lot of support and love which was amazing, because we all grew up listening to them on the radio.

Are Usher and Akon big party guys on the road?
Actually, they’re so mature and they’ve been musicians for so long, that the tour wasn’t too hectic. Anything that anybody did that was scandalous was done on their own time. [The tour] didn’t provide tons of alcohol, it was kind of chill. You went there, you did the job, we worked out asses off, then we went to sleep and drove to the next city. It was actually kind of refreshing. I actually got to sleep!

Your “In The Dark” video has got this creepy/sexy feel. What was the concept behind the video?
The idea behind “In The Dark” the song was for me to make a sexy song. I’m a grown woman now. I’ve been working the with The Cataracs for the past three years and I met them when I was kind of young and from a small town. I was like, dammit, I’m gonna make a sexy song! So that’s what I did. And I wanted the video to be sexy as well. I wanted it to reflect all the dark aspects of the song, and initially we went in thinking that we’d have an Alice in Wonderland/Tim Burton type of feel.

Was it fun or kind of disturbing having all those disembodied hands around you?
While some of the hands are green screened in, the majority of them that are all around my body are real. The extras were amazing, they let me paint their hands and bodies, and they stacked on top of each other and did that for hours. For takes and takes and takes.

How did you hook up with Flo Rida for the “In The Dark” remix?
Remixes are always fun, they’re great for radio, they keep the songs refreshing. I wanted a remix with a rapper on it, because I thought it would suit it well. I know if I heard “In The Dark” on the radio with a rapper on it, I would probably enjoy it more. We went in thinking about who would be cool on the radio and who would fit the fact that it’s kind of a flavorful song and not really a hood rap song. Flo Rida fit, and he completely killed it.

You get compared to Ke$ha a lot due to you both being young females who rap-sing. Was that always your style when writing music?
When I first started, that’s what I did on my Macbook. I sang some pretty little stuff, but I also rapped. My guy friends always rapped, and I hung out with them, so that’s always what we did. Ke$ha came out and while I don’t like being compared to anybody — and that’s nothing to do with Ke$ha, I think she’s an amazing artist and she’s completely successful. But if anything, it pushed me to want to take my music to the next level and sing. And that’s why it was very important for me to sing on the majority of the album.

Did you ever have ambitions of becoming a straight-up rapper?
No. I love hip hop music and I went to a couple years of my life where I related to that more than anything, but I’m in a different place now and I think where I’m at, the album I just created, fits me perfectly. And I’d love for the next one to be more mature.

You’re featured on Timbaland’s upcoming album. What was it like working with him?
I worked with him for about three or four days in Miami in January. He’s a brilliant artist. He just goes into the booth and just freestyles, beatboxes, and makes his songs around that. And it was refreshing, because I’m a beginner. I have to be so literal about stuff and write everything down, think everything out, and I learned a lot just watching him vibe out. We ended up making some really great music.

Was Missy Elliott around? I feel like wherever you see Timbaland, Missy Elliott isn’t far behind.
[Laughs.] No, I didn’t get to see her, which would have been really fucking cool!

What makes The Cataracs the perfect producers for you?
I was always a fan of theirs. I love that they made really fun songs for kids on the radio and at the same time they were normal boys, eating burritos, chilling in Berkeley. That’s how I grew up – really sort of simple and kick-it. I appreciated that from them. And really, at the end of the day, all they want to do is make music, and that’s what I want to do. All the extra stuff is just extra stuff.

Your song “Booty Bounce” is sampled on the hook of Far East Movement’s “Like A G6”, which is also produced by The Cataracs. What was your reaction to that song’s success?
I remember when the Cataracs just made the beat and I would listen to the beat in the car, I just loved it so much. The next step was to make the hook, and the Cataracs and I just loved the bridge that we had just laid down for “Booty Bounce” so much, they were like, “We should put this over [Far East Movement's track].” And I was like, “If you guys wanna do it, I’m down.” It ended up being a massive song and gave me so much experience and opportunity and it was absolutely beautiful. Thank god I agreed to that!

What was it like recording your album in Costa Rica?
Beautiful. We stayed in this nice big house on the beach, it was like movie. I’m from a small town, and I couldn’t believe that I’m here and this is for me. We spent a lot of time in the studio, we made the whole skeleton of the album — we recorded 13-14 songs. But at the same time, we took breaks and went right in the ocean. It was completely rad and gave the album the most amazing vibe.

We hear you used to be a pretty great swimmer. Did you get to swim down in Costa Rica?
Yes, we had a pool. I swam a lot in the pool and in the water. I had to, it had been too long. I was on a city team from when I was 4 years old til about 11 that I did every summer and winter. So as a kid, I never had a summer off where you get bored – I had practice two times a day. And then once I was 11 til 18, I was on the US register team where we would travel for competitions, and you’d have to be a registered athlete for the state. And you compete against other cities and states. It’s funny now, I look back, and I wouldn’t change anything for the world. It was my favorite thing, I’m absolutely in love with it, and a lot of my friends have stayed with it.

You should swim in one of your music videos. Show off that skill!
You’re right, I might have to show that off!

*   *  *

The Night The Sun Came Up drops September 20. Til then, follow Dev on Twitter, and hit up her official site. She’ll also be performing an acoustic set on Vevo in the next few weeks, so look out for that!

