Host: Hey, Melissa, let's begin.

Melissa: Alright! I'm so giddy right now!

Host: Welcome. You're talking to Melissa Williams live on AOL. Ok, Mel, why don't you tell us the title of your new CD? I can't wait.

Melissa: "Exposed" is the title of the new album.

Host: If you guys can remember to say your name before you speak, that would be great. This is Adam. Sink lb5479: Hey, Melissa, I can't wait to get the CD on August 14. I'm going to be in Times Square. I was wondering, are you gonna have a parade or anything to celebrate the album's release down in Times Square?

Melissa: Hey Adam! No, I'm going to have a shindig. I'm not going to have a parade. I'm going to sign autographs, give out CDs, cool stuff like that. I'm going to interact with the fans, basically.

Host: Silicone slayer 15: What's going on, Melissa? I just heard a snippet of the song "Happiness," with Craig David and it's awesome. Do any of the songs you wrote relate to things that happened in the past year? Thanks, Emily in Pennsylvania.

Melissa: "Happiness" is actually my favorite track on the album, one of my favorite tracks on the album. And the song deals with the true meaning of happiness, and to be truly happy, I believe that you must have love, whether it be love from a family member, a friend, or a lover.

Host: Poetic Lisa 2000: Who are all of your inspirations, and why?

Melissa: Let's see. A few of my musical inspirations would be, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and definitely, Billie Holiday.

Host: Next question, when will you start touring?

Melissa: VERY soon, all over. It'll be my FIRST World tour, so I'm very excited. I've never toured Austrailia before, I really want to bring my show there.. it's definitely gonna be a different experience this time around.

Host: This from Mcbride blondie: "How old are you, Melissa?" You knew someone would ask that.

Melissa: I'm 19, and loving it.

Host: Total M.B.: I would like to ask Melissa if she thought, when she first started out, how popular she thought she was going to be, and if it shocks her how big she is now.

Melissa: You never can predict how popular you're going to be. You can only hope that people enjoy your music. You never know how many are going to buy the record. I mean, you know, I always hope for, like, a platinum record. Then when it went multi platinum, I was like, OK. I was happy. I mean, I never knew I was going to sell this many records. You always hope that you sell a lot of records, but you can't imagine selling this many. So it's very exciting for me, and I'm very thankful.

Host: Faith 4630: Hey, Melissa, what's up? How do you feel toward the other female pop singers like Christina Aguilera?

Melissa: I don't think about any other singers, whether they be female pop singers, boy bands or anybody else, when I try to do what I do. I'm not here to compete with anybody. I'm here to do good for myself. But I am friends with Mandy Moore, she's a sweetheart.

Host: Good answer. What were your biggest struggles that you went through in order to make this album?

Melissa: I did this whole album independently, so it was kind of a struggle, but I got the creative freedom that I so urged and needed.

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