Skye Sweetnam Ain't No Britney Or Avril

[rockpit]

Skye Sweetnam Ain't No Britney Or Avril
Tuesday January 22, 2008 @ 02:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff


By Sarah Kurchak

It's been three years since adorable pop-punk moppet Skye Sweetnam released her debut album, Noise From The Basement. Now the 19 year old is back with a new, more mature and tougher album, Sound Solider. ChartAttack talked to the singer about the writing process for her new disc, defining herself as an artist, and those pesky Avril Lavigne comparisons.


Skye Sweetnam

ChartAttack: What have you been doing since we last saw you?
Skye Sweetnam: Well, with Noise From The Basement, I did a lot of international releases. I went to Spain and France and Japan a bunch of times. So that took up a bunch of time to get the CD out everywhere else. And then I started writing like crazy. I worked with the producer that I worked with on Noise From The Basement, James Robertson. I worked with my band. I worked with a few people in Toronto. Then I got flown out to L.A. to do kind of an L.A. writing circuit. And then I finally found the core of what I wanted to do once I met The Matrix. I kind of met The Matrix and Tim Armstrong [of Rancid] at the same time, which is funny because it's almost two completely opposite people to write with. Like, Tim is very punk rock, DIY, you know, lives in his basement, does everything from home, wants to create personal relationships as well as professional relationships. It's just a different kind of lifestyle from The Matrix, who live in these beautiful upper-class houses with these beautiful home studios, working with runners going out to get you lunch all the time. So, it was two different kind of sets of people, but each one I really felt like I related to and found great creative relationship with. And I just wrote the record and here we are.

You were hesitant to work with The Matrix at first, right?
I was, because the first song that we worked on together was actually for a little thing that I did with Barbie, which was The Barbie Diaries DVD. There was one song that the label was interested in me recording that was pitched to Barbie, which was a song The Matrix had already written, which, to me... I've never really sung any song that I didn't write myself. I kind of felt uncomfortable doing that, but because it was for Barbie and it wasn't Skye Sweetnam, it was something else, then I thought, "OK, I'll do this if everyone feels that strongly about it," and kind of did that as a side-project.

So we recorded that song and it's very poppy and very happy and it was called "Love Is A Beautiful Thing." As much as it's an amazing song and I give them major props for writing it, it just wasn't my cup of tea doing that. That was one reason why I was I like, "I don't know if I want to do songs for my record with these guys." But also the fact that they'd done work with Hilary Duff and Avril Lavigne and all of these artists that, although great, people would just slide me in with that group of people. I think it's really hard to make it in this industry if you're just another one of those girls rather than your own entity. I was just really strong-willed to make sure that I wasn't given the same songs that were... like, I didn't want it to be an ex-Hilary Duff song or an ex-Avril Lavigne song for my record. I wanted to do something that was me and my own thing. So that's why I was kind of like, "I hope these guys are cool with me coming in and kind of wanting to switch things up." But what I didn't know when I walked in there was that they had worked with Korn before and I was like, "Whoa, that even caught me off guard." I didn't think that was the kind of music they did. So yeah, then I was like, "OK, here's my ideas, what do you think?" And they were just really receptive to everything.

Speaking of ex-songs, I heard a rumour that you rejected Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" because it was too cheesy.
Really? That's kind of weird cause that's... I hadn't heard that before and I never really got that song. But I actually worked with Dr. Luke — who wrote "Girlfriend" and did most of Avril's record — right before Avril started working with him. I actually did a song with Dr. Luke that I didn't use for my record, so I kind of technically rejected that song, I guess. I just didn't like it because I didn't write it.

But it was funny because I actually talked to Dr. Luke right when Avril's stuff was coming out and he was like, "Oh, I was so inspired, it helped me write Avril's record!" working with me, which was kind of weird. But it's funny, because Avril's so big right now that if she does something, it's out right away, whereas I wrote three records before she even started writing her new one and everyone's like, "Oh you're just copying her." I wrote the whole thing before she even started writing her record! But oh well, that comparison's lived with me since the day I was born into this industry.

Do you think you'll ever escape it?
I don't know. I hope to. A lot of people can refer to Britney or Avril by their first names, like, "Oh, that sounds so Avril or Britney." I think that every person who really wants to make a career for themselves' goal is to be the person that people compare artists to rather than the one being compared to other people. I think that's what every artist should strive for, making their own unique identity that people can really just get right away as a one-name comparison.

So we're hoping for a new generation of Skyes.
(laughs) Yes.


Source: Skye Sweetnam Ain*t No Britney Or Avril


I think I just read a bunch of bullshit.

[iva.vilovic32]

thanks!

i hate how in her song human she talks about being marketed. "they're even marketing what i say right now" usually people avoid talking about this because its painfully obvious. and yes i know girlfriend is cheesy. has anyone heard billy s. lol talk about cheese. ***btw i looked up the lyrics i don't know them by heart.

[catatoniaone]

She is not so bad on a personal level I think . just trying to get a bit of success for herself and keep her own identity.
I think so many of the interviewers want her to talk about Avril trying to get something so as to bash her, thats the headline they want .
same when Avril is asked about Britney or Paris all the time.
also why I hate Hayley from Paramore. and like Fefe Dobson

[Sterock Loves Stewie]

...Hmm and i thought Avril was full of herself sometimes

Didn't know who she was but i got the feeling she was a seroius singer-songwriter and didn't want to be labeled with Avril because she was above her or something, well how come all her recent albuim is written with the matrix! (according to wiki).

