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Article by: Jeff Lorez 7-15-01
Pop's Funkiest Young Diva
A garish gold awning looms above the Trump International Hotel like a middle-finger salute to the rest of the world, letting the countless tourists and joggers making their way into Central Park know that the guests inside are the biggest, the best, and have more money than everyone else...and screw them if they don't like it! Donald Trump may be many things, but subtle is not one of them.
This would mean absolutely nothing, if not for my reason for showing up at Mr. Trump's hotel in the first place: to speak to that pop superstarlet of cinema and mainstream radio, Melissa Williams. I find it odd that the powers-that-be didn't at her record label, Jive Records, chose to lodge their subtle, sultry pop princess in such a decidedly unsubtle, un-sultry setting. But such are the mysteries of life.
Less puzzling is Melissa Williams' ascendance to the dizzy heights of near-megastardom. After debuting with 'Melissa Williams' when she was only 18 years old (was it really JUST under a year ago?), she really found her funky, pop and r&b-inspired groove 3 months later, when hitmaking producers like Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins & Dallas Austin came on board for her sophomore album, 'All I Am'. It was then that she established her niche by meshing the sounds of pop, r&b and funk to make one element, candy coated soul.
Who knew this girl could act? Melissa's star turn in 'Angel', which proved she has the talent to go all the way in Hollywood, far beyond the cachet of Brandy's sitcom or Beyonc�'s and Monica's made-for-MTV movies. In fact, she sees none other than Barbra Streisand as a role model in this regard. ("She did what I'm doing--started off singing and moved into acting and produced--although I think I'll always continue to dance and perform. It's innate.") At this rate, she'll soon be hot enough to fry an egg on. Hopefully, she's investing wisely.
"Well, you know, I try, you know," laughs the Oregon-born-and-raised singer/actress, a little embarrassed when I bring up the subject of how all this showbiz activity must be giving her bank account quite a turbo-boost. "Actually, I don't really talk about that side of things too much, because it's very personal, but what I will say is that I'm very involved in every aspect of my career--not just the singing and acting, but I go to all the meetings with the lawyers and accountants and have personal relationships with them. It's very important to have that. I'd say to any artist, 'Be aware of every aspect of your career, because first and foremost, this is a business.'"
The making of Melissa's new 'Exposed' album--her third non-Christmas album overall--had to be scheduled around her busy touring schedule. "I started recording this album during the 2nd leg of my 'All I Am' US Tour," she states. "I completed, like, a song in between every 2 dates of the Tour. It was definitely not easy, hard work, but it paid off, the album turned out great. I'm very proud of it."
'Exposed' was co-produced and mostly co-written by Melissa herself, with the help of, of course, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Rockwilder, Walter Afanasieff and the Neptunes. Combining heavily synthesized pop and r&b beats with some mellow '80s-style jazz-funk and a whole lot more, the new album's highlights include the Kool & the Gang cover, "Get Down On It" with former New Kids On The Block member, Jordan Knight, and the infectious, bouncy, electric-r&b inspired funkdafied first single, "No Player."
Melissa considers her musical relationship with songwriter/producer Dallas Austin a crucial component in her own self-expression. "We've got to know each other very well. All I have to do is tell Dallas what I'm feeling, and we'll just put it into words together. I told them that I wanted to talk about things we hadn't talked about before and to really go deep into ourselves.
"Shep Crawford wrote the song 'See You Again,' which has that edgy mid-tempo heavy bass I love," she continues. "We actually sample one of Bob Marleys old cuts for that song, the name of it just doesn't come to mind right now [she laughs].."
Another song with attention-getting lyrics is "Happiness," in which she duets with hot UK r&b crooner, Craig David. The song deals with the subject of true happiness. "I wanted to have a song on the album with more meanings than one. I believe that you can't have true happiness unless you have love. And that can be love from family, friends, a lover, you know, just good ol' fashioned love. I'm glad Craig wanted to do the song with me, he's so talented, and he's just, the best male vocalist I've heard in awhile."
In reality, the sometimes-shy Melissa is a model of understatement, just like her music. She's beautiful, but hardly in a good-looking girl next door way--more like a high-gloss, supermodel way. And rather than wearing an expensive prada halter and gucci shoes befitting her Trumped-up surroundings, she blings on the down-low: A subtle bracelet here, a winking pendant there, offset by her simple black jeans and matching sweater.
"There are so many different kinds of pressure in this business, but you can't let it be but so pressurizing," states Melissa when discussing the high expectations surrounding her film career and her new album. "I put a lot of pressure on myself to be true to myself and not let anything else influence me to do what someone else is doing. Being a little edgy and sexy is me. My image isn't a put-on. I'm happy to put over that sexual edge in my videos, because it's always been there.... I'm just happy with all aspects of myself."