Brittini Black -
Good Things Happen to Those Who Waitby Bev Moser
Brittini Black is a music fanatic. According to her mother, Brittini started singing herself to sleep at age three. By the time she was eight years old, Brittini was singing harmonies, and by age 12, as a member of mother-daughter duo Sandra Lee & Brittini, a plan had been mapped out to pursue a career in music. And she's been following that map with certainty, recently releasing her debut CD and taking Nashville by storm.
Bev: Wonderful show and what a wonderful crowd, congratulations. How does it feel to have that behind you? Brittini: It feels incredible. I have been waiting on this for soooooooo long. I have been singing since I was three and then as I grew up I sang with my mom, and we had some airplay as a duet and we were opening at some pretty big name concerts when I was 16 and there have been times when I thought, WOW, we made it and then things would fall through. Then a few years ago I thought I had a record deal, I was told I did and it just did not happen, so there have been so many close calls and after awhile you begin to get almost so you don’t believe it is going to happen, even though you are out there and singing, and now, this finally feels so right, I could not be happier with everything. I have a great team behind me and we are doing things in new ways which I am really excited about so I am happy and cannot wait to see what is yet to come. Bev: You got very emotional during your thank you’s at the release party, I can imagine that the old cliché’ about good things happen to those who wait rings true? Brittini: Yes, it really does. I have never had that happen to me on stage before. Anyone who knows me personally knows I am an emotional person, but everything leading up to that night had been a little overwhelming and I think to step out there on the stage and see all the support out there and have this party to celebrate all our hard work, I was so caught up in the moment, and I could feel the love in the room and it was so cool for me to have everyone there to celebrate with me. Bev: Well, like you said, you have been singing since you were very young, do you mind me asking how old you are right now and also if your last name, Black, is your own name or a stage name?Brittini: (laughing, Brittani admits) well I am 25 and yes, Black is my real name.Bev: This is your 1st CD, is this first you ever made, other than demos? Brittini: My mom and I had one we had done on our own, but this is the first real one for me and the first time my fans could buy it in stores and online. and this has been such a cohesive project and I am so ready and so excited. Bev: Your video for “Good Happens”, was showcased at the CD Release Party and was received very very well, by the end the crowd was clapping and cheering, were you nervous before it ended wondering how it would go?Brittini: Not nervous, the few people who had seen it prior to that had such a positive response and I think the song itself is a happy feel good song. Shooting the video had gone seamlessly and everything came together so well, we squeezed a three day shoot into 8 hours and it just all worked out so we are thrilled with the finished project. What made me more happy was the fact that the people in the video were there, and got to see it for the first time with me and share in the moment. Bev: Where was the 1st stage you performed on? With your mom? Brittini: I have been on stage and performing pretty much all my life. I grew up doing church stuff and competitions, but the first time actually on stage in front of a crowd was when my mom and I opened for Lonestar at a fan appreciation concert. It was when they were pretty big and there were a lot of people in the crowd. I remember being overwhelmed and a little scared, and yet it was one of those times in my career when I really thought we made it because we signed autographs after our set for three hours. Bev: You attended Belmont University, and were a very recognized name, being asked twice to perform the BEST OF THE BEST Show at the Ryman, is that correct? Was that your most memorable time while attending Belmont?Brittini: Actually I performed twice at the Commercial Showcase, twice at the Country Showcase and then once at the Best of the Best. Everything I did while at Belmont was great, but I would say that the Best of the Best was a highlight and probably most memorable just because we performed with Brad Paisley, who is one of my favorites and he is also a Belmont Alum, so that in itself was inspiring to realize a few years before that he was where I was and look where his career has gone, and we were performing at the Ryman, which for any country artist is a pinnacle moment. Everything about the night was unbelievable and surreal. You felt like it was a huge industry event and very professional and not just a school performance.Bev: You have written with some of Nashville’s finest and biggest names, who is your favorite or who you seem to really connect with? Brittini: Tammy Hyler, who wrote Martina McBride’s “I love You” and Collin Raye’s #1 hit “I Can Still Feel You” is one of the writers I really admire and enjoy collaborating with. We are really close on a personal level, and I have met so many more bigger names through her – she actually has quite a few songs on this CD. Tom Douglas wrote “God’s Will”, another Martina hit, and “Little