Interviewed April 2011.
Christina Perri has made a major splash with pop fans on her debut single "Jar Of Hearts." She has been the recipient of acclaim both for her distinctive vocals and her the emotional impact of her songwriting. I caught up with her via phone on April 3, 2011 as she was beginning promotion of her debut album LoveStrong. The album is scheduled to hit stores May 10, 2011.
Bill: Where are you today?
Christina: I am in Los Angeles. I am home drinkin' coffee.
Bill: That sounds very nice.
Christina: Thank you. It never happens.
Bill: I would expect you have had a whirlwind last nine months or so.
Christina: I have. That's exactly right. I feel like I really haven't stopped.
Bill: Are you used to it by now?
Christina: You know, I'm used to the feeling of, "Oop, here we go!" Like three countries in three days or flying around the world. That's stuff I'm like getting kind of adjusted to, but the things that happen every day I don't think I could ever be used to. I think there is this element of magic. You know, there's scary stuff, and then there's like amazing heartwarming stuff. Such a rad balance.
Bill: Could you pick out any most rewarding thing about the success in the last year?
Christina: Yes, I would say there's a couple that really stand out for me. The first being waking up every morning and getting to be me and play music. You know, forever I was a waitress and covered all my tattoos. I had to do that thing, and so I wake up simply every morning so grateful that I get to not do that, and that I get to do whatever crazy thing I'm doing. It has everything to do with my dreams and music and stuff. So there's that just basic principle in my life. I'm extremely grateful every day.
Then, there's these e-mails and letters and comments and some things I get from people that tell me that their hearts feel better and write me these elaborate stories. I have this e-mail address set up just for people to do that other than Facebook and stuff, and I write them back and we have this ongoing communication or I do with the people who like "Jar Of Hearts" and my music. That part blows my mind every day and totally warms my heart. So there's a lot of that stuff. There's a lot of...I can't believe how wonderful this life is and these feelings are and these things and my opportunities. It's just all really amazing.
Bill: Then on the other side, what's been the most difficult?
Christina: The most challenging stuff. I feel like there's almost the equal of a challenging thing every day that there is to the amazing, heartwarming thing whether it be my nerves because I'm just this little human who my stomach twists up in a knot before I play every time, and there's that every day. There's making the album in 33 days running back and forth. We rented two rooms in one studio. So I was doing the vocals and the piano and the guitar and the harmonies and the doubles and I was just running back and forth and back and forth and getting it done in such a short amount of time. Having to unstitch my stitches that I've put on my own heart for every song, because if I don't go in there and step back into 2002 or 2007 or when I wrote these songs, then nobody is gonna believe me, and it's not a piece of art I want to put out in the world if it's not super authentic. So there was THAT every day. I mean I would like roll home crying in my car and have to stop and go get a chocolate milkshake because I was just so emotional and vulnerable and raw.
Like I said, there's an equal high to all these crazy lows. It's still the best job ever. I tell everybody I know if I complain just punch me in the face.
