Stacie Orrico Speaks Her Mind

Seventeen-year-old Stacie Orrico has toured with Destiny's Child. "Stuck," the single from her newest album was a hit, embraced by girls world-wide as an anthem for jilted gals who just can't let go of that hot but cruel guy.

You might have seen her playing the lead singer of The Angels on the popular retro-t.v. show "American Dreams". Influenced early by Whitney Houston and Ella Fitzgerald, Stacie's strong voice also owes some of its style to Lauryn Hill whom Stacie lists as her favorite artist.

In 1998, a 12-year-old Stacie was discovered when she won a talent contest that she'd just entered for fun. Two years later, her debut album "Genuine" grabbed the attention of Destiny's Child, thus the tour. Stacie has a powerful voice and even more powerful opinions about the responsibility of musical artists to their young audiences and how young women need to prioritize their lives beyond..'hey, do I look hot in that tube top?' We found this artist to be friendly, well-spoken, opinionated, inspiring and far from shy. Stacie called us from her home in Nashville.

TeenMusic: What message do you hope your songs put out there, especially to teen girls?

Stacie: As a young female artist, my goal is to make music, especially for young girls who are my age because I feel like I can relate to them. The goal is to encourage them to evaluate where they are in their lives. We're living in a time where young girls' values are wrapped up in their bodies and the way they look and being thin enough to be able to wear a tube top and look hot. Obviously, being cute, having a good image and all that is a huge part of being a girl but I want to encourage them to make wise decisions in their relationships and tell them that working hard can really get you somewhere someday. You need to work hard and prioritize things within your family and with friends so that, someday you'll have a life you are really proud of. I want to say to them that we're only teenagers but the decisions we're making right now are building our lives for the future. Let's be smart about it.

TeenMusic: Are you on tour or about to go on tour?

Stacie: I'm doing a lot of international promo touring. I went to Canada, I'll be in Latin America, Europe and Japan between now and September.

TeenMusic: Was it fun touring with Destiny's Child? What did you learn from them?

Stacie: In watching them and talking to them, just getting to follow them around I learned how important it is to really take care of people along the way and how far it gets you to just be really kind to the people around you and appreciate everybody from your family and friends and fans to the guy who is running sound for you at a random little venue. I watched them treat people so well. After traveling so much, they we so exhausted and they would still be thankful to be there and kept their joy through it all. That was inspiring.

TeenMusic: Any fun behind the scenes stories from shooting your video for "Stuck" at Verdugo High School out here in California where they shot Grease?

Stacie: The school in Grease comes across as a perfect, happy school but we called it 'make-out high'. I swear nobody could have been in class because everybody was outside making out like crazy. The day that we shot, school was still in session. Our director goes in to the principal and hires the whole school. The whole school was in my video walking around the track with me. It was kind of a scary area but it was a lot of fun.

TeenMusic: What is it about Lauryn Hill that makes her your favorite artist?

Stacie: I think it's everything. The first time I heard her sing was on Sister Act 2 and I didn't know she was a part of the Fugees. I was seven years old and crying. I did not believe her voice just hit me. When I found out that she wrote and produced and could rap as well, I thought wow! Being able to be a young woman and such an incredible musician and be able to work hard and be a mom and wife, that's a huge task. I just respect her very much. I think her live performance is definitely one of the best I've ever seen in my life.

TeenMusic: What is your songwriting process?

Stacie: I've sat in a restaurant, gotten an idea and written it on a napkin. I've sat and tried so scan my whole heart, mind and brain for something to write about. Sometimes I'll start at the piano and write some music and start to add a melody and lyrics. Sometimes I have a real strong lyrical idea and so I sit down with the lyrics, write it down and put it to music. Sometimes a producer will send me a track and I'll write melody and lyrics to that. It always starts with being really inspired by something. Something happening that excites me or hurts me, something that challenges my thinking. Something powerful that I hear someone say, all of those things that hit me in a way that I go 'wow, this could be a really cool song'.

TeenMusic: What is the weirdest object you've ever written a song on?

Stacie: I have written on the booth window glass in the studio with markers. We actually didn't write the song on it but there were four lines I kept totally messing up so we wrote it on the window.

TeenMusic: How would you like to describe your sound?

Stacie: If you listen to the album, it definitely covers a lot of ground stylistically. It has this common R&B thread throughout the album. "Stuck" is this kind of guitar-driven R&B song and there are songs like "I Could be the One" that is kind of dance/pop. "Strong Enough" is just piano. I think the whole thing is based around a soulful influence even if it's a dance pop song, I like to make it seem like it's got soul and depth. Vocals are a focus for me. I pay a lot of attention to that.

TeenMusic: What would your ideal date consist of?

Stacie: I love being outside, especially if you are dating someone you are having a ton of fun with. I'm not an outdoorsy girl, I'm on the girlie side, but I love to be outside and I love to go hiking. There's this cool lake by where I live and I like to go out to the lake and go boating. I love being on the water. Taking me on a boat would be the ideal date.

TeenMusic: What is your weirdest fan encounter so far?