Rock” for Collin Raye, along with hits by Alabama and so many more and I just love him, and everyone really has been so nice and open. Victoria Shaw who wrote Garth Brooks “The River” is my other favorite writer I really enjoy working with her.Bev: Which songs are your favorites to perform, new or old, regardless if they are your songs?Brittini: It can change depending on if it is acoustic or a full band performance, but, I really am enjoying “Knock Me Down” which is on my CD and the song I closed the performance with at my CD release party. It is a fun song you can get into. The lyrics are fun and you can just get into the character and be animated and have a lot of fun on stage while performing it.Bev: You wrote several songs on this CD, the 1st release which is also the Title cut. Do you prefer to write your own?Brittini: I really, honestly want to make sure overall I have the best songs on my project and songs that I can relate to and the fans, and that I feel I really perform well. I write a lot, but I do not want to isolate myself to only singing my own stuff. And from the perspective of a songwriter, to get songs cut is not always easy, so I want to support the songwriting community too. Bev: If you could choose anyone, past or present to perform with, who would it be? Brittini: Ohhh, there are so many really, but in Country music it would by Bryan White. I grew up listening to him and watching him perform and I wanted to be the female version of him. He pushes the envelope just a little from the Country music trends, he mixed the Pop influences into his songs and that is exactly what I want to do. I remember seeing him and LeAnne Rimes perform once and I wanted to be her on stage with him so badly. If I could choose someone who is not Country, I would love to do something with Michael McDonald. Bev: Your style has been described as singing hope filled songs, is that something you hope to continue, to sing inspirational country or is it just where you are at the moment? Brittini: It is something I aim for, but it is also where I am at the moment, because I am always positive in my own life and I feel it is very important to remind people through my music that it is not always going to be like this, that there is something better coming and it will get better. I like to help people and it is a big part of who I am in general. It was not really something we tried to do or set out to do with this project, but I am glad it did all come together this way, it really portrays who I am. Bev: Tell me about the project you are involved with, Breakout: The Road To Stardom.Brittini: My mom has been working on this for some time, four or five years now. It is very exciting, because it picks up where American Idol and Nashville Star leave off. It shows what it is really like when you get a record deal and win contests like this. People in general who are not a part of this industry have the misconception that once you have hit, that all at once you are rich and live in a mansion and live this glorious life and it is not like that at all. It is hitting the road and doing all the promotional things like radio and interviews and little shows to get your music out there. This is what I like to call a reality documentary. We are striving for release next Spring or Summer, and it is being pitched to the networks now. This project follows the lives of five people, myself included, who are all Country music artists, we are all about in the same place in our careers and it just lets people see our lives and what really happens and how hard we have to work to be a success. Bev: What is the most fun thing about being an artist and performer?Brittini: This is going to sound cliché’, but it is simply that I get to share my music. I know I would be singing no matter what, even if it was in my bedroom, but to be able to sing on stage and share that with people is the best feeling. Seeing fans connect with what I do, and seeing their reaction and responses is simply amazing. Too see a smile or hear the stories on how it affects them is so special to me.Bev: Tell me about one of the most embarrassing things ever to happen on stage. Brittini: If anyone ever saw the old pictures of what I wore or how I fixed my hair, oh my goodness. I look at those in horror. Otherwise, I have not had any real embarrassing moments. I did have dream one time before one of my big showcases at Belmont, and the whole stage was a huge trampoline and I feared I would jump right off the stage, and I told that story while on stage and after I did, I was a little embarrassed I did .Bev: While on the road and on tour, what is one of the worst experiences you have had so far?Brittini: The only thing that comes to mind was one showcase that was a big deal and pretty huge in general, and I had no voice and I was so sick, and I was freaking out, it was not my best performance, but I did it and I learned from it, but it was hard for me.Bev: Brittini, I want to thank you very much for your time today and again for inviting me to share this special time with you. Is there anything you would like to add or to say that we have not covered today? Brittini: You are so welcome, I have enjoyed our time together. The biggest thing is just to remind my friends and fans to go out and buy the heck out of my album and come to see me at my shows. I am really looking forward to everything that is coming up.
