Swedish pop singer Sophia Somajo, better known as Soso, is releasing her debut album on April 6 – a whole month ahead of schedule.

This has caused some controversy, but Soso –  with her a fast-paced and impulsive approach to music – feels that the album is ready. One of the songs on the record, she says, took her two hours to put together.

“I’ve had this record in my head for a year and a half,” she says. “The songs that I wrote a year and a half ago I’m already over, because they are not relevant to me anymore.”

Despite its quick construction, her latest record That Time I Dug So Deep I Ended Up In China has a lot of meaning for her.

A self-described “manic” personality, she focuses in on one subject and learns it inside and out. She was obsessed with all things China for a time, which she says is reflected in the style of the record. “This one time [my dad] bought me this Chinese pop music on a cassette,” Soso recalls. “I carried it everywhere.  I found it again two years ago and bought a cassette player to listen to it. The melodies are so foreign and so inspiring I decided to base the album on it.”

Her upbringing also had an effect on the development of her musical style.  Growing up, her father introduced her to the world of rock ‘n roll with bands like Black Sabbath while her mother pushed the pop mega stars like Prince.  Eventually, Soso says, she grew to dislike both in her teenage years, causing her to delve into hip-hop.  This musical mash-up caused Soso to find her own style.

The record’s title, too, comes from her childhood, from memories of digging in the in the dirt looking for “cat gold” (a type of blue clay) and her mother’s warning that if she dug too deep she would end up in China.

“My own music is very autobiographical,” she says. “It always comes out like a diary. I literally come up with the lyrics as I record. It’s basically my life and what I’m experiencing. I have a lot of songs where I tell people stuff that I wouldn’t have the balls to say in person.”

She produced, wrote, and edited the album from her home in Sweden.

“It probably limits me because it will not sound as clean,” she admits. “For this record I have a microphone and a mini keyboard. I think that for me having no help or tools kind of forces me to be creative. … I’m so happy that I found a way to make myself 100% independent to make a record.”

For a woman who seems to know music making inside and out, she admits that she is somewhat limited: she can’t read music. She says that sometimes it can be more challenging to get her ideas down on paper, but there is no right or wrong way to make music.

“I’m very much into machines,” she says.  “I don’t even really like to have a live band.  I’m into pushing buttons. I couldn’t play an instrument on stage, I just couldn’t identify with that,” explains Soso.

More than anything, she embraces this as a creative advantage: “If you have no idea what the hell you are doing anything can happen,” she says. “It’s not my ambition to make things that are well done, I think that’s boring.”

As a result, Soso admits that she cannot classify her music into a specific genre. “Even calling it my music makes me feel uncomfortable,” she says. “I can explain it for hours but never classify it.”

Her do-it-yourself approach extends beyond the record itself. After releasing a music video for her single “Who’s Gonna Love Me,” she filmed one for Cody ChestnuTT’s  power pop single “My Women My Guitars.” It was filmed by her boyfriend and shot in her own bedroom – in it, she and other musicians can be seen jumping around on her bed. At the time of this interview, she was simultaneously editing a video for the project.

While she does not usually think about how people will identify with her music, she does hope that it will influence young people to find their true selves.

“I would literally be so humbled [by] anyone that listens and responds to my music,” she says.

It must be difficult for anyone making a career decision to move to another country, let alone to make the decision when you’re thirteen. Cody Simpson — a cute blonde Australian boy — posted a couple videos of himself singing and playing guitar on youtube at the tender age of 13. Before he knew it, he was contacted by record producer Shawn Campbell and moved from Australia to Los Angeles to make an album with Atlantic Records.

His accomplishments seem boundless since: he has received over 110 million youtube views and well over 2 million facebook likes. His single, “On My Mind,” off of his second e.p. “Coast to Coast” reached #1 on Radio Disney and he has been on a myriad of television shows from the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” to “Live! With Regis and Kelly.” He is quickly becoming the next digital generation phenomenon.

Now at the age of 15, Cody is continuing to work hard in order to maintain his success.

When asked if there was a girl in his life – as his music mainly discusses relationships and love – Cody replied, “No, there isn’t at the moment. If the girl you’re talking about is named ‘Music’ then sure, I’m dating her. But really I am just focusing on my career at the moment. I’m a pretty focused kid and I am definitely very self motivated. And I think once I get everything established to where I want to be, than there is time for all that.  I got a while. I love to hang out with girls, but relationships are real hard for me at the moment. I have a lot of good friends, but nothing too serious.”

Cody is mature for his age. As a rising star, he is often compared to Justin Bieber. When asked what he thinks of being compared to Justin, Cody said, “I think a lot of people like to put things in boxes and say, ‘okay, he was discovered on YouTube and he sings and he is a teenager, so that means he is a new Justin Bieber.’ What? Like hold on a second…”

But despite the comparisons, Cody revealed, “Justin and I were just in the studio, like yesterday working together. Obviously I’m still at the more beginning stages of my career. But its cool to work with Justin and people like him. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the music and the creation of that. He is working on his next album and I am working on my debut. I think that this generation is definitely doing it big.”

On being a young artist, Cody said, “I think there are many disadvantages of being young and being a teenager. There are only certain things you can say musically and certain things you can do. I’m never really going to say anything risky or explicit in my songs. I definitely am more mature for my age. But I think as my fans grew up and as I grew up with my fans, we had to just create the music for them. A lot of people definitely expect a certain thing from a teen artist. But I think with my album, with the single, and the video, and this tour that I’m doing, I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people. I am really excited for the coming year. And I will see how it goes. I am definitely doing things that no one is expecting.”

A great example of Cody’s artistic and unexpected side is his cover of Drake’s “Marvin’s Room” — a song about drunk texting lost romances. But since the song is widely inappropriate for younger audiences, Cody decided to “re-imagine” it.

“I’m a big Drake fan in general. I love that song and I wanted to re-imagine it and create a version of the song I think my fans could listen to and they could relate to,” he said. “JoJo did the female side of things of that story, and then I wanted to create a story for my younger fans.”

So what is Cody doing when he is not recording, going on tour, or making music videos?

“I go to school in the morning usually. My tutor travels with me when I’m on the road. I think it’s important to stay in school,” he said.

But what about during his time off?

“I love to go surfing. I love to play golf. Golf is always relaxing when you have a day off. I love just being out in the ocean and I love just being out on the golf course.”

Now living in Los Angeles, golf and surf is easily available to him, though the surf is better “back home in Australia,” according to Cody. When asked about his life before fame, Cody misses “that time to chill with friends. I have friends back home that I am very close to that I still talk to every single day. We don’t really get to hang out too much. I miss them and my family and my lifestyle a little bit. I love writing music and [Los Angeles] is where you have to be for that.”

The future is promising. “I am creating my own album right now,” Cody said. “My single is coming out in the next few weeks. For right now, I am focusing on the tour.”

When asked where he would like to be in five years from now, he said, “I’ll be 20 years old, hopefully still making music as a respected artist and someone that has inspired a lot of people and has made some great music. That is all I really want to do.  I want to inspire my fans. I want to do work for charity in the next five years, definitely.  There is a lot of stuff happening to me and I want to make sure I am giving back to my fans and people less fortunate than me.”

Cody is currently touring the country. His tour dates can be seen here.

“Whatever” is an appropriate title for Hot Chelle Rae’s generic second album. The Nashville-based quartet’s style of dance-pop/wannabe-rock has been done before, and it certainly has been done better by more talented pop-punk acts. Each track is basically just a slight variation on the last, the lyrics are clichéd and often cringe-worthy, and the vocals are decent at best. Yet despite the fact that there is nothing particularly good or original about the album, these choruses will indubitably get stuck in your head. They are just so catchy. Ultimately though, it’s fluff — enjoyable enough for a tween party or getting down on the dance floor, but not an album that is going to have any sort of lasting influence.

Hot Chelle Rae released their debut (“Lovesick Electric”) in 2009, but it wasn’t until the obnoxious yet also strangely infectious “Tonight Tonight” off of “Whatever” started blowing up the radio airwaves this year that they really gained popularity. An actual sample of lyrics from this song: “I woke up with a strange tattoo / Not sure how I got it, not a dollar in my pocket / And it kinda looks just like you / Mixed with Zach Galifianakis / La la la, whatever, la la la.” You’ll probably be rolling your eyes at least a few times in every song, but then the hooks will start back up and suck you in again. It’s a vicious cycle.

