Singer Chantal Kreviazuk asks What If It All Means Something with third album

TORONTO (CP) - Singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk seems engrossed by the meaning of celebrity.

And she has a difficult time accepting that in Canada she's a bona fide star. "I still have a hard time digesting the whole hoopla aspect of it," she says, shaking her head. She greets her interviewer from across the room with a big smile and wave. She rebuffs her stylist's suggestion that she have her hair set in rollers during the interview to prepare for an upcoming photo shoot. "No, that won't work at all. That would be humiliating," Kreviazuk says, shooing the woman away.

Please see below for some facts about singer Chantal Kreviazuk

A pro at controlling the media whirlwind that follows her after two successful albums and a string of hits, Kreviazuk says she's still not a fan of the 24-hour spotlight that forces musicians to become celebrities.

"If it was my choice I'd record a record, say here you go and that's the end of it," she says, nestled in a cozy armchair in the basement of a posh restaurant, clad in a casual pair of jeans and comfy flat boots.

She's in the midst of the publicity circuit that comes with promoting a new album. What If It All Means Something, in stores this week, is Kreviazuk's third. It follows 1999's Colour Moving and Still, which earned her two Juno awards and plenty of accolades from U.S. and Canadian music critics.

Consistent with her other efforts, What If It All Means Something showcases her fervent lyrics and rich piano melodies.

"I am getting more confident with music, with melodies, figuring out what's palatable but real," she explains.

"I don't really like a tonne of bells and whistles. I like to keep things a little bit dark."

After spending three years puttering with words and melodies, the songstress went into the recording studio with 40 songs some of which were written in Hawaii (where she hung out while hubby, Raine Maida, was recording an album with his band Our Lady Peace) and Los Angeles, where the couple split their time with Toronto.

She tapped into her husband's talents and enlisted Nelly Furtado's producer Gerald Eaton, a.k.a Jarvis Church, to help co-write a few songs. Michelle Branch was invited to sing backup vocals on the Stevie Nicks-inspired song, Waiting, after the young pop-rock singer befriended Kreviazuk - of whom she's a fan - while working in nearby recording studios in New York.

Despite all the name-dropping and fancy travel itinerary, Kreviazuk maintains, as she's done throughout her career, that she's not snared by the glitz.

"I'm pretty much you, everybody," the 29-year-old Winnipeg native says earnestly. "If there's ever any level of excess of indulgence, I cannot tell you the level of privacy it requires of me and my husband to do that."

That can be difficult, though, considering Maida is the frontman of one of the country's hottest rock bands.

Being one of Canada's few music celebrity unions - they were quietly married three years ago - means they're often sought after at awards shows and galas by the press.

At first Kreviazuk and Maida fiercely protected their privacy, rarely being seen together in public.

"We were freaked out by it, especially Raine," explains Kreviazuk. "He really felt a need to keep (OLP) a separate entity to what I am and then over time it's been very genuine to start amalgamating as a musical couple as well."

She says they didn't want to become another "showy" celebrity couple that shows off heart tattoos or wears each others blood around their necks.

"It's not hard to be separated all the time because we get to spend tonnes of quality time . . . when we get two weeks off we're joined at the hip. But at the same time I'll admit that the time away is really hard and we really miss each other. Hopefully at the end of the rainbow there'll be this pot of gold, that we get to hang together."

That day seems closer than ever. The couple is working on a joint album and have started a label, Foundation Records. Last year, they shared acting credits in the film Century Hotel and co-wrote a song for Stewart Little 2. More recently, they've sung a duet, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star for an album to benefit music education.

"We're becoming musically really focused as a partnership, as a team, and it's a lot of fun," she says, her eyes brightening. "Ultimately we'd just like to work together. I'd rather that Raine was sitting here taking it on with me."

In the meantime, the self-assured Kreviazuk is focused on her career and trying to keep control of her rising star.

The sensitive songwriter was inspired to tackle the ironies of celebrity, which she seems to be thinking about a lot these days, on two songs in the album.

Julia is about actress Julia Roberts, whom Kreviazuk spotted last year at a Hollywood restaurant with her future husband Danny Moder.

Miss April is about a fallen superstar's return to "real life" after her 15 minutes of fame are done.

"We're far more celebrity obsessed than ever. It's definitely, to me, revealing an aspect of the human condition," she says of the phenomenon that's piqued her interest.

"We seem to be a little bit more excited by what is happening outside of ourselves and that's why we sort of create this mystery, excitement around some else's life experiences. That they're possibly having a more fulfilling life experience than we are, and I don't believe that's true at all."

So she translated those emotions into songs and hopes people can be touched by her message.

"It makes me want to command that we revel in our own small victories and in our own life experience because there's nothing more really going on for anybody."

Perhaps that's true, but Kreviazuk is still a celebrity who has to move on to the next reporter waiting in line.

By: Angela Pacienza