Post by Brie-Larson-Fan on Jun 27, 2006 15:49:37 GMT
www.MTV.com
For 15-year-old Brie Larson, the most exciting thing about scoring a record deal was getting out of gym class.
"When I found out I got a record deal, I knew I was going to be home-schooled," she said. "And I was like, 'Yes! I am finally out of P.E.!' "
Larson's enthusiasm about never again being forced to partake in half-hour games of softball or climb ropes while timed by a stopwatch led her to title her forthcoming debut album, slated for a March release, Finally Out of P.E.
The album, with its mix of pop, rock and dance tracks, and her career path, from film and television actor to singer, naturally invites comparisons to other young crossover artists like Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. But Larson says even though you might feel loyal to one of those artists, she has a new sound worth checking out.
"I know that people who like Hilary are going to like Hilary. People who like Lindsay are going to like Lindsay. People who like Ashlee are going to like Ashlee, and that's just the way it's going to be. I am not trying to change anyone's opinion. I'm just trying to say, you know, have an open mind."
Furthermore, Larson insists, unlike the younger Simpson sister, no matter what happens she is never, ever, going to use taped backing vocals during performances.
"I am coming out live," she said. "I think that the most important thing for me, after that whole fiasco, is that everyone is going to be looking at me with the little microphone thinking like, 'OK, is she really doing that?' And yes, I am. I sing live. I play. That's the way it is. You are never going to see me play with a track. It's just not the way it's going to go."
Larson has steered the direction of her career since she was just a young child. At age 7, she remembers seeing California's musical theater series "The Music Circus" and knowing at that moment that she wanted to be an actress. After enrolling in an acting class and moving to Los Angeles, Larson started down her path toward stardom with an appearance on "The Tonight Show."
"I did this skit where I was 'Malibu Mudslide Barbie,' " Larson recalled. "They dumped this huge tank of mud [over me] so it looked like a mudslide. ... My career just took off after that."
A starring role in the WB's "Raising Dad" with Bob Saget, and parts in films including the Disney Channel original "Right on Track" and the MGM feature "Sleepover," followed, but at age 12, Larson hit a fork in the road in the form of a fancy guitar.
"I went into this music store, and I saw this guitar. And I remember standing there, and I thought it was just the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life," she said. "And I was like, 'Mom, I need to have that guitar.' "
Larson learned to play her axe on the set of "Raising Dad," and, when the manager of a musical guest who appeared on the show offered to help with her musical aspirations, Larson decided to turn her focus to pop music, a move that eventually led her to a deal with Casablanca Records and a belated meeting with Tommy Mottola.
"I was signed, and Tommy had never seen me before," said Larson. "I was in New York, finishing up the album, and I had spent pretty much all day getting ready, 'cause it was the first time Tommy had seen me and I wanted to look really good, look like a star. ... All of a sudden, there is this flash flood. ... I run into the meeting, dripping with water and I'm like, 'Don't go out there without an umbrella!' And it really was an eye-opener for me because I was like, 'OK, I need to stop obsessing about every little thing.' It's not always about the way you look, it's about, you know, your heart."
Having worked on her debut for the last two years, Larson feels that Finally Out of P.E. is a window into her life.
The first single, "She Said," is a track particularly close to Larson, an empowering anthem that Larson said acted as her soundtrack for the entire recording process.
"It's scary coming out into the world and being like, 'Hello, world. My name is Brie and I write music.' "
The song's lyrics represented for Larson both the insecurity she felt in embarking on a new career path and the desire to take a chance: "It's a long way down/ But you can't walk the wire for anybody else/ I might hit the ground/ But at least I'll have a story to tell."
"It's scary," she said. "There's a 50-50 chance that you might fail. And it's like 'Oh God,' you know, 'I don't want to be seen as a failure.' But if you never try, then you are never going to know. And I don't think I could go the rest of my life knowing what I could have done."
For 15-year-old Brie Larson, the most exciting thing about scoring a record deal was getting out of gym class.
"When I found out I got a record deal, I knew I was going to be home-schooled," she said. "And I was like, 'Yes! I am finally out of P.E.!' "
Larson's enthusiasm about never again being forced to partake in half-hour games of softball or climb ropes while timed by a stopwatch led her to title her forthcoming debut album, slated for a March release, Finally Out of P.E.
The album, with its mix of pop, rock and dance tracks, and her career path, from film and television actor to singer, naturally invites comparisons to other young crossover artists like Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. But Larson says even though you might feel loyal to one of those artists, she has a new sound worth checking out.
"I know that people who like Hilary are going to like Hilary. People who like Lindsay are going to like Lindsay. People who like Ashlee are going to like Ashlee, and that's just the way it's going to be. I am not trying to change anyone's opinion. I'm just trying to say, you know, have an open mind."
Furthermore, Larson insists, unlike the younger Simpson sister, no matter what happens she is never, ever, going to use taped backing vocals during performances.
"I am coming out live," she said. "I think that the most important thing for me, after that whole fiasco, is that everyone is going to be looking at me with the little microphone thinking like, 'OK, is she really doing that?' And yes, I am. I sing live. I play. That's the way it is. You are never going to see me play with a track. It's just not the way it's going to go."
Larson has steered the direction of her career since she was just a young child. At age 7, she remembers seeing California's musical theater series "The Music Circus" and knowing at that moment that she wanted to be an actress. After enrolling in an acting class and moving to Los Angeles, Larson started down her path toward stardom with an appearance on "The Tonight Show."
"I did this skit where I was 'Malibu Mudslide Barbie,' " Larson recalled. "They dumped this huge tank of mud [over me] so it looked like a mudslide. ... My career just took off after that."
A starring role in the WB's "Raising Dad" with Bob Saget, and parts in films including the Disney Channel original "Right on Track" and the MGM feature "Sleepover," followed, but at age 12, Larson hit a fork in the road in the form of a fancy guitar.
"I went into this music store, and I saw this guitar. And I remember standing there, and I thought it was just the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life," she said. "And I was like, 'Mom, I need to have that guitar.' "
Larson learned to play her axe on the set of "Raising Dad," and, when the manager of a musical guest who appeared on the show offered to help with her musical aspirations, Larson decided to turn her focus to pop music, a move that eventually led her to a deal with Casablanca Records and a belated meeting with Tommy Mottola.
"I was signed, and Tommy had never seen me before," said Larson. "I was in New York, finishing up the album, and I had spent pretty much all day getting ready, 'cause it was the first time Tommy had seen me and I wanted to look really good, look like a star. ... All of a sudden, there is this flash flood. ... I run into the meeting, dripping with water and I'm like, 'Don't go out there without an umbrella!' And it really was an eye-opener for me because I was like, 'OK, I need to stop obsessing about every little thing.' It's not always about the way you look, it's about, you know, your heart."
Having worked on her debut for the last two years, Larson feels that Finally Out of P.E. is a window into her life.
The first single, "She Said," is a track particularly close to Larson, an empowering anthem that Larson said acted as her soundtrack for the entire recording process.
"It's scary coming out into the world and being like, 'Hello, world. My name is Brie and I write music.' "
The song's lyrics represented for Larson both the insecurity she felt in embarking on a new career path and the desire to take a chance: "It's a long way down/ But you can't walk the wire for anybody else/ I might hit the ground/ But at least I'll have a story to tell."
"It's scary," she said. "There's a 50-50 chance that you might fail. And it's like 'Oh God,' you know, 'I don't want to be seen as a failure.' But if you never try, then you are never going to know. And I don't think I could go the rest of my life knowing what I could have done."