Somehow, the band managed to win the New Artist of the Year Award at the American Music Awards last month. Snide comments about what this says about today’s music scene aside, Hot Chelle Rae is by no means the worst thing on the radio right now. The glossy pop is certainly a guilty pleasure, and perfect for those who don’t look much further than Katy Perry and Lady Gaga for their music collection. But if you’re looking for a creative and inspiring new record to listen to, “Whatever” is definitely not it.

The name NOVI comes from the Latin phrase “Homo Novus”, literally translating to “New Man”, a play on words that Carolyne Neuman, the electro-pop sensation, has crafted as a stage name for herself as she flies to the top of the music charts with her catchy new single “Blackbirds” from her EP “Now I’m Here.”

Whether fans call her Carolyne, NOVI, or the Nov, this singer and songwriter hailing from Ashland, Ore., is causing a commotion in the music industry with eight tracks that she has been working on for three years now with her best friend and producer Lee Miles. The album is due to release this fall.

As NOVI described “Blackbirds” she said, “It was totally meant to be a joke. Miles and I had been writing some heartfelt pop-rock and one night in my bedroom I was drinking some wine and screwing around on Garage Band.” She continued, “I sent it to Lee and he said he woke up singing the hook.”

The duo has also aired a music video for “Blackbirds” to supplement the single’s release.

NOVI is uncertain about releasing the EP this fall as she prefers to add more tracks and release the album as an LP.

After a few “sappy and crappy” demos, as NOVI described it, she moved to Los Angeles and made the transition from wanting to do comedy shows and acting to performing musical arts.

She said, “It was when I met Lee that I knew this was the thing I wanted to do.”

NOVI told how her surroundings in Oregon and Los Angeles seriously influence her tunes. She gets her edge from her small town upbringing and got a reality check when she realized everyone in LA has been in the industry their entire lives, making her late in the game.

“All of those things are real to me and when I sing about them they’re true,” NOVI said. “I’ll always have my hometown roots, but it’s a happy balance to have both towns in my life.”

Coming from an artist who is a big believer in music with meaning, NOVI said that each song has a different message. She described how each track represents a different moment in time and the feeling that comes along with it. “Blackbirds” ideally speaks of bringing levity into peoples’ lives while “Dominos” is an ostentatious slap in the face.

For the most part NOVI’s lyrics are all straight from her own mind, but at times she described, as she’s writing, she’ll imagine she’s someone else to discover what their perspective would be in a certain scenario.

Big names in the music industry like Imogen Heap and Adele came up in conversation as a few of NOVI’s favorite artists as of lately, but Florence + the Machine stands out as NOVI’s latest artist of choice.

Talking about the group’s music, she said, “I felt like Florence Welch just did something to me and brought me to a place. I could barely clap.”

In the future, NOVI is determined to conquer her late start in the game and stay innovative as she expands her repertoire of new music.

“It’s easy to get stuck in some sort of deal where you have to do things a certain way,” as NOVI spoke of creativity. “Don’t be afraid to make a certain song that will make people cringe.”

At this point in time she has a few things in mind for expansion including putting together live shows, creating a NOVI brand, and reviving her passion for comedy. Eventually NOVI wants to create a personal record company on her own.

Live performances remain an obstacle to overcome and a rite of passage for NOVI to reach in her career.

She said, “When it comes to singing these songs live, I get super nervous and shaky.” However, the electro-pop goddess highlighted how after she performs live she comes out feeling like the most powerful person on the planet.

“It’s just so rewarding every single day,” NOVI said. The ability to express herself creatively is one among many rewarding aspects that the singer takes away from her career in music.

Although the singer denied the idea of live performances at the moment, for more updates on NOVI and her EP “Now I’m Here”, follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or visit her homepage at iamnovi.com.

Ontario, Canada’s hottest new singer and songwriter, Andrea Godin, has been sharing her urban-pop tunes through the radio airwaves to showcase her newly released single, “Bullet”, a song reminiscent of Beyonce’s sound, but with a personal twist.

The medium to slow tempo song is Godin’s most difficult song to sing; however, its release on iTunes has been bringing Godin into the limelight. Godin’s popularity is only going up from this point as she works on branching out from her base in Canada to planning tours overseas in Europe.

Godin initiated her interest in vocalization at the young age of 11, started playing guitar at 13, graduated to songwriting at 14, and now at 20 years old, proudly boasts her debut EP album, released in September.

In her early years, Godin was more of a rock-and-roll girl, but as she developed her sounds, the r&b style of her music grew to encompass the songs she has been writing and producing as of lately.

“People ask me how I have an urban sound in my music when I’m surrounded by rock,” Godin said. “I just try to be myself. I don’t look to other people to copy them.”

Godin looks up to a number of female musicians including Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Leona Lewis, and Christina Aguilera, but she wants to make it known that she’s not trying to imitate certain celebrities.

To differentiate herself, Godin has been working on developing her true sound.

“Finding my sound for my first album was at first pop-rock, but I was really feeling that it wasn’t me,” she said. “We had to keep experimenting and I never thought I’d find a sound that was really me.”

About 70 percent of Godin’s lyrics are based upon personal experiences and the rest are a combination of influences from friends and acquaintances. The track “Bass Goes Down” is one of Godin’s personal favorites from her repertoire.

By releasing her album Godin accomplished one of her main goals and now she fully embraces the ideology that you can never give up if you want to achieve your goals.

“I think some of my songs are pretty catchy and I think people would enjoy them,” the artist continued.

Godin’s fan-base should keep an eye out for tracks like “I’ll Never Know” and “Sunrise to Sunset” on the television screen, Godin’s next goal for promoting her music and receiving more exposure.

For more information and updates on Godin’s hot new music, visit her pages on Myspace and Twitter

NEW YORK — For Los Angeles trio Foster the People, much of 2011 has been spent in a whirlwind of hype. After the band emerged as one of the most talked-about bands at the SXSW festival in March, the buzz continued to build behind their Top 10 single “Pumped Up Kicks.” Even though the band’s debut full-length, “Torches,” was only released this week, several shows on their upcoming tour, which stretches into the summer and includes a performance at the Sasquatch Festival in Washington, are already sold out.

“Torches” is an eclectic blend of pop, funk and soul influences, with most songs defying conventional categorization. In fact, according to frontman and chief songwriter Mark Foster, it’s the complexity of the songs that led to the group’s formation in the first place. While writing material for what he intended to be a solo endeavor, the singer realized additional musicians were needed to bring the songs to their full potential. He recruited keyboardist Cubbie Fink and drummer Mark Pontius in 2009, and Foster the People was born.

Blast chatted with Foster in April before a sold-out show at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Though the excitement surrounding the group was starting to reach a tipping point at that time, the frontman seemed to be taking it all in stride.

BLAST: You’ve said that you were on a sort of hiatus from music before forming Foster the People. What prompted you to start the band?

MARK FOSTER: Well, I’d been in bands in the past and just had a couple bad experiences. It’s so much work. It’s so hard to find the right people to play with. And you know, musicians tend to be such unhealthy people in general. It’s really hard to find people that are dedicated and healthy and just have their act together. So I guess I was just kind of burned out on it. After the last band I was in, I was just like, screw this. I’m just going to be a solo artist for the rest of my life. I just don’t want to deal with this anymore. So I did that for a few years, and really just buried myself in the studio and taught myself how to produce, and just kept writing songs. And eventually I got to a point where I was like, man, I can’t play these songs alone. There’s way too much going on. I need to put something together. But I put an emphasis on, I really want to create this band around friends. I don’t want to just go out and, like, find someone that can play. Personality was the most important thing. And we all jell really well together.

BLAST: Does that relate to your name, this sense of fostering camaraderie?

MF: Yeah, yeah. You know, our first couple gigs were for charities. We did a thing for Tom’s Shoes … and then we did a thing for Venice Beach Homeless Youth. And we were kind of just talking about, like, you know, we want to play music, sure. But we also want to help people. And my last name’s Foster. There’s that aspect of it. I think just the charity and everything that we set our sights on, it just made sense.

BLAST: Is charity still a focus for the band?

MF: Yeah. We’re just trying to figure out how to do it. You can be bleeding heart over so many different issues, but finding something that really means something to you that you kind of focus on … we’re still kind of figuring that out.

BLAST: How did you all connect and start playing music together?

