Christina Milian – Interview

Christina Milian is truly almost famous

It’s summer in Las Vegas. Not exactly the place you want to be as the sun beats down on everything in sight. On a bus where the air conditioning is cranked to the max, it feels more like the North Pole, and it doesn’t help that every time you wake up, you bump your head on the bunk above. Your desire to be a superstar brings you to do many things, and this is only one of them.

This is the life of Christina Milian. Maybe she doesn’t want to be a superstar just yet, but with her talent and infectious personality, it doesn’t seem superstardom is very far away.

Christina’s career was kick-started when her mom brought her to California. She was lucky enough to score a spot interviewing celebrities for the Disney Channel. “I interviewed a lot of people, like Robyn, Michael Eisner, Phil Collins, some different directors and a lot of other people.” But that was only the beginning.
She was doing guest appearances on shows like Charmed, Sister, Sister, and Clueless, and also had a spot in the film The Wood. Life was good, and it was about to get even better.

Ja Rule came calling. The record label was looking for a voice and Christina Milian had one. This was the foot in the music industry door that she needed and she’d worked hard to get there. “I started singing when I was little. I would tell my parents that I wanted to sing. They made me take piano lessons for a year, but by ten I was taking classical training and then when I was eleven I started out with musical theater on pre-Broadway shows like Annie. I went on a tour for about six months. It was my mom and I. That was Broadway music so you had to sing really loud. (Christina begins to sing, but not too loud, and then begins to laugh) So I started out with Broadway, which is a huge difference from being an R&B artist, but it is great for your vocal training.”

How do you go from Broadway to the same record label as DMX, Sisqo, and Ja Rule? “I got lucky,” says Christina. “I was fifteen and moved to California. I met a lot of people in the record industry. By that time I was seventeen and wanted to get a record deal. My mom and I started to contact all the people I met in California and I would go to different labels and meet their A&R and presidents. Writing came along when I signed with Def Soul.”

There is a certain sparkle in the way she talks of writing songs about life and her experiences, and how she is still the same person she’s always been. Talking to her, you can feel her sincerity. Her enthusiasm about her profession and her life is refreshing. Christina Milian is more than just a pretty face with a good voice. She’s a dynamic personality and a splash of reality much needed in the prepackaged world of today’s music industry.

+ charlie craine