For more about Brittini Black, visit her website at http://www.brittiniblack.com/
Good Things Happen to Those Who Waitby Bev Moser
Brittini Black is a music fanatic. According to her mother, Brittini started singing herself to sleep at age three. By the time she was eight years old, Brittini was singing harmonies, and by age 12, as a member of mother-daughter duo Sandra Lee & Brittini, a plan had been mapped out to pursue a career in music. And she's been following that map with certainty, recently releasing her debut CD and taking Nashville by storm.
Bev: Wonderful show and what a wonderful crowd, congratulations. How does it feel to have that behind you? Brittini: It feels incredible. I have been waiting on this for soooooooo long. I have been singing since I was three and then as I grew up I sang with my mom, and we had some airplay as a duet and we were opening at some pretty big name concerts when I was 16 and there have been times when I thought, WOW, we made it and then things would fall through. Then a few years ago I thought I had a record deal, I was told I did and it just did not happen, so there have been so many close calls and after awhile you begin to get almost so you don’t believe it is going to happen, even though you are out there and singing, and now, this finally feels so right, I could not be happier with everything. I have a great team behind me and we are doing things in new ways which I am really excited about so I am happy and cannot wait to see what is yet to come. Bev: You got very emotional during your thank you’s at the release party, I can imagine that the old cliché’ about good things happen to those who wait rings true? Brittini: Yes, it really does. I have never had that happen to me on stage before. Anyone who knows me personally knows I am an emotional person, but everything leading up to that night had been a little overwhelming and I think to step out there on the stage and see all the support out there and have this party to celebrate all our hard work, I was so caught up in the moment, and I could feel the love in the room and it was so cool for me to have everyone there to celebrate with me. Bev: Well, like you said, you have been singing since you were very young, do you mind me asking how old you are right now and also if your last name, Black, is your own name or a stage name?Brittini: (laughing, Brittani admits) well I am 25 and yes, Black is my real name.Bev: This is your 1st CD, is this first you ever made, other than demos? Brittini: My mom and I had one we had done on our own, but this is the first real one for me and the first time my fans could buy it in stores and online. and this has been such a cohesive project and I am so ready and so excited. Bev: Your video for “Good Happens”, was showcased at the CD Release Party and was received very very well, by the end the crowd was clapping and cheering, were you nervous before it ended wondering how it would go?Brittini: Not nervous, the few people who had seen it prior to that had such a positive response and I think the song itself is a happy feel good song. Shooting the video had gone seamlessly and everything came together so well, we squeezed a three day shoot into 8 hours and it just all worked out so we are thrilled with the finished project. What made me more happy was the fact that the people in the video were there, and got to see it for the first time with me and share in the moment. Bev: Where was the 1st stage you performed on? With your mom? Brittini: I have been on stage and performing pretty much all my life. I grew up doing church stuff and competitions, but the first time actually on stage in front of a crowd was when my mom and I opened for Lonestar at a fan appreciation concert. It was when they were pretty big and there were a lot of people in the crowd. I remember being overwhelmed and a little scared, and yet it was one of those times in my career when I really thought we made it because we signed autographs after our set for three hours. Bev: You attended Belmont University, and were a very recognized name, being asked twice to perform the BEST OF THE BEST Show at the Ryman, is that correct? Was that your most memorable time while attending Belmont?Brittini: Actually I performed twice at the Commercial Showcase, twice at the Country Showcase and then once at the Best of the Best. Everything I did while at Belmont was great, but I would say that the Best of the Best was a highlight and probably most memorable just because we performed with Brad Paisley, who is one of my favorites and he is also a Belmont Alum, so that in itself was inspiring to realize a few years before that he was where I was and look where his career has gone, and we were performing at the Ryman, which for any country artist is a pinnacle moment. Everything about the night was unbelievable and surreal. You felt like it was a huge industry event and very professional and not just a school performance.Bev: You have written with some of Nashville’s finest and biggest names, who is your favorite or who you seem to really connect with? Brittini: Tammy Hyler, who wrote Martina McBride’s “I love You” and Collin Raye’s #1 hit “I Can Still Feel You” is one of the writers I really admire and enjoy collaborating with. We are really close on a personal level, and I have met so many more bigger names through her – she actually has quite a few songs on this CD. Tom Douglas wrote “God’s Will”, another Martina hit, and “Little Rock” for Collin Raye, along with hits by Alabama and so