MF: I met Mark (Pontius) just through a mutual friend of mine, and just really liked the way that he played. We were buddies and we just messed around. Every couple of weeks, we’d just jam. We were kind of working on this avant-electro two-man, like, weird performance art piece together. I always kind of had in the back of my mind, if I ever start a band again, I want to call this dude. (Cubbie and I) were just friends. We didn’t really play together, but we’d hang out. I didn’t even know he played bass and then (when I) saw him play, I was like, oh, that’s got a good feel. So I just kind of brought them together.

BLAST: Who are your musical influences, personally and as a band?

MF: The Beach Boys was the first band that I heard as a little kid that nobody showed me, that I gravitated towards and fell in love with. And that was a monumental moment in my musical life. Growing up, Nirvana played a big role. I started learning how to play guitar the week I heard Nirvana for the first time. And then later, New Order and The Clash. Aphex Twin early on was a pretty big influence (for Foster the People). And Motown. So just kind of pulling from a lot of different genres. That’s how I write songs.

Mark (Pontius) is just a really good pocket drummer. He understands dance music really well, but he also really understands soul and is just a very soulful drummer. And Cubbie’s background is pretty diverse too. When I met him, he was playing in, like, a country band. Pretty roots-y. But again, he’s just got a lot of soul. And he’s a multi-instrumentalist as well, so during our show he’s playing keys, and he plays bass. When we do acoustic sessions, he’ll bring his acoustic guitar and play guitar with me. It’s just nice to have a couple different tools in your toolkit.

BLAST: When did you actually know that you wanted to pursue music as a career, and were your parents supportive when you decided to move out to LA?

MF: Music was always very natural to me, and I always loved it and I always excelled in it. I sang for the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Choir when I was a kid, and that was a pretty big thing, and just a big indicator of like, oh wow, there’s something here. But I always had this preconceived notion that musicians were losers. As a little kid, I remember just thinking that. Every time I’d walk into a music shop, I’d see, like, some washed-up musician shredding on his guitar, all greasy. And it always freaked me out. As a little kid, that’s what I associated with pursuing music. So I never thought about it seriously. I wanted to be, like, an attorney or something.

And then I was like 17 years old and all my friends were applying for colleges. And I had a terrible GPA and didn’t want to go to college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I was just kind of freaking out about it. I mean, I was looking at the military. I was so close to joining the Air Force. I was just looking at all my options. And I was like, man, what am I going to do?, in turmoil about it.

I had that conversation with my dad one morning. He was like, “Why don’t you move out to LA or New York and pursue music, just give it a shot? If it doesn’t work out … after a year you’ll know where you sit. You’ll know whether you’ll be able to make a career out of it. And if it’s not something that you want to do, you’ll still be young enough to do something else.” And the second he said that, it was literally like he opened my mind up to something that I’d never even considered or thought was possible. I was 18 when I moved out to LA (in 2002).

BLAST: That’s great. It’s usually the opposite, with kids trying to convince their parents it’s a good idea to move to LA.

MF: I mean, it was like a light bulb went off in my head. That was the moment in my life where I realized that this is what I’m meant for. And it was so weird that it just took, like, one word to free that thought and put that into motion. Just that little bit of encouragement showed me, this is exactly what I’ve been created to do. Whereas before, it was completely hidden from me. It was just something that I enjoyed.

BLAST: So how did you spend the time between 2002 and forming Foster the People in 2009?

MF: Just growing up. (Laughs). It’s like, you leave your parents’ house and you realize, oh, food doesn’t just appear in the fridge. Your laundry. Just all the little things. I pretty much couch-surfed for the first two years. I was a vagabond in LA. I lived in so many places, just met so many people. Brought my acoustic guitar with me everywhere I went, and would go to parties and show up and start playing. Just meeting people and having crazy experiences and just kind of growing up. And then it got to a point where it was like, all right, I need to get serious about this if I’m ever going to make something of this. I can’t just fuck around and think that it’s just going to happen on its own. And so, I started to just really, really buckle down and started writing songs, and just really working at it. I eventually got a computer and a little studio set up and started teaching myself how to produce music. I started playing piano again after not playing since I was a little kid. I kind of re-taught myself how to play piano and started making more electronic music. And that was sort of the genus of where this started.

BLAST: How are you dealing with the sort of explosive fame after SXSW? Were you prepared for that at all?

MF: I don’t know. It’s kind of a blur. What’s so funny is that it’s like we’re in a glass bubble. You know what I mean? It’s like we’re in a glass bubble and it takes shape in the form of a 15-passenger van. And so, that’s our universe. Our universe is just, we’re always together and we’re driving around playing show after show, from city to city. It’s so busy. All that stuff is happening and yeah, it’s exciting. But I don’t think when you’re inside of something like this you really have any perspective on where you actually sit or what the perception of you is.

I just watched the Blur documentary (“No Distance Left to Run.”) It was a really, really good documentary. They were talking about when they were a band, starting out and starting to blow up, that they just had no idea. And I just related to that so much, because it’s like, you don’t have any idea of really what’s going on around you. We know that our shows are selling out, and we know that people are excited. But I think at the end of it, we kind of just have our sights set right in front of us. Like, how are we going to go out there and play a great show tonight? Just keeping it simple.

BLAST: Have you seen the dog skateboarding video set to your song “Helena Beat”?

MF: Yes! I love that. It’s so great. It’s become super viral. It’s just cool when people get inspired and do something. That’s the great thing about YouTube, or just about the age that we live in. Everybody has a video camera. Everybody has an idea. And everybody in their own right is a star, whether it’s a four-year-old kid that’s dancing in the kitchen or whatever. It’s like, anything can strike that human chord, and just become viral. That video’s awesome.

BLAST: You mentioned your solo material and your avant-garde project with Mark. Are there any traces of those projects in Foster the People songs?

MF: Oh, definitely. Yeah, I definitely developed a style. Even when I was doing my folk stuff on acoustic guitar, I learned the fundamentals of songwriting. And the way that I look at songwriting for this project now, it’s like, there are electronic influences, but at its bones, it’s very classic songwriting. I’m not, like, trying to reinvent the wheel with the songwriting. You could break it down to a piano and it’ll sound like a good song, just stripped down. It’s pretty classic songwriting that’s done in a way that’s more modern.

BLAST: The songwriting may be a common thread, but the range of influences that can be heard on the record is kind of astounding.

MF: That’s kind of what we set out to do. I’ve watched people try to pigeonhole us in this or that, and I think all of those labels are going to be shattered when the record comes out. I never want to be painted into a corner. I hate boundaries. I would hate to make everything sound the same. This record’s really versatile, and it gives us the perfect opportunity to do whatever we want on the second record. And I think people that are fans of something that’s different … they don’t wake up in the morning and have their same, like, turkey bagel for the last 15 years … those people are going to just be excited and want to follow us on the journey that we’re on.

Britney Spears has released a 30-second teaser of her next video for “Till the World Ends.” She tweeted Monday, “#TillTheWorldEnds video is coming out better than I even expected. Here’s a quick peek.”

She added, “#TillTheWorldEnds video premieres THIS Wednesday on VEVO. Cant wait to share it with you guys!”

The singer is also going to release two versions of the “Till the World Ends” video.

Having sold more than 100 million records worldwide, five-time Grammy award winner Janet Jackson one of the most well-known pop and R&B artists of all time.

With her countless hit songs like “Together Again,” “Rhythm Nation,” “Miss You Much,” and “All for You,” Janet is currently on the road. But it’s a little different this time. In her “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal” tour, she strongly focuses on the connection between the fans and herself at shows.

The tour also coincides with her recently released biography last month. Despite the busy schedule, Jackson kindly sat for an interview with Blast about her long journey as a fearless entertainer.

BLAST: You are currently on the road with Mindless Behavior. How is the tour going so far?

JANET JACKSON: Being onstage, performing for my fans is always fun for me. I get so much energy from them and it is great to be on tour. I talked with the kids from Mindless Behavior over the phone a few years back, and fell in love with them. I decided to have them open for me after seeing them on YouTube. They are not on the entire tour with me, but I am excited to have everyone in New York get to know them. They are so talented.

BLAST: For this tour, the venues are relatively smaller, compared to the ones where you’ve performed in your previous tours. Also, you only perform your ‘number one’ tunes this time. Is there any reason behind all these decisions?

JJ: I was at Radio City Music Hall for a private performance last year. It was so much fun. While I was on stage, I could look out and see the faces of everyone in the audience. All I could think of during the show was “this is exactly how I wanted to do my next tour, up close and personal.” I am excited to be back in Radio City Music Hall for the public dates. I just put out two CD’s from the “Number Ones” collection and that is why I have chosen the set list. The fans are really enjoying it and so am I. It has been a lot of fun!

