Katerina Grahams Intervju med Starry Constellation Magazine
Q. What can you tell us about the inspiration came from for your new song "Sassy"?
A. When I was writing it, it kind of just came, it wasn't like I want to make a song about this or that. In all of my songs I want to have a message of empowerment and fun and good vibes. I did a collection of five songs in like three or four days and that was one of them and it kind of just came out. I wasn't sure about releasing it officially as the first single because it was just getting traction on the blogs and doing that thing. I really noticed that the fans started to respond to it and they loved it so much that I was like, let's make this the first single, and now I'm doing it.
Q. There is early buzz that "Sassy" is going to be the anthem of the summer, how do you feel about that?
A. I hope so! It's really up to the fans what happens with it because we're not doing huge radio promo for it just yet because I can't while I am shooting "Vampire Diaries." I can't really do much promo work because I am on set most of the time and I can't really travel and do shows. We're doing as much as we can while I am still shooting. I believe it's a summer anthem and I am glad that everyone believes it too. It's really exciting.
Q. The song is even getting some great promotion from other celebrities like Perez Hilton.
A. He's incredible, I love him, I've always loved him for years. He's got this philosophy of do what you want and live your life. He's just a really fun guy and very creative and is a great visionary. A lot of people are unaware of that and I love that about him and how supportive he's been of me. I have always been supportive of him, my first tweets ever on Twitter are of me praising him. I really think he's a fun guy and he doesn't take himself too seriously.
Q. Where can fans go to hear "Sassy," has it reached iTunes yet?
A. "Sassy" is on iTunes right now and it's really exciting because it's my first song ever on iTunes. If you just look up Kat Graham it's right there. It's really, really exciting!
Q. How can fans help promote the single and call attention to it?
A. Just keep tweeting about it and call your local radio stations and request it. Talk about it on blogs, websites, and forums and play it in your house or in your car so somebody can be like, "Who is that, oh that's Kat Graham?" Share it! What I love about "Sassy" is that it is a people's anthem, it's not just about me, it's a representation of everyone. You know me, I like to include the fans in everything, it's really about you guys. The more you share it with people the more it makes sense. I want the whole world to be like, "Yeah, we're as sassy as we want to be!" That's my dream.
Q. Can you give us some tips on how to be sassy?
A. I really, really believe in the philosophy of being yourself, being confident in who you are no matter what you look like or where you come from and just really live your life and be happy with who you are. It might sound kind of cheesy but once I really started to be myself that's when life just got so much better for me and that's where sassy comes from. It's about being yourself and just being fabulous in who you are. That's my tip on how to be sassy, just be yourself with no apologies.
Q. We heard you just finished filming the lead in the movie Honey 2, what's new with the storyline?
A. I've wanted to do a dance film for so long because I'm a dancer and it was like, "Wow, when am I going to get my chance?" I auditioned for all of the other dance movies and no one picked me and I was devastated. I finally got one and I am the lead in it which is insane because I didn't think that would come any time soon. The director Bille Woodruff really took a chance on me and he's an incredible director and we shot it in LA with six or seven weeks of just nonstop dancing. It's cool, it's this story about this girl Maria who gets out of juvy, she got caught up in the wrong crowd, and when she gets out she has to prove herself through dance. She has to change her life for her, not for anyone else, and she discovers who she really is through dance. It's really awesome, it's a great story and it's a lot edgier and a lot more dancing than the first Honey. There are crazy dance battles, we're definitely coming for blood with this one.
Q. How did you hear about the role, through auditioning or did someone seek you out?
A. You know, kind of both. One of my first dance teachers, he got me in with my dance agency and that really helped me as dancer, I saw him out in LA and he said I should audition for Honey. I had just literally gotten back from Atlanta shooting the season finale, I think I had been in LA two days. I was like what chance do I have, maybe I will audition for it. A couple of days later I went in and auditioned and there were like six other girls there to audition for it. I went to the call backs and then I got it. It was very surreal, it all happened fast, we started rehearsals like that Monday. We had rehearsals and it turned out so amazing, I am so happy with it.
Q. How emotionally draining did you find the role to be?
A. It was really hard because like I said I had never been a lead in anything this big before. I had been the lead in an independent thing before but nothing with this kind of budget or anything like that. There was a lot of pressure on me that I had never felt before but everyone was really sweet and helped me through it. I would go two days without sleep, literally no sleep because I would still be doing stuff for my music on the weekend and photo shoots in LA to promote the second season of "Vampire Diaries." There was just a lot of stuff going on and some days it really took a toll on me. I would be lying to you to tell you that it wasn't an exhausting process. It was really rewarding in the end because we came out with the best possible product we could. I love that this character has had to fight through so much and in the end she wins in her own way. I felt that same way with myself, even during the process. Some people think, "she's on a TV show and she's in a movie," but no matter how many great things you never know what someone is going through in their lives. I use my acting and my music as a way of putting that out there because no one's life is perfect.
Q. With shooting season two of "Vampire Diaries," what can you tease us about what's going to happen with Bonnie?
A. I can't talk about the other characters because I don't want to piss anyone off but Bonnie is definitely pretty fearless in the new one. If there was a promise to anyone in the last episode, she keeps it. Let's just say that. She is not one to F with right now, if I didn't know her, I'd steer clear.
