We can’t get her new dancefloor-stomping single Booby Trap out of our heads, with its catchier than the clap chorus. So here at PinkPaper.com, we had a chat with new pop diva on the scene and gay icon in the making Andrea Faithful about individual style, illegal downloading and flashing private parts.

We love Booby Trap, it’s so bloody catchy!

Are you talking about the ‘na na na na na’ bit? [laughs]. I think the inspiration behind it is… Well, I can be a bit schizophrenic. I’ve got 10 million different personalities, and the thoughts behind writing it was taking all these personalities, putting them into one big track and seeing what would happen. And it’s caused an explosion. It certainly has.

What else can we expect from your music?

I don’t believe in boxing yourself in one style, it’s nice to be sort of experimental; but it’s very commercial. I have no qualms with it being commercial. I like commercial music and I think there are some great commercial artists. What I can’t stand is when people go, ‘Oh, you’ve sold out, you’re commercial’ and it’s like, there’s nothing to sell out from, I want to sell records.

What made you decide to set up your own record label then, if you want to make commercial music?

Well, I just think now, it’s such a different time. I think going to a major [label] is not the right thing to do. I think in this day and age you can’t just be an artist. That’s why I’ve got the clothing range too. It’s vintage style grunge – there are a lot of t-shirts and jeans. I’ve actually been learning to make shoes and so we want to get a shoe range going. They’re looking a bit more like Clarks OneStep than Christian Louboutins at the moment, but I’m trying my best. I’m a shoeaholic, give me a ten-inch heel and I’m happy!

Let’s talk about your amazing candy-floss hair…

It’s not mine, it’s not real! It’s all extensions. It was funny actually because I went to try and get it done, and because I didn’t want it that dark pink (I wanted an ice-creamy pink), they wouldn’t do it at the hairdressers. They said ‘Oh, you have to go dark’, and I was like, ‘No, I’m not going dark’. So I made a little science lab and mixed together a load of potions and I managed to get it in the end. I don’t like taking no for an answer.

Considering your last single had a quarter of a million illegal downloads, are you against online file sharing?

I think the internet is such a good thing for new artists to get out there, and it’s amazing to hear your music and not just have the A&R guy deciding if it’s good or bad, so I think it’s good in that way. But if people would only pay as little as 79p… It’s not that I mean to be money grabbing, but it would be money to carry on with and put back into the company. And I guess in that sense it seems to me like stealing. I wouldn’t walk into someone’s house and steal. People don’t go to work for free. We just need to try and do something about it, it’s killing the industry.

Despite that though, you’re a keen Twitterer.

Oh I love it, I think it’s really nice to be able to talk to people and also get the public’s opinion on things. I don’t want to be one of those artists, you know, ‘this is wrong, this is right’. It’s nice to include the people who will buy your records and give you a career at the end of the day, so I think what they say is really important.

We heard that you once flashed your bits in front of Sean Penn. What happened there?

Well, I have a fun life. I used to play at a lot of the warehouse parties in New York. The whole ‘fanny out’ was a bit of an accident. I was having an argument with a friend and left this bar in a diva style strop and then tripped and fell down the stairs. I wasn’t hurt though, I was too drunk!

With your outrageous style and individual sound, there are sure to be Lady Gaga comparisons. What do you say to that?

I have a vagina and I write commercial music and that’s it. I think anyone that portrays an image that’s fairly strong is going to be compared to her because she’s so highly seen in the press, but it certainly wasn’t that I was trying to be like Lady Gaga, I’ve just been like that forever.

Are you ready to be a gay icon?

I’d love it! I think it would be great. I know when I’ve played at a lot of gay bars and parties, they know how to have fun. You feel really welcome and they really do know how to party.

September 18, 2010 1 Comment »