BLAST: What can we expect to see at your shows during the current tour? Is there any surprise?

JJ: This tour is not about special effects. It is just me and my fans. I have been doing things a little different in each city. This show is a love affair between me and the fans.

BLAST: You’ve released 10 studio albums so far, and even your recent greatest hits compilation album, Number Ones, has 34 tracks. Which song do you love performing the most?

JJ: I really can’t answer that. I love to sign all of them. My music is so personal to me. I write about what is going on in my life at that time so whenever I am singing these songs, they bring back special memories.

BLAST: Looking back at when you released your self-titled debut album in 1982, what do you think has driven you to keep going at full speed for so long in the music industry?

JJ: Though singing was never my first choice, I am very grateful for the success I have had. I am a very creative person and I love creating…music, tours, acting roles. I am having too much fun to quit. Besides, I still have so much more that I want to accomplish in my life and career.

BLAST: A lot of musicians are big fans of yours, and some of them grew up watching you perform. You have been a huge positive influence on the younger generation of musicians.

JJ: I am grateful to hear that. The way was paved for me by women like Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge and Diana Ross. I hope that in some small way, I have been able to do that for others.

BLAST: Can we get excited to listen to new music coming from you?

JJ: Absolutely. Though I don’t know what it will be yet, I plan to go back into the studio later this year.

BLAST: You released your biography book “True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself” on Feb 15. What was the main message that you wanted to convey to the readers?

JJ: I want readers, specially the kids, to know that they are perfect just the way they are. If there was a book like it when I was a kid, I would have read it. There was nothing that I really liked about myself, it was like, I was all alone, and I felt like there was nobody I could talk to. I finally did talk to someone and only then did I feel like things started to get better. It has been a long road, but I am happy with my life now.

BLAST: In the book, you talk about your struggles with weight loss, self-esteem, and relationships. Those issues are not uncommon and there are so many people out there who are not able to like themselves. If you are going to give them advice, what would you say?

JJ: I talk a lot about this topic in “True You.” If I had to say just one thing, I recommend that people find someone that they can talk to about anything.

BLAST: The book recently ranked number one on New York Times Bestseller list.

JJ: I was told that we ranked in that position. I was so surprised but grateful to everyone that supported “True You” and made that possible.

BLAST: Even though you’ve gone through a lot of struggles including what you wrote in your book, you always look fearless and shining onstage, which encourages a lot of people. How do you transform all the pain into something creative and positive through music?

JJ: Whenever I am creating my music, or a tour, I am inspired by whatever is going on in my life. It is very healing and rewarding to take those experiences, the good and the bad, and create something that is positive. I hope that the fans can relate to what I create.

BLAST: What’s the next project that you will work on after this tour?

JJ: (laughs) I have never been great at multi-tasking, but I am working on that. I am having fun with everything that I am doing right now. The CD will be my next project at the moment.

Janet declined to answer questions about her brother, Michael Jackson. Janet plays Tuesday at the Wang Theatre in Boston. She plays Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut on Wednesday before a Friday, Saturday, Monday stop at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Irene Nelson is a Russian singer who is bringing her talent to the United States. She has already won three Russian Grammys with the group Reflex and now hopes to find success as a solo artist.

Nelson’s debut album is forthcoming, but her single, “Sunrise,” has already been featured on Billboard’s Dance/Club Play chart. Following her success in Russia, Nelson hopes to win America over with her voice as well.

Nelson answered some of Blast’s questions via email regarding how she broke into the industry and what she has planned for her career future.

BLAST: Can you describe the songs on your new album?

IRENE NELSON: My songs are about eternal human values such as good and evil, war and peace, true freedom and love. In my first single “Sunrise” I consciously avoided the description of the physiological love. Using metaphysical images, in this case the two birds, I am (singing) about two beloveds who dissolved in their love, turned into holy souls and (were able) to rise from aches and walk on water.

My music is simple. In my songs I reflect on (questions such as): “When we want to be ahead of the game by any means necessary or win in fierce fight, don’t we follow the thought path of our own sick ego?” or “Is the winner in war really a winner … or killer?”

BLAST: Do you have a release date set yet? What is it titled?

IN: I think in the near future we will decide whether we will remain independent or to go with one of the major labels. The release date depends on it. In any case it will be in the spring.

Regarding the title of my album, we have different opinions. My music producers, Gary Miller and Vlad Tyurin, like Ahead of the Game, but my first American single, “Sunrise,” is very precious to me. This is the song with which I became known in US and entered the American Billboard chart — I would like to name it Sunrise.

BLAST: How long have you been working on the new album?

IN: It has been two years since the (creation of) the first single “Sunrise,” which I recorded in London at George Martin’s legendary AIR Studios. Sound producer Steve Orchard (U2, Coldplay, Peter Gabriel, Dido) and sound producer and hit-maker Vlad Tyurin (Reflex were working on this single. To continue to work on the rest of the songs Vlad and I went to Los Angeles. Here we met another big producer Gary Miller (David Bowie, Simply Red, Kylie Minogue etc.) and have worked with him since. The new album was born in our close collaboration. All music was created by Vlad Tyurin, Antony Tyurin and me, all lyrics written by myself.

BLAST: What was your inspiration for the album?

IN: I was inspired by my inner transformations (such as) knowing my own difficult path as a girl from a deep Siberian province who literally escaped home. Experiencing many troubles, I started thinking about the (meaning) of different occurrences; I started to look for answers in the books of philosophers and yogis. Over 10 years, I have accomplished many spiritual practices and yogi techniques on my own. I always wanted to (look) beyond the borders of a physical world.

BLAST: When did you begin singing? How did you enter the music industry?

IN: Upon completing school I wanted a musical education and had to escape from my parents to the capital of Novovsibirsk, Siberia (New Siberia). I didn’t know anyone when I arrived and didn’t have any money, so I would go door to door seeking shelter. I was accepted by one of the music colleges to study piano. I could not afford a piano so I drew a keyboard on paper and would unroll my “piano” and practice daily. After finishing my musical education I was invited to a jazz big band as a vocalist—it was my first experience as a singer. I sang the famous jazz compositions of Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross and Billy Holiday and spent the next few years touring, participating in festivals and wining various awards.

Later I met songwriter Vlad Tyurin — a legend among Russian’s musical elite. Vlad has made his mark as one of the most outstanding and distinguished composers and sound producers. He invited me to collaborate with him on a dance project and Reflex was born. I was not only the lead vocalist in the very famous girl band Reflex, I was also a songwriter and generated all the ideas. This project was created by Vlad Tyurin and me, so oftentimes we had to do and manage everything ourselves! (In addition) to composing music and lyrics, we were also the producers during every step, including: sound engineering, making videos, styling and setting photo sessions. It was a huge experience and as a result Reflex became a seven-year-old success story — the most outstanding dance project on the Russian pop stage that won an amazing amount of musical awards. We have received medals and orders “For professionalism and contribution to culture.”

As you know, right now I am working here, in the United States.

BLAST: Why did you decide to bring your music to the US?

IN: The United States is a country that is open to everything new. I like to take unknown paths and coming to America was literally like a jump into the unknown, almost like visiting another planet. I have been listening to American music since I was little and my skills were perfected by (having) American role models. America is a land of outstanding musicians. I have always had a sincere dream to sing a duet with American artists.

BLAST: Who would you like to work with in the future?

IN: You might think that I am crazy, but I dream of singing a duet with U2’s Bono.

BLAST: Do you hope to live in Los Angeles permanently or do you have plans to return to Russia.

IN: Over the past two years I have spent in LA, I have absolutely fallen in love with this city. I have a lot of friends here and even my own recording studio in Malibu where Gary Miller, a platinum songwriter/record producer, is my partner. LA became my second home. But when I start feeling kind of homesick, I immediately go back (to Russia).

BLAST: Do have any upcoming performances?

IN: At the end of the last year I was enthusiastically putting together a band and started rehearsals. But suddenly my father got very ill. For almost six months we were fighting his fatal disease, but unsuccessfully. For a long time I could not think about anything else. But now that my album is finished I will gather a new band, and by autumn we will be all ready to move forward.

BLAST: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

IN: I want my music to be a reason for communication between me and American people. We have a lot of things to discuss! As I said before, (I’m) a girl from Siberia who (took) a long path to end up in America to see everything with her own eyes and prove to herself that we are all the same and that we are all seeking the same thing — Love!

