The Blue-Eyed Soul of Robin Thicke

Handsome Robin Thicke was signed to a record deal at age 16 but when his first efforts didn't set the musical world on fire, he turned to songwriting and producing for other artists such as Usher, Brandy, Brian McKnight, Mary J. Blige and Christina Aguilera. After some Grammy wins and a lot of soul searching, the singer/songwriter has re-emerged as an artist in the hip-hop Soul world. With the support of Pharrell, who signed Robin to his record company Star Trak Records, Robin's new album, aptly called "The Evolution of Robin Thicke", will hit streets in March.

Thicke's club beat single "Wanna Love You Girl" is doing well and he's ready to hit the road on tour this summer. We first saw the cute artist sporting a shaggy, long-haired look that he has admitted he was uncomfortable with. His new, short, snazzy "do" is very flattering and makes his reinvention complete. We chatted with Robin recently from our L.A. office...

TeenMusic: Where did you go to shoot the music video for "Wanna Love You Girl"? It looks like a great vacation spot.

Robin: It was the Dominican Republic.

TeenMusic: Wasn't your hair really long for a while?

Robin: I had a record deal when I was sixteen and my hair was short for most of my life and I grew it out when I was twenty-three. Then, when my first album came out, my hair was long and I cut it immediately after. I was never totally comfortable with that hair.

TeenMusic: The very title of your new album "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" indicates a great change. How, exactly, have you and your music changed? And what was the catalyst for the change?

Robin: Well, when the first album came out I had very high expectations for it in my heart. I thought it would have a better reception and when it didn't sell as much, it hit hard and I immediately rushed back and started making this meaningless music to be a star and I had this breakdown of 'Why am I making this music? For celebrity or because I want to leave something special behind?' I had to get back to making music for the right reasons. I'm a singer/songwriter and not a performer first. I'm a musician first. So, once I started re-setting myself, I ended up coming up with this amazing, pure, passionate, honest stuff. After the full two years, I came up with the title "The Evolution" because it connected to all of us in that we're all trying to learn from our mistakes and grow and, at the end of the day, use disappointment and suffering to find hope. That's what the whole album is about.

TeenMusic: Do you still categorize yourself and R&B and Soul? Do you care if people call you a 'blue-eyed soul man'?

Robin: Well, I have blue eyes and I definitely write my music from my gut so I don't mind that implication. When you listen to my music, if you don't know anything about me, I don't know if you would be able to figure out who I was or where I was from. I want my music to just show up out of nowhere and stay with you forever.

TeenMusic: Can you explain how you met Pharrell Williams and why you two click so well?

Robin: I met him years ago when I was recording my first album. I'm nowhere near the success story that he is but being a songwriter/producer myself and him being a songwriter/producer and an artist also, we both had our own individual styles and respected that we were doing something different. Years later, when he was getting his new record company up at Interscope, I had always been at Interscope, he asked what was going on with me. We hooked up and I kept playing him new music I was making and he was getting more and more enthralled and finally we went in to play Jimmy Iovine the new music. We walked in and Bono was sitting on the couch and I had to play my music for Jimmy and Bono.

TeenMusic: Oh my gosh. That had to be intimidating.

Robin: I'm feaking out! But they all ended up loving it and Bono ended up talking me and Pharrell into doing a song together. Pharrell didn't want to do a song because he wanted the purity of my music to just be my music. But we all decided, it's just a song and it just came together.

TeenMusic: Any other artistic releases other than singing and songwriting?

Robin: I painted and I sucked. I wanted to go Van Gogh style and I couldn't get the oils to do what I wanted them to.

TeenMusic: Bummer. What is your most bizarre and then most touching fan encounter so far?

Robin: My most bizarre I can never speak of. But when I was in Holland once in Rotterdam, there was this young girl who had written me a couple of letters and came to see me in person and told me it was her who wrote the letters. It was an awesome moment. She said 'that line, I listen to it over and over'. You know it really meant something deep and special to her. The cliché.. 'Oh, if I could just touch one person..' but I'm trying to make something that I feel in my heart is special and magical and will last longer than the average.