Stacie: It's hard to pick. There was one guy, I was on the Destiny's Child tour, and he was always hanging around and I was like 'who is that guy who is always here'? because he creeped me out a little bit. He was at so many shows. My brother said, 'your manager hired him as your photographer for the tour'. I was like 'since when have we had a photographer for the tour?' He had credentials and stuff. But he would take pictures behind the scenes and I was like 'how did he see me then?' because I didn't know he was there. He was trying to get into my dressing room to take pictures of me in there. I finally called my manager and said 'who is this guy? Why did you hire this guy?' and he said 'I didn't hire a photographer guy'. He copied the credentials and had followed me around to 18 cities. He would fly on our flights and everything. That creeped me out.

TeenMusic: Your song messages are positive but there is a lot of hate songs, hate rap out there. What do you say to artists who are so negative?

Stacie: If there's that much hate in their music, it makes me feel bad because I think they must be internalizing and it's coming out in their music. You hear people like Eminem who just seem so angry. They're angry with every person they've ever met in the world including people who should be the closest to them. Kids have connected to him in a really amazing way because they relate. On one hand you can say 'oh, that's bad. You should never sing anything like that' but that's what music is. It's expressing a lot of pain and hurt that these people are going through that they cover up with money, girls, etc. They are reaching a group of kids who are struggling with a lot. On the other hand I think artists have to be reminded that they are in a position whether they want to be or not, they are role models. People are watching you. If you've learned anything from your anger, try to tell kids that too. You've got their attention.

TeenMusic: What would you be doing with your life if not singing?

Stacie: I would probably be going to school like a normal 17-year-old. I've always wanted to study clothing design or cosmetology. I've always been into that. Between video and photo shoots I've gotten to know a little bit about it. I'd love to do that.

TeenMusic: What do you think you do pretty well and what do you do badly?

Stacie: I keep my closet very organized. My sister is laughing because my closet is a mess. My family is about to move back to Seattle so we're going through stuff. But I usually have everything completely color coordinated. I have everything on white hangars. What do I do badly? I have the worst handwriting you've ever seen. My little brother has better handwriting than I do and he's 13.

TeenMusic: How do you think you have grown since your first album release?

Stacie: You always grow between albums. You can go 'that sucked. I shouldn't have done that'. Or 'I love the way this song gave me an opportunity to talk to people'. If anything, it challenged me in my songwriting because I was able to look at the songs and see which ones impacted people's lives and which songs nobody cared around. The more vulnerable I can be and write from my hardest experiences, the more of a chance I have to help someone at a point when they are struggling.

TeenMusic: What is in your CD player right now?

Stacie: Lately I've been listening to my older stuff like the "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack, always Lauryn Hill. I love the Daniel Bedingfield album. I listen to a variety of music.

TeenMusic: Who have you seen in concert recently?

Stacie: I did a show with Boomkat. I got to see Amanda Perez, Bowling for Soup. We all did a radio show together. That was the last show I got to see. I want to go see the Christina and Justin show.

TeenMusic: Any interest is making films or a t.v. series?

Stacie: I just did "American Dreams". I played the lead singer of The Angels on the song "My Boyfriend's Back". But it's still singing and what I'm good at. I've watched so many singers try to go and act and it's like, 'singing is what you're good at. Who told you you could go and do this?' It makes people not take you as seriously. At some time I might want to develop it. I don't know if I have any acting ability.

TeenMusic: When on tour, how do you blow off steam?

Stacie: I think, if we're on any coast and we're by the beach, there's something so relaxing to go and sit on the beach. I love that. Or, at the end of a long day, usually you haven't eaten much so it's great to come back, find something great on t.v. and maybe bundle up in your big bathrobe and order up room service.

TeenMusic: What is your favorite track on new album and why?

Stacie: I think my favorite is probably "Maybe I Won't Look Back". It's never going to be a single. It won't be the biggest song off the album but it was a really fun experience writing it and working on it. It's one of the songs that's the most 'me' on the album. We think we have our priorities straight but when we look back on our lives at 80, how are you going to feel about the decisions you made? It just encourages listeners to re-evaluate their lives.

TeenMusic: What advice would you give other teens who are talented and want to succeed in the music business?

Stacie: Aspiring artists don't realize that it's so much more than having a good voice. It's singing, it's being able to sing a lot all the time, it's live performance, it's being able to communicate well, it's having passion and conviction in what you're doing, having goals. It's about being willing to spend time with people and be vulnerable with the personal things in your life. You have to be good in front of the camera on photo shoots. Good at never sleeping. I love Lauryn Hill but if I went out trying to be her, people would be 'why is she trying to be Lauryn Hill? There already is one'. You have to take the influences that you had and create your own thing.

TeenMusic: Anything special you want to say to your fans?

Stacie: In our generation, we're living at a time where young people are getting to do more than they've ever done before. You look at some of the biggest celebrities and some of the richest people in the world. Probably everybody in the top 20 of the countdown in music is under 25. Use that for something great. Take the potential talent you have and do something great with it.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.