Pop singer Ke$ha, 23, was named Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 Artist of the Year.

She told the magazine, “I pretty much feel like I’ve been reborn into this completely different existence. My entire life has become making music and playing shows, and I love it.”

Her first single “Tik Tok” was played on radio all over again earlier this year (this is why we all know the song very well) and spent nine weeks atop the Hot 100 list.

Lady Gaga was named Billboard’s Artist of the Year award for 2010.

With “American Idol” gearing up for its tenth season in the New Year, Simon Fuller’s pop-star assembly line shows no signs of slowing down. Come January, prime time TV, YouTube, and countless glossy magazines will, once again, be overrun with stories of fame-hungry contestants and the blinding white glow of Ryan Seacrest’s teeth. But before the new season starts, the teenie boppers and soccer Mom’s of Middle America have a new album to buy. The time has arrived for last year’s winner, Lee DeWyze to release his debut record, Live It Up from Fuller’s RCA label.

For those (like this critic) who missed DeWyze journey to “Idol” triumph, the Illinois native apparently wowed judges and premium-rate-phone-voters with covers of classic songs like Bill Withers’ “Ain’t no Sunshine” and R.E.M’s “Everybody Hurts.” DeWyze’s vocal style is pleasant enough, but it’s not particularly impressive or interesting. Playing his songs at full blast won’t threaten any nearby glassware. DeWyze sounds more like John Mayer than Otis Redding. Like Mayer, the songs from his new album will likely fill the top 40 like ignorable pieces of furniture in a young professional’s condo.

The creation of a musical form of Ikea was surely what the RCA puppeteers had in mind for DeWyze’s debut release. “Live It Up” achieves the kind of light, generic pop/rock that it’s demographic can accept with ease. The album is packed with soft sounds and depressingly predictable key changes. DeWyze’s lyrics are also pretty unimaginative. The eleven songs on the album deal with all the issues that one would expect from the winner of a national talent contest. The fact that DeWyze sings about young love and young heartbreak for his young audience is easy enough to swallow. What does offend about the songs is their dreary lyrical content.

Throughout the record, DeWyze doesn’t just flirt with the use of tired clichés; he takes them out to dinner, picks up the bill, and drives them home at the end of the evening. The chorus of the sickeningly catchy, “Sweet Serendipity,” for example, includes the lines “I’m always landing on my feet / in the knick of time / by the skin of my teeth.” The Idol champion is also a fan of stringing together seemingly senseless similes in his songs. On “Brooklyn Bridge,” DeWyze croons over a lounge jazz piano, singing “Every time you’re near / Its like standing in Time Square /on New Years Eve and no one is around / Like looking up on a summer’s day / and seeing snowflakes coming down.” What those lines are supposed to say about the giddy excitement of a new love is anyone’s guess, but don’t be surprised when your teenage cousin uses them in her facebook status.

The soppy lyrics and recycled pop formulas aside; surely, everyone over the age of sixteen can agree that Lee DeWyze’s success is not entirely dependent on the music he produces. Whether or not “Live It Up” sells in the way RCA would like it to, hinges on the capability of those who voted for the twenty-four-year-old on “Idol” to make room for him in their overloaded psyche. With Bieber Fever at full tilt, and a new season of “American Idol” around the corner, DeWyze will, once again, have to compete to win the hearts and minds of the record-buying public.

In the run-up to Live It Up’s November 16 release, DeWyze’s managerial team are sure to do all they can to make a return on their investment. Performances on “Good Morning America” and renditions of “Star Spangled Banner” at televised sporting events doubtlessly beckon. Sadly, for DeWyze, the early signs are that his career will better resemble that of Ruben Studdard (remember him?) than Kelly Clarkson. “Live It Up” is not the egregious thing to be released from Simon Fuller’s evil empire (he’s also responsible for the Spice Girls and making Piers Morgan famous). It seems unlikely, however, that the fifteen minutes gifted to Lee DeWyze will extend much further than his first RCA release.

It seems like a legal battle between "Bad Romance" singer Lady Gaga and her former producer, who was also her ex-beloved, has ended.

Producer Rob Fusari had sued Gaga for more than $30 million claiming he helped launch the pop superstar to fame and fortune but unable to profit from it when their romance ended.

He contended in his March lawsuit that he was a key figure in transforming the ambitious young female musician named Stefani Germanotta into the tremendous pop phenomenon, Lady Gaga. He also said he hooked her up with her record label and inked a deal entitling him to 15 to 20 per cent of her album profits.

Gaga countersued days later alleging the early agreement she had with Fusari was illegal and he tried to get a share of the proceeds from her first four albums, regardless of whether he contributed to them or not.

Both suits were dismissed by the New York State Supreme Court in late August and the decision was made public this week.

According to abc News, a spokeswoman for Lady Gaga said in a statement on Friday the Grammy-winning singer and Fusari "have agreed to end their dispute amicably and wish each other well."

"Rob Fusari is a Grammy award winning producer and co-writer of ‘Paparazzi’ and a number of other songs on Lady Gaga’s debut album ‘The Fame’," the statement said.

Additionally, Fusari’s lawsuit detailed how the singer met Fusari in March 2006 through a mutual friend. Initially unimpressed by her appearance, he asked her to sing and was "within seconds" blown away. "Fusari thought Germanotta’s songs were brilliant but lacked commercial appeal. He pushed her to explore different musical genres," his lawsuit said.

Who knew it was going to end up being "Bad Romance"?

On Raditude, Weezer’s seventh studio album, out tomorrow, frontman and geek icon/heartthrob Rivers Cuomo (who, on a side note, is perhaps the only lyricist who can work the phrase “ape a goombah” into a pop song and have it sound totally seamless) treads a fine line. He’s the outsider underdog who’s suddenly been invited to sit at the cool kids’ table. One minute, he’s rapping with Lil’ Wayne; on the next song, he laments, “My hairdo isn’t cool.”

Per usual, Raditude’s strong points come when Weezer sticks to the winning formula that dates back to their debut album 15 (!)  years ago — anthemic, catchy choruses and simple surf-rock song structure (see: “Put Me Back Together,” “Let It All Hang Out”). The record starts and ends on strong points, with bouncy leadoff track and first single, “(If You’re Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To” and heartfelt album closer “I Don’t Want to Let You Go.” On the eight tracks in between, it’s clear that Weezer is trying to broaden its musical horizons, with mixed results.

On the positive side of the spectrum is the Cuomo-Jermaine Dupri-Lil’ Wayne collaboration “Can’t Stop Partying,” whose lyrics take on an ironic twist with nerd-rock pioneer Cuomo singing lines like, “Monday to Sunday I hit all the clubs / And everybody knows me when I pull up / I’ve got the real big posse with me, yeah I’m deep.” The song, which first appeared as a melancholy acoustic track on Cuomo’s solo demo record that was released a year ago, has been transformed into a synth-heavy earworm, with Dupri’s fingerprints all over it.

Less successful is the sitar-infused “Love is the Answer,” which sounds like it would fit in better over the PA of my Vietnamese-owned laundromat than on a Weezer record.

Even at 39, Cuomo isn’t afraid to let his inner awkward teenager emerge. He falls for a formerly dowdy classmate on the frankly-titled “The Girl Got Hot,” while hard-hitting “I’m Your Daddy” finds him trying to woo a girl on the dance floor. Apparently, even after hanging out with the cool kids, he’s still a nerd at heart.

At first glance, Lights, looks like an indie princess fantasy for scenesters in skinny jeans and torn chucks everywhere. Talk to her for just a few seconds though and you’ll realize that no matter how darling she looks, Lights can throw down with the biggest of sci-fi and fantasy nerds and that she’s proud of it.

Lights dropped her newest full length CD “The Listening” in early October and chatted to Blast from her hometown of Toronto shortly after the release to tell us how the CD came about, how she became her own super hero and why it’s cool to be a sci-fi geek.

“A couple days before the record came out in the states we hit the road to tour on the record so its been going, going, going, but it’s awesome. For the first time I get to tour on my own record. People are coming to the shows and singing along,”said Lights about life since “The Listening” came out.

The title of the album came from Lights’s own self-reflection when writing the songs and learning a lot about herself.

“The title generated from track four called “The Listening” but it went a little deeper than that. The whole record spawned from me kind of having to analyze emotional situations where I was just feeling really low and had to pull myself out with music,” said Lights. “Through that process I learned a lot about myself. All these songs, through all this music, I’ve learned so much more about myself. I thought this is a direct result of that, listening to music. That’s why I took the mouth off of me on the album cover, to help drive that home. It feels appropriate.”