TeenMusic: Who would you love to work with?

Robin: Well I do want to work with Jay-Z. Sing something and have Jay-Z's voice come in.

TeenMusic: What are you working on now?

Robin: I'm just finishing the last song for the album. The album was complete but I wrote this one last song that embodied the whole evolution. It's called "To the Sky". After all these feelings of anger and jealousy and hate and greed, I've tried everything else to let these feelings go but I'm going to have to just look to the sky for answers.

TeenMusic: What song on the new album is most indicative of the new you?

Robin: Well "To the Sky" and one called "Angels" are the bookends to the album. They are the last two songs I wrote. It was meant to be. By the time I got to the end of the journey, the last two songs came out very naturally and summed up the whole evolutionary story. I look to the sky for answers and, at the end, I'm talking about these angels that stay with me and guide me and keep me grounded. Hopefully, I'll have these angels by my side forever.

TeenMusic: Will there be a tour for the album?

Robin: I'm definitely going to be touring. We're just looking for different opportunities, like if it's going to be House of Blues or if we're going to hop on a major summer tour. I've been doing David Letterman, Carson Daly, an Arrowhead Pond show, a fashion show on the 16th in L.A. We're plugging away.

TeenMusic: You come from a show biz family. Do you have any aspirations in acting or directing.. maybe at least directing your music videos?

Robin: There are times when I would really like to take over the whole world or just get fat and sit on a beach with people who don't wear lots of clothes. I'm a Pisces. I've got two fish going in opposite directions. But, I'm open to everything which is my blessing and my curse.

TeenMusic: Biggest musical influence as a teen?

Robin: When I was about seven and eight, I was listening to pop music, Prince and Michael Jackson and I started copying their vocal styles. Then I got into gospel then rock and roll; like Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimmi Hendrix. Then I got back into Marvin Gaye. During that whole period, I've always been inspired by hip-hop music. It's the cornerstone of my lifestyle and culture. At the very beginning when I was ten it was Run-DMC.

TeenMusic: What songs would you burn for your own road trip CD compilation?

Robin: My album and probably I'd have Bob Marley because you never know what mood you'll be in on a road trip. I would probably bring Sergeant Pepper or The White Album and Marvin's greatest hits and Prince's greatest hits probably. That's a good ride.

TeenMusic: What is the strangest object you have ever written song lyrics on when you couldn't find paper?

Robin: My knee. Not my jeans, my actual knee.

TeenMusic: How old when you wrote your first song and what was it about?

Robin: I was twelve and it was "She's Dangerous". At twelve, they were all dangerous. Then I wrote "She's the One" and a couple more songs about "she" and "her". Then I started writing save the world songs and it evolved into sex and a few years later it was all sex for a while.

TeenMusic: What, other than singing and songwriting, do you think you do pretty well and what do you do rather badly?

Robin: Well? Sex... no.. I play basketball pretty well. I suck at painting. But I suck at not drinking too much when I go out. I don't go out much but when I do go out, I'm the kind of guy who, if the big party is on Friday, I get drunk Thursday night.

TeenMusic: Party on, dude! Do you feel more comfortable as an artist or writing songs or producing other people?

Robin: I definitely feel more comfortable as an artist. I don't really like producing other people. Don't want to do it anymore. I need to keep my Paris Hilton lifestyle going [laughs]. However if you get drunk the day before the party you might have to produce an 'American Idol'.

TeenMusic: What is your songwriting process? Do you think of the lyrics first or the music first?

Robin: I wait around or start humming. It's always different. Sometimes a phrase comes to you and you go 'ooo, that's a good idea' for a story or song. Then you try to create a melody for it and sometimes you just hear this haunting melody and memorize it instantly.

TeenMusic: Have any of your tunes been on movie soundtracks?

Robin: I was on Usher's In the Mix. He's a good friend of mine and he's been very helpful in my career. Gave me some great advice.

TeenMusic: Do you have a message for your fans?

Robin: I hope that they feel something close to what I feel when they listen to my music. I hope it heals them and helps them with their day as much as it does me.

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