Dust off your hoop earrings and gigantic shoulder pads, because Martika is embarking on a comeback! The singer, who scored hits with 1989 chart-topper “Toy Soldiers” and the Prince composition “Love…Thy Will Be Done,” has been inspired by the recent resurgence of fellow one-time teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. “People are enjoying revisiting that time from when I was out,” Martika says. “I know there are lots of tours going on. Absolutely I have been inspired by that.”

While doing a bit of research, we stumbled across some previously-unseen photos of the Wise Guy actress with her Kids Incorporated co-star Stacy Ferguson (or Fergie, as she’s better known these days), and we couldn’t resist asking about her time on set.

“There were some really talented people on that show. Fergie, of course, Mario Lopez, Shanice, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Rahsaan Patterson. Everyone was cool. They try to do these reunions occasionally but… we’ve all kind of moved along,” Martika, 42, reminisces. “The nice thing about being in the industry and is that even if you don’t see them it’s really easy to just turn the TV on or get online and see what people are doing.”

The above photo was taken at Martika’s house during a party to celebrate her 1989 single “Toy Soldiers” (which Fergie sang backing vocals on) reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song held Madonna’s “Express Yourself” from reaching the top spot, and Martika’s debut album spawned two other Top 30 singles. (“Toy Soldiers” was later sampled by Eminem for his 2004 hit “Like Toy Soldiers.”)

This pic was snapped in 1991, at the release party for Martika’s sophomore album Martika’s Kitchen:

After her string of hits, while other ’80s pop stars continued plugging away with diminishing returns, Martika turned her back on the pop world.

“[I] just pulled away from the spotlight, the jet-set pace at the time, and really needed to have a bit more of a personal life,” she tells us. “And that held me from the public eye.” The songbird went as far as changing her name to Vida Edit.  She admits, “I never performed another Martika set after I finished promoting Martika’s Kitchen.”

Happily for her fans, the girl born Marta Marrero has been working on a new album. Martika also recently joined Twitter. “I’m going for dance-pop, back to my roots,” she reveals. “We’re gonna be dancin’ a lot on this album!”

Perhaps the Dutchess can make a cameo on Martika’s comeback album?

[Reporting by Mike Wass]

Skylar Grey wasn’t the only pop luminary we sat down with at the the Lollapalooza artist lounge (which we co-sponsored along with Rock The Vote) last weekend — we also had a chat with one of our favorite UK artists to make a splash on these shores this year, “Lights” singer Ellie Goulding. The 24-year-old has been busy trekking across North America for the second time this year, where she made some stops along the way to perform on various TV shows.

“US fans are slightly more energetic,” Ellie said at Lollapalooza. “But generally, my audiences are really sweet and really lovely.” Funny, we could say the same thing about her! Watch our one-on-one with Ellie Goulding below.

Ellie is no stranger to people having a strong reaction to her music. In addition to winning the BBC Sound Of 2010 poll two years ago, the singer from Herefordshire, England, clinched the Critics’ Choice Award at the BRITs in 2010, and saw her debut LP Lights shoot up the US iTunes chart following a stunning performance on Saturday Night Live this past spring.

Shortly after, she performed for royal couple Prince William and Kate Middleton at their wedding reception in late April.

“When people say that I’ve inspired them to become a musician or that I’ve gotten them through a really tough time at home — or with a partner or whatever — that’s really sweet, and I get that quite a lot,” Goulding told us.

Check out our interview with Ellie, where she also talked about the essential items she likes to have on hand while on tour, and Imogen Heap, Wild Beasts and the other artists who inspire her.

Did Ellie make you to want to hit the studio and record your own sure-to-be smash debut album? You’re going to need some instruments, so click here to enter to win a guitar signed by tons of Lollapalooaza artists!

While at Lollapalooza last weekend, singer-songwriter Skylar Grey performed dark pop songs from her upcoming LP Invinsible (including “Monster,” “Beautiful Nightmare” and “Weirdo”), and gave some vocal assistance to Eminem for a rendition of their hit with Dr. Dre, “I Need A Doctor.” She also took a break from the stage to sit down with us at the Lollapalooza artist lounge (which we co-sponsored along with Rock The Vote) and discuss her evolution as an artist and songwriter.

“Since I wrote ‘Love The Way You Lie,’ my whole life changed,” Skylar said while reflecting on career up to this point. “Here I am at Lollapalooza, singing with Eminem. It’s just crazy.”

Invinsible will be Skylar’s first album for producer Alex Da Kid‘s new KIDinaKORNER imprint under the Interscope label. But while it may seem like the 25-year-old Wisconsin native came out of nowhere, she’s been steadily working on her career for years.

“I actually was an artist my whole life,” said Grey, who has worked in the past with Duncan Shiek and toured with k.d. lang, Daniel Powter and Jamie Cullum. “Writing for other people was never part of the plan. It happened by accident. I wrote ‘Love The Way You Lie’ thinking I would sing it. Of course, I was not well known, so having a big name feature was beneficial.”

Check out our interview with Skylar, where she also talked about connecting with her fans and meeting Marilyn Manson, who she says is “really inspiring to be around.”

Did Skylar inspire you to want to pick up an instrument and try your hand at making music? Click here to enter to win a guitar signed by tons of Lollapalooaza artists!