Lights will spend most of the rest of the year on the road promoting the album like musicians do, but she’s also got a little something special up her sleeve. A long time fan of fantasy and comic books Lights teamed up with Marvel writer Tim Coker to create The Captain Lights Adventure.

“The Captain Lights Adventure which [is like] a glorified comic book with my music in the background. It’s going to be playing on MTV in the morning in America and you can see it on the website as well,” explained Lights.

Comics aren’t the only way Lights lets her inner-nerd out. She’s also a WoW (World of Warcraft) veteran. She says no matter how busy she is, she always makes time for WoW the fantasy role-playing video game that has become an ever growing cult sensation among computer gamers – even Brand New’s Jesse Lacey has admitted to being a fan. Lights said she too is a huge fan of the game.

“It was totally something I just wanted to get into. And actually when I started playing, one or two years ago, I didn’t know anyone that played and I was such a lover of fantasy stuff, comic books and all of that I thought I’d have a good time with it and I love it. Every day I always make a little time for it.” Lights said.

Fantasy has always appealed to Lights, simply for what it represents to her. It’s a place to escape, which she explains on in her bio became essential to her during her childhood when her family was constantly moving around. Now fantasy worlds and comic book agendas help Lights channel her out of this world energy.

“Music for starters is something I totally love, it’s my passion, but the same with sci-fi and comics. These are all things that I love so why not implement all these things into it? It’s an absolute reflection of my personality and what I’m into. Its the idea that the reason I love fantasy and all that stuff is the notion of unlimited creativity and aliens and far off worlds and crazy powers and make it all real. It’s all stuff you can invent and the same goes for my music. If I hear a sound in my head then I’ll find a way to make it into the recording. There’s no limits or bounds for what I want. In that sense it all goes together,” explained Lights.

Lights, who changed her legal name to Lights from Valerie Poxleitner, uses her intergalactic notions to help her reach the artistic goal she set for herself when she started playing music, and holding on to that has kept her steady in an industry that’s isn’t known for playing nice.

“People will try to get to you and they are going to hate. In order to keep track of who I really am I set this one goal to always hold on to and that’s to reach as many people as I can in a positive way,” said Lights. “So anything that I do to make you happy or entertain you for a few minutes or just make you think about things – just something positive, that’s my goal.”

“The Listening” is available in all major music retailers now.

“Crossing the Rubicon” the latest offering from Swedish synth-pop quintet The Sounds, borrows its name from a phrase meaning “to pass a point of no return.” Historically, it refers to the act of war Julius Caesar committed by crossing the Rubicon River in Northern Italy in 49 B.C.

So it would be perfectly understandable to wonder if the band is exploring new sonic territory on their latest offering, which hits shelves June 2. What’s ironic, though, given this context, is that the strongest moments on “Crossing the Rubicon” “" and there are many “" emerge when the band sticks to the winning formula it honed on 2006′s “Dying to Say This to You” “" danceable guitar riffs and synthesizers on top of upbeat rhythms.

“Crossing the Rubicon” starts on a high note, with the infectious, guitar-heavy first single “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake” and continues with a handful of equally catchy tunes, including the New Wave-y “4 Songs and a Fight” and delightfully bizarre Blondie homage “Beatbox.”

Unfortunately though, the 12-song offering loses some of its steam in‚ its final third, with the later songs failing to reach the extremely high bar set by the first ones. The title track, which sounds like gothic monks singing over an excerpt from a dramatic movie score, marks the middle point, and its placement is jarring to say the least “" especially since it’s book-ended by the accessible “Midnight Sun” and “Underground.”

The Sounds will spend much of the summer on the road, having landed the opening slot on several dates of No Doubt’s reunion tour. Like the headliner, they are anchored by a powerful frontwoman “" sassy singer Maja Ivarsson, whose vocals range from pained to empowered “" backed by male supporting musicians who tend to stay in the background.

Their position on the No Doubt tour, combined with the band’s decision to stream “Crossing the Rubicon” in its entirety nearly a week before its official release date, indicate the band is trying to expand its American fanbase. Their radio-friendly pop is likely to win over some early-arriving audience members.

She’s still got it. Performing some of her most beloved and well-known hit songs along with new upbeat tunes from her latest effort “Hard Candy” Madonna gave 100 percent to a full house at the TD Banknorth Garden October 15 in Boston. The provocatively named “Sticky and Sweet” tour featured elaborate stage structures, impressive lighting and enticing dancing, as per Madonna’s usual offerings during performances.

In her first stage appearance since announcing her divorce to husband Guy Ritchie, Madonna kept it light making only one fleeting reference to “emotionally retarded” people before singing “Miles Away” off of her 11th and latest album. She addressed the audience asking “Maybe you know some of those people. I know I do.”

She is the ultimate survivor and evolutionary pop icon, as proven by her complete commitment to putting on an energetic performance for her sold-out show. After such emotional and personally turmoil she still put on one hell of a show boasting colorful costumes, some of the best dancers in the business and digitally-recorded video duets with Kanye West, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake along with Miss Controversy herself, Britney Spears.

Her “duet” with Spears to “Human Nature” was a fresh take on a song that caused a stir during the 90s when the S & M themed-video first appeared. “La Isla Bonita” and “Get Into the Groove” were crowd-pleasers, for those who actually remembered her earlier songs and didn’t mouth incorrect lyrics. As for “Borderline” her very first single, the audience loved it.

Choice tracks from the new album that translated well to dance-filled stage numbers include “Heartbeat” and “Give it to Me.” A hands down personal favorite had to be “She’s Not Me,” an ode to Madonna’s undying fame and an overall pick-me-up for any woman. Because anyone can relate to the feeling of a significant other being “stolen” by another, and the imminent instinct that no one will ever provide the same things as you can in a relationship.

Oh well.

As for agenda-pushing, the Material Girl made it abundantly clear that she wanted everyone to vote … for Obama. Her political commentary and video imagery were liberally filled with material for the Left. And while audible sounds of “Just get back to the music” could be heard uttered by disgruntled republicans, the majority of the audience was in a united uproar to unite for her, and Obama’s campaign. Madonna relayed to the audience that she was told to “not mention Sarah Palin, speaking of ridiculous things,” and that was all she said on the matter.

50-year-old Madonna bumped and grinded all over that stage, even showcasing a soft-core number on the floor as she had her feet tied with rope as she gyrated and pulsated on all fours. If anything can be said for her, it is that her dancing is still flawless and effortless and her body is in amazing condition. More muscular than Michael Phelps, Madonna seemed to feed off of the energy of knowing that she represents decades of reinvention and that she herself will never be replaced in the public eye, no matter what Ms. Spears does.

The overall favorites had to have been “Hung Up” from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album along with “Like a Prayer.” The latter was performed to a background of Hebrew, Arabic and other foreign language texts and religious quotes from texts ranging like the Torah, the Bible, the Koran and Buddhist teachings. What would a Madonna concert be without a lesson in theology?

I’ll just have to say it again, she’s still got it. She never faltered and she never showed less than complete enthusiasm and dedication to her career and her fans. And despite her personal issues and sticky situation, she remembered the one thing that has kept her career afloat.

The show must go on.

Michael Dunlap is no stranger to the life of a starving artist.

Four years ago, the 24-year-old one man band who goes by the stage name Totally Michael was driving himself to shows in a 1984 Honda Accord “" a “hybrid” in the literal sense, which his stepfather had welded together from two separate vehicles, one blue and one brown. (“When you were inside the car, you could look down and see the ground,” he said. “It was pretty awesome.”)

To make rent, he donated plasma twice a week and participated in clinical trials.

“Once I just had to drink this crappy, chalky liquid, that made me puke,” Dunlap said. “But I got like $1,200. I think it was worth it.”

“I’ve kind of been a bum,” he readily admitted. “I’ve only had one real job in my life, and it was telemarketing, which was pretty horrible.”

Luckily for Dunlap, his musical career appears to be taking hold. His synth-heavy debut album of infectious pop-punk, “Totally Michael,” will be released on October 14. He’s upgraded to a Nissan Sentra (the Accord was totaled in an accident in Phoenix, where he was performing) and is touring across North America this fall, opening for MC Chris.

Growing up in the small town of Cabot, Arkansas (pop. 21,000) as the youngest of eight children, Dunlap spent his youth skateboarding and going to see local bands with friends (“They were pretty crappy bands, but it was awesome to us,” he recalls), before picking up a guitar himself and playing in local punk groups.

