Mentre TO PARIS WITH LOVE raggiunge il N. 4 della classifica dance di Billboard, Donna rilascia questa interessantissima intervista in cui, tra le altre cose, conferma di star lavorando a due nuovi album...
Queen of the Divas Donna Summer has a fall date with the Phoenix Symphony By Lesley Goldberg
Donna Summers music can pack a dance floor at any club in the world. The singer, known for songs like Hot Stuff, Bad Girls and Last Dance, is working on both an all-dance effort and standards album. When she isnt recording, Summer is on the road touring.
Summer will bring her star power to Arizona when she headlines the Phoenix Symphonys annual gala on Oct. 16. The concert, under the baton of music director Michael Christie, will benefit the symphonys education, outreach and artistic activities.
In a telephone interview, Summer talked about her show, the possibility of showing up on the TV show Glee, her appeal to gay fans and that nickname.
Question: Whats your favorite song to perform live?
Answer: Last Dance, because that song was written for me. Its the end of the show and people are usually out of their seats and screaming by then. Its that moment of being in your light. If you watch an old Judy Garland movie and you see her during her performance, she always had one spotlight on her. She was always very adamant about being in her light. In your light, when you get that sense, there is an acceleration of your gifts. There is something about being isolated in darkness and knowing that people are there but not really seeing them and being able to go beyond yourself. I havent had that feeling in a long time but Ive begun to feel it again and its incredible.
Q: Do you ever feel like youre channeling Judy Garland?
A: (Laughing.) She was a lot shorter! I do feel that Ive learned a great deal from Judy. She in some ways, performance-wise, has inspired me. Years ago when I was living in Connecticut, I happened to watch a montage of all her stuff and I watched it several times. What I gleaned from her was that it didnt take a lot you dont need a lot of stuff around you to take people to where they want to go. You need you, and you need your abilities and you need your light. I went on tour right after that and did that; I didnt take anything but my band and my singers and did a very black stage with spotlights because I wanted to begin to develop as performer in and of myself. If I dont have anything to play with on-stage and Ive just got me, what can I deliver? I think that was the key: Being able to pull from my resources as a performer for each song. It was a great learning curve for me as a stage performer.
Q: Is there a song that you wont perform live?
A: I didnt use to perform Love to Love You Baby because when I did, it would create pandemonium. I stopped doing that for many years, but this last tour I started singing it again. Now I feel like its OK to do it again, its sweet and fun. People usually sing the whole song with me anyway.
Q: Your show in Phoenix is a fundraiser for the symphony. Why is supporting the arts important to you?
A: We have to support the arts. This type of culture is so important to how we develop as human beings. Music is the intrinsic thing; it goes inside your head whether you like it or no. Once its in there, it does its magic. Its the one thing that gets you through moments that otherwise youd have no resource for.
Q: Is prepping for a symphony show different than a more traditional solo gig?
A: Theres less of a physical performance with a symphony because of the genre that Im in. When I do my own show, theres more jumping around, dancers, people; its a different environment. This is more of a classical approach to doing music, where you stand your ground and walk from one end of the stage to the other. The symphony takes up a lot of space, so you dont get the use the stage the way you would if it were your own setup. What I do attempt to do when singing with a symphony is not to lose momentum. I try to bring as much energy to that moment if Im not doing a movement Id normally do.
Q: What do you think of what the TV show Glee has done for promoting arts and the importance of arts education?
A: I think its fabulous. If there wouldnt have been music in school, I wouldnt be here. I was in every play I could get myself into; that is where children find out who they are, especially if they are gifted kids in environments where they dont have the ability to take music or play an instrument. That is imperative for them. The arts are the one thing that makes school worth going to.
Q: Would you ever want to be on an episode of Glee or have a song of yours featured on the show?
A: Actually, weve already been in talks with them. Yes. I would love to; probably at some point both. Its something that happened after the show came out; they were calling us and we were knee-deep in projects to do at that point so we werent able to manifest that but we will probably work on doing something with them at some point for sure. I dont know if itll be this year or if itll be next season. But well be working on it.
Q: Your latest single, To Paris With Love, came out in August. If you were going to write a song about Arizona, what would it entail?
A: I think of Arizona as having a little mystical side; mystical mountains, Native Americans, people who have gone there for health, etc. I like the topography a lot. I think Id sing a lot about the land and the history.
Q: You have two albums in the works an all dance release and an album of standards. What can you share about both works?
A: I will record both and decide afterward which one comes first. I think the standards album will get done first but I dont know if itll be released first. I do have more standards songs ready to go and the dance songs still have to be written, but some of them are done.
Q: How does living in Nashville influence you?
A: As a songwriter-singer, I really love Nashville because theres an element and atmosphere here of songwriters. You feel at home when youre a songwriter here, like you belong here. Theres camaraderie here among songwriters, especially if youve been here for any length of time. We have had a hit record out here, called Starting Over Again with Dolly Parton, which was a No. 1 country song. And Reba McIntire cut the same song the year we moved here. The name of the song is Starting Over and we were starting over in Nashville. When Reba cut that song, we knew that we were meant to be here.
Q: Your nickname is The Queen of Divas. How do you define diva?
A: Unlike other people, I define it as a woman who is at the top of her game in her singing and stage performances in music. That could be anybody. Like Maria Callas, shes a quintessential diva. I think the word diva came out of opera more than anything. I think a diva has to be somebody who is very loving, so I dont look at it with any kind of negativity. But I dont see myself as one of those people.
Q: What do you think it is that makes your music so popular among the gay community?
A: People are in touch with their emotional side and live in a place where they are really in tune with who they are. I think (my music) makes them happy. Its hard to define why somebody likes you or loves your music; but from the results that I get and what I see when Im at a concert and people come backstage and they speak to me, theres something so deep for them. It makes your realize how utterly important music is.
