Exclusive: One on One with Kristinia DeBarge
Cute as a button. Sweet as Pie. That’s Kristinia DeBarge, Island Def Jam’s newest starlet who is infusing Pop and R&B. I had a chance to get to know the 19-year old singer who joining an already well known family of talented musicians. Kristinia carries on the tradition of her father James DeBarge, keyboardist and founding member of beloved Motown ’80s group DeBarge. While that would seem to be the easy road to the industry, it took much more convincing to launch her career. However, her debut single “Goodbye” has been a chart favorite and she is definitely an artist to keep an eye on!
Check out our exclusive interview with Kristinia, whose debut album Exposed is in stores now!
Melody: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your new recording career.
Kristinia: I’m 19 years old and I’m from South Pasadena, California, born and raised. I started singing at age 3. I really started taking my singing career serious at age 12. I actually met Babyface at age 14, started working with him, and he had been developing me for a couple of years and then I met with L.A. [Reid] at 16 and he signed me in March of this year. Then I came out with the single, now we are getting ready to come out with the second single. It’s really an exciting time right now. It’s going really well.
Melody: Tell me about your first single.
Kristinia: The first single, “Goodbye,” it was presented to me by a really talented group Pentagon. They wrote and produced it. I thought it would be a great record for me because of how fun and upbeat it was. It’s anthem for girls, I thought ‘oh this would be perfect for summertime.’ A summer jam for all the girls or woman going through any break up. Instead of being sad about it, you can be strong, a kind of song you can listen to when you’re going through things.
Melody: And it’s on a commercial, didn’t I hear it on a commercial?
Kristinia: Yes, it is! It is in the Nivea campaign. I’m really excited about that.
Melody: You have another single coming out, tell me about that one.
Kristinia: It’s called “Sabotage.” I’m talking about battling going through these changes as a good and a bad girl. I’m talking about the bad girl side of me and the good girl side of me, how I’m battling both of those sides. I want to be the good girl but I’m leaning more towards the bad girl because of what is going on inside of me and what I’m going through. It’s about love and heartache and relationships. It will be an interesting song for people to listen to. It’s very upbeat and uptempo. And The Jam, which is another recording camp, wrote that song.
Melody: Do you have a release date for the album and a title?
Kristinia: The release date is July 28th and the album title is called Exposed.
Melody: Are you on the road, where can people look out for you? I recently saw you on So You Think You Dance, do you have any other appearances coming up?
Kristinia: Yes, I just did Regis & Kelly and I’m going on tour with Britney Spears August 20th through September 27th, and that’s going to be in the U.S. There is a date we’re doing in Canada. Right now it’s just a lot of promo runs. I just finished recording the album so right now I am just focusing on promoting myself, doing a lot of performances and appearances here and there. I’m excited to go on tour very soon!
Melody: On a personal note, you come from a very well known musical family, tell me about being a DeBarge. [Note: Her father is James DeBarge, briefly married to Janet Jackson.]
Kristina: Yes, my family is the DeBarges and I look at it as a really positive thing. It’s a blessing to have that last name and have my family be so supportive of what I’m doing, because I have been wanting to do this for a very long time. Of course, them being musicians and songwriters and performers, they know the ins and outs of the business. They were a little iffy about me entering this business, but when my father saw that I really wanted this and I that dedicated myself to it, he knew he had to be supportive and be there for me.
Melody: Who are some of your influences?
Kristinia: I would say, people I look up to and really inspire me, are Robert Plant and Johnny Cash, Trent Reznor, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Nancy Wilson. I listen to Queens if the Stone Age, Alice in Chains, Nervana. I listen to Aretha Franklin, and the list just goes on. I listen to a lot of people, Madonna, Prince, I’m inspired by a lot of different artists.
Melody: That’s a very eclectic mix of artists, so how would you describe your sound?
Kristinia: My sound is a bit Pop Urban. Right now I am gravitating towards R&B. It stated off with R&B and gravitated to Pop, now it Pop and we’ll go back to R&B.
Melody: Who else did you work with on the album?
Kristina: Babyface, I worked with him on the album. I’ve worked with Ryan Tedder, who is from One Republic, he wrote me two songs on my album. I worked with this writing camp called The Jam, who wrote me some songs as well, and Damon Thomas, Eric Dawkins (also of the Pentagon) they wrote “Goodbye.” It’s a short amount of people, and I wrote on the album. It’s going to be a good album. I’m looking forward to everyone’s feedback.
Melody: One question I like to ask artists is, if you had an ultimate icon, or someone you are dying to work with, who would that be?
Kristinia: Ne-Yo, I would really like to work with him and write with him. I think that he is an amazing songwriter. He kind of reminds me of a young Michael [Jackson], his writing style. He has such a beautiful voice, he’s written so many hits for so many different people. I am hoping I am next in line.
Melody: Speaking of Michael Jackson, where were you when you heard the news of his passing?
Kristinia: I was in San Diego, doing promo and I had two stations to go to, and when I got there they decided to postpone interviews because the whole Michael Jackson story had taken over so they weren’t interviewing any artist, which was totally understandable. So I just went on air and talked about disappointed I am and sad it is that he’s gone, how the King of Pop is gone, and how we was a legend before he passed away. He was the only artist I know that was a legend before he passed away. Even though he’s gone, he’s always in our hearts through his music.
Pick up Kristinia’s debut album Exposed available now!
For more information visit www.kristiniadebarge.com and www.myspace.com/kristiniadebarge
“…Kristinia DeBarge’s winning debut, fresh and seemingly sun-kissed, makes her this summer’s answer to Rihanna. The two share a similar vocal timbre and the same pop charms.” – People Magazine
“But what really sets her apart are the first-rate ballads that she flutters across, from the lovelorn “Disconnect,” which anyone from Miley Cyrus to Whitney Houston would have fought to get on their albums…” – Newsday
“…She’s most fun riding lilting, girly R&B not so different from her dad James’ tunes in 1980s group DeBarge.” – Rolling Stone
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