A quasi-quarterlife crisis prompted Dunlap, at the age of 20, to pick up and move to Bloomington, Indiana after he attended a three-day music festival there.

“I had lived with my mom for 20 years and I was just like, “ËœI gotta get the fuck outta here. … I should probably stop mooching,’” he said. “(Bloomington) was pretty much the only place I had ever seen besides Arkansas, so I was like, yeah, I’ll move here.”

He began making music on his own with computer recording software and reveled in his newfound musical autonomy.

“(In previous bands) there were always creative differences, and not everybody would agree on certain parts in songs,” he says. “What I liked about doing it by myself is that all of the creativity is on my part. “¦ I never have anybody telling me they didn’t like what I was coming up with, or telling me to change something. That’s probably the best part of it so far.”

For now, Dunlap’s stage shows involve just him, a guitar and an iPod (“I used to bring up my laptop, and then realized people throw beer a lot, and it wasn’t the best decision,” he explained). Crowd participation also plays a role, with Dunlap often fostering a pep rally vibe by dividing his audience into two sides for the competitive ode “Cheerleader vs. Drillteam.”

“I’ve thought about getting other musicians “¦ to make me seem less like a dumbass,” he said. “But at this point I’d probably go broke real quick.”

He cites fellow laptop guru Girl Talk as an influence, as well as Dan Deacon, Japanther and Matt & Kim, and said he tries to model the at times irreverent tone of his songs after Blink-182.

“I think they were fuckin’ amazing,” Dunlap said. “They could write pop songs that were slightly humorous and they did it really well.”

With a nasally delivery reminiscent of Offspring’s Dexter Holland and melodies similar to the likes of Bowling for Soup, Dunlap manages to get away with singing about high school gossip fodder, despite being in his mid-20s, on songs like “Prom Night” and “Cheerleaders vs. Drillteam.” His channeling of a nervous, disaster-prone date on the former is nothing short of endearing. “I’ve got my baby blue tuxedo but my tie has vanished from the scene / I guarantee this won’t be the last headache I face tonight,” he laments.

“I never did any writing at all, and I definitely think that kind of shows,” Dunlap says. “I don’t want to take myself too seriously. “¦ Lyrics are always the last part of my songs. I hate them. I just want to write melodies.”

It’s true that the strength of Dunlap’s songs lies in their hooks. But while the songwriter may downplay his poetic abilities, his lyrics are, at their least impressive, typical of similar pop-punk bands (“I’m the number one topic in her diary / When you look away she’ll be all over me”), and at their most, laugh-out-loud zingers. Take this gem of a refrain from the gleeful “Ëœ80s throwback “Winona,” his love letter to the actress 12 years his senior: “I’m not a high-class retail outlet / But I’d love for you to steal my heart.”

Lyrically speaking, the only excessively sophomoric track is the still-catchy “Casual Satisfaction,” which describes the physical effects of attraction with lyrics too graphic for me to feel comfortable typing out.

Taken at face value, “Totally Michael” is a fun collection of accessible singalongs. It’s made all the more impressive by the fact that Dunlap’s is the sole guiding hand behind every facet of each track.

“When it first started, it was all for fun,” he said. “I had no idea I would even make any money at all doing it. Even now, if I wasn’t making any money at all, I wouldn’t stop. I love touring and making music.”

But as it turns out, things may be looking up. Dunlap has been counting small victories over the past few months “" starting with his transportation.

“I can tour in my car and get, like, 30 miles per gallon,” he said brightly. “And it has A/C. It’s the only car I’ve ever had that has A/C.”

This was our December 2007 cover story. Click here to download a copy of the original BLAST cover!

Sara Quin wouldn’t want to date herself. Or any other musician, for that matter.

The 27-year-old songstress — one twin sister half of indie pop darlings Tegan and Sara — drew inspiration from a struggling relationship for songs she contributed to the group’s latest release, The Con. Over quirky pop melodies, Sara’s lyrics candidly detail her self-described inadequate relationship skills in songs like “Relief Next to Me” (“I’m not proud that nothing will seem easy about me”) and first single “Back in Your Head” (“I’m not unfaithful, but I’ll stray”).

The latter half of the duo discussed her relationship insecurities during an interview on a break from a recent tour stop in Chicago. She touched on the band’s rabid international fan base, her love/hate relationship with their early albums and the link between their live shows and dental hygiene.

“You have to be a very patient, gentle kind person to date me,” Sara admits. “I could never date me. I could never date a musician. I just don’t feel like I could, ever. It seems so contradictory (but) I actually do feel really private and so it scares me to think that someone would have so much power to be able to create music and art from our relationship.”

“And yet, I do it all the time,” she acknowledges with a laugh. “I find that I’m not writing songs as the bad thing is happening or as the disconnect is happening, so a lot of times it’s really sort of like a retrospect thing. So I don’t feel like it’s as difficult on people as you would think just because it’s like, you’ve already gone through the rough period and then you’re writing the song. But I try to be very responsible and respectful of the things that I’m writing about. I don’t want the person that I’m writing about to feel like I’ve like exposed them.”

Even at just 27, Tegan and Sara are industry veterans. The Con is their fifth full-length album.

Since they were teenagers, the Quin twins have adopted a do-it-yourself approach that’s involved relentless touring, grassroots self-promotion and documenting their recording and touring processes for their fans through DVDs and online videos. Their persistence paid off when they were signed as teens to Neil Young’s label, Vapor Records.

Since the release of 2004′s So Jealous, which is widely viewed as the band’s breakthrough album, Tegan and Sara’s popularity has been on a steady incline. They landed a major label deal with Warner Brothers Records for The Con, which was released in July.

“Personally, I love making music, and I love the industry part of making music,” Sara says. “For me, the industry is not record labels and TV and money and MTV and whatever. It’s just the day to day of what we do and how we make this world work and how we have been able to build a career independently.”

That career started with demo tapes that evolved into 1999′s Under Feet Like Ours, the siblings’ first full-length album. That record, and the next year’s follow-up This Business of Art, are marked by gritty vocals (“We screamed a lot; we were angsty,” Sara explains) and folky guitar strumming, with influences like Bruce Springsteen and Ani DiFranco clearly discernible. Eight years later, The Con is laden with keyboards, synthesizers and polished vocal layering courtesy of producer and Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla.

Unschooled listeners probably wouldn’t realize that it’s the same girls performing.

“I definitely think there’s been a huge evolution … in terms of musical sound or style,” Sara says. “Now we’re more just a traditional rock band, pop band.”

Part of that evolution is thanks to a new recording process Tegan and Sara adopted for The Con, creating demos at their respective homes in Vancouver and Montreal and e-mailing them back and forth to each other. The approach allowed them to become stronger songwriters and better self-editors through experimentation with different instrumental and vocal techniques, Sara said.

“When we were putting out our first albums … I would just write a song and then I would go into the studio and by the time you had time to listen to it, it was done,” she explained. “When I think of the band changing into what I sort of see us being now, I think that the big difference was we started recording ourselves.”

Patience seems to have paid off.

“And to be able to finally record what I was writing, and go have dinner, and then come back and put my headphones on and listen, I was really able to sort of put myself in the shoes of the people who were going to be listening to the music. And I would really start to critique myself. I think it made me a stronger songwriter.”

The latest album, which was recorded in Walla’s Portland, Ore. studio, doesn’t stray too far from those original demos that Tegan and Sara put together, both have said. To round out their lineup for recording purposes, they recruited session musicians including AFI’s Hunter Bergan, The Rentals’ Matt Sharp on bass, and Walla’s Death Cab for Cutie bandmate Jason McGerr on drums. Longtime collaborator Ted Gowans also plays guitar on the record.

Walla’s production technique involved recording each vocal and instrumental part separately and laying down individual tracks on top of one another, sometimes using household items like staplers and sunflower seeds to create sound effects.

That layering proved difficult to translate into a live performance when the band was rehearsing for their tour, Sara said.

“We definitely struggle with trying to recreate things a lot,” she said. “I think there’s a tendency to want to make it sound just like the album. When it came down to rehearsing the record live, there was this sort of like, ‘oh my God, there’s like five keyboard parts and three guitar parts, and there’s nine vocals that we have to recreate.’ I mean, it was just ridiculous.”

“There’s this moment where you’re kind of like, I love all of the parts and I want them all to be there, but you just start mixing and matching and … you just kind of start picking out the little things that you like. It was like, ‘OK, We have to let go.’”