[Prudence]

I'm sorry, was she implying that she is responsible for Avril's new record cos she "inspired" Luke? I hated how she implied that Avril didn't write any of it and it was all Luke. You just don't do that.

Anyways, thanks for posting JC!

[catatoniaone]

She isn`t a serious singer-songwriter , she fit`s in between the Duff and Avril .
She came out at a time when every record label wanted their own Avril . I dont think she had much success , mainly because of all the Avril clones .
she is only " Indi " because nobody buy`s her music.
does anyone remember one of the other after Avrils called Kati Rose ?

[catatoniaone]

And the British Avril was called Studd I think , remember her ?

[:.britt.:]

T4p.

I was never a fan of her. Her music is pretty boring, but I won't completly go into a detailed diss.

[DALE]

Skye sweetnam has always been full of shit. I'm so different from avril that out of the millions of producers in the world I was teamed up with the matrix (avrils former producers) and I like how she talked about the "barbie" song "I didn't like it but I did it anyway" hopefully the matrix ain't insulted, it's funny when she was doing promo she talked about how proud she was of the "barbie" song, credibility goes out the window. The truth is without avril she would have been dropped from the record label by now.

[Teenager From Mars]

Originally Posted by Sterock85

Didn't know who she was but i got the feeling she was a seroius singer-songwriter and didn't want to be labeled with Avril because she was above her or something, well how come all her recent albuim is written with the matrix! (according to wiki).

That's what the interview talks about.

Also: She has always fucking sucked. And Tim Armstrong gives her no credibility when he sucks balls, as well.

[Jimmyzz]

Lol, Skye who?

[Xioux]

I love Skye Sweetnam..lol, I didn't like how she didn't credit Avril for writing and kinda implied Luke did it all..but I just really love her vibe and her music. She's the only Avril-esque I stuck with, Katy Rose was....ehh. But thanks for posting that, that was cool.

OFF-TOPIC: What do people got against Paramore, btw? I'm no huge fan, I like one song but I'm confused as to why people dislike them?

[orange-sky]

ok I am quite a big Skye Sweetnam fan and I understand you all defending Avril I do, but Skye isn't the kind of person who seems to go around showing off about things.
And it is true that she worked with Dr.Luke before Avril did. She has been writing her latest album for a long time but with Label mergers and what not it took a long time to come out.

Skye sweetnam has always been full of shit. I'm so different from avril that out of the millions of producers in the world I was teamed up with the matrix (avrils former producers) and I like how she talked about the "barbie" song "I didn't like it but I did it anyway" hopefully the matrix ain't insulted, it's funny when she was doing promo she talked about how proud she was of the "barbie" song, credibility goes out the window. The truth is without avril she would have been dropped from the record label by now.

The matrix have worked with other people than Avril. Like she says in the article she wans't sure about it but she went in with an open mind and found out that they are just writers/producers and not writers/producers that can only write sk8er boi over and over.
I doubt the matrix were insulted by what she said of the barbie song since it was only written as a fluffy little pop song for a kid's movie. I doubt they saw it as their masterpiece. They know its just a fluffy little song they were asked to write and not something that really came from their hearts and souls.
Of course she would say good things about the song when she was promoting it or she would have been in trouble and also she doens't really say she didn't like it but did it anyway. She says that she was unsure but was encouraged to do it and also that "it's an amazing song and I give them major props for writing it." How is that insulting?
Also saying she is still on her label because of avril is dumb since other people who were compared to avril like Katy Rose were dropped. Clearly being vaguely like someone who sold a bunch of records and was the new hit thing back in 2002 isn't actually enough to keep you on a label.

Didn't know who she was but i got the feeling she was a seroius singer-songwriter and didn't want to be labeled with Avril because she was above her or something, well how come all her recent albuim is written with the matrix! (according to wiki).

I don't think she thinks she is necessarily above avril as such, she's just sick of being compared to her. Imagine that you can out with your first album and got compared to someone in every single interview or whatever for the next 4 or 5 years. You'd be pretty bored of it too. And the matrix are a team of proffessional writers who have worked with lots of different people. not just avril.

i hate how in her song human she talks about being marketed. "they're even marketing what i say right now" usually people avoid talking about this because its painfully obvious. and yes i know girlfriend is cheesy. has anyone heard billy s. lol talk about cheese. ***btw i looked up the lyrics i don't know them by heart.

I think the line "they're even marketing what i say right now" is quite clever and self referential. She knows her place in the media world but she still wants to have her say. the song more than anything is about being true to yourself aswell.
Yes Billy S is cheesy but she wrote that when she was 14 and lots of 14 year olds think "god I can't be bothered to study shakespeare.lets skip school instead" whereas Girlfriend was written by a married woman in her twenties so the cheese is a little more hard to stomach.

I'm sorry, was she implying that she is responsible for Avril's new record cos she "inspired" Luke? I hated how she implied that Avril didn't write any of it and it was all Luke. You just don't do that.

I don't think she was saying she was responsible but the bratty, energetic msuic sin't dissimilar to stuff she has done since she first came out so it is a weird similarity. Maybe Dr. Luke was inspired cause he was writing these hyper energy songs (musically at least)for Skye and then when Avril said she wanted a more upbeat album he was like "well I've already been doing that kinda stuff so it fits, its gunna be easier to do now"
Also she didn't imply Avril didn't write anything, she just said Luke was "inspired" or whatever and that he worked on Avril's album. That in no way says she didn't bring any ideas of her own to TBDT

[Josh]

Lmao, mmkay.

Thanks for posting, JC.