SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER <strong>2018</strong> | <strong>2018</strong> ISSUE | ISSUE #71 | #71 GABRIELLE You know, it was crazy, but it was worth every minute of it. into the studio to write and record a song together. R: I bet! Well onto the first question, I would love to know how you got into music? The producers liked my voice, and afterwards they said, “we really like your tone”. Oh my gosh! Well, I’ve always been into music in general; I loved listening to all of the greats such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, all the pop stuff and the stuff from my mum’s music collection. I was always singing but never imagined I would ever have a career out of it. I remember as a teenager watching ‘Top of the Pops’ and ‘Fame’, way before your time… I loved all of the characters and I just really loved music. Although I should have been more loyal to my friend, she was about ten years older than me and had already had her own record released, when I was asked by the producers to come back, I snapped their hand off. Obviously, she found out, and we weren’t friends again but hey, you know, I was a young girl and I was in pursuit of having my own record like she did. So that’s how it happened, yeah. It wasn’t until my cousin’s boyfriend entered a fashion show at a club called ‘Moonlighting’ and they wanted entertainment as well as models, so my cousin put me forward, and I said “no I cant do it, I cant do that”! After I went back into the studio I was then put out on a white label and ahead of my recording label signing me, the white label had fallen into their hands and they came looking for me so that was how I was put on the radar. She said “but you love singing”? and I responded “no, no not in front of people”! Somehow she twisted my arm, and although I was scared I wanted to do it. Come the night I was on edge, I was so nervous. I was waiting for my mum to arrive and I was literally pushed on stage to sing a Luther Vandross cover song called ‘Any Love’, so that was my first introduction to public singing. R: How did you get your big break? Right so, by me singing at ‘Moonlighting’ I ended up dating a guy who paid for me to go to a recording studio with my friend, and her boyfriend paid for her. So we went R: What music inspired you growing up? My musical tastes are diverse, bearing in mind I have a 15-year-old daughter who loves a bit of Drake, I am the ‘pop tart’ in my house. I love Britney, Pink, Sam Smith, James Arthur and Jay-Z and Beyonce. I go from one to the other, so, what you’d expect from this middle-aged woman is not what I am giving you, I just love pop music. I grew up as an 80s child so it was like Spandau Ballet, a bit of Michael Jackson, I love Nirvana, The Beatles, and Oasis. R: Well believe it or not, I grew up listening to you, so it’s surreal for me to 36
FEATURE SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER <strong>2018</strong> | <strong>2018</strong> ISSUE | ISSUE #71 | #71 GABRIELLE 37