Thalia: she's major in Mexico, she's big in Brazil, she's a Phenomenon in the Phillipines … America, get ready

Interview, August, 2003 by Stephen Mooallem

BY STEPHEN MOOALLEM

STEPHEN MOOALLEM: Hey, Thalia. How are you?

THALIA: I'm very happy to be relaxing. This week has been crazy--I just got back from Mexico, promoting my album [Thalia, Virgin].

SM: You're such a massive celebrity there.

T: It's always amazing to go back home. There is a lot of media, so everybody is looking at what you are doing. But I don't see that as a terribly big part of what I do. People who approach me and say "Oh, give me your autograph" or Let's take a picture"--I just love that.

SM: You've been famous in Mexico for a long time, right?

T: Since I was nine. I joined this singing group [Timbiriche] that became like the Backstreet Boys for Latin America. A TV producer saw me and offered me a part in a soap opera, and I ended up doing a trilogy that was sold to 108 countries and translated into [many] languages--that launched my solo career.

SM: When were you like, "Okay, this is for real"?

T: I went to the Philippines and it was like when the Pope arrives in a place-huge crowds. It was shocking. You expect that in a place like Brazil, but the Philippines? How do they know I exist? And believe me, they knew--people sang the songs in Spanish.

SM: Your new album is your first English-language record. Is it hard singing in another language?

T: I have a good ear, so I catch the sounds very quickly. Singing is like acting. If you're singing about a woman that's been hurt by a guy, you have to create that character. You have to pay attention to pronunciation and accents, but you also have to be concerned about the feeling.

SM: The album is a departure from the pop records you did in Spanish--musically, it's really diverse.

T: I did everything on this record, every style. I like different sounds--Journey, Chicago, AC/DC, t.A.t.U.--the Doors are my favorite. I worked with producers who already know the formulas--they know how to work in this country with audiences and the radio people.

SM: Was pop culture from the English-speaking world a big part of your life growing up?

T: Oh, big time! Grease [1978] was huge--Olivia Newton-John was like a goddess. Donna Summer. Duran Duran. Cyndi Lauper.

SM: What attracted you to those people?

T: The rebellion. Latin culture was more about the songs and the singers--more romantic, more sweet. But these other artists didn't care about anything. It was shocking. Madonna's performance on MTV [at the 1984 Music Video Awards], when she wore a wedding dress and sang ["Like a Virgin"] on top of a cake--it was like, "Wow."

SM: You were already pretty famous when you met your husband, Tommy Mottola [the former head of Sony Music]. Do you get involved in each other's work?

T: Well, I didn't arrive at his door with a tape in my hand, saying "Hey, this is me singing--could you make me a star?" [laughs] It was two successful people in their own worlds coming together. Sometimes he asks me if he should work with this act or that one. But with my career, he knows how passionate I am about my ideas.

SM: I know you've already had a taste of it here--how is fame different in the States?

T: People have written things about me--that I've had ribs removed or I've had all these surgeries. They always write craziness. But there have been many good things: singing at the Latin Grammys, working with these huge producers, traveling.

SM: I know that at the end of last year. two of your sisters, Ernestina Sodi and Laura Zapata, were kidnapped and held for several weeks. How are they doing?

T: They're pulling themselves out of that terrible situation. Laura is getting into politics because she wants to change a lot of laws [dealing with] kidnappers--it's a huge problem in Mexico.

SM: But how do you work past that?

T: When something that you never expected happens to you or your family, you have two ways to go: Either you go into the deepest depression and never come out, or you push yourself and use that experience as an opportunity to become stronger.

Stephen Mooallem is Interview's Music Editor.