She pauses, struggling to come up with an analogy.

“It’s like a wall of toothpaste,” she says with a laugh. “You really only have to pick one, but you just have to decide which one is the best one.”

As a result, it was helpful for her and Tegan to have their original demos in mind when they were trying to dissect the album’s tracks in preparation for touring, Sara said.

“I had a moment where I was like, these songs were all born as simple guitar or keyboard and vocal songs and ultimately at the heart of that song is just a vocal and some sort of guitar or keyboard melody,” she said. “It’s easy to recreate live once you start from a very simple place.”

For Sara, the demos also provided a new sense of pride in every aspect of the record, something she says she hadn’t experienced with their earlier albums.

“I feel so much more attached to the music we’re making now because I’m kind of responsible for making so much more of it than we used to,” she explained. “Now, if I listen back to a song and I don’t like the instrumentation, generally it’s me that did it, and so there’s still some attachment to it. There are keyboard and vocal, background or guitar parts that I like almost as much as anything else in the song because I wrote them, and I feel like they’re just almost as important as the vocals. There’s parts of me that like some of the things that we did musically even better than what we did with vocals or even melodically.”

Sara compared listening to their earlier music to looking back on a diary or journal, and says she doesn’t view the experience fondly.

“I’m mortified when I listen to it,” she said without hesitation. “I hate our vocals on our first couple records … and some of the instrumentation. It drives me insane.”

But she and Tegan were just 14 when they began recording songs, Sara’s quick to add, and were still in high school when they wrote their first album.

“I try not to go back and trash (the older music) too much, because I like to think of things that did work,” she said. “I think for 17, 18, 19 year old people, we were writing really strong songs. I don’t necessarily like the songs, and I think we’ve gotten better, but when I think about it now I’m like, you know, there’s strong melodies in almost every song we ever wrote for those albums, and I feel proud of that. I think we had a natural talent for writing music, so I try to sort of focus on the good parts and I try not to cringe at some of the (bad).”

And at the same time, she and Tegan realize that some of their earlier recordings are fan favorites.

“You really have to sort of embrace that stuff because it’s so important to other people,” she said. “I meet kids every day who tell me, oh, This Business of Art is our favorite album and they’ve loved it for like 10 years and I’m like ‘Why? Why, God, why?’”

Sara acknowledges she sometimes feels like a broken record when doing interviews that touch on “generic” fare like the girls’ divergent songwriting processes (Sara’s more idiosyncratic songs are the result of painstaking tweaking, while Tegan churns out catchy pop/rock hooks like it’s going out of style) and the pigeonholes critics can’t seem to get over. (Canadians! Twins! Lesbians!)

“I always remember feeling a bit angsty about press and interviews because there is such a focus on certain things and they just sort of get repeated over and over again,” Sara says. “If these people really wanted to know those answers, they’re out there, a thousand times over. … I would have these moments where I was like, ‘Why do they all want to know the same boring questions and answers? Who cares? Why don’t people have other interesting questions to ask us? Aren’t we interesting? Don’t they want to know about something else?’

“As I get older, I realize that I don’t care as much about that,” she added. “So I feel like I’ve reconciled something about doing press because I’ve like learned that it’s not as important what I think is interesting.”

“I don’t think that the questions are that uninteresting,” she clarified. “I just think that a lot of times the answers are presented in a way that aren’t interesting. And I think that Tegan and I are really interesting because we’re sisters and because we’re twins and we do have very different writing dynamics and those types of things. But a lot of times it’s like, you give a really generic answer because you find the question to be very generic and so then you’ll all end up looking really generic.”

After touring all over the world in support of The Con for the past several months, Sara said she and Tegan notice a “profound” difference among fans in different countries, particularly in reaction to their unique stage shows. Their live performances are characterized by off-the-cuff banter in between songs as the twins recount humorous anecdotes and stories from childhood and occasionally bicker. Their chatter between songs often lasts longer than the tunes themselves.

“Over in Europe (the crowd) changes from country to country,” she said. “The UK, it’s like people are just bananas. They just — they go crazy. They’re totally obnoxious and they’re kind of almost hysterical. And it’s super fun, but you couldn’t do it for much more than like a couple weeks before you’d get probably worn out by it. It’s pretty intense. But then you go to Germany (and Japan) and everyone’s very polite and they’re very quiet and they really absorb what you’re saying and what you’re doing.”

Audiences in their native Canada, for instance, are obviously enthusiastic during performances, but attentive in between songs.

Not true for fans in the United States, according to Sara.

“You come down to the States and, especially in the South I find, people are chatty,” she said. “They’ll just start babbling to you in front of like 1,500 people. They’re not shy at all. They’ll start asking you questions, yelling at you and stuff. That’s not as common in Canada. … (Canadian audiences) are a lot quieter in between songs. I don’t want to say they’re politer, I just think that it’s like, they’re a bit shy.”

The response of more zealous fans is often overwhelming, Sara said. When she and Tegan find themselves struggling to make themselves heard over screaming fans, she explained, it creates an uncomfortable situation for the band as well as other concert-goers.

“I sort of have an empathy for the audience member that spastically calls out for things or yells at us or whatever,” she said. “But then on the other hand, I just feel miserable because it’s impossible to have a conversation with the audience if people are screaming at you. And me and Tegan really love to be able to speak with the audience directly, and so sometimes it seems like a dictatorship to be like, ‘OK, everyone must be silent while we’re talking.’ But if they’re not silent, then it just ends up being kind of irritating, I think, for everyone, and usually that means that we won’t talk as often … Or there’s a natural tendency to want to call those people out and kind of tease them and then it seems like you’re a totally evil person. So sometimes we just avoid the whole thing and just don’t talk anymore.”

Even as a music fan herself, Sara says she finds it difficult to relate to fans who interrupt a show to shout at her and Tegan.

“The thing that bothers me is that I know it bugs the people in the audience,” she said. “Sometimes it’s like it’s less irritating for me, but I can tell it’s irritating the people in the crowd.”

“In a strange way, I almost feel protective of the people who do that, because I’m like, there’s got to be something wrong with you,” she went on. “Like, why would you do this? Especially when people (in the crowd) start to tell them to shut up and stuff, I’m like trying to imagine what it would be like to be that person. I would never be that person. I would never, ever yell at my favorite band. I don’t even like to stand close to the stage. I’m so scared that they’re going to like notice me doing something like yawning or, I don’t know, shifting, looking bored, whatever.”

During a recent concert at New York’s Webster Hall, Sara addressed a fan who was screaming from the balcony as “Attention-Seeker.”

Larger, more vocal, crowds are an indication of Tegan and Sara’s flirtation with mainstream success. The White Stripes’ famous cover of So Jealous’s “Walking With a Ghost,” and the fact that their songs are staples on television shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” have caused Tegan and Sara’s fanbase to swell. The vast majority of club dates on their current tour have sold out, which still bewilders the ever humble and gracious twins.

“It does surprise me,” Sara said. “I’m always really happy and relieved when shows sell out,” she said. “I feel like that will never stop, when you just sort of walk out on stage and you go, ‘Oh, I’m so glad you’re all here. I’m glad you decided to come.’ I think I feel a little bit less stressed than I used to about it, but I definitely love it. I think that it’s really cool.”

Sara says she feels she and Tegan will probably never grow complacent about their fans’ adoration, which she acknowledges could be fleeting.

“I never take it for granted because people’s opinions change and their musical tastes change, and so there’s a tendency to think … maybe they’re going to be fickle like how I am,” she mused. “I lose of track of what a band that I like is doing, and then I’ll think, oh shit, I haven’t revisited that band in a long time. What are they doing? I worry sometimes that that’s going to be our fate.”

For now, the Quins are content that a decade of paying their dues is finally paying off.

“It’s a long time coming because for so many years doing a tour in the US meant opening for somebody, doing a tour in Australia meant opening for somebody, doing a tour in Europe meant spending a bazillion dollars out of our own pocket and opening for somebody,” she said. “From So Jealous on, things sort of started to shift. And for us to now be able to go out and be the headliner is still kind of a new thing for us. I’m just getting used to the idea that we can actually go out and sell 1,500 tickets or whatever. That’s exciting to me.”

Tegan and Sara wrap up the current leg of their tour Dec. 15 in Australia, and will hit the road again in Europe next February. Sara said they expect to return to the States in spring 2008.

For more information and tour dates, visit www.teganandsara.com or www.myspace.com/teganandsara.