many more and I just love him, and everyone really has been so nice and open. Victoria Shaw who wrote Garth Brooks “The River” is my other favorite writer I really enjoy working with her.Bev: Which songs are your favorites to perform, new or old, regardless if they are your songs?Brittini: It can change depending on if it is acoustic or a full band performance, but, I really am enjoying “Knock Me Down” which is on my CD and the song I closed the performance with at my CD release party. It is a fun song you can get into. The lyrics are fun and you can just get into the character and be animated and have a lot of fun on stage while performing it.Bev: You wrote several songs on this CD, the 1st release which is also the Title cut. Do you prefer to write your own?Brittini: I really, honestly want to make sure overall I have the best songs on my project and songs that I can relate to and the fans, and that I feel I really perform well. I write a lot, but I do not want to isolate myself to only singing my own stuff. And from the perspective of a songwriter, to get songs cut is not always easy, so I want to support the songwriting community too. Bev: If you could choose anyone, past or present to perform with, who would it be? Brittini: Ohhh, there are so many really, but in Country music it would by Bryan White. I grew up listening to him and watching him perform and I wanted to be the female version of him. He pushes the envelope just a little from the Country music trends, he mixed the Pop influences into his songs and that is exactly what I want to do. I remember seeing him and LeAnne Rimes perform once and I wanted to be her on stage with him so badly. If I could choose someone who is not Country, I would love to do something with Michael McDonald. Bev: Your style has been described as singing hope filled songs, is that something you hope to continue, to sing inspirational country or is it just where you are at the moment? Brittini: It is something I aim for, but it is also where I am at the moment, because I am always positive in my own life and I feel it is very important to remind people through my music that it is not always going to be like this, that there is something better coming and it will get better. I like to help people and it is a big part of who I am in general. It was not really something we tried to do or set out to do with this project, but I am glad it did all come together this way, it really portrays who I am. Bev: Tell me about the project you are involved with, Breakout: The Road To Stardom.Brittini: My mom has been working on this for some time, four or five years now. It is very exciting, because it picks up where American Idol and Nashville Star leave off. It shows what it is really like when you get a record deal and win contests like this. People in general who are not a part of this industry have the misconception that once you have hit, that all at once you are rich and live in a mansion and live this glorious life and it is not like that at all. It is hitting the road and doing all the promotional things like radio and interviews and little shows to get your music out there. This is what I like to call a reality documentary. We are striving for release next Spring or Summer, and it is being pitched to the networks now. This project follows the lives of five people, myself included, who are all Country music artists, we are all about in the same place in our careers and it just lets people see our lives and what really happens and how hard we have to work to be a success. Bev: What is the most fun thing about being an artist and performer?Brittini: This is going to sound cliché’, but it is simply that I get to share my music. I know I would be singing no matter what, even if it was in my bedroom, but to be able to sing on stage and share that with people is the best feeling. Seeing fans connect with what I do, and seeing their reaction and responses is simply amazing. Too see a smile or hear the stories on how it affects them is so special to me.Bev: Tell me about one of the most embarrassing things ever to happen on stage. Brittini: If anyone ever saw the old pictures of what I wore or how I fixed my hair, oh my goodness. I look at those in horror. Otherwise, I have not had any real embarrassing moments. I did have dream one time before one of my big showcases at Belmont, and the whole stage was a huge trampoline and I feared I would jump right off the stage, and I told that story while on stage and after I did, I was a little embarrassed I did .Bev: While on the road and on tour, what is one of the worst experiences you have had so far?Brittini: The only thing that comes to mind was one showcase that was a big deal and pretty huge in general, and I had no voice and I was so sick, and I was freaking out, it was not my best performance, but I did it and I learned from it, but it was hard for me.Bev: Brittini, I want to thank you very much for your time today and again for inviting me to share this special time with you. Is there anything you would like to add or to say that we have not covered today? Brittini: You are so welcome, I have enjoyed our time together. The biggest thing is just to remind my friends and fans to go out and buy the heck out of my album and come to see me at my shows. I am really looking forward to everything that is coming up.
For more about Brittini Black, visit her website at http://www.brittiniblack.com/
(reprinted with permission Music News Nashville)
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