Lindsay Pagano – Interview

The most refreshing thing about speaking with Lindsay was her ability to stay in the realm of reality. She keeps a face that is calm, but not exactly ready to explode with joy just because she has a record coming out. “I know that I may never be a star. This could all just go away at any time. I know that just because I have a record out doesn’t mean I’m going to make it,” Lindsay admits.

This is all true. There are thousands of records released each year and only dozens of those ever sell in the millions, which is the rare air in which a superstar must fly. It’s more than hard; it’s an almost impossible feat. It’s enough to realize that perhaps a backup plan is in order and I was surprised to find that Lindsay has such a plan. Lindsay explains, “I’m taking drama classes, they say I’m a natural actress. I think it’s just because I talk a lot. I’m also learning how to play guitar and piano. Piano is really hard though. My dad is teaching me and I just get so confused because the chords are so different, but by learning I hope to be able to be a songwriter as well.”

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and for Lindsay that light is a featured commercial for internet giant AOL. Not only is Lindsay in the commercial singing, but they are using her song, “Everything U R”, for their latest ad campaign which will surely put the infectious chorus in the craw of millions. Not a bad start. “I just saw that commercial for the first time. I was sitting in my living room watching tv and then it came on and I started screaming. My family ran in there to see what was wrong. I couldn’t believe it was me up there. I was freaking out. By the time I calmed down enough to watch, it was over,” Lindsay laughs.

Before all of this happened there was a little girl who loved to sing. “I always dreamed that I’d be a singer. I didn’t dream about being a star or anything. I just knew I wanted to sing.” But the beauty of Pagano’s attitude is her clear vision. “I also knew that the chances were really slim that it would ever happen. I just kept dreaming and it happened.”

It was about a year ago that Lindsay recorded her album. They put the time into it that’s needed to craft a star. “I still can’t believe I recorded an album. It still doesn’t seem real. I sometimes listen to it and I’m like, ‘That’s me!’,” Lindsay says with a laugh. It seems no one would take a teen seriously, especially when dollars are on the line, but Lindsay says that “everyone at the record label listened to me and treated me really good. They knew that I wanted to make an album that was different. I wanted to sound like my idols.”

Idols. Big word, bigger people, and Lindsay surprisingly has a variety of idols, but all are great singers and not just those of the day. From “Etta James to Whitney to Mariah Carey, I look up to all of them,” admits Lindsay. It’s one thing to idolize them, but being white, young, and pretty, she’s destined to be packaged with the Britney’s of the world. “I know. I think if I walked in the store and saw my album, I’d instantly think it was pop too. But I don’t think it is. I feel like this album is something different.”

The difference is what Lindsay is banking on in order for her career to take off. She dreams about it every day. Clearly Lindsay allows herself to dream big, she still has the unquenchable hope of every teen, but the difference is that Lindsay is on the right track to making that happen. “I just dreamed last night that I won the Grammy for best new artist. And I woke up and felt like it really happened and I was so excited. I knew it was just a dream and it didn’t really happen, but it felt so real.”

+ charlie craine